What did Santa bring you?

[Frances]

You know, after writing that last post I thought that if we all landed on the same deserted island or all got taken back to the stone age together - we'd rebuild civilisation in no time! Heck, with all the skills we combine here, we'd probably make something a whole lot better while we were at it!

About spinning dog hair, I think the trick is mixing it with quite a lot of regular wool - apparently you can mix in quite short hair then, too, and the smell is less of a problem. If you like Elizabeth, I can recommend you a really good beginner's book on spinning - then you buy a couple of small bits of wood from the DIY and away you go!

Like this.... its fun!

[Wiley]

Not wishing to turn this too dark, but I came across this little article and it gives a less optimistic outlook should things go poorly:

FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Call this a recession? At least it isn?t the Dark Ages

Bests,
Wiley

[Archena]

Way to spoil the delusion, there, Wiley.






















(Actually, thanks for the article - medieval history is an interest of mine! )

[nissanneill]

Yes Archena, but that is the one thing that we today cannot change!
Only learn from our mistakes or the mistakes from the past.

Neill

[Frances]

Great article! Fascinating.

In a way that's just what I'm talking about - if anything like that came to pass, people with actual practical skills would be in a far better position than people who buy everything they own or use in a shop. The knowledge of how to make something from scratch would become very valuable. And we have a lot of very capable and talented people on the forum.

Of course we're spread out all over the world, and we'd no longer be able to comunicate... but apart from that (very minor and irrelevant) little fact, we'd probably do quite well.

That's why I like the idea of clay ovens so much, cos sourcing firebrick and insulation blankets could become a tad difficult.

Talking of which I read this aricle about solar flares recently (in German unfortunately, or I'd post the link) where they said we're due for a big one any moment now (in the next couple of decades) and when it comes it may well fizzle out every single electronic connection we have worldwide... could be interesting.

Wooohooo, doom and gloom! Happy New Year everyone!

[Archena]

Oooh, would you please post the link anyway? I need to practice my German and that's a lot easier with something interesting!

[Wiley]

Archena,
Here's a link to an article by NASA in english:

NASA - Severe Space Weather--Social and Economic Impacts

One would grow very old, very fast if one fretted about every possible scenario of calamity or doom. That being said, my family is probably several times more prepared to survive calamities (as comfortably as possible) than the average citizen. But that's saying: We're prepared against those calamities which have a higher likelihood of happening.

I expect that it is sort of a chicken and egg sort of question... which came first? Does having a natural inclination toward self-reliance cause one to gravitate toward certain lifestyles or does the pursuit of certain lifestyles cause one to become self-reliant?

This could get really off topic quickly but there is a world seed repository on Spitzbergen Island as a hedge bet against a truly civilization changing calamity. Link:
Svalbard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and
http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...day-deep-freez

Bests,
Wiley