Category Archives: lifestyle

Is it Safer to Work Offshore in 2013?

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Is it Safer to Work Offshore in 2013?.

Well, I don’t really know. I would like to see some statistics on how it compares to back in say the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. Personally, I think its probably a LITTLE better. The companies I’ve been working with are constantly harping on safety. They go on and on til its coming out our ears. But I still hear of people doing really stupid things. Like that fire on the platform back in November last year , due to improper welding operations (http://www.blackelkenergy.com/news/67-explosion-and-fire-on-gulf-platform-occurred-during-welding-contractors-failed-to-follow-standard-safety-practices.html) . I mean, jeeze…

What the hell is it going to take?? I get sick and tired of being treated like a moron when I go to work. The company has to tell me how to get dressed in the morning? REALLY???

I’ve only been working offshore (professionally) since 1977! Having to re-take classes like BST (Basic Safety Training) or Rigpass really gets old. I mean, who forgets how to put on a life jacket??? What’s new in shipboard fire fighting? We have the same classes of fires we’ve always had (except they now label a galley grease fire as “K” for kitchen I guess- trying to make it SEEM like there’s actually something new). We fight them the same way.

I think the way to make things safer offshore is to concentrate on creating a culture of personal responsibility!!! Get people to understand that they can do what they’re going to do but THEY are responsible for their actions. They’ll pay attention if they know THEY are going to pay the price if anything goes wrong.

The fact is that we have all sorts of programs out here that SEEM to encourage safety. Instead, they take the ability to THINK about and then CHOOSE their actions away from people. Take away options from people and you take with it their responsibility. You can only BLAME them then, since you’ve taken away any REAL choices.

It seems to me these companies love to send people to these classes so they can tell the world, “it’s not OUR fault those people got hurt. After all, we sent them to training. They should have known how to do the job properly without getting hurt.” Yeah, like a day long class is really going to teach someone ALL they need to know to work safely out here. I don’t think so!

I’m NOT saying we need to go to any more classes!!! What I AM saying is that once a person goes through those very basic classes, they have only the bare minimum of knowledge. We can and should use the time spent in our weekly drills and safety meetings to train people PAST that bare minimum!

Those of us out here with some experience need to take into consideration that SOME of the people we’re working with are almost totally ignorant! From my perspective, it seems like a lot of the incidents are happening with relatively new people. We need to concentrate our efforts on training THOSE people! We need to keep a good eye on them. We need to take the time to really MENTOR them. We need to be generous with our time and our knowledge and not keep it to ourselves in fear of losing our jobs to the newbies…

It would help a LOT if we were not constantly having the crew size cut and cut and cut some more! OK, this below is referring to shipping and not so much drilling since I don’t know too much about drilling yet (but its probably still relevant)…

A typical ship used to carry a crew of 45-50 men. Now they sail with half that (and LOTS more work to do)! Some COIs (Certificate Of Inspection) will allow only 17 man crew (or less). This is for a 1000 ft long tanker!!! ATBs (tug/barge combination) which can run up to 600-700+ feet long, can be run with less than 10!!!

Check out the REAL results of the investigation into the Exxon Valdez incident. You’ll find that it was actually caused by the fact that the entire crew was exhausted and had NOTHING to do with the Captain at all. He could have been totally sober or drunk as a skunk and it wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference.

They passed the 12 hour rule after the Valdez spill to remedy that. There are work hour restrictions in US law and in the STCW. So it applies to pretty much ALL shipping worldwide. That does include all the larger oilfield support vessels. I don’t know how the drilling industry has escaped notice on this but I don’t know of anything similar that they have to abide by (I might just be uninformed on this point- any drillers to comment?).

Ask any sailor around the world how well they follow that rule. I can almost guarantee you they’re being ‘forced’ by their company policies to break it constantly. Of course, company will never admit it, will blame it on the crew if it ever comes up, and will deny they ever had any idea it was happening 🙁

Being tired is one of the leading causes of accidents. I would think that would be one very easy solution to vastly improve safety. But of course, it would cost some extra money to hire a few extra hands. Is that gonna happen any time soon???

Safety first??? I don’t think so 🙁

Chinese cockroach farmers are making a bundle selling pulverized bugs for $89 per lb.

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Chinese cockroach farmers are making a bundle selling pulverized bugs for $89 per lb. – Quartz.

