Solutions(?)

[pan]

A thread dedicated towards possible solutions rather than the rather pessimistic fare we engage in with much of our other communication.

[Mark]

They so edjumacated, what they gonna do when the oil runs dry?

Plenty IT jobs in India, but you can't earn enough in a year there to cover the cost of shipping over your RV.

Can somebody be said to be edjumacated if they can't grow, harvest, thrash, winnow, and grind grain into flour, and build a clay oven so they can bake it into bread? I knew a lot of illiterate Afghans who knew how to do all those things. They been doing it for thousands of years and they're going to be doing it long after they whip our edjumacated asses and all our hi-tech planes have crashed and burned on their no-tech plains.

[John Bessa]

I did this, but didn't actually get to the RV stage though I came close on Ebay. I always bought hatchbacks to make sure I had a place to stretch out for camping, or if I had been drinking. When life as I knew it came to an end in NYC in September 2001, I recovered by traveling around in a rented Budget.com pickup--that was fun. I wound up in Springfield, Missouri for a while as a school bus driver and then segued to long haul truck driving. I also spent time Savannah, Georgia, and found places to camp near both cities.

I was happy camping in my Eurkea tent, and if I had to be up-and-at-em early, I would crash in the hatchback, such as when camping in a goverment park. They don't collect money till 9am usually, so an early rise can save 20 bucks.

First I did "hot shot" trucking for Panther II and Fed Ex Custom Critical: this is easy, all you need is a class B license, and you drive a stretch tractor. Fed Ex money was good, and you just bop all over the the US and Canada on their dime.

I then went on to big rigs, which is much harder work, and you are tied to truckstops, as big rigs are a bear to maneuver. But it was still fun, and very profitable.

I wanted to get an RV but I live in a house now. (Plus my new kitty might not or might not dig life over the road. Many cats are actually born and live their lives happily in big rigs!)

If you have seen Napoleon Dynamite, the asshole uncle really has a nice van called a Falcon, I think. About $1500 - 3000 on ebay. But I would consider fitting out a delivery truck, because RVs have terrible security, and many townships have laws against sleeping in vehicles. A new engine and transmission would be about $2000, as insurance.

Notes about RVs:

Most have been owned by retired folks who take great care of them, but invariably forget to check the oil. So you might want to get an RV w/ a new rebuilt engine. That way you know the last owner learned to check the oil!

Florida and Arizona are the most popular destinations for Old Folks, so a lot of RVs get orphaned in those two states.

[hannah j]

Old Folks? you certainly throw around the stereotypes. People of all ages neglect to check the oil, and I have found that what you do in your young adulthood is probably what you will always do. My father has never checked his oil, luckily through most of his carlives they have gone to service stations rather than minimarts. My husband, over 65, has always checked the oil, daily, or if we are on the road, when he gasses up. This has been his lifelong habit. We have owned a number of RVs during our time together, and have lived temporarily in most of them. We know people who have cats in small rvs with no problem. We have traveled with 3 cats, though I don't recommend it. Our largest vehicle was a school bus, which is probably a chicken coop in Hanford, CA. Our smallest was a Chinook, which is probably a spare bedroom in Quartszite. Almost buying an RV on ebay is hardly "rv life" - anyone who wants any recommendations pm me, we have had more experience than I would wish.

[BO]

Hey, check out these cool RV's...

Well okay, maybe you can't pull 'em behind your Dodge, but they do make the concept of trailer-living seem a little more amenable.

[Cal]

Those are really cool burrows!

[pan]

MIT prototype of pre-fab house built from a kit with interlocking parts.....no fasteners required.

[BO]

Nice idea. So, can you imagine the designer going to Washington DC to present his concept to FEMA, only to have it killed by the building industry? Revolutionary design could save the planet, but so few give two hoots about it. And if it threatens the current zeitgeist of over consumption and traditional manufacturing techniques, it's doomed to failure. I'd truly have hope for us if that were not the case.

[pan]

Too big to fail? Then break them up! Protests scheduled for April 11 in many U.S. cities.

[hannah j]

our little art center in sedan has just bought 2 wheels, this raku kiln, and 400lbs of raku clay - we have another kiln and other clay. i am in hog heaven.

http://www.brackers.com/store/product_images/rakukiln1.jpg

http://www.brackers.com/store/product_images/tsprodigy.jpg

[Mouse]

Hmm, nice.

And now for some even more truly wonderful news.. that publication... the Danish are out there leading the way:

[waldopaper]

mebbe this explains the movement and street action in Europe... a greater proportion of the Euros fucking GET IT. We are all disenfranchised serfs in huts with teevee and fridges and shoes. Most of the serfs are perfectly happy to stay that way as long as the teevee works, the fridge has something in it, and they have at least one pair of shoes.

My not-all-that-distant ancestors came to the USA because they had to wear wooden shoes... all year. No "idealogy," no "freedom." If you gotta wear wooden cloppers or go barefooty... life fairly sucks when you see the Princes riding by in their heated carriages. The "old world" has leapfrogged us big time.

They came seeking... a warm place to shit.

[Mark]

Hey, Obama is going to send me a stimulus payment. Bush gave everyone $300, and Obama is giving everyone $250. But in order to do it, he cut funding to the states, so California's governor cut my SSI benefits by $37 a month starting in May, and cut public transportation funding so my monthly bus pass is going up a dollar in July. So the stimulus means I'll have a net loss of $52 for the year. No big problem, but I can't say I feel very stimulated. If the idea was that I'd rush right out and spend the $250 to boost the economy, it's a loser, because I have to keep it to compensate for the cuts. $38 less a month would be difficult for me, but with the stimulus payment in the bank to draw on, it works out to only $6.50 less each month. And I know that every other SSI recipient in my 150-unit low-income senior building can do simple arithmetic at least as well as I can.

I don't watch teevee, but I've got food in the refrigerator, several pairs of shoes, and a warm place to shit. If Obama would just stop stimulating me, I'd be a happy little serf like everyone else.