Guard Dog

Farewell my friends! Tomorrow I set out on a great quest. Like mighty Prometheus who stole fire from Olympus to light the way for man, I go to bring the light of free WiFi to the shoppers of select Simon malls in the American Midwest. No longer will teenage girls have to use their valuble cell phone minutes to update their Facebook pages with that "perfect" outfit they just bought. No longer will big box stores have to use expensive UMTS cards in their barcode scanners for inventory control. No longer will the ATM machine in the food courts take ten seconds to give customers their cash. Soon we'll have that down to eight. Anyway, I'm on the road for a while tomorrow so I won't be able to supervise you guys. So please stay out of trouble. See you all in March.

Bask in the awsomeness of this:

I can't believe I'm typing this but what Morgoth has been posting is right. It does not need to happen but it will because no one is trying to stop it. My advice to everyone (not just Americans because a serious finacial crisis in the US will hurt everywhere) is this: 1) If you are in debt, get out. If you are not don't go in. 2) If you have investments choose to invest in things that have real value not associated with any currency. Commodities, real estate, etc. The very worst thing that will happen if there is no financial crisis is you will be well placed with safe if underperfoming investments. If the end does come your damages will be less than they might have been. 3) Do anything you can to improve your ability to be self sufficient. Store food if practical, water, plant a garden, buy a generator, anything you can do that may help if things get bad. 4) For Americans you should all arm yourselves in some way. I would no reccomend buying assault weapons or any crap like that but it does not harm to keep a small caliber pistol in you home if the need ever arises. 5) Hope and pray none of this is ever needed. I certainly hope not but the end of the track is ahead and the train seems to be picking up speed.

The stock market activity in the short term is not a good indicator of economic conditions in the long term. You know that. Income tax rates are only going up for folks over $200k but the payroll tax got rolled back to the 1993 rate and that hits most everyone who earns a paycheck: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-01/senate-passed-deal-means-higher-tax-on-77-of-households.html I really had no trouble with increasing income tax rates across the board because the are the least onerous of all the tax options. But increases in capital gains taxes WILL hurt the economy because they discourage investment. If you tax something more you will have less of it. The heart of the issue is spending. There is a real argument to be made for allowing the mandatory spending cuts of sequestration happen because no one has the political will to tell the people who are taking money from the government "no". Don't you ever wonder why real assets like gold and silver are skyrocketing in price? If it was just an inflation hedge bonds would be doing well too but they are not.

Happy NY everyone. I spne the majority of the last 72 hours watching football. It was a real bummer not having the Winter Classic this year. Damned NHL!

All this deal does is put a band aid on a bullet wound. There are no real reductions in the rate of spending and only the smallest reductions on the reate of spending increases. Guys, this thing IS going to collapse at some point. Do you know of ANYTHING that cand spend more than it's revenue and survive in the long term? Taxes are going up on everyone making more than $50k. I bet those folks didn't realize they were rich. And on a different note I am meeting with my business partners tommorow to go over what the new Obamacare regulations will mean to us. We have three salaried employees and need to take on about 10 more for this Simon project. We don't provide those three with healthcare but we do pay and extra stipend to help cover the cost of private policies. With the potential new hires that might all change. If we can't adjust our cost structure we may have to contract temps instead of regular hiring. It is a damned shame this thing is so complicated. Fortunately I don't have to keep up with the business aspects of it. Not really my thing anyway.

And now it begins: http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/assault-weapons They want us registered and fingerprinted huh? That way they know who and where you are when the time comes to confiscate your weapons and round you up. OK I'm only kidding on that last part. I've already been fingerprinted when I applied for my concealed carry permit. Banning certain weapons based solely on cosmetic features is more than a little stupid.

You know Felithvian might actually be on to something here. I have given the book a Revelations a lot of study over the years and it seems to me it makes a lot of sense in hindsight to deduce the apocalypse John was describing was the collapse of the Roman Empire and the rise of the Catholic Church rather than anything coming in our future. I might be totally off base on this obviously but it is a theory I've been rolling around for a little while now. Of course everything looks clear in hindsight so...

