Comments

Episode-1389- Listener Calls for 7-18-14 — 47 Comments

  1. Just a quick reaction to Jack’s remarks on the podcast about Israel’s attack upon Gaza… I am in general agreement with Jack. My daughter-in-law is in Jerusalem right NOW so when she returns to the United States I’ll be able talk to her and report on conditions in Israel for you.

    That’s not much of a reaction, but if I didn’t say something, my silence might be interpreted as a criticism of what Jack said. Once I have a couple of hours to compose a proper posting, you’ll see that I am in 100% agreement in principle with Jack while quibbling about a detail here and there.

    I suggest reading, “Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East from 1776 to Present” by Michael B. Oren for a general history of the USA’s involvement with the general area and why Americans still care.

    I also suggest reading, “In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin” by Erik Larson for a history of how people looked at Hitler BEFORE anyone knew what he was going to do.

    Frankly… to support Jack here… the two majority political parties in Germany at the time were arguing so much that the people wanted a strong leader who would just fix it… so Hitler was appointed chancellor… an interim solution until the REAL politicians could get their act together. Big mistake.

    Gotta go.

    Alex Shrugged (an Orthodox Jew)

    • *As I understand it*, Hamas is hiding rocket launchers and other equipment in apartment buildings, etc. They preempt the bombing of that target with a warning to the residents to evacuate.

      Though it’s still a horrible mess, they are trying to minimize civilian casualties. It’s my understanding that the people Hamas has parked in those places may be shot by Hamas if they try to leave. I’m not sure how the Israelis are supposed to “solve” that problem but this is not the indiscriminate bombing of civilians.

      Ask any Palestinian living in Israel if they like living in an Israeli governed society…I sincerely believe anyone free to answer honestly will tell you they like it there and do not want to be under the thumb of Hamas or otherwise used as a political football.

      At the end of the day, Israel cannot find “common ground” with an organization whose stated goal is the elimination of the Jews.
      “Cease fire” is interpreted as “reload” in the Middle East.

    • Apparently this is not new…
      “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children.
      We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children.
      We will only have peace with the Arabs when they
      love their children more than they hate us.”
      — Golda Meir – Former Prime Minister of Israel, 1957

    • Update: My daughter-in-law is stuck in Israel. They have shut down Ben Gurion Airport due to rocket landing a mile from the airport. My rabbi-friend in Jerusalem says this is a bunch of hooey. It was THREE miles. However many miles, he thinks that this is a ploy by President Obama to kill the tourist trade in Israel and to force Israel into a ceasefire. I was shocked to know he thought this. He was a big Obama supporter and we had words about it. I’m glad to see he is finally coming over to my side on the issue.

  2. I think they have been lowering the Bar on the President ever since Clinton, maybe even before…but I know when G.W. was elected the people were ready for anyone else but slick Willie and a Pseudo- Texan fit the Bill, Then after all the years of war the people were ready for someone to come in and say they were going to stop the war and offer hope and change…now with all the lies over the last 6 years and him just being totally weak especially on foreign affair issues and the 100 million dollar vacation…I think you are right they will screaming for a person like Rambo to step in and take over…The people behind the scenes up there know what they are doing and they do it very well!

  3. Wow Jack, Remind me not to ask about personal liberty again!

    Didn’t mean to set you off there.

    Seriously though, the reason I asked was that a cousin of mine posted that she was physically ill sitting in the parking lot of her factory job the day after a vacation.

    She feels like a slave because she is, and you are right, she made some dumb decisions that put her there. I tried to encourage her and tell her how I made it out of the rat race 10 years ago now and she can to.

    Maybe that is the wrong approach, maybe I should be more frank with people and tell them, just quit making stupid choices!!

    On the comfrey that actually does help. The stuff I already have planted is the “wild” from seed variety, and the plants I picked up has much wider more rounded leaves. I just wanted to confirm that it was not what I already have, so I can plant it in more sensitive places, and it will be less likely to spread.

    • =) – I’m blaming the illness! 😉

      @BarnGeek –
      IMO, it wasn’t a good answer. For the simple reason that the average American doesn’t KNOW HOW to think for themselves.