OK, I have to admit, I REALLY don’t like cockroaches. Especially these big ones. Or the ones we get down South near the water where I live. We call ’em Palmetto bugs. I’ll never forget the night I was just falling asleep. It was a hot muggy night (so no covers) and one of those huge suckers flew across the room and started crawling up my leg. I must have woken up half the block with my screams!

So, the idea of people actually FARMING these things just gives me the creeps. Maybe its just me? The Chinese people seem to think there’s some real good medicine in these things. I just remembered this exhibit I saw at the Chinatown Heritage Center in Singapore last year.

Sign at the Chinatown Heritage Center, Singapore

Sign at the Chinatown Heritage Center, Singapore

I guess if you grind it up and add enough other stuff to it, you might not even notice it going down? I do try and taste different foods when I’m off traveling, but so far, the only bugs I’ve managed to try were some ants -chocolate covered- that helps 😉 – and some kind of grub they had at the ‘tasting kitchen’ at the New Orleans Insectarium (http://www.auduboninstitute.org/visit/insectarium). Those tasted almost exactly like that Honey Nut Crunch cereal. They did have other flavors, but I was OK with just trying that one 🙂

Tasting room at the Insectarium in New Orleans

Tasting room at the Insectarium in New Orleans

Trying out some of the taste 'treats' at the New Orleans Insectarium

Trying out some of the taste ‘treats’ at the New Orleans Insectarium

I do see plenty of people in Thailand and Indonesia snacking on grasshoppers, water beetles, grubs, etc at the bars I go to. I always figured they must just be drunk. I never managed to work up the nerve to try any of those larger samples. Maybe next time…

Learn how to prepare your pests for tasty treats!

Learn how to prepare your pests for tasty treats!

Or maybe not. I did read something recently where the scientists were recommending that we should ALL start eating insects. It would go a long way towards helping to feed all the starving people around the planet. Yeah, they are a great source of protein. Yeah, they cost a lot less to produce, they don’t cause as much damage as cattle, they’re easy to raise… yada, yada, yada. Personally, I would prefer people start using birth control before we’re all reduced to eating bugs for breakfast 😉

Music Review: Neko Case – The Worse Things Get …

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Music Review: Neko Case – The Worse Things Get ….

This was in my email recently. I love that magazine Utne Reader. They always have such interesting stuff. They even send me email updates  a couple of times a week. They do great film, music, art, book reviews. I might subscribe to them just for that. They also have really good writing and very different viewpoints from some of the other magazines I get. Pretty much totally opposite from Reason magazine for instance (which I also love- “free minds and free markets”). You won’t find much of the stuff they print in the mainstream magazines like Time either. They used to call themselves “the best of the alternative press”, now they say “cure ignorance”. I love it 🙂

Organizations, Activists Lining Up To Sue Against NSA Surveillance

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Organizations, Activists Lining Up To Sue Against NSA Surveillance : PersonalLiberty™.

I’m thrilled to see this lawsuit moving forward. In the case of First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles vs NSA, the court will be considering if it will allow the illegal, unconstitutional spy programs of the NSA (and other) goons to continue.

I would LOVE to see the courts throw this out and tell the NSA to shut its doors forever. I’m happy to see so many groups join in with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the National Lawyers Guild, Patient Privacy Rights, and many others to fight for our rights. I wish them complete success.

I have to say I have my doubts anything will really change even IF they manage to win a total victory in court. The people who work for these agencies have been brainwashed to believe that by trampling on our constitutional rights they will somehow save the country. Instead they destroy it with their police state tactics. 🙁

The “Domestic Terrorist” You Can Call a Hero

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The “Domestic Terrorist” You Can Call a Hero | Laissez-Faire Bookstore.

It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” — Henry Ford

I don’t know about a hero, but I certainly do admire the guy. Anyone who would put his life at risk to do the right thing the way he did gets some high-fives from me 🙂

“Our” leaders have almost completely destroyed the value of the dollar since the congress abdicated their duty and turned it over to the Federal Reserve (a PRIVATE, totally unaccountable group). Here’s a link to a chart showing that.

http://tribes.tribe.net/2012the-end-times/photos/013e009e-f1eb-4021-8884-b13e7f477588

Here’s a guy trying to provide a very needed service to the public, and they arrest him! We DO need REAL money (and NOT the crap paper they try to pass off on us).

Bernard Von NotHaus with his Liberty Dollar and the anonymous inventor of bitcoins have done us all a great service. We NEED some competition with government money. Monopolies are usually not very good for the consumer of whatever product it may be. Government monopolies are even worse, since they are backed up by FORCE.