Happy belated B-Day Shady. I've planned out my first two road trips for work next year. Indianapolis and Evansville in January and Little Rock, Jonesboro, Dyersburg, Springfield and Fayetteville in February. Hey Calax, I'll be working in Des Moines and Sioux City this summer . If you're in town and feel like a drive I'll buy you a beer or two. Gonna be a busy year.

I agree with you guys for the most part about the military possible being unwilling to fight American civilians. However that only makes this comment all the more ominous and dangerous: I completely agree with you here. I am growing increasing alarmed with every passing year the federal government takes more and more power the US Constitution forbids it to have and there are no consequences for it. No one pushes back, no one fights them in court. And even if you change politicians the next group comes in and takes more and more of our liberty away. Nothing big, nothing major. A little here, a small thing there, and all the while insisting they are doing it to "help" us. A little over a long time adds up to a lot.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Megacorporations, governments, criminals, foreign others, all out to get me. I think I need to buy a gun! Oh c'mon, that was funny!

Oh I grant it is unlikely it would ever come to that but armed citizens are a further insurance against it. Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is well armed sheep contesting the vote. I don't find it difficult at all to imagine a situation where the government does something we simply will not live with. @Hurlshot: I simply do not understand this paranoia about megacorporations. The largest, most powerful corporation in the world could not take one penny out of my checking account that I did not freely give it. The smallest government right here in Tennessee can seize my home, my entire life's savings, and my freedom and and array such a treasure against me it would bankrupt me to defend myself even if I were successful. Who should we really be afraid of here?

This goes to Alan's comment as well. Yes, I think armed citizens ARE an effective force against the modern military. Here is why. In Tennessee in 2009 (that is the latest data I could find online) 497,348 hunting licenses were sold. In Alabama is was 567,299, in Mississippi it was 509,996, in Arkansas is was 362,541, in South Carolina it was 421,675. Most hunting hoseholds have multiple fire arms but only one hunting license. Those five states alone have more armed citizens (just counting the ones who have hunting licesnes, not the one who have weapons and don't hunt) than the entire muster of all five branches of the US military including reserves. Hunters practice with their weapons and are proficient in their use. Now look up two more states, Missouri & Texas and you get 509,121 and 667,834 respectively. That is by a factor of 2 the largest armed force in the world. Just seven states. Forty three more to go. Now granted not even a fraction of these are capable of acting as a cohesive military force but history is replete with examples of partisan effectiveness.

Well lets start with the fact that the vension I'm cooking for Christmas did not volunteer to be here. I enjoy hunting and sport shooting but that is far from the issue. I live in a rual area. VERY rual. There is no help for me from police. If the need ever arose to defend myself from animal or man I am totally alone and I need the tools to do it with. But more than that I've been telling you for years the mindsets between American and Europeans are very different. You guys forget that because we do have so much in common that there is so much that is different. Euopeans have learned to accept whatever malfeasence their governments thrust on them. You don't need me to list examples.You live in a free country Ros but imagine what you would do if you woke up tomorrow and that were no longer so? An armed citizenry is the last check on government tyranny. As unlikely that is would ever happen here I still would not surrender that last check. All of our founding fathers (with the possible exception of Hamilton) wrote at length about this. This country was forged by revolution. George Washington himself wrote that an armed man is a citizen, an unarmed man is a subject. We (at least many of the people I know) do not look at our federal government as a friend, or a parental figure like many of you guys in Europe seem to. It is a like tiger in the room that needs to be there but also needs to be closely watched. Just because the tiger does not seem inclined to eat you now does not mean it will always be so. It might sound crazy but just about everyone I know feels this way. Like I posted Ros, individual liberty is more important than anything. The moment they can take away any of it is the moment they can take away ALL of it. Either we are completely free or we are not free at all, just enjoying what rights the current body politic will suffer us to have.

I'm just hanging out at home this year. I'm going to cook a venison back strap in the smoker and I'll make some jerky for my dog while it's cooking. It's kind of a bummer not having the NHL to watch this year. They always had a triple header on Christmas.

