[mindfarkk]

i am new to the forum, i followed a link on craigslist over here and had NO IDEA what i was getting into.

as it would appear you are NOT all a bunch of raving lunatics, i have decided to join ranks and explore this whole idea/theory/science or whatever it turns out to be and what i think about the whole mess.

i grew up with a lot of political upheaval, war, the energy crisis, et al. in the united states and remember well (although i was a kid) when carter was in office. it makes me sad now realizing what he stood for and tried to accomplish, and where we have gone since.

i am also more than a bit disturbed by what i am hearing and learning, although it fits at least conceptually with a lot of things i already know, since i kind of have the benefit of being born into a time when these issues and problems were getting a LOT of attention. i am thinking:

1) my knee jerk reaction is to run screaming into the woods. not good. need to stop, learn, analyze, and critique.
2) actually it's kind of what i thought might be going on. the problem is deciding how, to what degree, and when i will act, and of course even if i decide everything discussed here is 100% valid, there are a lot of unknownable variables.
3) in a way if this is all true it simplifies things. there is no longer any need for global reform, if it is in fact useless. after the past election, i have no hope that anything in the U.S. is going to change in time to make a damn bit of difference. I am not one of the rich, and I do not enjoy the protection of much privilege beyond the simple fact of being a US citizen and white, so i will be one of those who feel it sooner, although obviously not as fast as my brothers and sisters on this planet who are already dying as a result of this nasty narcissistic business. Anyway it makes me think locally, on an individual scale and in support of the local farming collective and whatnot in my area.
4) time to at least start learning some basic things i figure i should know if we can't depend on our national infrastructure for anything:
-- basic medico/pharmacological information and first aid
-- how to grow food
-- how to fix basic mechanical objects, up to small engines
-- basic carpentry - how to build a stable frame, for instance.
-- how to take care of a gun.
-- how to find clean water, if it comes to that.
5) i guess that sounds really survivalist, but considering i have nowhere to go and nothing to fall back on if we hit a deepening recession and/or depression, that's about where i will have to be, practically speaking.

on the upside, maybe my student loans will go bye-bye! i figure if they take away my social security, it's the least they can do!

thanks for listening (if you have gotten this far). i look forward to reading the library of threads here. the thing i find most frightening is just not knowing what to think. i can deal with reality, i am flexible. i can roll with the punches and i am so ready to be rid of the way this world is now. i could make it, i think, if things fall apart. i just have a life today i don't want to completely up-end without knowing when it's really called for, and if. and if i can blend one into the other in a natural progression, act just enough and not overreact, and not completely freak out my boyfriend who will NOT hear a word of this right now, all the better.

[tdrive_]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'a')s it would appear you are NOT all a bunch of raving lunatics

[Ayoob_Reloaded]

i am new to the forum, i followed a link on craigslist over here and had NO IDEA what i was getting into.

How about that. Did you click on one of the links in the For Sale section or was it in a community activist post or something? I had no idea what I was getting into before I clicked the first link either. You're lucky you got this one first. I got dieoff.org first. Jesus.

as it would appear you are NOT all a bunch of raving lunatics, i have decided to join ranks and explore this whole idea/theory/science or whatever it turns out to be and what i think about the whole mess.

I'm here to represent the raving lunatic division of the board.

i grew up with a lot of political upheaval, war, the energy crisis, et al. in the united states and remember well (although i was a kid) when carter was in office. it makes me sad now realizing what he stood for and tried to accomplish, and where we have gone since.

Yeah. We should have listened to him. Somebody posted a link on the site to a famous speech of his. Dig around, you'll find it.

i am also more than a bit disturbed by what i am hearing and learning, although it fits at least conceptually with a lot of things i already know, since i kind of have the benefit of being born into a time when these issues and problems were getting a LOT of attention. i am thinking:

1) my knee jerk reaction is to run screaming into the woods. not good. need to stop, learn, analyze, and critique.
2) actually it's kind of what i thought might be going on. the problem is deciding how, to what degree, and when i will act, and of course even if i decide everything discussed here is 100% valid, there are a lot of unknownable variables.
3) in a way if this is all true it simplifies things. there is no longer any need for global reform, if it is in fact useless. after the past election, i have no hope that anything in the U.S. is going to change in time to make a damn bit of difference. I am not one of the rich, and I do not enjoy the protection of much privilege beyond the simple fact of being a US citizen and white, so i will be one of those who feel it sooner, although obviously not as fast as my brothers and sisters on this planet who are already dying as a result of this nasty narcissistic business. Anyway it makes me think locally, on an individual scale and in support of the local farming collective and whatnot in my area.
4) time to at least start learning some basic things i figure i should know if we can't depend on our national infrastructure for anything:
-- basic medico/pharmacological information and first aid
-- how to grow food
-- how to fix basic mechanical objects, up to small engines
-- basic carpentry - how to build a stable frame, for instance.
-- how to take care of a gun.
-- how to find clean water, if it comes to that.
5) i guess that sounds really survivalist, but considering i have nowhere to go and nothing to fall back on if we hit a deepening recession and/or depression, that's about where i will have to be, practically speaking.

