Okay, as usual I have something to say unrelated to today’s article. Not only must I say it, if I don’t there is a very good chance that my head will explode. Do you really want that on your conscience? I watched one of the few remaining TV shows worthy of my time last night, NCIS
( remember, I’m writing ahead several days ). And I can’t believe the crap they pulled. I mean, I enjoy perhaps at most a half dozen TV shows anymore to the point I miss them if they are reruns or pre-empted by “How I Was A Survivor On American Idol Where I Met A Bachelor”. I’m not asking for the world to expect those shows to live up to my expectations. But no, the syphilitic asshats at CBS decide that they are going to ruin NCIS. Was it getting too expensive, actually having to share a bit of the profits with the creators and actors? Are you looking for an excuse to cancel it as the ratings go down? Gibbs lets the guilty gal go and lets another guy take the blame for a murder. Oh, he deserves it since he is a drug dealer! Excuse the holy living MoFo’en crap out of me! The only show that lent an air of innocence to federal law enforcement officers ( true, unrealistic, but a refreshing fantasy ) has now joined the ranks of all the other LEO shows that glorify screwing over people and the Constitution because “they deserved it”. The guy is bad, so it is okay to plant evidence or lie on the stand against him. I know this is par for the course, what pisses me off is that Hollywood loves to be front in line in the propaganda war brainwashing us into thinking it is okay. And this is by the same guy that brought us Magnum P.I
., the greatest love story ever between blood lusting viewers and the 1911A1. My friggin blood is boiling, let me tell you.*
On yet another unrelated item but at least somewhat closer to survival related ( by a stretch, granted ), the mathematical proof of yet another corporation holding us down and violating us with no lubrication. Sure, you don’t have to buy from them, but “buyer beware” shouldn’t be the motto of business. AmeriGas, those monkey molesting whores who offer you the convenience of pre-filled propane canisters, really screwed me over worse than I realized. Prior to moving to the Compound
I had four propane tanks. Two came with the trailer, seven gallon jobs, and I bought two five gallon units on sale for $15 each years back. So of course when I wanted to stock up on some more I had quite the sticker shock in store for me when they were at best $35 each. It was the cheapest to just buy an AmeriGas tank already filled at China-Mart. Then, because I didn’t know who was actually open on the weekend to refill ( the town rolls up the sidewalks at 5, other than the casinos ), I just kept going back and exchanging tanks. I knew I was paying a bit more, I just had no idea it was more than 50% more. I never ran the tanks out, not wanting to freeze number 4 if she ran out of propane while I was at work ( with AmeriGas I would flip the tanks back and forth to use up the last of it ). But now that I don’t have to worry about that I just keep running the heater until the gas runs out. I kept careful tract of propane use and with the AmeriGas tank I never got more than 82 hours out of my Mr. Buddy
heater ( mid 70’s was the norm ) set on low. That was 26 cents an hour. Now I’m getting more than a hundred, and with refilling it rather than exchanging it, my cost is 15 cents an hour. I haven’t used AmeriGas in awhile, just the first few months, but I still don’t like getting screwed. Rot in Hell, you scum sucking jagoff’s.*
Certain Yuppie Survival Guru’s tell you not to bother with pennies
, that it isn’t worth your time since they are only worth one and a half times face value. In that aspect, you wouldn’t get very far buying too many extra MRE’s. However, if you save the copper pennies because they are a precious metal, and if you keep history in mind, it is worth straining your eyes to pick out all the pre-82 coins. I say, better to put the kids to work, or deny the wife your favors if she doesn’t go through the coin jar, but even if you have to do it it is far better to occupy yourself that way when the commercials come on. There is going to be a lot of copper metal coming in as uninsulated buildings are torn down and gutted for their components. But a penny is already stamped into a coin and will be the preferred trading unit for small purchases. Right now, two or three cents ain’t spit. But in a post collapse economy the penny will buy a heck of a lot more than it does today. Let’s look to 1853 in Texas and 1861 in Wisconsin. This was pre-oil, pre-Greenback
, and even if Industrialism was racing ahead you were still predominately agriculture based. I think it realistically reflects an economy with sound money and with no carbon fuel goosing. Or close enough. By the way, the site I found with these prices also listed a link to a book reprint for the traveling settlers. http://www.kancoll.org/books/marcy/machap01.htm
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Pork was 11c a pound. Bacon 12. Fresh beef was a nickel a pound. Flour four and a quarter. Coffee 12c a pound. Rice was 8. Wheat 63 c a hundred pounds. Rye 40, Oats 16. Corn a quarter a hundred pounds. Eggs, 16c a dozen. Butter 16c a pound. Potatoes 18c a bushel. Lard was 12c a pound. Obviously, a penny bought a lot back then. Or, I should say, a coin with X amount of copper. Obviously, in a peaceful economy. We might get there in your lifetime. And if we do, just a few handfuls of pennies will buy many weeks of food. Instead of 1/5 of an MRE
today. I think with no more oil and all the easy ore already mined, they might even be worth more tomorrow than they were a hundred and fifty years ago. Hoard pennies, they WILL be worth the trouble.END
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15 comments:
I enjoy listening to talk radio when i drive(Glen Beck)He and most other talk show whores keep harping on gold,for hundreds of dollars you get an ounce bar,big whoop,just tryin use it!or even funnier spend ten thoussand dollars and hold several bars in your hand.A much better deal is just about anything else!food,booze,smokes.At least worthless money can be used to wipe your butt!So im curious how much you spend on propane now,a week?RW
I'm Just getting started in all of this and I have looked for, but cannot find, an explaination anywhere that states exactly HOW a full copper coin will be of any value with out the "full faith and credit" of the issuing authority. Please explain. I thought that being my own metal smelter went out with Mao's "great leap forward". I'm not trying to goad or be a smart a@@, I just do not get it.