      ‘Schooling’ is literally training in how to do what you’re told. And what you are taught, is that if you need to know something, you seek out an ‘expert’ and then do what they tell you to do.

      No thinking required.

      So yes, your cousin is responsible for her situation.. but how she got there? Its more likely she ‘did what she was told’ rather than ‘made bad decisions’.

      Its easy for someone thinking for themselves to say to someone who isn’t ‘just DO IT! (dammit)’. But its about the same thing as me walking up to a cripple and saying ‘just WALK damn you.. what’s your problem!’

      Thinking is a SKILL. Some people are born with greater or lesser thought abilities. As its a skill related to your brain muscle, if you’re not feeding your brain properly (medium chain fats) it doesn’t work properly.

      How can you help your cousin develop the SKILL of thinking, and then, of decision making? Until she has fully developed this skill, can you be her ‘external brain’ and walk her thru the logic of ‘better choices’?

      Think of it as physical therapy.. can you be her wheelchair, and then her crutch, and then her grab bar while you work her atrophied thinking muscle until its fully developed?

      (For the audience in general.. this is a BIG COMMITMENT so don’t take it on lightly..)

      So IMO.. yelling at a cripple for not walking is counterproductive.. if your goal is to help them to walk. 😉

      ‘Thinking is the HARDEST WORK there is, which is probably the reason why few engage in it.’ – Henry Ford

      ‘Never discourage anyone.. who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.’ – Plato

      Yelling, berating & accusation are not in the category of ‘encouragement’.. thinking that all people need is a kick in the ass so they’ll ‘wake up’ and their lives will suddenly get better is IMO a remnant of ‘slave owner’ thought.

      Is what you’re saying helping someone to move towards COURAGE or towards SHAME?

      • humor (sort of):

        ‘Five percent of people think;
        ten percent of people think they think;
        and the other eighty-five percent would rather die than think.’
        – Thomas Edison

      • I would never tell an actual cripple with the inability to walk to “get the hell up and walk” but I would damn sure tell a person who was making excuses but had the ability to walk to get the fuck up and walk, hell run. I might even poke them in the ass with a sharp object!

        People can’t think? My ass! People choose not to think.

        That said the same question on a different day may indeed of drawn a different tone to my response. As always it depends. But the core answer I have always given to this question is “thou must use thy fucking brain for thyself or thou shall be screwed for all eternity”. I might say it a little nicer at times but the answer has always been the same at the core.

        Did my response help Barngeek? IDK Will it help in anyway his friend? IDK

        Well Barngeek does think for himself so I don’t that he needs a ton of my help on that his friend again IDK, we all wake up or don’t according to our own lives. I do believe my answer likely helped many at the edge of true personal liberty with a kick in the ass right were it was most needed.

        But my job isn’t to wake up the fully sleeping zombie, it really isn’t. My job is to help those who have begun to wake up move on so they can fully wake up. If you are not already asking some really big questions about life, you are not yet ready for TSP. Frankly you won’t like it, it will be too hard, too much and too real. It will make you look at yourself and demand more from yourself.

        Not to mention the answer is accurate, there is no way anyone is going to develop ANY personal liberty in their own life without first accepting the responsibility to think for themselves. To say anything else is only to make a person comfortable in their misery.

        If you come to me and are fat, we are going to start diet and exercise NOW if you want my help, we are not going to talk about it. If you want my help building a business you better be acting 24 hours after my first piece of advice or I am done. If you want liberty, you are going to have to think for yourself or I cannot help you. If you are in debt you are going to stop spending TODAY or you will not be wasting my time, I won’t be working with you.

        My sister-in-law and brother-in-law bitch constantly about debt to me, I have nothing to say. This is the same sister-in-law I just sent on vacation on my dime with my wife. She couldn’t understand how we could afford it. I told her when you are ready to understand, ask and I will explain but as long as you have 4 different credit cards in your purse and you and your husband have separate bank accounts there is nothing I can do for you.

