Business

Introducing Your Optimal Life Equation

By Terence Gillespie September 8, 2015

Your Optimal Life Equation (YOLE) is an algebraic formula to describe, contemplate, and re-calibrate the optimality of one’s life. The relationships of the major elements are shown as well as the potential impacts a change may have. The equation is introduced, here, and referred to throughout the “The Outliers Handbook“.

When I got the idea to describe an Optimal life with an algebraic formula the flaws in the approach were obvious: The units don’t match and assigning one number to something that, by its very nature, is multi-dimensional is absurd. Such absurdities are built-in to something else passed on as knowledge, every day . . . the IQ. Who in the world thinks something as multi-faceted as intelligence can be fully captured and described by an integer? It can’t. And yet, the IQ is still, somehow, useful. So is YOLE.

Cross-discipline metaphors are useful for the same reason any metaphor can be: Patterns in nature are like other patterns in nature. Sometimes, the same fractal pattern in one natural structure is duplicated exactly in another. Fractals prove that stupefying complexity can emerge from utter simplicity. The reverse is not true.

Those who have no problem “dividing” a mountain by a triangle or seeing the golden ratio in a conch shell or human face may find YOLE useful. It doesn’t reach fractal-like perfection (Yet) but Your Optimal Life Equation may show how some of the major elements of life may be changed to lead to a more optimally functioning one.

Where all people have S,W,V,G,H,T,E_l,j,c and at least one P_g. Not every person has P_r, P_b or EB.

Talking Through the Equation

The sum total of your Strengths and Weaknesses is all you have to maintain everything you Value, your Goals, the People in your life (H), and the Things you own. The results of that division is multiplied by the purposeful roles you play in the lives of others, the purpose of your business activities, and whatever you most desire or worship (Your God). The resulting numerator is what you bring into (Is divided by) your larger environment: The physical or virtual stage of your life and business. The major elements of your Environment are physical location, legal jurisdiction and community. Your business may have a separate environment with its own physical location, legal jurisdiction and community.

Small Changes Can Have a Huge Impact

The legal jurisdiction of one’s physical body and business could be the sole determining factor of whether one is at liberty to accomplish anything, at all. Likewise, the wrong community could leave one alone and bereft of the amplifications (And enjoyment) that a strong and thriving community can provide.

Whether or not one has an immediate family, an optional component of P_r , will have a huge impact on the nature of the most purposeful roles in one’s life.

What You Control . . .

You determine the inputs and amounts of most variables. You may have little to no control over some of them, in the short-term. You can have some degree of control over most of them, eventually. It’s daunting to realize how most of the important aspects of life are the direct result of personal choice. The sheer amount of decisions one could make to optimize life is probably why people rarely take full control over all the elements they could potentially control. Of course, depending on resources available (Strengths) an attempt to control everything might lead to a failure to control anything.

. . . and What You Don’t

Your unique disposition of strengths and weaknesses is part of your natural disposition at birth. You have huge latitude in honing and deploying strengths. You also have many options for minimizing the impacts of natural weaknesses. However, it’s still mostly a matter of playing smarter with the hand you’ve been dealt.

Likewise, you don’t choose to live on “The grid” of planet earth. You choose where to locate the various elements of your life on that grid.

You don’t choose the members of your local (And virtual) communities. You choose the location and subjects around which those communities are organized, and possibly united.

On Values

Values present a cost to maintain and uphold. Hold to as few of the best values in life while tending to values. Discard bad values and replace merely good values with great ones. Great values are consistent with Purpose(s) and decrease net costs to Strengths.

On Goals

Goals are costly to achieve. Achieving goals is usually a good thing. A great thing, however, is achieving great goals. Great goals align with the purposes of your life. Discrimination between good and great goals requires awareness of purpose(s).

On People (H)

People can be among the greatest sources of abundance on earth. They can also be the most taxing. The task here is to have the right balance of people in your life. Those congruent with your purposes will bring abundance to your life (And you to theirs) even if they’re taxing. For one thing, people tend to motivate growth. Growth makes us stronger and leaves us with more strengths to optimize life. Therefore, the tax of people in our lives may be a large cost in the short-term and change the fundamental balance of the equation in the long-term. People are a “Capital” investment in the grandest sense of the world.

On Things

Things, or possessions, require some combination of storage, maintenance, insurance, licensing, money, time, registration, bill processing (Registration renewal, licensing updates, etc.) and on and on. The least number of Things you need to accomplish purpose(s) the better.

On Purpose(s)

Ants, snails, and bugs may have one purpose. People have multiple purposes. The popular myth that people have just one purpose is harmful and tends to thwart the discovery of what one’s purposes may be. There’s a purpose for every role, family member, business activity, ongoing responsibility and activity in your life. The YOLE encapsulates them all into the roles you play in the lives of others, business purposes, and God (P_r,b,g).

On Environment(s)

Personal and Business environments might be separate. Therefore, the equation allows for both E and EB. Each have their own components of physical location, legal jurisdiction and community.

Location has a dramatic affect on the prevailing Law, Jurisdiction, and Community with which you’re interacting with in time. However, physical location is not a static, one-time-only, choice. With cyberspace, jet travel, dual-citizenship, and multi-state and national entities a person’s Environment is no longer determined solely by physical Location. Of course, if your E and EB are tied to one physical location then it makes the equation easier to “Calculate”. The cost of that simplicity will probably increase as technocratic mechanisms of control and taxation become more refined and perfected. Also, as such mechanisms are refined and perfected E, EB, and their subcomponents will tend to merge into one. The more completely merged, the more each component will be the same for more people. Physical locations will always vary but characteristics of legal jurisdiction and community may become so similar that distinctions are of little importance. In some ways this can be seen as one drives across the US stopping into the “Same” fast-food franchises in every state.

Environments are multi-locational and sometimes virtual. Where is the PT (Perpetual Traveler) located if his business is in one country, money in another, investments in another and body in another? His body can only be in one location at a time, of course. But will he be there long enough to be viewed as a resident (Legal jurisdiction)? Even so, his business may be in a different jurisdiction. Complex combinations can grow out of varied components of E and EB.

Reality has ~10 Dimensions, Not Four

Theoretical physicists now presume Reality presents in 10 dimensions. That’s six more than most people assume comprise the Reality in which their life is taking place. To distinguish the standard four from the 10 I’ll use the convention of uppercase Reality (10) and lowercase reality (4). I might turn YOLE into a graphic to account for Reality. For now, think of E as not limited to the dimensions of X,Y,Z and Time/Space but extending into dimensions that may or may not be discernible to the five senses.

People with a keener sense of dimensions, beyond the four, may possess either a physical, intellectual or theological strength. Some choices of P_g enable such awareness and some preclude it. Since anything that obscures the full dimensions of Reality is a handicap one can better optimize life with a P_g that enables full awareness.

What God?

Desire provides powerful insight into purpose. People align their lives with what they most desire in the moment. What people most desire can be described as their god of the moment.

There are as many gods (Idols) as there are nouns in the dictionary: Money, alcohol, sex, prestige, control over others, Buddha, Allah, nature, Lucifer or the Holy Trinity of the God of the Bible, etc. Gods are swapped in and out over time. Whatever one desires most during a given period is the god of that period. Sex in the morning, money in the afternoon, control over others at night . . . gods tend to become the sole purpose of one’s life for the time period they are most desired. During that period everything about the person tends to be oriented around obtaining or reveling in (Worshipping) whatever it is. Such desires effect physical, mental and spiritual changes in the person experiencing them. In a sense, we become what we most desire.

Business (Job) vs. Calling

If what you do for a living is also the highest purpose of your life, i.e., your business or job is also your calling, then P_b will be a higher “Number” or of greater magnitude, to be more accurate.. The components of your business environment (EB) will still have a large impact on the equation but the first main numerator of the equation will tend to offset any negatives that may be components of EB.

Some Output Examples

O = (((S + W) / (V + G + H + T)) * P_r,b,g) / (E_l,j,c * EB_l,j,c)

Strength(s) and Purpose(s) are the positive inputs used to optimize life. Their number, amount, deployment and alignment determine the positive “Numbers” of the equation, after which, everything gets divided.
By minimizing the impact of your weaknesses the impact of your strengths is greater.
Choose only the highest quality Values to uphold or maintain because any value presents a cost to your strengths to maintain. Replace merely good values with great values.
Choose only the highest quality goals to accomplish because any goal presents an achievement cost to your strengths. Replace merely good goals with great goals. Great goals still tax your strengths but are also components of Purpose and, therefore, counterbalance the equation.
Surround yourself with high quality people. All roles and relationships tax your strengths but the right people are components of Purpose and counterbalance the equation.
The less Things you own (Store, maintain, insure, move, sell, buy) the better. Anything that owns you must go. Such things make an optimal life impossible unless the purpose of your life is Thing(s).
If you have no Purpose(s) the chance of optimizing life falls to zero.
If you get stronger (Or deploy existing strengths more efficiently) you can support more Values, Goals, People and Things in your life. However, the least number of these you have, ideally keeping only those that will be factored with purpose(s), the more optimal your life.
If the impact of your weaknesses are lessened you can support more Values, Goals, People and Things in your life because the tax (Direct subtraction) to your strengths is lessened.

