[Laurasia]

I've past my 5 year mark also, and although I don't post very often, I'm "here" several times a day, checking in on my computer at work as well as from home. I've always felt very good that I was a member here - we seemed to be ahead of the pack in many ways. Back in 2004-2005 we were talking about the housing bubble, I seem to recall, while everyone else was skipping happily into the future with stars in their eyes. I've learnt a lot from a variety of people who seem to have expertise in so many different areas. I'm curious how many other people there are like me, who have been members for a long time, but who do not post very often.

Regards,

L.

[Comp_Lex]

I'm also a member for some time now and I don't post very often. I was a lurker during the summer of 2005, but I've registered eventually in November of that year after I had done enough research.

[Olaf]

Yeah, I've been in and out of this place for some time now. Almost 6 years. One of the first sites I looked at that really got my attention was "Wolf at the Door". I've been checking this place pretty much ever since.

[Nano]

I've been here 5 years too. Learning about peak oil changed my life. From a happy, jovial and high spirited intellectual, I changed these five years slowly into a solemn introvert and alien. This happened from having being misunderstood by my peers, who have called me insane, misled, naive, misantropic, inpractical, and obsessive. Even today I have not been able to convince even one of my former mates that the oil age is really coming to an end, and *everything* we take for granted with it. The only person who ever really believed what I told him - without even understanding half of it - was my superior back at the first large civil engineering firm I worked for. His reaction was twofold. First he asked me whether he should sell his second house. Then he told me that he believed I had no future in his business, so he told me to find another job within 3 months or be fired. I got the same type of job at another engineering firm and never said a word about peak oil again, except online and while drunk (which i'm almost never). I've tried to scale down my consumption and increase my salary as much as possible. I found a woman who has all the qualities I believe will be needed, such as being street wise, firm, disciplined and familiar with devastating loss. She laughs at my doom prediction. Probably just as well. She gave us two kids, girls, and I will concentrate my energy on protecting and nurturing all of them according to my abilities, my in laws, my brother and sister and some of my and their closest friends too if necessary. I'm quite happy, although I don't trust anyone out there - though I don't drop the pretence that I do - and I regard humanity in general as a dreadfull and pathetic species of wasters and fools. Modern man appears no more than a blasphemy upon the earth. Even the occasional intelligent or good man I come across turn out upon examination mostly to be deeply ignorant. I judge myself no better, though I've come to gain greater understanding and respect for subjects of religion, religious principles and religious service. Best regards to anyone who came to read this far.

[Ibon]

Five years ago i also really believed that peak oil was the proverbial rug that was going to be pulled out from under our feet. The geology, ecological implications of overshoot, human psychology, debt base economic system, all these themes converged to point clearly to a coming watershed moment and opportunity for humans to transform. This time from external limits instead of some ideology. Now I am very skeptical about this. I don't see any watershed moment coming.

The peak oil story doesn't crystallize together any longer for me as this great catalyst of change. It will happen and there will be consequences but it will have a minor impact on our cultures ability to transform. Once that dawned on me I also felt released from a mindset that was filled with a futility. At some point I said to myself that this whole psychological orientation is dysfunctional.

About 2 years ago was when I started having this nagging doubt. And then one day I stopped the story line. I bought 400 acres here in a remote wilderness in Western Panama and have been immersing myself in my original passions of natural history.

I am much happier and fully engaged in where I am.

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ibon', 'F')ive years ago i also really believed that peak oil was the proverbial rug that was going to be pulled out from under our feet. The geology, ecological implications of overshoot, human psychology, debt base economic system, all these themes converged to point clearly to a coming watershed moment and opportunity for humans to transform. This time from external limits instead of some ideology. Now I am very skeptical about this. I don't see any watershed moment coming.

[MonteQuest]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Tanada', 'W')hen the Class of '05 starts one of these threads I always wonder how the class of '04 thinks of us. Many of them have fallen off the board for different reasons as time marches on but Aaron is still here.

[eastbay]

I would have joined this place earlier but I spent some serious focus time starting in the summer of '04 frantically and in a state of shock researching peak oil and its terrifying ramifications after stumbling across and reading the famous essay from the front page of LATOC starting with: "Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon." That was the glass of cold water in the face for me and an unexpected life changer for my family.

Within 18 months we had sold our house, I had retired early, and moved from a newer outlying California desert suburb to what we hoped then and still hope to be a more survivable environment in a somewhat dialed-down life without any mortgage or other payments. What a huge change that was for us! Wow!

I too expected to see more powerful signs of societal collapse by now, but I strongly believe like Monte suggests that it's still on but just not quite yet. But when it hits it's going to be a sucker punch knocking the wind out of the world economy tossing us all into a profound and deep final economic depression from which for most there will be no hope of escape.

And for some reason I still think of the '05'ers as newcomers.

[jdmartin]

Yeah, one thing I didn't mention was that I was lurking on here since summer of 2004, but never bothered signing up until 2005 because I didn't really know enough to post (as if I do now ). I also have far fewer posts than most that have been here this long, but some of you are so interesting to listen to that often I spend a lot more time listening than talking.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the time here, though. Sometimes it's a bit depressing, but I can always find news that is either buried or non-existent in the MSM. As for Peak Oil, I've come to the conclusion that Peak Cheap Oil is a bigger problem than Peak Oil. Peak Cheap Oil will destroy the entire western model economic system.

Without this site and my 5+ years here, I don't think I'd have a plan at all.