I could go on and on about the financial mess we’re in (and I will eventually) but I think I better take a break for now 😉 Read up on this post and let me know if you want to hear more. I’ve got LOTS of good information on this subject and its really something we should all be paying some attention to at this point in time.

Update on M/V Gold Star

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Here’s an update on the Gold Star. The ship with the cargo of $80 million or so in hash/marijuana/weed. This one has a video to watch.

It looks like an ‘exciting’ chase. At least for the authorities. I can’t see how anybody could still be on the ship. Maybe there’s still someone in the engine room? The entire house is in flames! Looks a little strange to me. I have no idea what hash is worth these days but the cargo holds look empty…

.http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Video-Smugglers-Set-Ship-on-Fire-in-Mediterranean-2013-09-09/

Nautical Institute- The Navigator

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A ‘real’ way of life: enjoying the rewards and challenges of a career at sea

In this series, The Navigator speaks to current navigational personnel about their motivations, careers to date and thoughts for the future. Under the spotlight this issue is Officer Cadet Thomas Chitseko, who is currently undergoing final preparations for his orals examinations.

What interested you in a career at sea?

Seafaring is a way of life: a vocation rather than a job. This appealed to me as, having tried a couple of 9-5 jobs, I realized that I wanted my work to be an integral part of my life, not something that I did in order to pay for my ‘real’ life at the weekends.The opportunities to travel and to spend my youth doing something other than looking at a computer screen were also strong motivators.

What career path has led to your current position?

I studied International Relations at the London School of Economics in the UK and worked in e-commerce and for a corporate communications consultancy for a while before coming to sea.

Where do you see your career going from here?

I hope to complete my training and take up an appointment as a Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) deck officer over the next twelve months. The unique role of the RFA provides developmental opportunities that tally closely with what I want to get out of my career at this stage.

What’s the most important aspect of being a watch-keeping officer?

It’s crucial that watch-keeping officers are instilled with a sense of professionalism corresponding with the responsibilities that they hold. The mission of The Navigator to develop and promote the professional identity of the modern OOW, is a vital one.

What are the greatest rewards of your life at sea?

I have enjoyed the opportunity to get ashore in some exotic places and to develop my understanding of the world. I’ve also met some interesting and entertaining old (and younger) salts at college and aboard the ships on which I have sailed. This said, it is the expectation of taking responsibility for driving ships, and the motivation that this provides to become a capable OOW, with all that this entails which, has been the greatest reward of my time at sea so far.

What do you think are the greatest challenges for future navigators?

Getting heard ashore. We are living at a time where technological advancement should be making navigation more safe and effective than it has ever been. However, partly due to the fragmentation of the maritime sector and substantially due to the distance imposed by working at sea itself, the feedback mechanisms for getting lessons from the coal-face of seafaring integrated into the regulations, training and technology that will shape the future of the industry are not, in my opinion, all that they could be.

PS-I didn’t write this post (above). I tried to link this to the website since they say feel free to share and I thought this was a good article in their publication “The Navigator”. I couldn’t get it to work or the photo to transfer. Sorry. The link to the Nautical Institute is www.nautinst.org you can find the Navigator there along with lots of other great information for seafarers and all the latest DP news

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One Weird Trick to Fix Farms Forever

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One Weird Trick to Fix Farms Forever | Mother Jones.

One weird trick? Seems like this ‘trick’ has been around forever, it’s just our modern factory farming techniques that tend to overlook it.

I don’t really know enough about farming to say with a definite yes or no to any of this stuff. I have been learning more about it lately and I’m coming to find out that contrary to what our government schools are telling us, that no, factory farming is NOT necessary to feed all the people on this planet now.

I always thought that because of the humongous amount of people running around and needing to be fed, that factory farming was the ONLY solution. Now, I’ve been learning, it isn’t. In fact, it is causing a lot of harm. Not only to the animals, but to the water, to the soil, to the plants, to the people involved in the farming, AND to all the rest of us.

Check out the article, read it all the way through and even the comments at the end. If you want some more info, check out this book I read called “Genetic Roulette” on GMOs (they even made a movie out of it). We’re working on showing that one at our local (Campaign for Liberty) meetup groups movie night sometime soon. Or another movie called “Farmaggedon”. There are lots more but those are a couple of good ones that’ll open your eyes and get you started asking questions. I’ve been a fast food junkie my whole life and they did open my eyes to a lot of things. Even tho I’m still eating all the crap food, at least I’m learning 😉

Don’t Lather, Don’t Rinse, Don’t Repeat

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Don’t Lather, Don’t Rinse, Don’t Repeat | Mother Jones.