Yeah. That's the kicker, ain't it. Well, just to update you on my plans, I quit the financial planning business to go back to school and study nursing. I figure I'll actually get out of school and be able to work for a year or two before TSHTF. By that time, I'll have a valuable skill that will be needed, PO or not.

on the upside, maybe my student loans will go bye-bye! i figure if they take away my social security, it's the least they can do!\

At the very least, nobody's going to be collecting on the loans.

thanks for listening (if you have gotten this far). i look forward to reading the library of threads here. the thing i find most frightening is just not knowing what to think. i can deal with reality, i am flexible. i can roll with the punches and i am so ready to be rid of the way this world is now. i could make it, i think, if things fall apart. i just have a life today i don't want to completely up-end without knowing when it's really called for, and if. and if i can blend one into the other in a natural progression, act just enough and not overreact, and not completely freak out my boyfriend who will NOT hear a word of this right now, all the better.

Good luck! It's an interesting journey of self-discovery.

[Ayoob_Reloaded]

Almost forgot. A few of us are putting together a FAQ on Peak Oil. Before you read too much, can you jot down your top ten questions for us? It'll help in designing the FAQ.

Thanks!

[mindfarkk]

my top ten questions:

1) Are you saying the end of the world is nigh? Are you level-headed thinkers, or a bunch of reactionary camo-wearing fringe-element back-woods-dwelling conspiracy-minded doomsday-prophesying crackpot survivalists? If so, should i consider buying some face paint and stick around for camp-fire stories?

2) When is this PO crisis going to effect me and mine?

3) Who owns and runs this site? who are the moderators? i don't mean names, just where you are from, how you got involved, what your background is, briefly.

4) who are the 'experts' in the expert section? where did they come from? how did they get involved in PO? what makes them experts?

5) How do I check your sources critically? i.e., is any logical analysis, scientific method, or clinical study involved in your conclusions?

(this is what i am trying to figure out right now. no offense to anyone, not challenging anyone here to PROVE anything to me, but i'm methodically going through the forums and the arguments and checking out the 'experts'; i have a good mind, i will decide for myself. i am too personally impulsive and reactive not to have to slow myself down and check the sources of my information. this is what, IMO, any reasonable person who comes to this site will ask themselves - why should i believe this is really happening? of course, knowing what i ALREADY know about sustainability, ecosystems, physics, technology, economy, et al. - it rings too true to blow off)

6) Who stands to profit from promoting the Peak Oil concept?

(i saw this addressed in another thread, guess a link would be nice, or a summary if you want to work really hard)

7) What are you, the various members of this site, doing to prepare?

Where do i begin? Is it possible to respond *today* to this impending crisis without jumping ship from my current life/family/home/career, since it seems noone knows exactly when this will hit, or how quickly? can i hedge my bets? How are you handling this?

9) What might i be doing today that i should not put too much faith in? (i.e. future planning that may not work out, like, oh say social security)

10) Do you see any opportunities for turning this crisis into socio-economic progress that I can keep an eye out for participation? (for instance, i am thinking of joining the farming coop in my area, i'm just wondering if they'll be around "after the crash") (i don't mean profit from this crisis, i mean, use it as a means to move the human race forward into a more sustainable niche, and to some extent act on my progressive politics)

11) bonus question: How many and what kind of guns should i put in my new safe?

12) bonus question: at what point will i know that money is about to become useless?

13) bonus question: where can i start if i want to really learn about this PO idea from the ground up?

14) if i join, will i get to meet jimmy carter?

[Guest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mindfarkk', 'm')y top ten questions:
1) Are you saying the end of the world is nigh?

[mindfarkk]

oh - i've already found the answer to some of these. but these are/were the top ten questions on my mind after reading the original peak oil article linked to craigslist. i know the answers aren't simple, and part of the reason for the site is to work out the answers. but as a novice to the whole notion of PO (as of 24 hours ago), these are the most pressing questions on my mind when i arrived here.

i found it here at the very top of the page, not in a post but actually in the individual forum menu. it's to the left of "cashier check and wire transfer scams" which is a link displaying in bold red letters.

[Guest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('tdrive_', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'a')s it would appear you are NOT all a bunch of raving lunatics

[lowem]

Hi, welcome to the club