This is a short list of example outputs from YOLE. It is, by no means, exhaustive.

On and On It Goes

There’s no end to the complexities of even one human life. The YOLE can be referred to in the middle of a storm (When nothing seems clear because everything is happening fast) or tranquil waters (When everything is fine and you want to focus on what small changes might have the best impact). Whatever the context it can show how some of major elements of life may be changed to enable one’s life to function more optimally. In “The Outliers Handbook” I refer to the equation in the context of the subjects and areas of life being addressed.

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Investors File Criminal Charges Against Kenneth Johnson and Pamela Del Real, FBI and IRS Notified

By Terence Gillespie June 10, 2015

As promised by investor Lt. Col. Thomas Baker, the forensic reconstruction of Galt’s Gulch Chile has been completed and was hand-delivered to the FBI and the IRS on June 8th, 2015. Informed by the reconstruction, investor David McLeod filed criminal charges against Kenneth Johnson and Pamela Del Real in Chile (Docket number RUC 4710-2015) on May 20th. More US civil suits against Johnson are likely to follow.

On a phone call with Cathy Cuthbert, she described the forensic recontruction as a wellspring of previously unknown facts and details about what actually transpired around GGC. Timelines, Contracts, Accounting, Wire Transfers, Corporate reports, Recorded conversations between Johnson and investors, Videos, Credit reports, etc. showing Johnson to be at the heart of the problems surrounding GGC he has blamed on others. In other words, despite Johnson’s claims of working for the investors as a developer the reconstruction shows that the “service” Johnson has been providing them is similar to that which the bull provides the cow.

Readers of this GGC series will find it no surprise that Johnson used investor funds to spin a complex web of deceit involving multiple entities, off-shore trusts, multiple bank accounts, share swaps with Mario Del Real and others, inflated prices, ridiculous late fees, absurdly negotiated prices, etc. all while using corporate bank accounts like a personal checking account.

It’s tempting to leave Jeff Berwick out of discussions about GGC now that he’s so publicly apologized. Unfortunately, his involvement in cutting Cobin and German out, starting a different entity into which to take title (IGGSA) and trying to get the New Zealand trust and offshore structures in place is quite evident in the reconstruction documents. There’s little doubt Ken Johnson was the instigator of the most serious problems with GGC, and continues to make all things worse with his presence and current behavior. However, to say Berwick wasn’t right there at the beginning is to not tell the story, correctly, at all. As mentioned in Part 3 my hope is that Berwick will externalize his contrite heart into some modest assistance to ongoing recovery efforts or investors in extreme need. With the introduction of these new charges, with more to follow, the publicity surrounding the aftermath of GGC is not going away, anytime soon.

Note: The criminal charges filed by David McLeod, and some documents of the forensic reconstruction I was able to coax from the recovery team, have been added to the free E-book, “The Creature from Galt’s Gulch”. I will continue to add such elements to the book as I receive them and within the boundaries of preserving the privacy of the investors.

Justice Provided by the People Involved

As described by Cathy Cuthbert and Thomas Baker, the breadth and depth of the forensic reconstruction they’ve put together is quite impressive. It’s not only a meticulous investigation and gathering of documents but they’ve formatted the whole thing into a package that makes it accessible to outside parties.

I’m not sure what may have transpired between Tom and Ken but the USMC motto of “No better friend, no worse enemy” might echo in Johnson’s mind for some time to come. That is, if Johnson is able to comprehend what has just happened to him. The agencies he’s just been reported to will hound him for the next decade. Half of that decade will be spent defending himself against the criminal charges that were filed against him in Chile on May 20th, by David McLeod. And, there’s more to come. A rather obvious tip to Johnson would be: The next time Tom makes an offer of either “Friend” or “Enemy” . . . go with the former choice. Who knows? Maybe the recovery team would still let Johnson wiggle out of his fraud if he’d just hand over the land the investors paid for.

The FBI white collar crime fraud division will find that most of the investigative, forensic accounting, and reconstructive work has been done and hand-delivered to them by the recovery team. With so much work already complete perhaps the agency will bump the case to the top of their case-load so they may stand in front of their logo at a news conference and receive some good publicity.

The Del Real Factor

Johnson is solely responsible for inviting a local Chilean, Mario Del Real, into GGC affairs. And yet, investors have been made to suffer Johnson’s endless complaining about problems he’s had with Mario and his daughter, Pamela. That’s because Johnson performed a bizarre GGC stock swap with Mario hoping to make big money on the value of water in an Andes Water company called Rio Colorado. By the time the smoke had cleared Mario owned most of IGGSA and his daughter was the general manager of the company! In other words, Johnson was no longer the dominant share holder of GGC and had lost all control over the entity that holds the land. What great “Development” work, Ken!

(To understand more about this failed deal see Chapter 7, “The Rio Colorado/GGC Share Swap”, in the GGC E-book.)

If you’ve read my “Stolen Car Metaphor” at the end of Part 7 you know my take that Johnson’s epic fail with the Del Real share swap is merely the lamentations of a thief who bungled and lost the proceeds of a previous theft. The fact that Johnson’s audience for these lamentations are the victims of the first theft is exactly the kind of behavior I find consistent with Dr. Robert Hare’s psychopathy checklist.

Any deal Johnson made with stolen shares of stock can, and should be, overturned. Therefore, whether the Del Reals colluded with Johnson, or are merely his victims, is a matter for a judge to decide (Yes, there is no longer any way to resolve GGC disputes without involving state agencies, unfortunately). Pamela Del Real’s resume (She’s now the general manager for IGGSA) shows substantial accounting expertise. Such expertise will make it impossible for her to plead ignorance if there was any foul-play on the Del Reals part.

Johnson’s Latest Ploy, Revealed

Johnson has now revealed his latest ploy and what’s behind his re-occupation of the GGC hacienda and grounds. And, surprise, surprise, it’s a variation on his usual … lies mixed with just enough truth to confuse and divide his listeners against themselves while holding out a carrot and stick for those who either cooperate or resist.

More specifically, Johnson is trying to confuse and divide investors against lead investor Josh Kirley hoping they’ll put pressure on Josh to relent in his legal actions which have locked up Johnson’s sale and pillage of IGGSA assets. He also wants the investors to help him get rid of his “Del Real” problem. The carrot Johnson offers is the same old title to land he’s been promising investors, and not delivering, for the past two years. The stick is his continued presence and purported counter-attacks on investors who “continue to attack him”. For those not familiar with Johnson-speak, the word “attack” describes the actions of anyone who points out to Johnson another of his own broken promises.

If only the investors will help him convince Kirley to relent, and help him get rid of the Del Reals, then Johnson can deliver, at long last, the coveted Titles to actual land the investors have been pestering him about, all this time.

E-mail Between Host and Parasite

A recent e-mail exchange between Josh Kirley (The host) and Ken Johnson (The parasite) is an excellent illustration of what actually went wrong with GGC. It’s also an excellent example of what happens when “The creature” is confronted with truth.

My thanks to Josh Kirley for making this e-mail exchange available:

On Thu, May 28, 2015 at 12:27 PM, Josh Kirley <joshkirley@gmail.com> wrote:

“Ken,

For two years, you keep sending out the same emails. Always full of juicy drama, promising the release of more information in the future. This behavior is unprofessional. It inspires no confidence. Why can’t you just do your job?Try building something. Try living up to your responsibilities. Produce something. Be accountable. If you are GGC’s Minister of Propaganda, who is the Project Manager? Your accusations are baseless and defy all logic.

Tell me if you can refute the accuracy of the following facts. I swear to their order and authenticity.

1) You are wholly responsible for bringing the del Reals into this nightmare.

2) You pleaded with me to give 1 to 2.5 million dollars to Mario del Real for his Rio Colorado Project. You personally vouched for Mario, insisting the Rio Colorado deal was a “No Brainer” and a “Homerun”

3) I told you that I had my suspicions about del Real and would get back to you after performing some due diligence.