Another instance of the law of unintended consequences… here we go with the use of (usually) expensive face cleansers causing environmental damage due to the inclusion of ‘microbeads’ in the formulas. What’s the matter with just using plain old soap and water to wash with? I almost never use anything else and most people say my skin is still in pretty good shape. Even after a lifetime of working on the water. Most of it outside in the sunshine (and I DO get sunburned easily). I have to admit, I do use some lotions sometimes. Usually just the ones I’ll pick up from the hotel rooms when I go to work, they smell real nice 🙂

Growing US Police State: War on Drugs

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Growing US Police State: War on Drugs.

Here’s another excellent article from Global Wealth Protection (GWP). This one written by Paul Seymour. Its a good reflection on how far we’ve come from once being the land of the free, to becoming a police state. Besides wasting over $90 BILLION (just in the US) to prevent people from living their lives the way they choose, we have restricted ALL of our lives and turned this country into a full-fledged police state! Don’t believe me? Watch the video!

Maritime Monday for September 9th, 2013

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Maritime Monday for September 9th, 2013: Movies About Sailors Part II; Shape Ahoy! | gCaptain

Maritime Monday- movies about sailors part II. Thanks to gCaptain and MonkeyFist for putting all this together every week. There are lots of good old movies in the mix here. Pretty entertaining…

What SwedenCare Can Teach Us About Obamacare

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What SwedenCare Can Teach Us About Obamacare – Liberty Crier.

Excellent article in the Liberty Crier about Obamacare. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am totally and completely against Obamacare or any other type of socialism/communism that isn’t completely voluntary. Of course, Obamacare is based totally on FORCE.

That alone should be enough to discourage anyone from accepting it. In addition, it flies in the face of the laws of economics AND the laws of human nature! How on Earth could ANYONE think this will turn out to be anything but a major disaster?

The article explains it all a lot better than I can. Please take the time to read it to the end (and comments below). It really does a good job of explaining the situation.

For-Your-Own-Good Tax

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For-Your-Own-Good Tax.

A good article from Kelly Diamond writing for Global Wealth Protection. She mentions a few instances of taxes that have been enacted “for-your-own-good”. One of which is the law stating that you MUST wear a seatbelt or pay a huge fine. This has been a pet peeve of mine for years, so I’ll concentrate on that one in my comments and you can read her article for the others (rain, sunshine, recycling).

I have been bitching about that seatbelt ‘law’ since they first started talking about it here in Texas. I’ve been ticketed for it and it just infuriates me that I can’t find even ONE lawyer to fight against the law itself! As usual, the legislature lied through their teeth to pass this “law” and so now we’re stuck with one more unconstitutional bunch of BS on the books just to make more money for the state to waste. I consider it a major violation of my rights. Yeah, most people think I’m flat out nuts to think that way but what else would YOU call something that literally restricts your bodily freedom as it TIES YOU UP???

I am not hurting anyone by not wearing a seat belt. I am not even hurting myself. I might have a very slight chance of being more hurt one of these days by not wearing one then if I was. Who the hell knows??? I may or may not ever get in an accident. I may or may not be hurt. I may or may not be hurt badly enough to need medical attention. I may or may not be helped by wearing a seatbelt. In fact, I could be hurt WORSE by wearing one! When did we start punishing people for something that hasn’t happened yet???

It should be MY decision and mine alone whether to wear a seatbelt or not. This all ties into the BS brainwashing going on that we’re all responsible for each other and we need to take care of each other. All because they forced us to buy insurance that we wouldn’t have needed if they hadn’t forced us to buy it (it more than tripled in price when they made car insurance mandatory)! Because everybody thinks their insurance cost goes up if anybody else gets hurt, they insist that they need to make sure that nobody gets hurt (so their insurance doesn’t go up any more). That is nothing but a load of CRAP! We are adults, we are supposed to be responsible for OURSELVES! If I am responsible for myself, and you are for yourself, we do not need anybody else to step in and make stupid rules about what kind of choices we can make in OUR lives.

“They” are stealing away my choices with their ridiculous “laws”, by stealing my choices, they ALSO take away any responsibility I have for whatever actions I take from that point on. Of course, they don’t admit the truth of that. They want me to still take the responsibility when I really have no option, no choice, no freedom. If someone is being FORCED to do something, then how in the hell can you say they have any responsibility??? They don’t! You took that away when you took away their choices!!