        Last time my bro-in-law and I talked about money he wanted my advice on investing. I told him there was no point, since he had no intention of fixing his debt problem he’d never have any wealth anyway. He told me “you don’t understand, being in debt is just how it is for everyone”. I said again, see I can’t help you. He pointed out that for years I have made more money than he has, I pointed out that even with that I SPEND A LOT LESS. Then we discussed football.

        There is no such thing as a person who can’t think for themselves apart from the truly mentally impaired. There are however, millions that choose not to because it is the easy choice. I will always tell these people the truth, it will be up to them as to whether they are ready for it or not.

        • ‘People can’t think’
          By this I don’t mean CAN’T due to a lack of thinking faculties.. I mean atrophy thru disuse (or in the case of many modern children ‘atrophy thru NO use’)

          The TSP audience is NOT the general public.. plenty of poking is expected/needed 😉

          Not putting words in your mouth, but it seems like some of the recent shows have had the theme of ‘do your own damn thinking!’ Which I would guess might be a reaction to a lot of people wanting you to do their thinking for them. =)

          Three quotes I ran into made me ponder the ‘Alex Jones’ phenomena..

          ‘The 3rd rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The 2nd rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The 1st rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.’ – A.A. Milne

          &

          ‘If you make people think they’re thinking, they’ll love you; but if you really make them think they’ll hate you’ – Harlan Ellison

          and finally..

          ‘Any man who reads [listens] too much and uses his brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.’ – Albert Einstein

          Its easy to latch onto a ‘minority’ leader, and substitute their thoughts for our own.

          Basically becoming alternative ‘ditto-heads’ instead of mainstream ditto-heads, and patting ourselves on the back for our cleverness.

          IMO.. a good information source is simply one that stimulates and expands the scope of your OWN THOUGHTS.. not one that does your thinking for you. Which is why I listen to the TSP.

          ‘The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.’ – Plutarch

          (sorry for all the quotes! 😉

        • There is a ton of truth in what you are saying Jack, but I so want to beleive Insidious on this…

          But thinking back I can say that no mater how hard I tried, I never pulled a single soul out of the matrix. Even the ones that said they wanted out.

          I help them out and they can’t take it on the outside. They don’t follow my advice or they don’t work at it and they fail. Then, they look at me, and say “it’s your fault…”

          “You said it was better out here, but the sunlight hurts my eyes! I want to go back!”

          And, they do… And, I am alone again.

          I think that is why I like TSP so much. It’s not so lonely here.

        • You just made me think of Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights where he won’t walk and he stabs himself in the leg LOL.

        • I almost said something about that in my response. I was thinking it!

        • Ok I’m going to weigh in on this.

          First and foremost, I’ll say that final line by Insidious
          “Is what you’re saying helping someone to move towards COURAGE or towards SHAME?” rings a major chord with me. So much so, I printed it out, and hung it up (next to an email he sent me the other week).

          Courage (which is self-confidence, basically) leads to action, and leads to one valuing oneself, particular one’s ability to handle life. Shame CAN get a person to start making small changes, which can build up courage, but generally it doesn’t work that way. In some ways it’s like training a dog.

          Everybody seems to have a predisposition to particular argumentation that gets them moving. For some, not all, its a well stated rational argument. Other’s it might be demonstration, or might even be something like explaining and then dragging them a long enough for them to catch speed.

          Some people (like myself) join the military and overtime continually have harnessed the fundamentals taught and experienced. Namely, that you’re really just about capable of anything you want, and the only thing stopping you, is yourself. It seems happiness, fullfillment, and resiliancy comes from releasing one’s death grip on safety, and ackowleding that you can only try, and that generally the results of failing, just simply aren’t that big of a deal. I have an uncle who I REALLY think falls into this category.

          The reality is all you can do is try to help somebody. Some people need bootcamp treatment, others need logical steps. Most probably need both.

  4. I wanted to drop my $.02 in response to offer another option to the caller who wants to record conversations with his father. With the disclaimer that I’ve used all the rigs Jack suggested and they all worked well for me, except an early version of Pamela, which kicked my butt, but that doesn’t apply to the caller.