I believe there are comprimises to be made but I have a real problem with everyone having to ask permssion (get a license) to exersize a right. The Constitution of the US and the SCOTUS as recently as DC v Heller have confirmed that firearm ownership is an individual right. Having to ask the government for permission puts the government in a position to deny for no reason whatsoever other than politics, incompetence or carpice. Just look how many people who have no terrorist affiliation somehow ended up on the no fly list. That said I do think a system can be worked out for quick background checks. We do it with credit scores I'm sure we can do it with this but in MUST be automated. NOT government run. Quite simply I do not trust that the federal government will fairly administer something like this. You guys need to understand something here... private gun ownership in the US is not going to go away. Ever. There are limitations we will accept but if it ever comes to outright confiscation I suggest they send well armed men with no families to worry about when they come for me. Some things are worth fighting for. And the fight would not be over lost guns, or lost private property but over lost freedom. Nothing... nothing on this earth not even life itself is more important than individual liberty. I see a lot of scenarios where it could be lost forever and they all start with total gun control.

Hey today is the 23rd. Happy Festivus everyone! It's a Festivus for the rest of us! Now for the airing of grievences: 1) Felthvian lighten up 2) Gorgon stop being so pessimistic 3) Lady Crimson have a drink, it won't kill you! 4) Volourn, NWN was NOT the best game ever. 5) Calax attractive female roomates are a BAD idea if they are unattainable 6) Wals your absence from these boards is inexcusable! 7) Shady, Hurlshot, Raithe and Gorth.... I got nothing. You guys keep doing what you're doing 8 )Bruce you're too cheerful. It makes us think you have something to hide 9) Cantousent where the heck have you been lately? 10) Krezack I'm leaving my Christmas lights on all the time just to piss you off! I'm just kidding eveyone.

Now reading The Man Who Saved The Union by HW Brands. It's about Ulysses Grant. Also re-reading Towers of Midnight. The new book comes out in two weeks!

I forgot about this. I guess the Mayans really screwed the pooch on this one.

Wuss. It's zero degrees now and I haven't even broken out my gloves. It's 30 F Gorgon. We are still in the 20th Century here!

VERY impressive! I've been working on a liquor cabinet for a little while now but I keep making so many mistakes it might never get done. How did he do that scrollwork on the lid? Router or Dremmel?

I still have a lot of reading to do on this thread but Boo and a few others have hit on something important here. The mere presence of firearms is not the cause and banning them is not the solution. I suspect in the rush to do something they will reenact the assualt weapons ban. It was a useless law that did nothing more than make a handful of weapons illegal based solely on cosmetic criteria. You guys know I've never been a fan of collective solutions for individual problems. The real breakdown here is in what is happening to our society that leads to these events. I have a few theories myself but I'd like to read this thread a bit more before posting them in case one of you already has... and did a better job of it. I will mention this however. There is no firearm in the US that is legal now that wasn't legal since the end of WWII (or equivalents of weapons that didn't exist then). AR-15s are new but .223 semi-auto rifles have been around since the 50's. This "lone lunatic with a gun shoots everyone in sight" is something that, while very rare now, was almost unheard of 20 years ago. Now there are some restriction I'd be in favor of. Banning hi-cap magazines, ballistic amo (note full jacketed ammo is already illeagal) background checks at gun shows make sense to me. But I would not go much farther than that.

I just spent a week fishing in Cedar Key down in Florida. Somehow it got seriously cold while I was gone. It was in the 80's down there, it's in the 30's here. Yeah yeah I know to you Scandinavian folks that's a warm spring day but it feels bloody cold to me.

Hey Hurlie, I know I'm a little late to the dance here but I second what most folks here are saying. Out of context it dies sound like petty things to take offense over. So she's a little brash? Maybe even a little loud. They don't have to live with her and you're obviously happy so what's their problem? Letting contact cool off a bit is the right way to go I guess. I's ask your parents what kind of remedy do they want here? She is who she is and that isn't going to change and she isn't going anywhere. So they can either accept her or break off contact. That might give them a little perspective at least. I never had this issue so I really don't have much insight. My wife loved my parents, it was ME she had a problem with!