The other point to make in regards to their stealing away my choices, is that by taking away my choices, they are taking away my freedom and my liberty. By doing that, they are making me a slave. They are in effect taking away my very LIFE. How can someone say they are living THIER life if they have no say-so about what happens in it????? In fact, your life becomes someone elses! You are now nothing more than some sort of zombie, out there in the world working your ass off so someone else gets to tell you what you can and can’t do down to the nit-picking little detail of telling you that you MUST conform to their wishes and wear a seat belt! In the meantime, stay safe and healthy so you can keep working to pay the taxes they’ll waste on something stupid like one more war in the Middle East we have no business being involved in.

TGIF: The Phony Trade-off between Privacy and Security

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TGIF: The Phony Trade-off between Privacy and Security The Future of Freedom Foundation.

OK, first of all, there should be no ‘trade-off’ between privacy and security. There is no such thing as total security, ever! You want to go lock down the entire country? Go take a look at what goes on in our maximum security prisons! There’s your trade-off! You TRY to get security by giving up your freedom and you’ll get neither! Ben Franklin said it 200+ years ago, the principle has not changed and it never will.

I’m so sick and tired of having to live under this corrupted system where somehow people here have been brainwashed into believing that this is a democracy. NO, it is NOT! It is a Constitutional Republic! My RIGHTS are NEVER up for any kind of vote, NO, NOT EVER!!!

You do NOT have a right to security since there IS no such thing in the real world. Yes, it is the governments job to protect us from others who would harm us, but NOT if they have to violate our rights to TRY to do that! We would ALL be a hell of a lot better off if we would take responsibility BACK from ‘our’ government and start protecting ourselves. Start LIVING life as a grown-up, free human being instead of the sheeple the government is turning us into, using our FEAR against us.

Climate Activists, Eco-Terrorism, and the Green Scare

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Climate Activists, Eco-Terrorism, and the Green Scare – Politics – Utne Reader.

Another great article from Utne Reader. I really love that magazine, even tho I usually don’t agree with how they state the problem or the solutions they come up with. They are usually VERY statist and I am the opposite. Sometimes they are communitarian (people choosing to live together in a voluntary manner and helping each other by CHOICE), which I DO agree with and support. There is a world of difference between voluntary cooperation and all other systems which are based on force. I will not support any of those in any way (which includes “our” system here in the USA now, since it has utterly violated the original constitution set up and intended to PROTECT our rights, and instead it now constantly violates them).

As for the article, it reports on the usual cooperation between big government and big business to keep the people in their places. Lots of spying on anyone engaged in community organizing or otherwise politically active by both private companies and government to benefit the corporations . Of course, this damages the ability to get anything useful done. They talk a lot about fracking specifically but also mention the Keystone pipeline and animal rights, factory farming,etc. I really can’t say I’ve made up my mind which side of the fracking issue I’ll take.

I DO like the fact that it is helping us get off the Arabic tit and become energy independent again. I like that very much! I would LOVE to be able to say to the entire Middle East to go jump in a lake! They’ve had us over the barrel (of oil) for so long and we’ve been sucking up to them for years because of it. We spend BILLIONS of dollars “protecting” their countries so we can get access to that oil. I say let them keep their oil! We should’ve spent all those billions developing alternative energy all those years and we’d be a HELL of a lot better off by now.

So, now our oil people have come up with directional drilling and fracking to get more of our own oil out of the ground. I’m happy about that. Lets concentrate on making fracking safer, if the environmentalists concerns about groundwater pollution are valid, we need to fix that problem somehow before we continue fracking near any problem areas. Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater, lets FIX the specific problems with fracking and use it for our benefit. Since we have NOT developed our alternative energy supplies to where they’re anywhere near competitive yet, it gives us some control over our foreign policy again, IF our politicians will just THINK about things and do whats right for the country for once instead of being their own usual greedy pandering selves.

I would LOVE to see solar, wind, geothermal, ocean current, fuel cell technology become as efficient and affordable as fossil fuels. Is any of that going to happen in my lifetime??? In the meantime, we CAN get affordable, politically cheap oil- (meaning NOT located in some foreign country where they all hate us). I say go for it.

As to the environmentalists and other critics of fracking, I want to know just what exactly are THEIR solutions to the issue of our need for energy? I’ve already heard about their ideas that we all go back to living off the land. Yeah, well, I agree with that but don’t think that’s at all possible unless and until we’re ready to eliminate at least a few billion of us humans off the face of the earth. Birth control would be my preferred method, space colonization would work for me just fine, our so-called leaders would prefer we kill each other off in expensive wars, and mother earth will probably do it with some sort of plague sooner or later.

