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Let's talk disintermediation
My sense these days is that nobody except me and maybe a few others work on fridays in America, especially on a cold and icy day like today. It is a slow day. So...let's talk disintermediation.
dis·in·ter·me·di·a·tion
noun. reduction in the use of intermediaries between producers and consumers, for example by investing directly in the securities market rather than through a bank.
Here is a recent illustration of the benefit of traditional intermediation, such as investing through a bank. Some other traditional intermediaries are Catholic priests, corporate farms, and your local police. Together, these represent four areas that I find particularly interesting when it comes to thinking about disintermediation:
- Wealth/Capital (gold, bitchezzz!!!)
- Relationship with a higher power (God, bitchezzz!!!)
- Food (garden, bitchezzz!!!)
- Security (guns, bitchezzz!!!)
Over the years, I have found many ways to practice disintermediation in each of these areas. I have written articles and comments and posted photos on Zerohedge about some of these efforts. Today, I invite you to discuss with me our successes, failures, and hopes in the comments section below. I am thinking this will be similar to an open thread, except I would like us to keep to the topic of practicing disintermediation as much as possible.
Here are a few examples to get us started:
- A great way to safely store a little gold is by placing 1/10th ounce krugerrands in an L.L. Bean money belt, and hanging it in the closet with a bunch of other belts. Hiding in plain sight, and readily portable.
- I found it helpful to write a Gratitude List of the things I am most thankful for, and placing it in a place where I see it every day, not just in the church on Sundays. In my experience, Veggie Tales is right...a thankful heart is a happy heart.
- Most places in America still have a county agriculture extension office where one can get a list of the plants that grow well locally, when to plant them, when to harvest them, how to protect them from pests, and how to fertilize them, etc.
- For home security, it is hard to beat a 12 gauge shotgun, loaded with 00 buck, and a weapon mounted light. However, familiarity with a shotgun gained by target shooting or hunting is highly unlikely to provide one with the ability to effectively use the weapon for defensive purposes, and When you are Suddenly Surrounded by Violence and Killing It's Too Late to Train, so take a Tactical Shotgun Course. It is a load of fun, and you will be suprised to learn that getting the hit on big-slow badguys, when it counts, is often much more difficult than hitting little-fast birdies.
Health and education are two other areas that come to mind where disintermediation can serve us well.
This may be a disaster, but let's see how it goes...
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This is indeed a huge problem. A good weekend-long Level I class, usually Tactical Pistol I, should cover the legality, equipment operation, and decision making processes extensively, hopefully getting the student to the point where the bad guys are the ones forced to make most of the tough decisions under stress.
The thing that saved that guy's life was that he stopped instantly, and it all turned out well. In a civilized society, that is probably the best outcome, but get rid of the security that we enjoy (i.e. if I go to Albertsons, I can get some hamburger and a loaf of bread right now,) and you're going to have to change your decision making process drastically, and also look at a pistol not as a "just in case," but rather as a tool for fighting your way to your rifle.
And yes, I could have made the wrong call because of the law and paid a dear price because of it.
There's a man code named FerFal, that has a blog on surviving in Argentina after it went to hell the first time Kirchner bought the election. He wrote a book also, but his web page is archived with many useful 1st hand accounts of surviving in a country going down the toilet. He has since immigrated to Ireland, just in time to miss the current laws making it a crime to have dollar$/gold. He tried to legally immigrate to the USA but was not able to overcome the paperwork hurdles (mordida$)
RICO all banksters and their hoe politicians, worldwide.
Was death or serious bodily harm for you, or a loved one, imminent? That is always the question here in Texas...and yes better damn well be the answer.
But to get back to the other important issue of food, you really should check out that landrace farming if you haven't already. The guy in the website that I linked to is a research chemist who used to work for a national lab, came to the conclusion that what he was doing was unethical, quit and took up farming. He applies the scientific method to his farming practices. I have a bunch of brassicas all planted next to each other that I'm going to let cross just to see if I get anything heartier in terms of growing that is also palatable. (Broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and cabbage are all the same species and will readily cross pollinate, and also are the brassicas that I am using. Kale is also the same species, but I didn't include it, and Brussels sprouts are as well, but I won't touch those things with a 10' pole.)