    I’d suggest looking at the Tascam DR-40 (or similar digital recorders) as an excellent recording option for one on one interviews. I mount mine on the table with a tiny tripod. The onboard microphones should do the job but it also has 2 external microphone xlr inputs with phantom power, so you can go pretty much use whatever microphones you want. But I have the feeling if you keep your rig simple you’ll get the best interview.

    *** Whatever rig you use , I’d have a few practice conversations with a willing participant before recording with your father. That will help you work out microphone placement and level issues or whatever bugs with your computer, software or other rig pop up. More importantly, by getting familiar with your rig now, you can focus on your conversation more and your equipment less, which will greatly improve the quality of the content of your recording.

    Also ditto on Audacity is being a great audio software.

  5. I’ve made great sounding field recordings on the Zoom H4 and H4N, haven’t tried the new H5 yet. I’ve been able to get reasonable quality from a speaker outdoors from several feet away. All of the advice that Jack gave is really good especially about keeping the mic close. Every time you double the distance from the mic you get 1/4 the sound. When dealing with basic audio recordings I too use Audacity.

  6. Wow! I think we had an 8.4 Jackquake! 🙂 Loved it. I was reminded (forcefully) of my waking experiences. It didn’t happen at once and in some ways it continues as small compartments of overlooked conformity are discovered and challenged. My largest task is to accept fully that the whole dem/rep dichotomy is whack, despite feelings of support for the republican party that Ive nourished for most of my life. Each day I see proof that they are both the coinage of conspiracy and control, simply offering a different view to facilitate the divided sheeple masses. (I was once told by a Pathfinder brother that sheeple was a very derogatory term. I agreed but declared that sometimes it was nevertheless accurate.)

    Slowly but steadily, I break ties of favor and disengage from autonomous reactions as questions arise that have unpleasant answers. Waking up is sometimes painful. In fact, this is the only thing I can thank ex pres Carter for. Until then, I simply assumed that Washington leaders were hopelessly stupid, but during Carter’s administration, along with most that followed him, I was forced to conclude that no one could be that stupid and become president… unless there were powers unseen pulling the strings. (wheres my tinfoil hat?)

    Thanks for the rants, Jack. They serve to stimulate my own thought processes and give credence to evidence already acquired. Cheers!

  7. At 1:52:29 Jack states “Root biomass is (…) generally at least equal to above ground biomass for most plants and trees.”
    I have heard this claim for many years, though have not heard a source for the claim. Most of the roots from fallen or road-cut trees I see, indicate that the root mass is only a few percent of the above-ground mass. Exceptions include young trees, especially oak and eucalyptus trees with tap roots.
    “On the Maximum Extent of Tree Roots” shows most (though not all) trees have shallow roots:
    http://soilslab.cfr.washington.edu/publications/Stone&Kalicz-1991.pdf
    A recent trip to the Yosemite Rim Fire area showed that the 5 or so species of conifers toppled by the fire have very shallow roots which could have been as low as 1% of the mass of the above-ground tree.

    • First of all Steven, does it really matter?

      Secondly, there is no way to measure the mass of ALL the roots of a tree down to the tiniest little micro root hair.

      The roots you see of fallen or road cut trees are mearely a fraction of the root system as a whole. Does that mean that ALL trees have root systems that equal their above ground mass? No, of course not, some trees have very little space to grow, and some very compact material to get through, like rock, so those root systems don’t get that big. A conifer in the mountains is probably going to have a lot less extensive root system than a deciduous tree in a Northeastern hardwood forest.

      But, Jack was refering to the trees in a managed food forest, where the soil has been built over time, by a permaculture forester. In that system the tree is going to have a very extensive root system, and it will work exactly as Jack said no matter how massive the root system is.

      So agian, does it really matter?