OK, so what OTHER solutions are there???

Wooden boat festival – WorkBoat.com

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Sound Waves – Wooden boat festival – WorkBoat.com.

I would REALLY love to go to this festival! I love wooden boats. I love Washington State, its SO beautiful up there. It seems like every year I’m working and can’t get off anywhere close to the dates they’re having the festival. 🙁

Hopefully I’ll make it one of these days. If you like boats, you really should try to make it. (I know its late 🙁 )

WalkFree.org – The Movement to End Modern Slavery

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WalkFree.org – The Movement to End Modern Slavery.

I just got an email from Mother Jones about this campaign. I’ve known about and been interested in modern slavery for a while now. This is the first I’ve heard of this group Walk Free. It looks like they are worth supporting. I am totally against any kind of slavery and I think its just sickening that it is STILL going on in so many places around the world, including right here in the good ol’ USA.

I did sign the petition even though I have some reservations about it. I’ll probably get some shit for saying this but…

I don’t really think I know enough about other peoples lives to be the one to make decisions for them. IF they are actually making these decisions for themselves, if they think they have no other options, then maybe they should be allowed to do that. Yeah, I can sit here in my nice cozy (comparatively) life here in America, I have no real idea of what life is like for those poor people in India. I do know that when I was a kid, I worked 2-3 jobs to support myself (illegally). I was very grateful that the people who employed me were willing to do it anyway. It gave me options and a way to escape from a lot of very bad situations with my family. I just wonder if the prohibition of allowing work before 14 is going to backfire in ways we can’t know yet. It is pretty much a given that any governmental action requires the use of force, most of such actions will cause the Law of Unintended Consequences to come into play. I don’t know what is worse, the slavery or what could come about from trying to fix it with the use of force.

Any thoughts? comments? anybody from India on here that can tell me more about this???

Bringing Life Back to Soil

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Bringing Life Back to Soil.

Another interesting article from Utne Reader this morning. Since we’ve started our “Liberty Garden” (at my local Campaign for Liberty meetup group), I’ve been paying a lot more attention to this kind of thing.

I’ve been trying to get things to grow around my house ever since I got my own place. When I had other people living there, I thought maybe I could grow an actual garden. Yeah, riiiiight…. I left it all nice and healthy, when I came home after 2-3 months at sea everything was either eaten up or covered with weeds 🙁 Since then, I’ve given up on a formal ‘garden’ and have been just trying to find things that will grow by themselves. Things I can leave alone and don’t have to worry about tending to.

So far, I’ve tried grapes, almonds, pineapples, oranges, limes, lemons, pomegranates, apples, pears. So far, the only thing I have had produce anything is the lime tree. It just loads up with little green limes that turn orange later on. I almost had a pineapple a couple years back but then it froze 🙁 I guess its not cold enough for the almonds, will have to switch back to peaches tho I really don’t like peaches nearly as much as almonds. Everything else is too young to know if they will eventually produce or not.

Oh yeah, the roses are hanging in there. I have canna lilies that do real well. I also have mimosas that just won’t stop ( I whack them down every time I come home and they’re back again when I get off). The clematis is so pretty but grows like a WEED and covers everything! Anybody know how the hell to get it to STOP??!!? Its growing all in my grass and mowing it doesn’t really help much. I pull it all off the other plants when I get home, but it just comes back even worse! I think its this one- Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora).

Clematis terniflora

The Double Standard of Smoking Marijuana

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The Double Standard of Smoking Marijuana – Arts & Culture – Utne Reader.

This is an article from Utne Reader on a new book, “Marijuana is Safer”. Well, duh, YES, it IS! MUCH safer! I could say I can’t believe how we have spent so much time, effort, money, to keep it illegal in this “free” country. But I do believe it since I know the history of how it was made illegal in the first place.

Federal marijuana prohibition is the direct cause of the continual violations of our 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th amendments and the filling up of our prisons. First of all, the prohibition was not legally passed by congress like alcohol prohibition was. They did not make any constitutional amendment to make marijuana illegal. Instead, they listened to the lobbyists for DuPont, Hearst and their puppet doctor. Congress was bought off by those who just plain didn’t want the competition that the marijuana plants (and hemp) would give their companies making paper from trees and artificial fibers such as nylon. Watch the movie “Hemp for Victory” (put out by the federal government to encourage farmers to grow the weed to help with the war effort) and you will get an idea of just how useful the marijuana (and hemp) plants are. Of course, the prejudice they stirred up against blacks and Hispanics didn’t hurt any either.