4) Once I told you that I was not willing to put money into a second Chilean investment, you totally reversed course.

5) You refused to provide me with del Real’s Ruta number, or even his full name, intentionally stonewalling my attempts to research his background.

6) You told an entire room full of defrauded investors at the second festival that your deal with del Real was a “totally separate” matter between you and him.

7) You told all of us that your alliance with del Real was “none of our business” and would have no impact on our contracts.

8) When I offered to pay, out of my own pocket, to have del Real looked into for you, you refused my help, saying that you feared if I looked into del Real, he might “get spooked” and walk away from your deal.

9) Weeks later, you came back to me, begging for a million dollars. You said that you were double crossed by del Real and you needed me to buy back the shares that you gave to him.

10) When I would not bail you out, you predictably changed your characterization of my relationship to the project from savior to saboteur.

I’m sorry if I cannot respond to each of your lying emails. But, I have to give priority to my day job. I suggest you do the same. Maybe start by paying employees, repaying loans, and living up to the contracts you signed.

Josh Kirley”

The Parasite Responds

“Josh,

As you know, you are lying about most all that you discuss. There are communications between you, Monica Wehrhahn, Ken Carpenter, Alison Sherman, the Del Reals and more. Do you think that those just disappear because you are now pitching your false storyline to yet another news outlet? This has always seemed to be a publicity stunt for you, just as GGC always have been for Jeff Berwick.”

Johnson then goes on a bizarre rant about Jeff Berwick and BitcoinATM, Wire Transfers, Cafayate, Argentina (If you can believe it) and ends with:

“We are working on completing what Mr. Aguirre was unable to complete, or was unwilling to complete. We are working to fix the $1m+ damages that those labeling themselves “rescuers” of GGC have inflicted upon the farm, buildings and property. We don’t spend our time pitching a false story line for our own publicity, as Mr. Berwick and yourself seem to focus on quite a lot.

Ken”

Notice that Johnson does not dispute, nor even address, any of Kirley’s questions or statements. This is the way e-mail “Exchanges” and “Dialogues” go with Johnson. For readers who may have wondered . . . “Why don’t they just ask Johnson if [Insert simple question here] the above exchange with Josh Kirley is your example. Josh speaks the pure truth and asks sincere questions and, in response, Johnson doesn’t respond, at all.

The last paragraph is classic Johnson-speak. For readers who don’t understand the dialect his e-mails usually end with a payoff like this if you know how to read Johnson-speak. That is, you take all accusations as a literal description of what Johnson, himself, has done or is doing. In his last paragraph, therefore, we learn that Johnson has caused more than a million dollars of damage and is pitching false story lines for his own publicity.

Johnson’s Assaults

I’ve spoken with two people who were physically assaulted by Ken Johnson. The first was a young man Johnson tried to push around (Mentally and physically) during Johnson’s employment with The Dollar Vigilante. This young man would not tolerate Johnson’s nonsense and was the first person to speak up to Berwick about his suspicions about Johnson poisonous behavior. If Berwick had listened it’s anyone’s guess how Galt’s Gulch Chile might have played out without the involvement of Ken Johnson.

The second assault was that of a 70-year-old Salesman that worked for GGC who didn’t fare so well in the “Encounter”. Sandy “Clarence” Sandfort was grabbed by the lapels and thrown over a couch by Johnson when he learned that Sandy was about the leave Chile after all of Johnson’s promises had remained unfulfilled. Sandy was severely bruised and Johnson had almost managed to break a few of Sandy’s ribs. He was so shaken up by Johnson’s assault that Berwick had to fly in the next day and negotiate an NDA and payoff to keep Sandy quiet about the assault. Johnson later broke the terms of that NDA by talking about the assault with a third-party. Hence, Sandy’s retelling of the assault to me.

and Taunting . . .

Tatiana Moroz, who worked for Ken Johnson and wrote the GGC theme song, shares her experiences with GGC and with sociopaths in the liberty movement. Most of what involves GGC is in the first 25 minutes of the video, but, the ladies (With Julia Tourianski, BraveTheWorld.com, and Gigi Bowman, gigibowman.com) go on to tell other fascinating stories around the theme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqQW5a4dJMk

Contrast the story Tatiana tells in the above video with the excitement she started out with and you’ll get a feeling for the roller coaster ride that was GGC. Tatiana perfectly captures the cognitive dissonance felt by most who’ve followed the promise, and then the reality, of GGC in the hands of Ken Johnson.

Favorite excerpts:

“This nonsense [Sociopaths in the Liberty Movement] is disgusting and ridiculous … and what’s gonna happen, here, is that people are going to leave and they’re not going to want anything to do with it (True Liberty) and all we’re going to be left with is the dirtbags who think this kind of behavior is ok. … And I’m sick and tired of the people that are trying to call attention to the sociopathic behavior within our own movement getting trashed.”

Tatiana’s right, of course. Natural law doesn’t evaporate around people who wish to retain and use their liberties. If anything, we must be more mindful of universal human truths because we are the people exploring the boundaries of liberty. A tolerance for lies, manipulation, sexual assault, and broken contracts is not “What’s up!” in Liberty. Anyone claiming that such tolerance is “Cool” is not a libertarian. They’re just another asshole in disguise.

John Cobin Interview

I had the pleasure of interviewing John Cobin about GGC for 1.5 hours, last week. The interview was mostly for my E-book about GGC. However, of interest, here, is the remarkable consistency of Dr. Cobin’s story with everything he’s said from the very beginning. Cobin is abundantly forthcoming about every meeting, document, e-mail and conversation he’s had with respect to GGC. My reaction to the interview was to tell him that it was a pleasure to speak with someone involved in GGC that looks better and better with each discovered and documented fact about the project.

Cobin said the impression he got from Jeff Berwick and Ken Johnson was that, they alone, might be able to supply the funding for GGC. He had no idea that they would, almost immediately, take his extensive research and information about Chile and GGC and cut him out of the deal. Although he concurs with the possible psychopathy of Johnson he puts Berwick in the same category in terms of the way they defrauded him. And yet, I had the impression that, even now, he would be forgiving of Berwick if approached in some meaningful way to make restitution.

Cobin said Johnson came after him, very agressively, in a libel suit in Chile. Guess what happened when the court date arrived? Johnson was a no-show! I won’t compare a libel suit with a podcast debate, but, I’m becoming quite familiar with Johnson’s cowardice in the face of someone determined to tell the truth. So far, Johnson’s been a no-show on two podcasts about GGC that he, himself, dared me to participate in.

For those interested in Chile I highly recommend the interview James and Johnathan conducted with Dr. Cobin on Monday over at Borderless. Cobin proves himself to be THE reliable source for all of Chile and much of the rest of the “Expat” world, as well. Cobin’s book, “Life in Chile” greatly increased the effectiveness of my 21-day country-vetting trip to Chile in 2012. I look forward to reading his latest book, “Living in Chile” when I can come up for air over the summer.

GGC Theatre

Johnson has been roaming around the property making absurd videos in an attempt to document the damage done by the recovery team. Perhaps the investors share my hope that Johnson continue making these videos as they are helpful in documenting what Johnson, himself, has done.

One of the things Johnson harps on in the videos are the “Damages” done by the recovery team causing a poor yield from the wells. In fact, such poor yields were caused by Johnson’s complete ignorance and inept handling of the well work around the property. Despite the pleadings of the local workers Johnson put Manuel Hermosillo in charge of the wells and the work was terribly bungled. And yet, somehow, the investors end up blamed, yet again, for Johnson’s incompetence. Such GGC Theatre might be a useful prop to help Johnson influence the Chilean locals who have no idea what’s going on with GGC. To those who’ve read the first thing about GGC, however, they are just that much more documentation of Johnson’s failings.

Message to local Chileans:

Johnson’s accusations of others are a reliable confession of his own failings. There is truth in many of the disasters he documents but your messenger is the culprit, not the victim. Johnson’s “Investment” into GGC remains at zero while 76-investors and buyers have given $10.45 million dollars for the purchase of everything you see associated with GGC. 72 of the investors have been begging Johnson to leave for over a year.

What happens next?

First, most of the predictions made in Part 6 seem to be coming true. That includes Johnson hinting that he wants to sell water rights, again. Happily, he’s unable to do so with the current injunctions in place.

Johnson has some time while the ocean water recedes in preparation for a tsunami of new legal problems.