      • I requested supporting evidence for an oft-repeated claim, and you just dismissed the claim, “does it really matter.”
        If you have any supporting evidence for the claim, please present it, if not, don’t dismiss the claim. Jack made the claim, I did not. If it doesn’t matter, then you are suggesting that Jack should not have mentioned it, and it doesn’t matter if tree roots are 1% or 75% of above ground biomass.
        Also, your statement, “But, Jack was refering (sic) to the trees in a managed food forest, where the soil has been built over time, by a permaculture forester.” is not true–you need to listen to the podcast again.

      • @Steven

        I’m not trying to “dog-pile” in or anything, but something you said kind of struck me oddly. You’re doing observation of tree’s via road cuts? While that certainly shows at least a little bit of the roots, it’s not going to show much of anything. There is little incentive for a tree to grow roots out or near a road cut.

        Here in southern Louisiana, I have seen some seriously washed out trees, and the roots were unbelivably huge. By washed out, I mean, the tree is still standing, but “all the soil” has been removed under the tree, making the tree suspended in the air just off its roots. One of which I’m speaking about is at the entrance to the Honey Island Swamp Gun range.

        I should take a picture of it and send it your way. Don’t quote me but I think its a live oak, maybe just a regular oak.

    • What you think you see and what is are very different. A tree with 1% of its total mass as roots would FALL OVER. The root structure of trees is well documented in many studies. The numbers bear out quite well, are there exceptions, sure, do they matter, no.

      • I am surprised by Jack’s reply.
        “What you think you see and what is are very different.”
        Ok, then look and a mature conifer in a road cut and tell me that the roots have any chance of being 50% of the above ground mass. Your response that what I am seeing is way off is not proof that I am incorrect. Remember that I did not make any claims, but instead am asking for evidence that your claim of 50tree/50root is reasonable. Your answer is not proof, just dismissal.

        “A tree with 1% of its total mass as roots would FALL OVER.”
        OK, then tell me what percent of a mature redwood tree is above ground. You preach to your listeners to think for themselves, however your respond to questions with proof by CAPITAL LETTERS.

        “The root structure of trees is well documented in many studies.”
        What does this have to do with providing evidence for you claim? Use one of the many studies as evidence–again, this evidence was my original request.

        “The numbers bear out quite well, are there exceptions, sure, do they matter, no.”
        This is a logical fallacy. You are setting up a straw man argument, which is one you can win. I am not talking about the exceptions, I am simply asking for evidence for your claim.
        This entire discussion is a good example of argument from intimidation, and is not an example of a fruitful, respectful discussion.

        • I am not wasting my time on your bullshit Steven, I really am not. You are looking at a “cut” one dimension of a tree, likely a dead one no less. Here is where I got my facts at the end of this show and the only reason I will provide it to you is I forgot to put it in the show notes. http://www.robertkourik.com/media/FAQ.pdf

          Ask any engineer and they will tell you that there is no way any tree of any size could stand for very long with roots only making up 1% of its total biomass, it simply doesn’t work. I don’t know what you think you looked at but I am quoting researchers that do this for a living. If you want to change my mind it will take a lot more than you saying so because you saw a tree in a road cut.

          However according to the California State Park system which knows a lot more about redwoods than you, “These trees have shallow root systems that extend over one hundred feet from the base, intertwining with the roots of other redwoods. This increases their stability during strong winds and floods.” http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22257

          That is a 100 foot CIRCLE by the way, yes I used all caps to make a point. Research on on sequoias has shown they have a matting, shallow, and wide spreading root system. There is no taproot. They only root to 12 to 14 feet deep even at maturity. A mature sequoia’s roots can occupy over 1 acre of earth and contain over 90,000 cubic feet of soil.

          You look at a slice like a cat scan and fail to understand what you are seeing.

          If you want to think for yourself fine but do some research, one hole doesn’t explain it at all.