I want to know, how many MILLIONS of people do we have to put in prison, how many lives to we have to completely destroy? before we will come to our senses and legalize weed??? I am going to come out and say it, it is a RIGHT! Rights which we enjoy not only under our constitution, (which only says our federal government was formed to PROTECT those natural rights we had BEFORE there was ever any government), rights we have due to the fact that we are human beings. We have allowed “our” government to get its foot in the door, due to prejudice and greed, and of course FEAR, and now we are paying the price. They have used this so-called War on Drugs, which is really a war on US, to take away our rights and destroy our country. 

I am sick and tired of having to listen to people who don’t know what they’re talking about tell us all that we need to continue the ‘drug war’. NO, we do NOT! We need to STOP it asap! I hope lots of people will read this book and learn the truth about the issues, STOP listening to the politicians, they do NOT do anything that is not in THEIR interests, they do NOT represent US anymore, if they ever did.

Free Stuff!!

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Museum Day Live! 2013 Registration.

This is a link to the Smithsonians’ Museum Day. Saturday 9/28. It’ll give you and a guest FREE admission to a museum you choose. Its not only the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.. There are links to museums all over the country. You can search by subject or by location.

In Houston, you can choose among the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, Dunham Bible Museum, Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Lawndale Art Center, and a favorite of mine in Galveston the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum. There is the tall ship Elissa right there too, if you do happen to hit the Ocean Star Museum, you can make it a maritime day and enjoy lunch on the waterfront watching the cruise ships dock.

Gutted by Government- John Stossel

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=m2KEKvhP0dA

I just watched this video with John Stossel talking about what’s happening in Detroit with Shihka Dalmia of the Reason Foundation and Darcy Olsen of the Goldwater Institute. It makes a lot of good points about why Detroit is failing and compares it to places like Sandy Springs, GA which is doing quite well by privatizing everything 🙂

 

Hands Off My Home!

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The Institute for Justice.

Congratulations to the people of Hackensack! This is what we ALL need to do- throw the bastards ALL out!!!

There has been a growing trend of eminent domain abuse all over the country. We had a case a few years ago locally in Freeport when the city tried to steal the Gore’s property to build a marina. There’s even a book about that episode, “Bulldozed” by Carla Main.They have only gotten worse since then 🙁 

I want to read the book but haven’t got around to it yet. Since I own property in Freeport myself, I already know how hard to deal with those city officials (and everyone associated with the city) are. Enforcing ridiculous rules and regulations that increase the costs of doing repairs or improvements to where no one can afford to do necessary work.  It almost seems like they are trying to deny people the ability to fix their property so eventually the city can come and condemn it. I have been trying to fix my property and all I get from the city is grief! I WISH the people would get together and throw them all out in Freeport too! Good start, then we can work our way up to Congress 🙂 

Here’s a link to some more on what happened in Freeport:

http://ownerscounsel.blogspot.com/2010/09/more-on-texas-developers-attempt-to.html

 

Mises Institute Explains How The State Destroys Social Cooperation : Personal Liberty™

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Mises Institute Explains How The State Destroys Social Cooperation : Personal Liberty™.

Good article explaining the differing effects of cooperation vs coercion. I have always had a bad attitude towards ‘authority’ and its been getting even worse lately. I guess its probably because they are trying to enforce it more and more. I think I’m at the point of thinking that there IS no such thing as authority at all. Either you give your cooperation willingly, or you are being FORCED to do something you wouldn’t choose to do on your own. The use of force is NOT the same thing as authority. It is only force, violence in other words.

Personally, I think people get along much better in a cooperative society. Live by as few rules as possible. Do whatever you want as long as you don’t hurt anybody else. Simple 🙂 That is what this country was supposed to be all about and that way of life that we had for the first 100 years or so was what made us the most advanced, prosperous, favored country in the history of the world. Now that we’ve thrown all our freedom down the drain after 9-11, we are steady losing everything. Our ‘leaders’ can’t come up with anything else but more and more force. What would they do if we ALL just refused to obey their so-called authority???

RIGZONE – Career Spotlight: Petroleum Engineers

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RIGZONE – Career Spotlight: Petroleum Engineers.