You brought up offices that will tell you what plants will grow well in your area. Many areas will also have some local nurseries that deal in local plants. I have one called Plants of the Southwest, and except for the blue corn lodging in 90mph (freak storm) sustained winds, I've had good luck with their stuff. For much of the southwest, there is also nativeseeds.org. If you are in a drier climate, I would look towards these places for seed, because a lot of their cultivars and species are adapted to hot dry climates. Tepary beans are one such crop to look at as they tend to be extremely drought and heat resistant, as in if you are patient, some of the varieties can be dry farmed in the Mojave desert.
Another thing to consider is Indian reservations. Since I've started gardening, I've noticed a lot of agriculture going on on the reservations. Often, this is with local varieties of various crops. If you are friendly with the natives, you might be able to score some locally adapted varieties from the rez. Of course, they may tell you to bugger off too. I haven't tried to acquire any yet, but it is something to keep in mind, while remembering that some tribes are more open than others.
And one thing that I run into is problems with some of the imported seeds. Much of your heirloom seeds come from Oregon. That's low altitude with a lot of water and overcast. If something that came from Oregon says "full sun," I have to be skeptical, living at 5000' with brutal sun and very few overcast days. Sometimes partial shade, or even full shade is best, regardless of what it says on the package.
Thanks for that, Cowboy. My winter garden can possibly improve with your advice. Currently all that's left is spinach. Of course, oniions and garlic are still OK. Raleigh area.,
As a Texas highway patrolman once explained, in a self-defense case there should only be one story.
"Anybody worth shooting once is worth shooting twice."
-Unknown
He was coming at me and he was lifting his shirt in a way that made me think he was going for a weapon. All the while he was yelling at me "FUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER! I'M GONNA FUCK YOU UP! FUCK YOU!" The scars from what I surmise to be cigarette burns on his neck also really tied the gang tats that they were intermingled with together.
So, what if he hadn't stopped and I hesitated anyway? It didn't go down that way, but it is a very real concern if you're in a confrontation.
Kill the light on shotty. No need if it's going south.
Instant on/off is the key...if you want to make sure the intruder isn't really your kid sneaking back in the house after sneaking out.
Indeed ... those stories are tragic and are used against in the gun ownership debate. A nice high lumen strobing LED in their eyes gives a few moments to discern the target.
You seem a little jumpy to me...
It's the french press.*
I have disintermediated myself from Starbucks.
Re: dissintermediating from Starbucks ... Me too. Mostly. Well, almost mostly. The Starbucks and a few other coffee shops in town know me by name and the double long shot upside down espresso con panna I drink.
I like coffee and love espresso. Have been doing the french press for years. And have some hand crank grinders too. Got a small espresso machine as a Christmas gift.
It's a double shot at home early morning before work and usually another double mid morning at one of the coffee shops near where I work. Can't drink the stuff past noon if I hope to get early to bed (and early to rise).
opps
be paranoid. ya, paranoid. since i almost always carry, my plan is simple-have an escape, the heat is last resot, i mean i've exhausted every means-talk escape ect. never sit in public place w/o full view of all going ons. tell the server where you prefer. always be observing your surroundings. see around corners mentally. you get the pic...
And every time you enter a public place, plan for the escape route (fire exit, windows, etc). It is quick look around, but the route may be different every time depending on furniture and crowd.
Practicing disintermediation is taking responsibility for yourself
Practicing disintermediation.....
Mental Health:
I have a sticky note on my desk that says: Humility.
I constantly glance at this word when confronted by intermediaries. It has stopped me from going into a tirade of verbal abuse and telling them to fuck off all the time. Now, I just politely say no thanks and not let the aforemention ruin the rest of my day....like it use to.
The little yellow sticky note does wonders for me.
Well. there are two of us in that perdictament. Nothing like waking up to a fresh day after dealing with; life.
Agree with you about gratitude - a thankful heart is a happy heart. A few people have said to me that I am the happiest person they know, and this week someone told me: "I drive past you walking your dog every morning and you are always smiling"
The challenge for me is remembering this in the heat of an argument, not so much on the morning dog walk.
Peace!
Smiles come in so many flavours ;)
I once had a fellow I was "mentoring" bitch, piss and moan about everything and wouldn't stop. I'd asked him numerous times to write a gratitude list, but no, he just kept on complaining.
So, I asked him, prior to our next meeting to write an Un-Gratitude List.
yes, list everything you have no gratitude for, anger, resentments, fears, etc.
He got the point, as he decided all the things he wanted to bitch about were not worth the time to write out.
If he had, we'd have redone his 4th step....
LOL
What is that, AA?
Edward de Bono. Tony Buzan's Mind Maps also a good thinking tool.