Some think Johnson will stick it out to the end because his claim to be “Working for” the investors is his only defense against the legal actions that have been filed against him. But, Johnson also claims he controls or owns everything (Vacillating between claims of control or ownership) depending on his audience and the phases of GGC. How could someone who owns everything be an employee? How could a trustee (Controls everything) claim to be a trustee of beneficiaries who have been begging him to leave for the past year?

Perhaps Chile, and the local populace of Curacavi, will no longer tolerate Johnson as the criminal charges pile on. If he’s made to flee then we may see more pictures of his backpacks of stolen money while he’s on the run. I think he still has a Paraguayan passport from the passport scandal he was conducting at TDV. Still, all these charges filed with state agencies will haunt him wherever he goes. As of today, Johnson has put a digital data noose around his own neck that will follow him around the globe.

Business

The Creature from Galt’s Gulch—The Book

By Terence Gillespie June 4, 2015

NOTE: Version 1 of this book is ready as of June 11th, 2015.

I’ve put all the articles of the McGillespie.com GGC series into book format and am supplementing it with the latest developments and documents from the recovery efforts. In addition to all the articles of the series the book contains:

An Index and description of all people involved, or referenced, in the GGC story.
QR Codes for videos, websites, media articles, etc.
Links to ALL publicly available articles and documents related to GGC.
A Chapter describing the types of fraud that were conducted around GGC.
A Chapter describing the five types of contracts that were used with investors and buyers of GGC “Products”.
A Chapter describing the Rio Colorado/GGC Share swap.
A comparison table of the eye-witnessed actions of Kenneth Johnson to Dr. Robert Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R).
Copies of all legal actions or criminal charges filed with regard to Galt’s Gulch Chile.
The original “Founders Club” document Cobin wrote, and Johnson later modified, and sent out to all investors who expressed interest in GGC.
The original Business Plan that got things started.
Download links for all PDF files related to GGC that are too large to be included in the book.

The book will be updated with all the latest developments around GGC including legal actions, criminal complaints, media articles, youtube videos, articles by Terence, and any significant releases from the recovery team.

This is not a traditional book but a working document meant to help the people involved and inform (And entertain!) the public. It’s currently 200 pages, and growing. I may add an index but the e-book format already enables the reader to search for their term of interest, quite easily. It’s currently in PDF format but I could convert it to EPUB and .MOBI if there’s enough interest. Please send me an e-mail if you would appreciate that potential effort.

The purpose of the Book

To Document, on an ongoing basis, what is happening with Galt’s Gulch Chile to assist recovery efforts, underway.
To be a trusted and reliable source for journalists and media outlets who may wish to write about various aspects of GGC.
To tell the truth about GGC while the facts are clearly in the memory of the participants and the evidence is freshly available.
To document the crimes of Kenneth Dale Johnson and others so possible future victims may be warned.
To Document GGC for legacy reference and lessons that may be gleaned for both GGC restoration and other such ambitious liberty-minded projects.

How to Get Your Copy

Version 1 is ready as of June 11th, 2015. If there’s an update I’ll post the version and date, here, on the page you’re reading.

Go to McGillespie.Com, type your name and e-mail into the boxes under “McGillespie Resource Library”, then hit the submit button. An e-mail will be sent with the password to the McGillespie Resource Library which contains the book and many other resources you might find useful.

For future updates (Or any problems downloading the book) use the “Contact Us” tab or leave a comment, below, on this page with your name and e-mail.

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The Outlier’s Handbook

By Terence Gillespie May 7, 2015

The world discards ideas and people that present multiple standard deviations away from “normal”. And yet, Reality has always been phenomenal and noumenal. To ensure you’re able to thrive in the artificial chaos of this generation you’ll need to be an outlier, in many ways. Here’s “The Outlier’s Handbook” to optimize your trajectory.

The Outlier’s Handbook

(Thriving in Artificial Chaos)

Part 1 — What Outliers?

“Let Your Reasonableness Be Known to Everyone”

Ockham’s Razor: Benefits & Limits
The Bookends of Normalcy Bias & Cognitive Dissonance
“This Book Goes Too Far!”

What Outliers?

Outliers Defined
You Know You’re An Outlier If . . .
Outlier Benefits
Outlier Costs
Personal Secession and Other Outlier Mindsets

Part 2 — It’s Your World, Boss!

This Is Where You Live

American Roulette

The Constitution is Safe!
A Bank with Social Services Around It
Democracy: The God that Failed
The Corporation
The Deep State
Fascism, American Style

Lifecycle of Nations

“Poverty of Nations” Report Card
Imperial Collapse Playbook

Danger, Will Robinson!

Technocracy: The Trojan Horse of Global Transformation

Regional Bloc Head Mercantilism

Gee, Maybe Nation-States Weren’t So Bad, After All
Solutions Amidst Global Fascism
Change Happens Like This, Now

Part 3 — The Usual Suspects

Call Them As You See Them

Origin & Story of Rulers and Authorities

Angelic Gen 6 View: Consistency & Insights
So, Who are “They”?
The “New” Face of Evil (Follow the Blood)
Long Term Trends Require Spiritual Unity
The Minions
A Working Structure of Oppression

They Walk Among Us

Serial Killers
How Can You Spot One?
Political Ponerology
7 signs you might be dating one
Protection From Them
Speech Patterns
I, Psychopath
The Hidden Cost of Killing Psychopaths
Beware the Backlash

Elements of Their World View

Their Goals

”Ye Shall Be As Gods”

Their Methods

The Moral Code of Evil
Inversion
Undisclosed Adhesion Contracts
Counterfeit Money
Controlled Markets
Technocracy
Stacked & Interlocking Pyramidical Structures
Consolidation
Democracy
Eugenics
Perpetual Fear
Long-Term Planning
With Methods Like This, Who Needs the Occult?

Part 4 — Acquiring Immunity

Move #1: Acquire Personal Immunity

Personal Matters

Purpose is Everything
Managing Outlierhood
Growth
Ethical Time Travel

Health Matters

First Do No Harm
Clean Food, Water, Air & Place
Nutrient Dense Diet
Gut Flora, Probiotics and the Second Brain
Optimal Exercise
Stress & Breathing
Life Extension & Blood Sugar Management
Sensible Health Insurance
Putting It All Together

Spiritual Matters

Intelligent or Random Design
Oneism (Monism) vs. Dualism
CINO’s & MINO’s
Christianity Leads To Science, Islam leads to Murder
Gandhi or Jesus?
Get Blessed
Get Uncursed
Supernatural Immunity: The Mind & Way Of Christ
The Whole Council of God
Spiritual Warfare
Practical Examples of Spiritually Based Solutions

Locational Matters

The Best Place to Live
Where Not to Live
Should you relocate?
The World is Yours
The Illusion of Ownership
Mobility
G.O.O.D Project – Lessons Learned

Family Matters

Instrument of Recursive Perfection
Spouse Choice
Children
Extended Family
Friends Worth the Title are Family
Community

Legal Matters

Natural Law
The Constitution is Safe!
Jurisdiction Matters
Where is the Agreement?
It’s Hard to Be a Free Man
Unraveling Your Liberty

Financial Matters

Money is for Immunity & Purpose
Business as Extension of Purpose
Tax Penalties for Fear and Poor Planning
Mortgage Slavery, Repealed
Austrian Economics is Real Economics
Investments in Immunity & Purpose Have the Highest ROI
Asset Protection

Political Matters

Terms of “State” & “Government”
The Diversion Of Left – Right Thinking
The Votes that Matter
Optimal Government = Perfect Self-Government
The Chief Asset Of The State: Fear & Belief In It’s Necessity
All Matters of Liberty Are Related
Caveat Viator: Libertarianism and Anarchy are Aspects of a Complete Worldview
Govern Thyself Perfectly and Hold Death Dear

Perspective Matters

The Most Valuable Commodity on the Planet
Philosophers On Donuts
Terms of “Freedom” & “Liberty”
Equality & Authority
Freedom & Structure
Peace Does Not Flow From Passivity
Proof and Truth
You Can’t Beat Everything with Nothing
“Let’s Just Split the Difference and Find a Middle Ground”
Stoicism
The Opportunity in Uncertainty
If Swamp Rats Can’t be Exterminated Why Can You?
What About America?