          More from the national park service,

          “The root system of a fallen sequoia is a source of never-ending surprise since the flat plate of closely matted roots is relatively small for such a gigantic trunk. The roots extend out from the trunk in every direction for a hundred feet or more, and the feeding roots are very close to the surface of the ground. The giant sequoia develops no permanent taproot or other roots that extend deep into the ground, but sometimes a single root may grow out near the surface for as much as 200 or 300 feet toward water. It is truly amazing that the shallow and relatively small root systems can support such vast bulks against the storms of the centuries. The trees are nicely balanced, however, and even leaning ones generally have their larger branches concentrated away from the direction of lean. It is interesting to speculate upon the vast quantities of water and minerals that these roots must have supplied to the foliage of one of these veterans through the years. When a tree finally does topple over, the roots are generally broken off close to the base of the tree.”

          Now your objections are what we call quibbling. And I don’t have time for it.

          Basically you are objecting just to object and such is not productive and doesn’t warrant a well explained response, though in spite of that you just got a pretty good one. If you doubt what I claim from not on, YOU GO FIND A STUDY ON ROOT SYSTEMS and YOU DISPROVE IT.

          Caps are simply for emphasis, if you think otherwise such is YOUR problem not mine.

      • The links you provided do not give any evidence of what percent of the tree’s biomass is below ground. I am aware of all the info in the 2 links you shared. I am a College Biology Professor with two nature-based businesses.
        As for your request that I prove my assertion that your claim is invalid–this is not how critical thinking works. It is the responsibility of the person making the claim (i.e. half or more of tree’s biomass is below ground) to provide the evidence. It is not my responsibility to disprove your claim, as I was simply asking for evidence.
        If you are unable to be questioned in a professional manner, and respond to reasonable questions by labeling them as B.S., then those who think critically about what you say will just have to remain silent–as I will from now on.

        • Actually they provide plenty of evidence given the source. I think I am tired of you, I am under NO OBLIGATION to you Steven what so ever, you want to discredit my claims the obligation to do so is your own. You really are an arrogant individual to claim the obligation is mine. Critical thinking is something you clearly do not understand, at all.

          From a college professor who is proud of the fact I don’t generally expect much more though.

          Again you say I am wrong, prove it or don’t waste my time.

        • Steven are you serious?

          This is what I do not understand about people. It is very interesting and circular logic.

          I have seen something so where is the science that backs up your claim?

          Let us note that observation is part of the basis of science. But as ancient philosophers have proven from the pre-Socratics onwards observations lie.

          That is our senses would tell us things are how they are not. Take for instance a long stretch of train tracks in a straight line. When you stand on the tracks and stare into your horizon the tracks appear to come together.

          Do the tracks actually come together? No. But your eyes tell you they do. Yet your mind knows logically that they do not.

          Now how do you know you can trust logic?

          For instance if a man stands in a hallway with a door in front of him and say a lion behind him he will want to goto the door to get away from the lion yes?

          In order to move to the door he must first move half to the door yes? Then half way to the half way door. We can continue to cut in half the distance to infinity.

          Can a man cross the distance of infinity? No.

          Therefore our senses see movement but do we actually move?

          This is a paradox by a pre-Socratic philosopher. We can in fact prove there is a problem with this reasoning but it requires thought. But it also points out to carefully judging our senses.

          You have to understand dimensional space to make sense of what you see.

          If I remove your lungs you will say they look so big. But if I stretched your lungs out I could cover half a tennis court.

          A horse is not a mile long correct? But if i stretch a horse’s intestine out it can as long as mile.

          The question you also over look Steven is what does it all mean? What is the point to say if you stretched it out it would be such a distance? Because it is based on we perceive and in order to understand the magnitude of things we explain it such.

  8. RE: Congress. I buy most of your points. I will say that I’ve seen people on both sides of the aisle who have genuine good points. And I’ll put in a plug for Sen. Coburn [R-OK, not my senator, sadly] as a consistently moral and upstanding guy who fought his own party when it was deserved. The way he has tried, and his willingness to tell the truth to his own party as well, was really unique.

    With that said, I’m sure Rome had lots of sincere reformers in its latter days. How much did that help? Maybe a bit at the margins. The multiple compounding declines had too much force in them to be stopped – I’ll leave it to readers to decide if that’s our situation, too.