It is good wisdom and practice. Where comes from matters not, if it works.
+ 1 Good example of using lateral thinking to solve a problem
Good point! Lol. Self awareness and respect for others' opinions helps though. I haven't had an arguement for a very long time.
Half your point is great. There are some that are incapable of earning respect, so I just listen; especially if it's a manager then wander off or just excuse me, without the listening part if it's a peer.
Err...be grateful that you have that choice?
Cutting out the middle man sounds like a good idea in concept, but brings some of its own problems. For example, if I disintermediate between my breaker box and a licensed electrician, I might save a few bucks and solve the problem myself or I might die and make Mrs. Okie wealthy. Point is, there is something to be said for the value for an intermediary. Trouble is, an intermediary who does not also act the role of a feduciary can take take take and I've seen it happen. The breakdown is in ethics and loss of the golden rule.
"The breakdown is in ethics and loss of the golden rule."
Up 1000 for that.
The key to this is not just eliminating the middle man for cost issues but dependency. Understanding the basic principles of electricity, its practical applications in your home and how to make repairs goes a long way. Just because you hire a licensed electrician doesn't insure he really even knows or gives a shit what he is doing. Even going to a doctor requires some knowledge of medicine because many of these quacks are simple pill pushers getting kickbacks from drug dealers and processing as many patients in a day as possible. Its a lot of work in this complex world to really understand so many different things but that is what life has always been. Obsessions with personal entertainment is like plugging a pacifier in a baby's mouth. Dealing with what is in our lives IS living. As we see with HH, there is great power in growing and processing your own food. Not only do you actually KNOW what you are eating but actually gain satisfaction in the doing. As someone who has worked with my hands my whole life, the satisfaction from my work and from "living" is what makes it worth living. The sense of power that is gained from knowing you can face any challenge, not by calling 911 or even the local plumber, but because I have the knowledge to react. The crisis we are living now is the sense of helplessness. Everything in our lives has control removed from our hands. Those that seek to rule us either directly through the powers of government or the markets that sell us so much that compounds our dependency. Its almost like we have returned to the times when magic ruled people. Invisible powers beyond our understanding. The challenge is to own the tool, the technology, not have it own us.
May I presume you're a cabinet maker, or similar? I make my living (barely) making stuff out of metals and plastics.
These crafts are dissimilar at the micro level, but ultimately the same. We make stuff. We're dinosaurs. Everybody makes use of what we make, but almost nobody knows how it's done. People will tell us that robots can do what we do, so we're expendable. I dunno about you, but I use cnc machinery to make the stuff I make. They don't program themselves. They don't know how to troubleshoot themselves. They don't know what they're cutting, or what tools they're using.
The young folks seem to think that "stuff" materializes all by itself on the shelves of their favorite shopping outlet. I do, occasionally run across a young person who thinks what we do is "cool". When that happens, I try to show them how I do it. It never fails- Once they see what has to happen in the background before the cool stuff happens, they lose interest, quick.
Sorry for bendin' your ear, but I fear, not only for those kids, but for us- cos they don't know how to do "stuff".
I build mostly corporate custom furniture, some for people we discuss here on ZH. I design and build using 3 and 5 axis cnc routers and have been for almost 25 years now, starting out manually writing code until I could afford software. My biggest disapointment has been that so few have had any motivation to learn the technology or even take a leadership role. Its something I love doing and can't understand why more don't, but it is hard and dirty work in a world that seems to only aspire to slight of hand and easy money.
Thank you for bein' you. For future reference, I'm pretty sure it's "sleight of hand". It's a different word. That may be important, someday. I dunno.
Or you could spend 1 day learning all you need to know about AC electricity (insofar as wiring a house) 4 yrs and a "certificate" pfttt.
It's much easier to learn just enough to get yourself into trouble than to actually learn enough to get yourself out of trouble.
One day isn't going to teach you everything you need to and plumbing know about anything. I can do my own electrical work on either a residential or an industrial scale, but I still paid my electrician over USD 10k just in LABOR last year.
Having the option of disintermediation is nice, but I'm not sure it actually saves any money, since because I am intimately with what I am paying for- I am a much more discriminating consumer and I tend to avoid the low priced crap/miracle solutions/snake oil.
Urb, you're cool and smart, from what I can tell. I don't think HH wrote this article from the perspective of an individual who can contemplate paying an electrician $10K/yr.
Good onya'. Still, your position disallows your appreciation of diy.