Doing Matters

Tony Robbin’s Best Trick
Think Spiritually, Act Locally
Getting Things Done
Low Hanging Fruit
Tragic Flaws of Conventional Prepping
Expert Tips
How To Lose Without Fighting (An Outlier’s Not To-Do List)

Part 5 — Ants & The Human Mosaic

Change The World in Four Moves

Humans as an Ant Army
Move #1: Immunity
Move #2: Specialize
Move #3: Move
Move #4: Cooperate
Humanize the Best Attributes of Animals & Insects

Part 6 — Problems: Solutions

Move #2: Specialize & Pick One

Personal Concerns

Training Disguised as Education
Shortening Attention Spans
Media Agitprop

Health Concerns

Eugenics
Vaccines Vs. Immunity
Socialized Medicine
Food Fascism & GMOs
Fluoridated water
Nuclear Waste & Meltdown Disasters
Geo-Engineering
Disease(s) Cured

Spiritual Concerns

Psychopathy
Moral Relativism
Odious Debt (Slavery)
Wars of Conquest
False-Flag Attacks
End Times Decoder Rings
501c3 Churches

Locational Concerns

Agenda 21
Scientific Control Grid
Power Grid Fragility

Family Concerns

The State as Great Father
Broken Families

Legal Concerns

Patent Squelching
Webs of Undisclosed Adhesion Contracts
Drug Wars
Licensing
Militarization of Police
Surveillance State
Monopoly
Bonus: Beating Traffic Tickets

Financial Concerns

Fractional Reserve Banking (The Theft of Human Labor)
Disappearing Middle-Class A.K.A Unemployment
Currency Wars
US Bankruptcy
World Banking Systems
Institutional(ized) Theft
Market Manipulation
Global Cooling, Warming …Climate Change?
Technocracy

Political Concerns

Collectivism
Globalism

Part 7 — Appendices

In Case of Emergency: Read First!
Four Ways to Parse Solutions
Reading List for Outliers
Outlier Creeds
Sovereignty & Law
Agorist Manifesto in 95 Theses
Agorist Road-map Kyle Bennet
100 Ways To Leave Leviathan
Wayne & Barry’s Guide for World Rulers

Defense

There’s Something Wrong with Every Body

By Terence Gillespie October 9, 2014

Find out what’s wrong with yours and deal with it.

That’s what my friend Seroj said when I told him I had hemochromatosis. He’s right. We all have at least one thing wrong with our bodies. And finding out what it is can be a life boosting insight.

Seroj has a form of diabetes and is now glad for it. Dealing with it conferred benefits beyond the condition. He’s healthier now because of (How he dealt with) his diabetes!

No Body is Perfect?

When preparing for Mr. Olympia, Arnold said that no matter how perfect a body appears none have perfect symmetry. All parts have to brought into balance with the whole. His sloped shoulders and small calves made his point.

Lack of symmetry is a visual cue to lack of internal perfection. No body is perfectly symmetrical on the outside so why would the inside be any different?

It’s a miracle our bodies are as perfect as they are. We take for granted billions of complex relationships and functions that keep us alive. Our bodies are changing every second with all cells replacing themselves every seven years. Look at a picture of yourself seven years, ago. It’s not you, anymore!

Not IF, but WHAT?

Don’t waste time wondering if something’s wrong with your body. Just find out what it is. It’s liberating and the benefits to dealing with it may be enormous. The remedy, itself, will most likely benefit the rest of your body and life. If you have the conditions I do then dealing with them may even safe your life!

What’s Wrong With Me?

There’s two things wrong with my body: An inherited predisposition to high blood pressure and a blood problem called hemochromatosis. Both are silent, painless and deadly. But, not for me. Dealing with each has been a boost to overall health and quality of life. The remedies, nutrients, change of habits and diet needed to neutralize these ailments conferred benefits beyond the correction of the initial conditions.

For more on how I’ve eliminated the deadly threat of hypertension see my article on how to eliminating Hypertension without using drugs. The treatment for hemachromatosis is bloodletting like they used to do with leeches to rid the bodies of evil spirits. For more on that journey see, “How To Save Your Own Life“.

The Earlier, The Better

The earlier you find out what’s wrong with your body, the better. The condition(s) won’t go away through ignorance. You may not get the luxury of symptoms for a problem that can probably be balanced or avoided.

I found out about my high blood pressure while donating blood and hemachromotosis when it was diagnosed in my brother. Both of my body’s deficiencies are silent killers if left untreated.

My doctor friends joke that everyone should be their own doctor. Maybe that’s reaching too far. But, we should understand our bodies as well as we understand our cars.

Come to think of it . . . there’s usually something wrong with my car, too!

Diet

How To Stop Drinking Wine

By Terence Gillespie September 26, 2014

The best way to quit drinking wine is to replace it with something else. For wine you’ll need direct and indirect replacements.

The indirect replacements are for the routines, sights, sounds, textures, tastes, feelings, circumstances and occasions that surround your wine drinking.

The better your choice of replacement(s) for the drink and all these other things that surround your drinking the easier the quitting will be.

I wrote similar words about quitting coffee, last week. And I’m testing their limits by simultaneously giving up wine and coffee. Wine is the tougher of the two because I like wine more. It’s also become more ingrained in my lifestyle and eating habits than coffee ever did.

I thought about calling this article, “How to Give Up Alcohol”, but, I don’t have experience with drinking other forms of alcohol, besides wine. I can’t tell you how to stop drinking alcohol unless its the alcohol in wine your trying to give up. Like every article I write this is about my direct experience. In this case my direct experience is in giving up wine.

It’s possible that some of my experience may be useful for wine alcoholics, but, that would be presumptuous. If you have a more extreme form of addiction than I’m writing about here the additional benefits of an isolated environment, group support and a counselor is probably warranted. It’s never been easier to find an Alcohol Treatment Program near you.

Should you stop drinking Wine?

The biggest stumbling block for quitting anything is knowing if and why you need to quit. In the case of wine you have to be very clear and honest with yourself on your reasons for giving it up. Wine, itself, is not a harmful drink. But, you can make it into one by drinking too much of it.

How much is too much? I’ll give you my answer, but, you’ll have to come up with yours. In terms of health one glass of wine a day is good. Between one and two glasses the benefits drop off, rapidly, according to bodyweight. There is no literature anywhere recommending more than two glasses, regardless of bodyweight. So, if health is your value there’s your answer.

If you exceed the amount good for your health its bad for your body. At that point you can no longer claim health benefits as your excuse for drinking more.

I am giving up wine for the following reasons:

It’s interfered with the length and quality of my sleep.
Lack of sleep has compromised the clarity of my thoughts and the quality of my writing.
I’ve been exceeding the small quantity that’s good for my health.

These are not acceptable tradeoffs for my enjoyment and they’re certainly not Optimal. I won’t be having wine until its just another drink option and I can take it or leave it. Here’s how I think about it: “Wine that detracts from my health and productivity has got to go.”

Being this clear on my why and if is probably the only thing that enables me to actually stop drinking it. Seems to me the more wine detracts from your life the more motivation you have to stop drinking it. I highly recommend being honest here and getting extremely clear on your motivations.

Replacements

Quitting is a transition to something else. With wine its a transition to alternative beverages, routines and choices . With that in mind here’s a few important points to keep in mind about picking and using replacements:

The best replacements usually have a lot in common with what you’re trying to quit. Things we have to quit often involve routines, sights, sounds, textures, tastes and feelings surrounding the thing we’re trying to quit. You need replacements for them, as well. For wine, there is the taste, the wine buzz, the smell, the cool liquid flowing down your throat, the occasions where its served and the mood and social interactions that occur around it. Since we live up in wine country in northern California there are many events that occur on vineyard grounds, as well.

You may need a series of replacements to step into the routines that are optimal for you. That means that your optimal final replacement may not be the best choice to use first. Your body may have to detoxify or have other reactions and compensations it has to cycle through before you can ultimately quit. In extreme cases that may mean moving from something toxic to something less toxic and eventually to something non-toxic.

It may be effective to allow yourself as much of the replacement as you want (Assuming your replacement is not toxic). It may serve as a psychological reward for following through on the quitting.

My Replacements for Wine

My first replacement for wine is sparkling water.

Sparking water is fun, cold, quenches my thirst and is poured out of what looks like a wine bottle. Like wine, I have to make a separate trip to the fridge to find a cold bottle. After opening it I pour it onto a wine glass. When we’re eating out at a restaurant and I have wine I usually pour sparkling water into the empty wine glass. So, there’s a psychological sense that I’m finishing up a good meal and a few glasses of wine at a restaurant when I pour the sparkling water without having had any wine, at all.

My second replacement is a RockStar energy drink. This is similar to the sparking water but comes in a can. Like wine it gives me an energy boost and usually gets my writing started if I’m procrastinating on an article. Many people don’t know that wine gives an energy boost, as well, and that’s part of what’s missing when you stop drinking it.