    What did matter? The early Christians lived differently, persevered, and drew in people who saw that they had a way that worked. They built enough enough success and infrastructure (and yeah, the latter was a messy and not always admirable process as it got tied to the fading empire) that they created a bottom for Europe’s fall. It would be a long time before Europe had what it had in Roman days again, but civilization didn’t snuff it.

    So I think the larger point is: worry less about Congress and what it’s doing. Support candidates if like them, don’t if you don’t. Treat it like a sport. Focus on what you’re personally building, being an example locally, and drawing in people around you in ways large and small.

    BarnGeek, I feel for ya. Just know that none of it is ever truly in vain. It just may take a while before the person either finishes rearranging their internal mental furniture, or external shocks make them say that “Holy —, X was right!”

    • Your congress is bought and paid for, any belief to the contrary is only an illusion. There is NO WAY around this. Once you know the truth you can’t believe otherwise, here is the truth. http://definingthemachine.com/

      It is all done via the party dues system. Send a alter boy to congress and on day one he gets a 9 dollar and hour telemarketers job and a BILL TO PAY. It is done, over, the end.

      Sad that anyone thinks what these people SAY means anything. Really sad, sure you agree with what some of them say, of course you do it is called marketing.

  9. I shert mulched a bed and mulched it with straw. Before any of my greens came up I had grass growing. Pulled the frass out and found it was coming from seed heads.I couldn’t keep up with it so decided to cover all but the one row of greens that came up with newspaper. I was out if compost by then so I topped it with some cheap potting soil from the grocery store. Big mistake. I think it may have been municipal sludge. Nothing would grow in it and one of the greens near it tastes horrible. I do finnaly have some red romaine that was under the newspaper growing through. I’m wonderimg if I should try to scape the soil off or just chop and drop the greens and mulch over for next year.

  10. Lol. It’s the cranky pants hour. In my youth, George Carlin was my beacon of light in a sea of bulls99t. We’ll be okay people. Imagine the odds of stardust.

  11. Hey Jack, I was disappointed to see you missed the simplest explanation for the Ukraine incident. I think it is a mistake to look for who has to gain anything from this event, and remember that you don’t need malice to explain this where absolute incompetence will suffice.

    I think the most likely explanation is that someone screwed up. I don’t know who screwed up, my guess is the “rebels”, but that is secondary. As you said, you can probably train someone in weeks or less how to press buttons on those missile systems, but it probably takes a bit longer to train someone to competently differentiate between a military transport and an airliner. I think the simplest explanation is that a half trained “rebel”, eager to get a Ukrainian aircraft kill notch on his figurative gun stock, for personal and publicity reasons, saw a bleep on his screen and not being able to tell the difference between types of bleeps rushed to press a button.

    The gear being likely smarter then the operator did the rest.

    Falling for conspiracy theories, on either side of this issue is not necessary, because people frack up. I don’t think anyone on either side had any interest in killing a plane full of civilians.

    • You know, the answer to that is a big fat ass NO. A passenger jet in a known route flying exactly where it is supposed to be shot down by mistake, BULLSHIT.

      Have planes been shot down by mistake before? Yes.

      Let me give you two things that have always been the case when it has happened.

      1. The plane was for some reason not on its exact course, every time, look it up.

      2. The nation that fucked up quickly fessed up and made every attempt to explain what happened and offer aid to families, etc.

      I am calling bullshit on this because the system is sophisticated enough that whoever did it damn well knows they did, not just the crew the nation. If Russia or the Ukraine did this by “accident” you would already know who did it and they would already be falling all over themselves to explain what happened.

      When you say, “Saw a bleep on his screen and not being able to tell the difference between types of bleeps rushed to press a button.” you demonstrate how easy it is to lead the current flock of sheep. It isn’t that simple, yes Russian equipment is more simple then US by you don’t just see a fucking beep on a screen, get confused and push a button, Jesus! Where do you people get these ideas.

      • I did look it up Jack, when the Russians shot down the Korean airliner they thought it was something else too, they thought it was a spy plane. Wrong place or not, they confused an airliner with something it wasn’t.

        Respectfully, I think you are rushing to conclusions.