If I had really thought about it, I would have gone into something like this instead of Chemical Engineering when I went back to school. I only did Chemical cause I live in Lake Jackson, Texas, near Houston. The whole area is a huge center of chemical plants, Dow, BASF, Shintech, etc. I figured I would always be able to get a good job. I only went back to school to make my grandmother happy. I already had a good career (and an AAS degree) and figured if I went back to school it better be for something that would pay the bills better than what I was doing already (working offshore as captain of supply boats, etc). I didn’t really understand what exactly Chemical Engineers did 🙁

I wound up getting a degree in Math, just so I could get out of school and back to work doing something I still really loved (offshore running boats). Petroleum Engineers work offshore a lot and it seems I probably could have found work as a reservoir engineer if I had really tried hard using the math degree. I wasn’t really all that interested in it tho. I was much more interested in getting back out on a boat 😉 I did manage to do that pretty quickly after I got my degree. I’d been working throughout school, summers, holidays,etc so it wasn’t really an issue.

Now that the oilfield is booming again, they need these Petroleum Engineers, along with geologists, etc. I had 2 lady geologists out on my rig last hitch and at least one ‘mud engineer’. The real demand is for subsea engineers. Maybe Rigzone will post an article about that soon. That seems to be pretty interesting. Actually, all of it is interesting, its just a little bit different angles of attacking the problem. Finding out whats down there, how to get at it, how to put it to use…

Senior Living: How the Trailer Park Could Save Us All – Mind & Body – Utne Reader

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Senior Living: How the Trailer Park Could Save Us All – Mind & Body – Utne Reader.

Another interesting article from Utne Reader. I think they brought up some pretty good points about people living together in a real community. I can see how it would be easier to form a real community in a trailer park than in an apartment complex or many suburban neighborhoods. I can see how it would help people stay healthier and happier longer.  I think the whole idea of community is something we’ve lost somehow. I grew up with that. We had a great community where I grew up, even if we were looked down upon by others. We all knew each other and took care of each other. We all knew what was going on and we were involved with each others lives.  I don’t have it where I live now. I’ve been in this house for over 20 years and barely know my next door neighbors 🙁

I think we ought to try figuring out how to get our sense of community back. If a trailer park makes it easier, we should try to see why that is and copy it in other places. Maybe we should look into how to make it easier for the people in the trailers to be able to live, to set down roots. It seems we might need to think about the obstructions to allowing more people to make that choice. It seems like it might be a good choice for many more people than the ones that do it now.  I get it that there’s prejudice against trailer parks but not sure why.They do mention some things in the article but those things don’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Anybody have some thoughts on that?

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

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Riviera Maya near Cozumel April 2013

Riviera Maya near Cozumel April 2013

I was in Mexico for a conference (moving overseas by International Living). It was great but not nearly enough time to enjoy these beautiful beaches;-)

Gangsters…Real vs Wannabies

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😉

Get Rich, Stay Rich: 3 Secrets on How

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Get Rich, Stay Rich: 3 Secrets on How.

I like how these guys think. He makes some good points in this article. I read the book a while ago, it was pretty good.I have been trying to build my own wealth through real estate investing. So far, I have been keeping pretty busy with buying old, trashed properties, fixing them up and renting them out.

I’m hoping to move overseas asap. Buying rental property is my way to get there. I hope the income will allow me to move soon to somewhere more friendly to the lifestyle I want to live. Peaceful and free, friendly neighbors, lots of open land to garden and explore. I’ve been looking at Belize, Nicaragua, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Indonesia, Thailand, and some of the Pacific Islands. I think I’ll start in Central America since it’s close enough that I can get to/from work in the Gulf of Mexico if I can’t manage to find a job overseas soon. I’ve been trying since 2007 and getting tired of it. I need to make a move soon and stop procrastinating!

Why Christie Is Wrong – Peggy Noonan’s Blog – WSJ

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Why Christie Is Wrong – Peggy Noonan’s Blog – WSJ.

Very good points Peggy! Thanks for getting them out there in the Wall Street Journal. Maybe some people with some influence will actually start thinking about all this totally illegal and unnecessary government spying on US citizens (and others). Somebody needs to say, ‘hey, we really need to THINK about the risk/reward ratio’ on this subject. Yeah, I am willing to face those widows and orphans! Yeah, I DO think its more important to protect the principles of the ONLY country in the history of the world based on individual liberty and freedom. YES, I DO think its worth upholding those principles even if a few people die because we value those principles more than ‘safety’ (which is IMPOSSIBLE to get at any cost).

Someone once said, “its better to die standing than to live on your knees”. I totally agree with that statement. Its too bad more Americans don’t anymore.