My third replacement, used in the afternoon, is a nap. I was using coffee and wine as a crutch to power through the afternoon without a nap or a break. I decided not to fight afternoon naps any longer and just take one. The benefits of afternoon naps have been enormous! If fact, I feel it gives almost a full extra day of productivity every day! Wow, talk about a replacement.

My fourth replacement is my ace in the hole: Exercise! Physical exercise is the best way to get high. And when it comes to drinking wine the physical high from exercise completely wipes out desire for anything but water or electrolytes.

I have a RockStar after waking up from my afternoon nap. So far, its been a great way to start my ’second day’. It’s one of those sugar free health drinks that has healthy ingredients. I’m skeptical about the pink, blue and yellow stuff they use in sugar free drinks and prefer stevia. But, for now, I’m enjoying the Rock-Star until I find something better. Leading candidates are pelligrino with a little fruit juice added for taste or some of the exotic teas my wife gets on her trips to China.

Exotic teas will probably become my number one beverage replacement for wine in the future. I don’t think they are the best first beverage, but, they are probably the my optimal replacement. There are an infinite variety of them, they are excellent for a wide variety of health aspects, its fun to make them and experiment with preparation and taste. They are also like wine in the sense that it feels like I’m drinking the earth. Call me nuts, but, I think drinking wine and tea feels like drinking the earth. They make me feel like I’m absorbing all the best minerals and herbs from the leaves and trees and fruit that they were made from.

How Long Does It Take?

It took about three weeks before it didn’t occur to me to have wine with dinner, any longer. That’s longer than I thought it would take and shows how much I associated food with wine.

As much as I was addicted to coffee it was easier to stop drinking coffee than wine. That was another surprise because I craved coffee but never wine. I think wine was actually providing more energy and calories than the coffee was. I was actually using wine like an energy bar. Who knew?!

One of the surprising things for me was how much I slept. Without the energy from the wine I was more tired, even during the day. I could not have a cup of coffee to bridge this gap because I was giving up coffee at the same time. This is all ok with me because one of my goals was to sleep more. I just didn’t expect to be more tired in the afternoons. This may be the temporary adjustment of my body making up for lost sleep. I sleep much better at night, now, and that has enourmous health benefits.

How Will You Know When You’ve Quit?

You’ll know you’ve quit when you can take it or leave it. Wine will take its place among the multitude of drink options available to you depending on the occasion and what you’re in the mood for at the moment.

You’ll be able to have a meal and not automatically think of having wine with it.

You’ll be able to engage in social interactions in a relaxed and enjoyable manner without the wine buzz that used to loosen up your inhibitions.

A few days ago, we were over at a friends house and I was starting to fade. We were late in getting together and didn’t want to leave, yet. The conversation was interesting and another couple had just walked in the door that we wanted to socialize with. This is the point at which I would normally pour a glass of wine. Instead I had one cup of coffee. Luckily, I had already gotten to the point of not needing coffee to start my day and it was just another drink option to me. It was just the thing needed to keep the conversation going for a little while until it was time to go. One cup of coffee and that was it. No coffee needed the next morning and no problems sleeping that night. And best of all, no wine either, which probably would have kept me up all night.

Unlike coffee, wine has never been a drink I couldn’t do without for things like starting my day or thinking clearly or what have you. It’s always been an optional drink added to the existing circumstances. My desire for it was mental more than physical because I never really craved more of it unless I was already drinking it. And that’s just part of my obsessive nature. Most of the time my obsessive nature helps me finish things. I’ve learned to redirect that urge into finishing a bottle of pelligrino instead of a bottle of wine.

Being straight is the ultimate high. Spend time with any 5 year old if you need to prove this to yourself. You’ve always known it. Children don’t need anything but a glass of water and a baloney sandwich to be ecstatic about life. And the only way to experience the full bandwidth of life is to be straight.

The irony is that If I have a glass of wine in a few months one glass will probably provide more enjoyment than three glasses used to. One glass is all I’ll want. And, its all I ever did need. If a second glass is poured I’ll be thinking about sleepless nights and less productivity the next day. Hopefully, I’ll be thinking about that while reaching for the pelligrino.

Banking

Catherine’s Financial Detox

By Terence Gillespie September 20, 2014

This is a re-post of a summary of Catherine Austin-Fitt’s financial detox plan as given to Max Keiser five years, ago. The 15 pieces of wisdom extracted from the video are timeless. If you had started working on them in 2009 it would have had a dramatic impact on your life. Five years from now the same will be true about starting to work on them, today.

Catherine Austin Fitts is a breath of fresh air.

With a keen understanding of the links between politics, corruption, and money she is unmasking economic con-games, one by one, for the benefit of us all. Give her 15-minutes and she’ll explain the most complex schemes and enable you to see right through all sides of the rhetoric we’ve been hearing all our lives.

Not only that, but, she offers powerful solutions and action plans that can be implemented within minutes of watching one of her videos.

Listen to her describe her “Bailout Plan” in the video, below, which I found on The Edge with Max Keiser.

1. – Save Time

Cut out TV and corporate media. They’re a brainwashing waste of time. You’ve got better things to do and think about. Get radical about cutting this out and save 5-10 hrs a week of “bad training”.
Get corrupt people and enterprises out of your life. They get access to your data and money. Consider carefully the banks, brokerage houses or institutions you do business with.
Control personal data. There is no privacy. Think through who you do business with and who has access to your data.
Compliance – be impeccable with compliance. In a situation with highly complex rules and no privacy it’s easy to get caught up in a dragnet.
Simplify. The less things you’re responsible for the better.

2. – Get Smart

Implementing 1. gives you time for 2. and 3.

See things as they truly are.
The greatest wealth creating entity of all time is the family. Think strategically about your family and friends.
If you’re not in a conspiracy you need to start one. Conspiracy means to breathe together. Start a conspiracy with your family to benefit each other and keep corrupt institutions out of all your lives.
Network with other people who know what’s going on. Nobody is as smart as all of us.
If you have time, understand history. What’s happening today is logical if you understand the history of things like narcotics trafficking, mortgage fraud, etc.

3. – Reposition Your Assets

The goal of the games of economic warfare are control and equity.
Build your equity. Invest in your health and your knowledge. Think strategically about managing these key assets.
We’re leaving a large bubble and now people want hard assets. Shift out of phony financial instruments into securities and hard assets with solid economics.
Stick with long term trends. Follow the tapeworm. Don’t be confused by economic nonsense into investing into anything that is not long term and high quality like food, water, gold, Precious metals.
Demonetize. We put money into financial assets, get yield, then buy things. This is a losing proposition.

Catherine Austin Fitts is always worth your time. Check out her blog which she calls, The Solari Report.

Children

Knots for Life – Part 2: Wide Before Deep Practice List

By Terence Gillespie September 15, 2014

As said in Three Knots and the Truth it’s incredible what can be done with three knots: The Bowline, Buntline and double sheet bend. If you’re content to learn only these three then get two pieces of rope and start practicing. For those who want to learn more it’s helpful to take a step back and look at the big picture.

There are knots for everything. However, almost every one of the thousands of knots invented do one of five things. They:

Stop – Stop rope from passing through a hole or to stop strands from unlaying.
Bind – Bind objects to other objects.
Loop – Put a loop in the middle or the end of a rope.
Bend – Joins the ends of two ropes together.
Hitch – Attach a rope to an object.

To optimize your time I propose learning the best single knot for each of these five functions before learning many knots that do the same thing. In other words . . .

Go Wide Before Deep

You’re better off doing more with fewer knots than learning many ways to do the same thing. For reasons of memory, time and spatial confusion I’ve ordered the following practice list to cover the widest range of function with the fewest number of knots.

When you’ve got a minute practice these knots, in order. If you can tie one easily then go to the next knot. If you’re stuck on one it’s best to master it before moving on. Knots that you can tie easily are much more valuable that knots you can’t remember.

These 24 knots represent a lifetime competence list. Your ability to improvise rope solutions will be quite incredible with just the first seven knots. Don’t feel you must get to the end of this list to be competent.

A Note on Choices

The following knots are from my real life experience from the vantage point of a generalist. They are not activity specific. My choices favor knots that are most useful, strong, secure (Won’t slip), stable (Won’t capsize), easy to tie and untie though few have every one of those characteristics. No knot is perfect.

