Egypt, Snowstorms, Oil $100, Oh My

No, not just you.  i think there is a sense of collective strain due to teetering on the edge of status quo.  The weather stuff just adds to the reality (it is snowing where I am too).

I am in the process of major decision making (where to go, what to do, to sell, to buy, to pack, etc) right now, which is not advisable during the incredible uncertainty now.  But when will it be any different, I ask myself, and then plod along.

One thing I like to think of when I feel a bit overwhelmed by life, is to come back to the present moment.  Like you said, you have basic necessities worked out.  I like to feel my feet beneath me and look around at my beautiful kids and realize that there is a lot to be thankful for.

Good luck and thanks for the post.  I am glad I am not the only one on this site who worries, sometimes I feel like I am.

Joining the crowd w/o all the snow in Tx. Very uneasy and finding that rising over the last several months. Just don't feel like everything that is being held together by chewing gum and baling wire can be held together much longer. Not sure what happens but I can think of no other time in my life where so many millions of factors could set a chain reaction that could fundamentally change our lives. Problem is in the past I could always see that if govt did this or that we could turn it around. Don't see that anymore. Just when or what event might set it off. God Bless.

Oh, and one other thing:

To the extent that I/we have made good use of the last couple years preparing, I'm reasonably at peace w/what's to come.  The fact that I've felt like we've been living on borrowed time for months now (since Benny Bananas started hyping QE2, give or take) makes me feel like I'm getting away with something every time I hammer down one more nail of preparation.

Although it'd be nice if I could have a couple more weeks -- a ginormous order of wholesale-cost cooking oils, spices and dietary salt will arrive by mid-month -- before things go kerflooey.

I had been feeling pretty calm and secure recently actually.  Even the weather was not messing with my calm when the power went out we were cool with it.  

Went sledding with the kids, had lots of fun - forgot how old I was until morning!  LOL!

Egypt was not even getting me too wound up --  right up until I was listening to the news on the way home from work and this commentator was going on about how great the market was doing and how there were all of these positive indicators.  

Then I got that sinking feeling.....  

I suppose those who have developed a sardonic sense of humor, like Kunstler, are fairing better in these times:

The key to all that is oil, of course, and mainly the oil of Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah there is at least 86 years old and in poor health.  Crown Prince Sultan, his successor, isn't much younger. If ever a country was ripe for a political flipping it is this shaky kingdom. Everyone from the White House to Foggy Bottom to Langley, Virginia, is probably messing his/her pants this week wondering how much longer the lid can be kept on that joint.

The other option is to practice the old saying - "Ignorance is bliss." But it's too late because you've already taken the red pill.

I love this place and the people who post here...a sort of bridge over troubled water...

Carl

People are scalping snow rakes, yes, snow rakes up here! Some of these stores are selling 500-1000 snow rakes in a day! In a normal year, they might sell 5 or 10. It looks like Black Friday, with people lined up outside the store waiting for theirs.

I took the red pill.... then coughed it up.

I moved my family to a warmer climate, but in the lunatic frey of finding affordable housing..... I blew it! I now own (chained to debt) a typical suburban nightmare (by this group's standard); 3 bed 2 1/2 bath ALL ELECTRIC 2000+ sq. ft. subdivision house!!! - Sadly, I knew better.

At least I had the good sense to NOT sell my house back home.

My wife has taken neither pill and does not want to believe what is about to happen. I am still not sure if I believe what is about to happen, will happen in our lifetime. There are folks that have been saying this same thing for decades. WWI - WWII - Y2K - 9/11 Pick your "catastrophe." "The end of the world as we know it" has been sung for generations.

What makes it different this time?

What I do see, is an America that has a lower standard of living going forward than anyone born after 1950 or so has been accustomed to living. I believe that the US has been "taken over" by the banksters since the formation of the Fed and it has just taken this long to steal the wealth of this country away from the citizens. Think about that for a moment. It has taken about 100 years to consume - rather steal the collective wealth (think resources not money) from those (us - little letters) who owned it. Now, I submit to you that it will take less than that amount of time to completely ruin it. Call it the "Three - E's" or what ever you want. We have hit that turn in the curve.