I'm using four hours a night of propane, after I get home from work. The place gets a bit chilly with no sun or heat before 6, which makes taking a shower after work interesting. The value of copper is universal, it doesn't need a government backing. We're talking after trade resumes.
hi,
really enjoy your ramblings. Just a question; i live in western australia, and literally no one i know is even remotely interested in prepping or survivalism at all. i'm doing my own preps anyway, but how do you think this will affect me when the baloon goes up?
i'm looking to apply for some firearms, but it is a really tough process, so count me as unarmed.
Kingtiger- Hell, I don't have many people around me that are interested. At least I can shoot some of them if need be. I think being an isolated prepper is universal. Supplies are for getting through the collapse. Skills will let you rejoin a tribe after. A group is nice but unlikely for most. Hunker down alone, but plan on joining the village after. How about a crossbow? Mad Max it.
Save Nickels too. They're worth about 7 cents apiece. I have plenty of both saved for judgement day. Thanks Jim for for posting an important blog.
I save all my change, nickels according to the yuppie survivalists being worth the most for metal, the copper and zinc pennies both for making batteries and stuff, the quarters and dimes are just pretty and counterfeit-proof being sandwich coins.
In the coming times, they'll all be real money as opposed to the toilet paper we use now.
You need to consider other heaters, a Coleman pump-up lamp gives even more heat than light and so on. Really. The "butterfly" kero stove is also a heater of course, $50 from St. Paul Mercantile. Do it while you're still integrated enough into the system to be able to buy online.
In my own case I can't. Almost all internet video, and almost all discussion sites, are off limits now. And hardly worth typing on at manual-typewriter speed anyway.
This is why I'm not crying over NCIS, I've never seen it. I see one movie a year. I have an AM emergency radio, a police scanner and hope to get a shortwave, all powered or can be powered off the grid. Sure, I could spend some money on a newer computer, but if the whole thing's going down in 6 months to 2 years, it makes no sense.
You're still being a yuppie-puppy and I'm planning for DOOM.
Terms to learn: Tract/track
I'm not sure copper would really be that rare, post-TEOTWAWKI and after trade had started up again. In a genuine SHTF scenario there will be a huge die off, so there will be probably 50-80% of the population gone. A lot of copper pipes in old homes. And a lot of gold wedding rings on dead fingers if you think about it. What's gold or silver going to be worth then, when it's practically laying around? (I know that's an exaggeration, but you get the drift).
Someday after the population comes back, sure. But probably not for awhile after things settle.
gibbs let his ex-mother-in-law off the hook. thought I was the only one that noticed. do those buddy heaters work good?
tennis shoes(sneakers)sweat sock, a bar of soap. a armament obtainment kit.if I have to explain the use of these items to your readers, they deserve to die.
Keep in mind that in 1853 the U.S. was still using the old large cent. The prices would be higher using the new coinage.
Another gov. F.O.
source: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art25940.asp
cut and paste: This was accomplished through the Coinage Act of 1857. The Act authorized a new smaller cent.........
DW
hi tiger, how's the water situation in your area ???
well, if the corporate whores are pumping and dumping gold. don't buy but hold onto it....
silver, copper, lead... and practical stuff you'll use.
the rascals have compromised for a 75% spending increase this year. so the big bitch slap might not happen until after the next election....
still plenty of time to prepare and think about the UGLY time ahead and mitigate the damages to your personal 'pleasure dwell'....
light & love
i'm looking at getting a bow. there are plans to ban bows and crossbows afoot, so i'll have to get moving. Add to that i still rent a house, as the average price here in $475k for a tiny little piece of land with a poorly constructed house on it, and putting in a garden, or keeping any real quantities of supplies becomes a major issue.
Lord Bison,
Tell us about living underground and the future of the Bison compound. How do we seal the walls and insolate and cover the roof?
At one of our Walmarts, they are selling black 5 gallon buckets. They are a little shiny, nothing that some sandpaper could dull, but I would think if you would fill them up with water, set them out in the sun in the morning and by the time you get home from work, that water would be mighty warm for taking a shower. If you can only find the white buckets, some flat black spray paint on the outside would do the trick. Should save you from heating up the water using propane.
Jim,
The real reason you are gettin' screwed on your propane is because Amerigas does NOT give you a full 20# tank to begin with. They were sued a year or so ago and they now print the disclaimer that their exchange cylinders actaully have less than the 20 lbs. (4.7 gallons at 4.24 lbs/ gal.)a full cylinder should have. Another company, Blue Rhino, pulls the same stuff. If you check the label, I think you you'll see you were only getting something like 12 or 15 pounds at most. Anyway, exchange cylinders are fast and easy, but you really need to watch whose cylinders you use. The very best way to purchase propane is in bulk, if possible. That may pose problems for some as the propane companies require credit checks, signed customer conytracts and some require minimum annual purchase amounts or a fee is incurred. If you can navigate these small obstacles, you will be paying considerably less per gallon than one would with an exchange cylinder. Well-heeled preppers may wish to have a 500 or 1,000-gallon tank set at their house, complete with a "wet line". Although typically frowned upon by the propane suppliers, a wet line will allow you to dispense liquid propane into the cylinder of your choice, at the time of your own choosing. Post TEOTWAWKI, an invaluable survival tool. Either way, one would be well-advised to keep as much propane on hand as one can afford and store safely. While we're on the subject, never place a propane cylinder indoors! Propane expands 27 times more than water when heated and can pop the relief valve open unexpectedly, saturating the area with an explosive mix of air/propane. Propane is an extremely versatile fuel, but like all fuels, must be respected.
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