        • Again

          1. It was not where it was supposed to be

          2. They claimed responsibility almost at once

          I have also not reached or CLAIMED any conclusions about what happened. The only conclusions I reached and voiced was YOUR GOVERNMENT IS LYING TO YOU.

          It is your government that has jumped to a conclusion and already built a case for it based on LIES, if you want to swallow it down like a good drone, go ahead that is your choice.

  12. RT is now reporting that a SU-25 was in the vicinity, and gaining altitude towards the flight.

  13. “I don’t want them teaching kindergarden, or throwing grenades at people”

    That is one hilarious ass quote. Too true about the not everyone in the military are heros. I’ve tried explaining this to my dad (also a former marine) but the brainwashing can be strong. The fact is, the military is one of the largest government agencies, and all US government agencies are more or less alike. The only difference is that the military does have people who have combat experience.

    Some people love to talk about “welfare queens”. The biggest “welfare queens” are typically in the military. I can think of quite a number off hand right this moment…

    The military has the dumbest of the dumbest, and the brightest of the brightest, and a good portion inbetween.

  14. Re: Yellowstone

    I saw a documentary a year or so ago about it, and their models indicated that the lava flows would cover all of North America, and that within the first few hours everyone on the continent would be dead (not just from lava, but earthquakes, ash, etc). So, yeah… there really is no way to prepare for that.

  15. Oliver North is a convicted criminal and furthermore a traitor.

    He was whatchamacallit by a president.

    He was a big part of the Iran-Contra affair that brought massive amounts of cocaine into this country. Yeah during the war on drugs he was part of the gang that brought cocaine into this country in order to arm the Sandinistas.

    He also gave up our positions in. Iraq during a war. He is a piece of sh$&. He is the scum of the scum.

    So if anyone pays that man money for information they are ignorant. Anyone who listens to that clown is an idiot.

    Then there is also the whining general Fox news loves to bring out.

    I too was skeptical when those clowns started repeating the mantra two years of training and beating the war drums.

    As a military man I know there is rarely equipment that is too complicated. Why? Because you need to be able to train to the lowest denominator.

    If a big time war breaks out you need to be able to train massive amounts of people of varying intelligence. Also consider many of thse weapons must be used by other countries that speak other languages such as NATO or for the Russians commie countries.

    Also note the rebels said the bodies were older than they should have been.

    Who can say but logic says it was certainly not the Russians. Also remember at one hand the media speaks of the high level of the rebel leaders as recent former Russian intelligence leaders and then they say the rebels are not able to operate a piece of simple equipment as being complex.

    Also would you create a device that is mobile and deployable and also a high priority target for an enemy with soldiers that had such a level of importance due to a long time training? It dos not make sense.

  16. Back in ’91 I interviewed my grandfather (72 at the time) and in a separate session my great uncle (77 at the time). I used a tape recorder that sat in a coffee table between us. The question was, start as early as you remember and tell me your life. I almost knew both of their life stories line by line from hanging around them since I was a kid. I was 19 at the time.

    Each recording took about 90 minutes. Nobody in the family paid any attention back then mostly because everyone was tired of listening to the same old stories. As people get older they repeat their stories every opportunity they get and then some.

    Now that both have passed (91 and 87 years, respectively) my uncle, aunts and mother have made copies of the tape. And the tape is kept in a safe place. I listened to it a couple of years back right after my grandfather has passed. I was surprised at how well the recording was captured by that old tape recorder.

  17. Jack,

    How does chop and drop release nitrogen into the soil instead of into the atmosphere. In a composting process the nitrogen is the fuel to combust the carbon, but when a branch just sits on the ground, how is its nitrogen released into the soil?

    • Well you are supposing that in composting first of all that all nitrogen is released, it isn’t. Compost is usually a 1-1-1 fertilizer.

      Second that is with turning and what have you and “cooking” which uses the nitrogen as fuel.

      The natural process of “composting” on a forest floor is slower, cooler and doesn’t off gas as much.

      Lastly the layered effect of a natural mulching actually forces some stuff that would off gas in a turned hot pile into the ground.