But, what I also have seen, (I can't point to studies on what I am about to say) is an incredible ability for this land to heal itself. Just by the order of magnitude this continent can produce (sustain) a population with a reasonable quality of life (not exactly "MTV" but more like  the "Walton's") over the course of the next few decades. Unfortunately for me, that is going to be the period of time that I will need the most help.

Therefore, the most important thing I (we) can do, is prepare the generation coming up. Yes, we can all hide in our  re-purposed 1950's bomb shelters with our MRE's and arsenal of weapons.-.or - we can teach those who will come after us to carry the torch of sustainability.

The lessons I want to learn are those that were taught after the first "great depression" (the pinch felt from the first looting by the banksters). I remember laughing at my father (an adult in the first depression) for saving pencils, rubber bands, and cloth. We had a garden every year until he as too old to tend it. He never owned stocks (too risky), paid off our home, bought PM's etc.

FWIW

Probably not too much comfort for some of you, but this quote and outlook serves me well - not bad for something said over 2000 years ago.

"Tis foolish to fear what cannot be avoided."  Publilius Syrus

BMT,

You are completely correct. I went throught the last couple of years thinkg the sky was falling tomorrow, lol. I prepped as hard and as fast as I could, gathering food, medical, PM's, self defence and other necessities. I have gotten to a point where most of my prep is done ( we know its never really done but I feel comfortable now) and I sit here thinking "now what?". 

I have stopped worring about the day to day problems in the world and I feel much lighter for it. The system will not collapse in a day or a week or a month. Enjoy life and those arround you to the fullest extent possible!!

Rich

No way, Mike!  I'm going to have to stop crapping when I  pay 40 or 50 bucks for a fill-up!

Interesting thread, as I sit here in my retirement watching the various goings on with some moderate interest while my blue pill wife reads her 3rd novel of the week.

Did the regular grocery shopping Monday and while I find it hard to pinpoint any specific items its seems our expense is up around 10%. Filled the Prius for $43 and we only seem to be getting about 475 miles on a tank at current winter temperatures. Its only 6 months old with less than 1500 miles, since we only drive locally. I expect it to be my last car and got it to save on operating costs (our previous 1990 machine finally died of electrical failure when recurrent faults indicated deteriorated insulation).

Put Al Jazeera on the TV at least daily to get their sense of the Middle East situation. Looks like Mubaruk has sent in his thugs and the mostly peaceful demonstrations are degenerating into something akin to civil war. Fortunately the Egyptians don't have second amendment rights as I mentally transpose the situation to the US and my mind drifts back to the race riots of the mid 60's.

Watched the scenes of Lakeshore Drive Expressway in Chicago, where we lived in the early 70's. Traffic simply became impossibly stuck and the folks were rescued by the fire department and the cars will be towed. Just too much snow as it comes in from the lake while the Expressway is completely flat. Considering that the winter is a more severe repeat of the last and that it might well be the new normal due to climate change and instability. Temperatures in Baffin Island are said to have been 30 degrees above normal long term averages. I guess that'll be good for the Baffin iron ore project, especially if it can be shipped to China through the ice free arctic during the summer.

Still need to get that batch of must decanted and fined, then we'll have another 30 bottles ready for laying down. Trouble is it seems to be getting heavier to lift as I get older. Drinking it though does appear to help the back pain.

Last I sold stock on the NYSE yesterday to generate $US for our cruise later this year, stock that I bought in Toronto. Using a discount broker the fees are always less than the rate that any financial institution uses for retail forex. Wonder how much longer I'll be able to take cruises with my wife, who has a bad back, and how much longer I'll feel safe travelling. I guess we're doing our part to deplete JP4 and bunker oil, selfish folks that we are.  At least we're just trying to live "normally" until TSHTF.

when the dam breaks, it will go fast.

Just like Egypt.....I had no idea they were so close to the edge?? Ask the people over there if it paid to"prep" a little?  Oh  & ask the Russians about thier Famous Ruble....maybe the #7 ruble will be the lucky one? If Saudi Arabia goes the way of Egypt $300  barrel oil?

History

Five hundred rubles featuring Peter the Great, 1912

[edit] First ruble, antiquity – 31 December 1921

1898 Russian Empire one rouble bill, obverse

The ruble has been the Russian unit of currency for about 500 years. From 1710, the ruble was divided into 100 kopeks.