Type	Name	Notes	Learn
Stop	Figure 8	Building Block – Fundamental	1
Hitch	Buntline Hitch	Building Block, Trumps Clove Hitch	2
Loop	Bowline	Mankind’s favorite loop- Versatile	3
Bend	Sheet Bend (Dbl.)	Joins same sized or Thick-to-Thin	4
Bind	Constrictor Knot	Or a Boa if it needs to look good	5
Loop	Alpine Butterfly	Loop or chair tied mid-rope, strong	6
Hitch	Rolling Hitch	hammock, hoisting,lengthwise load	7
Bend	Fisherman’s Bend, Dbl.	Stronger than sheet bend – proven	8
Loop	Bowline on a Bight	Emergency Man Chair – Rescue	9
Hitch	Prussik Knot	Sliding loop for climbing, rescue	10
Bend	Water Knot	Flat-to-Flat, joins dog leashes	11
Hitch	Anchor Bend	Takes strain in all directions	12
Loop	Figure 8	Millions of Climbers served	13
Hitch	Round Turn w/2 HH	Easy, less secure anchor bend	14
Bind	Timber Hitch	Use to drag trees, pipes, bundles	15
Hitch	Truckers Hitch	great and simple leveraged pulley	16
Hitch	Half-Blood Knot	filament to hook, fishing	17
Bind	Bundle-S	4 heavy load, add bowline to hoist	18
Bend	Zeppelin	Symmetrical, won’t jamb, climbing	19
Bind	Diamond Hitch	Pack Mule Hitch/Car roofs	20
Hitch	Munter Hitch (Dbl.)	Abseil with carabiner	21
Hitch	Adjustable Grip Hitch	general lengthwise load hitch	22
Bend	Sheetbend 3-way	Joins 3 ropes securely	23
Bend	Carrick Bend	Joins Thick Ropes – Cruise ship	24

Practice Materials

All you need is two pieces of rope. Get 12 feet of small rope at the hardware store and cut it in half. Pick up a carabiner while you’re there.

Web

You can watch each knot being tied on the web.

Book

My favorite knot book is DK’s Handbook of Knots: Expanded Edition, by Des Pawson. It’s compact, comprehensive, the pictures are clear, and the plastic covering and glossy pages don’t run when they get wet.

Wallet Cards

I used to carry these waterproof knot cards when boating. Now, I practice from memory, learn new knots from the DK book or the iphone apps, below.

Phone Apps

John Sherry’s animated version of the wallet cards is slick, but, doesn’t have enough knots. I purchased the full version of the winkpass knot guide because it’s the most comprehensive. If you prefer video over slides then the full version of knot time is good though with less knots than the winkpass. I purchased both (For a total of $5) just to have the same knots tied from two points of view. Both apps advertise they intend to keep adding knots.

References

International Guild of Knot Tyers

IGKT Discussion on Best of Breed Knots

Knots on the Web

Knots for Life – Part 1: Three Knots and the Truth

Children

Knots for Life – Part 1: Three Knots and the Truth

By Terence Gillespie September 12, 2014

Knots are like guitar chords: You can rock n’ roll with three knots and the truth.

A minimalist could muddle through life with one knot: The bowline can be used as a loop, hitch or bend. It can be tied with one hand and its variations perform a wide range of duties. Double it for critical work.

To rock n’ roll learn two more knots: The buntline Hitch¹ and the double sheet bend².

It’s incredible what can be done with these Big Three knots. Practice them into your hands and rock n’ roll through most of life’s rope problems.

Do you prefer Jazz? It won’t take many more knots to improvise like a pro. This “Knots for Life” series will optimize your path with a practice list, improvisation techniques, rules of thumb and real life examples.

Whether you stay with The Big Three or branch out some truths about knots and ropes will set an optimal tone for the webs you weave. There are good reasons, even for a minimalist, to learn a few more.

Less is Three Times More

Knots are elegant tools that multiply the uses of rope. The right combination can transform an ordinary rope into the optimal tool for an endless variety of tasks. As much as I love tying them there are good reasons for minimizing the number used because . . .

Knots Weaken Rope

Knots weaken the rope they’re made from. Where strength is critical minimize knots even to the point of using non-rope materials.

Circus, Circus in Las Vegas uses metal, grommets and cables for their permanent circus installation. Ropes and lines are reserved for nets and swings that come into contact with the performers hands and skin. Braids, splices and loops are stronger than knots. Consider using them instead of a knot. There may not be time to braid or splice, but, why knot when you can loop?

When a knot is the right tool choose ones that are strong, secure (Won’t slip), stable (Won’t capsize), easy to tie and untie.

Knots are Hard to Remember

You’re better off with one knot you can tie than 10 you can’t remember. Keep a knot card in your wallet and two lines of paracord in your pocket. Practice The Big Three into your hands. Muscle memory ties when spatial memory fails. Speaking of which . . .

Knots Must Often Be Tied Upside Down and Backwards

The one knot you can remember may have to be tied hanging upside down, with one hand, in the dark or with:

Only one rope end available
No ends available (In the middle of the rope)
One or both ends under tension

Confidence gained in the living room with knot cards can be quickly dashed. The Big Three won’t handle all these situations. It’s best to anticipate, add a few knots to your list and practice them from different vantage points and without looking.

Ropes Vary Greatly

Rope problems often present with two ropes that are:

Thick-to-thin
Slippery-to-dry
Flat-to-round
Flat-to-flat
Bungy-to-vine
Vine-to-vine
Vine-to-object
paracord-to-paracord
paracord-to-shoelace
paracord-to-rope
dental floss-to-bungy
shoelace-to-rope
And on and on with every rope material on earth.

Ironically, a weak rope knot may be a strong vine knot, and vice versa. Once again, The Big Three can’t be expected to handle every type of rope.

Less is still three times more, but, there are practical reasons to learn a few more knots than The Big Three.

“. . .extreme simplicity can only be had at the expense of effectiveness.”
– Brion Toss – The Rigger’s Apprentice, 1984

¹I like the clove hitch for quick undemanding tasks like securing the ends of a lash or keeping rope off the ground while barbecuing. But, I wouldn’t use a clove hitch to tie my dog’s leash around a pole. Why? Because I love my dog. Why use a clove hitch when you could tie a buntline for the same time and effort? Besides, the buntline has two clove hitches facing the loop, is only a slightly weaker replacement for an anchor bend and if made with with a full loop is hands down stronger than a loop with 2 half-hitches. The first paragraph of this article presents three knots with the widest range of utility for some who may not be interested in going any further than these three. With these criteria in mind? No clove hitch, no way.

²Why a sheet bend instead of a double fisherman’s bend? Frankly, I prefer the double fisherman, but, there are so many situations where two different sized ropes must be joined that a person who doesn’t have The sheet bend in their hands will come up short. Notice I specify the double sheet bend. If you’ll only have one bend under your hands then the 7-10% extra strength is prudent.

Stay tuned for “Knots for Life – Part 2”:

Knots for Life – Part 2: Wide Before Deep Practice List

Creativity

Jumpstart Your House in the Country. Build it Backwards (Or maybe not at all)!

By Terence Gillespie September 11, 2014

The most useful things built on land are built last. I propose reversing that order. Build it backwards. Small structures provide big comfort and improvements relative to their size and cost. Their return on investment is high because the investment is small and the return is relative to the “nothing” of vacant land.

Building backwards and small enables you to get the most important uses out of your land first, and soon. There are many advantages other than a high ROI. One might be to rescue this widely held and rarely realized dream from the never-to-be-crossed-out section of your bucket list.

We’ve started the project of securing a retreat in the country and there’s been a world of decisions in choosing one plot of ground. That part of the journey is ongoing and best left to a separate article. Between scouting trips thoughts have turned to solidifying the vision. As the vision became clear I started thinking about ways to Optimize the effort-to-value ratio of building any house in the country. We’ll be building across state lines so remote access factors come into play in our optimization approach, as well.

Plan the Site – Then Build Small and Useful

You have to plan the site anyway, right? Planning is an expense that enables every downstream cost (Including time) to be optimized.

Plan everything your dreaming of for the site. Make sure it fits with the natural flow of the topography. Be practical and figure what you want and what you don’t. Consider everything including the next owner and future generations. And when you’re done pick the smallest most useful element from your plans and build it first.

Easements and Road Access

If you don’t have road access or need an easement then you’ve got some road or legal work to do. Depending on your site design, however, it’s possible your first small structure is some distance from the main building site. If that’s the case then you’ll only need road access to the first structure. Working on that, and leaving the larger road work project aside, for now, still fits the general idea of building it backwards.

Universal Site Plan

If you plan well your plan will capture the universal truths of the lay of the land. Future owner preferences will vary though none would benefit from going against the natural flow of the land.

If circumstances change before you actually build out your vision then most of the things you’ve already built have a good chance of fitting in with the next owners vision. Though not more important than your own values and goals there’s good reason to believe that well-built structures in-line with the natural flow of the land will become permanent beyond you.