Not consciously, but most people who buy a house do spend thousands on an electrician and they tend to amortize that expense by enriching the bankers for decades. My costs per ft2 were obscene, but this was for a mechanical and storage outbuilding on my farmlet, where I have been tinkering for a decade- raising both the bar and cost of integration into the existing complex system. But I think the same underlying truth holds in finance, and does so regardless of the magnitude of dollar amounts involved. A little knowledge and a big attitude can get someone into a world of trouble.
Look at the people who jumped on the gold/silver bandwagon two years ago (or 34 years ago) with the attitude/goal of "I'm gonna get rich quick" There are numerous and very serious reasons for seeking to disintermediate one's self from the Wall Street Banks and to have access to monetary assets outside of their control. However, it's hard to argue that the effective methods of doing so are cheaper, quicker, or easier.
At the beginning of any account application for a Wall Street "investment" account there is a seemingly innocuous question about investment GOALS, which is used to determine SUITABILITY of certain investments. The supposed financial professionals fuck this elementary foundation up -- from sunrise to sunset six days from Sunday, just as the uninitiated masses do as they are learning to walk without the Devil's crutch of the Wall Street criminals.
The intimate knowledge of plumbing, whether of Wall Street or the basement of my storage building is critical to developing shibboleths for separating those with whom I would seek to establish a professional relationship, from those who I would seek to avoid at all costs. If people are calling plumbers and paying them $100 hour to simply unclog toilets, then they are in serious need of more DIY skills. However, knowledge of how to unclog a toilet isn't going to help you deal with 30 pounds of portland (or mortar, I forget which) when it gets washed 12 feet down a 6 inch sewage stack by rainfall. Time isn't on your side, special tools are needed, and the cost of waiting includes replacing large pipes buried under heavily reinforced concrete slabs - so you find someone with the tool you need, experience using it, and start the negotiations way north of $100. I could construct an argument that I saved a shitload of money by calling in a specialist, but if one simply looked at the invoice for perhaps $400 and 40 minutes of work, and ignored the fully loaded costs of alternative courses of action they might not think so.
It's not that I don't appreciate the DIY group, it's more the DIY crowd's expression of disregard for the skills of professionals (as opposed to the masses of incompetents among the ranks of the professionals) that I have a problem with.
Yeah, I'm always wary of self-proclaimed experts. On the other hand, how many times have I told a customer "This is gonna cost extra because you fucked with it before you called me"?
"However, knowledge of how to unclog a toilet isn't going to help you deal with 30 pounds of portland (or mortar, I forget which) when it gets washed 12 feet down a 6 inch sewage stack by rainfall."
That's a real unfortunate circumstance, there. If you discovered it soon enough, you prolly coulda simply flushed it with LOTS more water.
Electricity is a piece of cake until you have to wire up some 4 way switches with a dimmer in a triple gang box. That will test your patience.
Or try shoving 5 pounds of 12 gauge shit from a 20 amp kitchen outlet into a 3 pound gang box. The knuckles scapes build character.
I replaced most of my switches, outlets and wall plates last weekend. Lots of trips to the panel and a few headlight battery changeovers.
Good times, good times
There's a reason the NEC specifies how many #14 and #12 gauge wires are permitted in each size box. I wired my entire house, two 200A panels nearly full.
I wired my shop, and fix shit around the house- and I can tell you this: At a run of 100 feet and 120 volts, it takes approximately 90 amps to melt #14 SJO.
That's some valuable information, right there- I don't care who you are.
lol...yeah, sometimes size really does matter!
Scratched around and found this, I had a good calc tool saved on another computer which is fried:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/wiresizecalc.html
But I can tell you it was a lot cheaper for me to plant another 200amp service pole, wire it up and have the power company connect than to run from the house 300ft. down to the pole barn.
Plus, it was a great place for another well, just in case ;-)
My immediate problem is that it's a clusterfuck to get three phase to a residence. Anywhere.
So, for now I have to maintain a domicile separate from my workplace. Costs me double. One of "those" things I just have to accept I suppose.
Ah, yes, I think I see...residential vs biz rate. The juice is the same, so it must be something locally.
In my circumstance, its two meters, residential rate.
nme within, i love you man, and i wish you no harm, but you haven't the faintest clue of where I'm coming from. Biz owners get jacked, plain and simple. Whatever you pay for your utilities, rest assured I pay at least double that rate per unit, or therm or whatever they wanna call it now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szdKx9O31A0
It ain't my cross to bear.