The amount of precious metal in a ruble varied over time. In a 1704 currency reform, Peter I standardized the ruble to 28 grams of silver. While ruble coins were silver, there were higher denominations minted of gold and platinum. By the end of the 18th century, the ruble was set to 4 zolotnik 21 dolya (almost exactly equal to 18 grams) of pure silver or 27 dolya (almost exactly equal to 1.2 grams) of pure gold, with a ratio of 15:1 for the values of the two metals. In 1828, platinum coins were introduced with 1 ruble equal to 77⅔ dolya (3.451 grams).

On 17 December 1885, a new standard was adopted which did not change the silver ruble but reduced the gold content to 1.161 grams, pegging the gold ruble to the French franc at a rate of 1 ruble = 4 francs. This rate was revised in 1897 to 1 ruble = 2⅔ francs (0.774 grams gold).

With the outbreak of the First World War, the gold standard peg was dropped and the ruble fell in value, suffering from hyperinflation in the early 1920s.

[edit] Second ruble, 1 January 1922 – 31 December 1922

In 1922, the first of several redenominations took place, at a rate of 1 "new" ruble for 10,000 "old" rubles. The chervonets (червонец) was also introduced in 1922.

[edit] Third ruble, 1 January 1923 – 6 March 1924

A second redenomination took place in 1923, at a rate of 100 to 1. Again, only paper money was issued. During the lifetime of this currency, the first money of the Soviet Union was issued.

[edit] Fourth (gold) ruble, 7 March 1924–1947

A third redenomination in 1924 introduced the "gold" ruble at a value of 50,000 rubles of the previous issue. This reform also saw the ruble linked to the chervonets, at a value of 10 rubles. Coins began to be issued again in 1924, whilst paper money was issued in rubles for values below 10 rubles and in chervonets for higher denominations.

[edit] Fifth ruble, 1947–1961

Following World War II, the Soviet government implemented a confiscatory redenomination of the currency to reduce the amount of money in circulation. This only affected the paper money. Old rubles were revalued at one tenth of their face value.

[edit] Sixth ruble, 1961 – 31 December 1997

The 1961 redenomination was a repeat of the 1947 reform, with the same terms applying. The Soviet ruble of 1961 was formally equal to 0.987412 gram of gold, but the exchange for gold was never available to the general public. Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the ruble remained the currency of the Russian Federation. A new set of banknotes was issued in the name of Bank of Russia in 1993. During the period of hyperinflation of the early 1990s, the ruble was significantly devalued.

[edit] Seventh ruble, 1 January 1998 –

The ruble was redenominated on 1 January 1998, with one new ruble equaling 1000 old rubles. The redenomination was a purely psychological step that did not solve the fundamental economic problems faced by the Russian economy at the time, and the currency was devalued in August 1998 following the 1998 Russian financial crisis. The ruble lost 70% of its value against the U.S. dollar in the six months following this 1998 Russian financial crisis.

By calculating the product of all six redenominations, it is seen that a seventh ruble is equal to 5×1015
 original rubles.

In November 2004, the authorities of Dimitrovgrad (Ulyanovsk Oblast) erected a five-meter monument to the ruble.

On 23 November 2010, at a meeting of the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, it was announced that Russia and China have decided to use their own national currencies for bilateral trade, instead of the U.S. dollar. The move is aimed to further improve the relations between Beijing and Moscow and to protect their domestic economies in the conditions of the world financial crisis. The trading of the Chinese yuan against the Russian rouble has started in the Chinese interbank market, while the yuan's trading against the ruble is expected to start on the Russian foreign exchange market in December 2010.^[9][10]

[edit] Coins

[edit] First ruble

At the beginning of the 19th century, copper coins were issued for ¼, ½, 1, 2 and 5 kopeks, with silver 5, 10, 25 and 50 kopeks and 1 ruble and gold 5 although production of the 10 ruble coin ceased in 1806. Silver 20 kopeks were introduced in 1820, followed by copper 10 kopeks minted between 1830 and 1839, and copper 3 kopeks introduced in 1840. Between 1828 and 1845, platinum 3, 6 and 12 rubles were issued. In 1860, silver 15 kopecs were introduced, due to the use of this denomination (equal to 1 złoty) in Poland, whilst, in 1869, gold 3 rubles were introduced. [6] In 1886, a new gold coinage was introduced consisting of 5 and 10 ruble coins. This was followed by another in 1897. In addition to smaller 5 and 10 ruble coins, 7½ and 15 ruble coins were issued for a single year, as these were equal in size to the previous 5 and 10 ruble coins. The gold coinage was suspended in 1911, with the other denominations produced until the First World War.

