[kevincarter]

Ferretlover you made my day!!!!! That is one of the best posts I've ever seen on the internet, thanks!!!!

[Resurrection]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ferretlover', '
')Life is tough; It's tougher if you're stupid

[PenultimateManStanding]

Well it looks like your 'depressed' thread took a funny turn. How about this one:

"(1996, Texas) 45 year old Amy Brasher was arrested in San Antonio after a mechanic reported to police that 18 packages of marijuana were packed in the engine compartment of the car which she had brought to the mechanic for an oil change. According to police, Brasher later said that she didn't realize that the mechanic would have to raise the hood to change the oil."

Whenever you're feeling blue, just look up Darwin Awards on the internet.

[rdberg1957]

Keeping a sense of humor may get us through hard times. Maybe the thing we should remember is that we have lived in one of the richest nations and periods and history and all things must pass.

[RacerJace]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')To be truly happy one must live life in the absolute present, enjoy the moment to its fullest, make no judgment of the past and not be concerned about the future.

To have a life of true meaning one must constantly assess what is meaningful, often wallowing in the past about the opportunities missed or misjudged actions and obsessing about the future.."

[careinke]

A local sport store had a huge sale banner up yesterday. It said, "Shoe Sale, buy one get one free!!" Cracked me up.

Cliff (Start a revolution, grow a garden)

[BigTex]

I think having a dark sense of humor is a tremendous aid in understanding PO and not letting it drive you crazy.

One of the more humorous mental images I get is when I imagine the alternate future scenarios of Mad Max and Little House on the Prairie. Somehow a few of the Mad Max characters always seem to pop up in the Little House on the Prairie scene...and that's just pure mayhem.

[abelardlindsay]

I was depressed about PO but then I decided to start an organic garden in my back yard. I totally geeked out on all the permaculture books and suddenly everyone around me is saying: "Wow! This computer nerd who never sees the sunlight decided to become a farmer! He's interesting!". I even have something to talk about at dinner parties now that doesn't cause people's eyes to glaze over. I also feel that I am much better prepared for the future now. Every week I work more on learning and applying sustainable organic farming techniques that re-use what the land gives me. I've already had a few harvest dinners from the enormous amount of food I was able to produce.

[Iaato]

Funny Ferret, thanks. I am looking for humor after reading "The Road" last night. {Do NOT read this book if you are feeling particularly gloomy.} Here are some fantastic uplifting ideas on how to solve our energy problems, some of the best quoted below (stolen from FoolYap on MF). Aaron can dispense with PO.com now, we're saved!

Energy solutions at CNN.com

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'F')rom: Dwayne Fries, Columbus, OH
Date: September 24, 2007
Your view: I have been working on the problem of renewable energies since 1999, long before the gas prices got out of control. I have designed two unique features to a solar collector dish that make it far more economical and far more powerful. I was working on putting it into full production when I came up with another idea that was far more powerful. I have come up with a design of a new devise that is much like a microchip. It is very tiny and will draw in heat from the air to convert it into electricity, just like creating minature lightening bolts. I do not have the full design quite yet, but most of the design work is done. Within twenty years, I believe that there will be no need for batteries or plugging anything into a wall. Every kind of electronic devise or anything else that runs off of any type of power supply will simply use the energy that is already in the heat of the air to provide needed energy for all devises. Cell phones will simply work without needing recharging. Cars will run without gasoline. I am very close to having a full design laid out and will be able to start production of the devise within another 5 to 8 years, I am confident.

[Ayoob]

The only thing that could possibly have made the end of The Road more depressing is if the guy that found the boy said to him as he unzipped his pants, "Today just ain't your lucky day."

[static66]

Ferretlover... What are you doing at a McDonalds AND a Wal-Mart!!
Things are getting bad, you need to get local as soon as possible and that means no more MickeyD's and certainly not any aimless consumerism at the evil WM!! Seriously, get everyone you know on a local diet and stop the spending at the Chinese poison center!

[Ferretlover]

lolol @ static! *I* wasn't at those places, you goose!
Those were items I abstracted from from a website listing things stupid people had done...
It has been several years since I went to a Walmart--I don't plan to help them become the Only Retail Store.
And, McDonalds--just sniffing the air in the immediate area can supply a person with the fat and salt requirements for at least a week! lolol

[static66]

Phew... I thought it was strange that I was reading that on your post... I must have jumped the gun and when I saw the words immediately replied... Anybody read the Oil Depletion Protocol yet?

[Gman61]

Guys,

This is an interesting thread. I know there are heaps of these threads on the psychological impact of Peak Oil, but this is the first I have read - so this is where I make my little contribution.

The depression and anxiety we feel is really about accepting change. There is something in our culture (and perhaps all cultures) that does not prepare us for the transcience of ALL things, let alone the transcience of our society.

I had a bit of a PO epiphany after watching the movie 'Crude Awakening'. Now I am a university lecturer in Thermodynamics with a keen interest in energy generation and sustainability - so the film wasn't exactly 'news' to me. In fact, it was old hat - yet its impact on me was profound. I walked out of the cinema that evening into an entertainment area of my city, looked at it all, and thought "This will all be gone soon - every last bit of it". It was a winter's evening, but the street was full to the brim with beautiful people whooping it up. The outdoor eating areas of cafes were all being warmed by big suspended radiators. The light on the street was bright enough to read by. Everyone was eating and drinking and laughing. I suddenly had this bizarre, surreal sense of separation from it all - this street that would normally be my own weekend stamping ground. Suddenly, the people looked absurd. They looked drunk and gluttonous and decadant - crazy hedonists laughing and drinking while the world ended. I had a panic attack - I just couldn't see any way out.

Nowadays I take impending disaster in my stride! The world as we know it will end soon - and it will be replaced by a different world. It was ever thus. The capitalist dream of never-ending growth and spectacular material over-indulgence is feted to end. It is a dream - it was always just a dream. But most of us grew up in the middle of it and some people convinced us that it was 'reality'.

The realisation of doom is no justification for depression or nihilism or fatalism. Life goes on - we do our best. The world is just evolving, as it has always done. Admittedly, this next correction looks to be a very painful and brutal one. But life, for most people, at most times in history, in most places on the planet, has been brutal and difficult. Its just that we haven't experenced that.

Just think of it as the most ingenious reality game show ever thought of - and you are starring in it! Sorry, that sounds a little flippant! What I mean is, a lot of reality game shows work on the premise of taking people out of cosy, materially wealthy, middle class environments and throwing them into some kind of wilderness where they have to fend for themselves , under sets of rules entirely different to their usual lives. Well - it will be like that, but with no going home.

One of the subjects I lecture is Manufacturing - where I explain to my students the revolution in manufacturing that has been driven by plastics. Then I explain to them how it is all about to change - for the obvious reasons. Then I just get on with it!

I am not sure if I feel better or worse for all that!

[POAlex]

If our joy and peace is built on things that can perish, its no wonder we feel this way when things fall apart.

Here's a great quote from Jesus.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:" (Matthew 6:19-20)