[edit] Constantine ruble

The Constantine ruble (Russian: Константиновский рубль, pronounced "Konstantinovsky rubl'") is a rare silver coin of the Russian Empire bearing the profile of Constantine, the brother of emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Its manufacture was being prepared at the Saint Petersburg Mint during the brief Interregnum of 1825 but it was never minted in numbers, and never circulated in public. The fact of its existence became known in 1857 in foreign publications.^[11]

[edit] Fourth, fifth and sixth rubles

The first coinage after Russian civil war was minted in 1921 with silver coins in denominations of 10, 15, 20 and 50 kopeks and 1 ruble. Golden chervonets were minted in 1923. These coins bore the emblem and legends of the RSFSR. In 1924, copper coins were introduced for 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopeks, together with further silver 10, 15 and 20 kopeks, 1 poltinnik (50 kopeks) and 1 ruble. From this issue onwards, the coins were minted in the name of the Soviet Union. Copper ½ kopek coins were introduced in 1925. The 1 ruble was only issued in 1924 and production of the poltinnik was stopped in 1927, while the ½ kopek ceased to be minted in 1928. In 1926, aluminium-bronze replaced copper in the 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopeks and, in 1931, the remaining silver coins were replaced with cupro-nickel. This coinage was unaffected by the redenominations of 1947 and 1961. However, 1961 did see the introduction of new coins, with 1, 2, 3 and 5 kopeks in aluminium-bronze, and 10, 15, 20 and 50 kopeks and 1 ruble in cupro-nickel-zinc. In 1991, a new coinage was introduced in denominations of 10 and 50 kopeks, 1, 5 and 10 rubles. The 10 kopeks was struck in brass-plated steel, the 50 kopeks, 1 and 5 rubles were in cupro-nickel and the 10 rubles was bimetallic with an aluminium-bronze centre and a cupro-nickel-zinc ring. After the end of the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation introduced coins in 1992 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 rubles. The 1 and 5 rubles were minted in brass-clad steel, the 10 and 20 rubles in cupro-nickel and the 50 and 100 rubles were bimetallic (aluminium-bronze and cupro-nickel-zinc). In 1993, aluminium-bronze 50 rubles and cupro-nickel-zinc 100 rubles were issued, and the material of 10 and 20 rubles was changed to nickel-plated steel. In 1995 the material of 50 rubles was changed to brass-plated steel, but the coins were minted with the old date 1993.

Regularly issued commemorative one ruble coin during this period is practically identical in size and weight to a 5 Swiss franc coin (worth approx. €3 / US$4). For this reason, there have been several instances of (now worthless) ruble coins being used on a large scale to defraud automated vending machines in Switzerland.^[12]

[edit] Seventh ruble

In 1998, the following coins were introduced:

1 ruble 1998
Value	Emblem of the Bank of Russia

1 and 5 kopek coins are rarely used (especially the 1 kopek coin) due to their small value and in some cases may not be accepted by stores or individuals. In some cases, the 10 kopek coin is also occasionally refused^{[citation needed]}. All these coins began being issued in 1998, despite the fact that some of them bear the year 1997. Since 2000, bimetallic 10 ruble circulating commemorative coins have been issued. In 2008, it was proposed by the Bank of Russia to withdraw 1 and 5 kopek coins from circulation and to round all the prices to 10 kopeks, although the proposal hasn't been realized as of 2010. The material of 1, 2 and 5 ruble coins was switched to nickel plated steel in the second quarter of 2009. In October 2009, a new 10 ruble coin made of brass plated steel was issued and the 10 ruble banknote will be withdrawn by 2012. Bimetallic 10 ruble coins will continue to be issued. A series of circulating Olympic commemorative 25 ruble coins will start in 2011. The new coins will be made of cupronickel.

The Bank of Russia also issues other commemorative coins ranges from 1–10,000 rubles. See [8] for listing.

Xraymike would love to know if we can verify Las Vegas stats. Incredible if true.