Possibilities

My working definition of useful is anything that provides shelter, storage, rent, access or produces income or savings. Ideally, it’s something you would have gotten around to building anyway and decided to build first rather than last.

Covering every possibility is impossible. There’s a continuous line of structures from a tent to the Taj Mahal. Here’s a trigger list to get your creative juices flowing:

The popular descriptions of structures bleed into each other. At what point does a shed become a garage? When you use it as one. What’s the difference between a shed and a Gable? Roof design and quality. The difference between a cabin and a cottage? Depends on who you’re talking to about the property.

For Example

We’re securing a retreat in the country where we’ll build a downsized semi-off-grid version of the house we currently live in. We live in a 3200 sq. foot home and could easily chop off 1000 sq. feet as long as there is storage and room for guests.

We have a clear vision of the design and function of our future home in the country. We are also in the advanced stages of choosing the exact location. Once we’ve decided and bought the land there’s some big decisions to make. Made badly, or not at all, and the whole project could grind to a halt.

Build or Sell?

If our vision is clear why not find an existing place that fits and buy it?

No debt. Purchasing the land and building slowly is a form of self-financing that keeps us from having to take a loan.
Flexibility. As circumstances change and money comes and goes we can make optimal choices on the margin about the timing, cost and usefulness of the next step.
Working harder now to build a second house will enable us to rent our current house in the future for retirement income.
Doing so would require selling our current home and moving immediately. In addition to disrupting my wife’s job we prefer to hold onto our current house for backup.
I like to build things and would prefer designing and building exactly what we want (Where we want it).

Most Bang for the Buck

The last thing we need is land we don’t use. Our best use for land would be to provide:

Overnight Stays – Comfortable enough so they’ll actually happen.
Storage – For Tools and Supplies.
Income – Rental or from our direct use.
Security – For our retreat and securing the property in our absence.

These are the functions we’ll keep foremost in mind when deciding what to build first. The sooner a stucture provides one of these functions the better. Chosen wisely we could fulfill all these needs with minimal cost and effort and spread more ambitious plans over time.

Overnight Stays

We could stay in a motel, hotel, apartment, rental cottage, cabin or at a friend’s house. There’s nothing like the occasional motel room to freshen up. However, we’d prefer to put money directly into improvements wherever possible.

Tent & Rental Car

Realistically, it will be yours truly driving a rental car, setting up a tent and enjoying some getaway camping, at first. This zero structure lo-fi method is a custom fit for me (Supplemented with an occasional motel room). Some of the best adventures I’ve been on were done car camping with a tent. I can’t think of a better way to stay overnight while jumpstarting our place in the country.

Lean-to or Shed

Depending on the land the first structure will be either a Lean-to and Firepit or a custom shed. Either will provide extra shelter and comfort for future solo trips. The Lean-to would become an outdoor gathering place when we’re living on the land, permanently. The shed would be a great place to store supplies and tools and also be a notch above a tent for shelter. Done well, either one will give a sense of accomplishment and start momentum towards the next improvement.

While building the first structure I’ll collapse the tent and check-in to a motel room to recuperate, now and then. Our location shouldn’t be more than 30-40 miles away from one. I’ll keep tools in the truck and haul supplies as needed. My SUV has been a champ playing this role on local builds. Though it hasn’t been necessary I could always rent a local U-haul for a day to haul large materials.

Mobile Home or RV

My wife will go two nights in a tent or lean-to. Longer than that and it’s time for a motel room. If we ever hope to stay on the land, together, for longer than a week then we’re talking mobile home or RV. Happily, mobile homes and RV trailers can be bought for a song, nowadays.

If we go with the mobile I’ll prepare the site and have it delivered. If we go with an RV I’ll pull it on-site with the truck. Either one is a big step up from, and will supplement, the lean-to or shed.

Time Out for Perspective

This is a big step. If I can make overnight stays a pleasant experience it would get my family on-site more often and provide support for the next build. That would pave the way for making progress on the rest of the project. If our project gets stopped we still have land, a shed for on-site storage and a comfortable means for overnight stays. Add the rental of a small public storage unit and we’d have a Bug Out Location, already.

There will have been significant expenses, at this point. However, in relation to their value it smacks of Optimal bang for the buck.

Nothing Wasted

Notice all of the above options leave nothing wasted though we’ll be implementing only four of them depending on the site:

The rental car gets returned.
Use or sell the tent at a garage sale.
The lean-to and firepit become an outdoor family gathering place for BBQ’s.
Everyone needs a shed and a good one, at that.
The RV can accommodate guests or be taken on your next vacation.
The mobile home can become a guesthouse, sold or moved.

Storage

Everybody needs a place to put things. Building requires tools and supplies and so do humans. Kick back on a hammock all week and your food and water is still better off out of the heat of the rental car. The questions are should the storage be:

Underground?
On-site or off?
Secured by something/someone other than you?

I find underground storage options to be more romantic than practical. It’s expensive to build reliable underground structures and the drop-ins are no picnic with their delivery charge and crane installation. Completely concealing underground storage is hard unless it’s kept small and dispersed.

Until I have someone on the property full time my answer to off-site storage is yes. More specifically, we’ll supplement our on-site shed with a public storage unit. When we’re off site everything we can’t afford to lose goes into a public storage unit. That’s only $35/mo where we’re looking; cheap insurance for expensive tools.

A side benefit of renting public storage is it gives you a local ship-to address while you’re remote. Ask a friend (Or the on-site storage folks?) to receive the shipment and put the materials into storage for you. When you come into town stop by and pick up what you need to get started.

Gotta Love These Pole Barns

A larger pole barn is a possible one-building solution to overnight stays, storage and a little bit of security for the trouble. There are options to insulate them if it fits your long term goals for the structure. In fact, a pole barn that fits the site is so useful my first title for this article was, “Build the Barn First!”. However, building backwards is a more complete way to say it and opens up more possibilities.

If it fits the site plan we may skip the shed and go right for a larger pole barn. If so it would make sense to consider one big enough to house an RV. In the event we decide to buy an RV for overnight stays the barn would provide a bit more security and protection for it.

Even if the pole barn was not insulated it would become a second option for sleeping bags over a presumably more comfy RV. Also, if there are ways to secure it well enough, or, we discover that theft is a non-issue then we might risk storing an RV and more expensive supplies there. Such choices can only be made on the margin as things unfold.

Security

Nothing is 100% secure if you’re not living there. Second best is a house sitting friend or renter. Third best is line of sight view and regular stop-by’s from a neighbor. When you’re off site store anything you can’t afford to lose in public storage.

Put a Web Cam on it?

You’ll need electricity, satellite-only internet and a dedicated (Cheap) computer for this option. For the trouble you’ll get four to eight cameras monitoring your site. It’s not foolproof but it could make your eyes the first eyes to see anything suspicious. Call your neighbor and ask them to check it out.

Retreat

With all the excitement of working on your house in the country don’t forget it gives your family the added benefit of a retreat location should you ever need to leave your current home. Every improvement makes it that much more comfortable for you family in times of retreat. One need only browse recent headlines to become a fan of having some geographical diversity in your housing plan.

Income

What if you could build something that would provide a source of income?

If a moblie home were in the right location and had electricity and water then it could possibly be rented out. Nowadays that may require having cable and internet installed, as well.

A Tiny House

A second possibility is to stay in your mobile home or RV while building a Tiny House on Ground or a Small Guest Cottage. Once built you’d no longer have an issue providing a comfortable place to stay for your family. Depending on location you might even be able to rent it out to someone who could keep an eye on the place for you between builds.

Two is One

If you can rent out a mobile home or cottage then why not have two (Or one of each)? One for a renter and the other for you.

Building two enables leveraging of design, materials, labor and knowledge into a second identical structure. Rent one and stay in the other. If one isn’t rented then all the more options for family and guests. Even if you build one tiny house or cottage and don’t rent it you could then get rid of the RV or supplement the cottage with the RV.

Either way it will be much easier to get your family to stay longer!

Electricity

Speaking of Building it Backwards the smallest and last provision for electricity will be the first one on the back of my truck: A generator.

Bringing electricity to rural land is expensive. Even if your land already has an electrical drop the expense was built-in to your purchase price meaning you would have been able to purchase more land if it wasn’t. Whether you value more land or less with electricity is up to you. I’m a bit torn on the issue and will face it as we zero-in on our exact land choice.

My overall opinion is that electricity is the easiest utility to do without or provide by self-sufficient means. Since our goal is to provide at least some of the latter I’m not sure how much I’m willing to pay for the former.

Water

Water is life and mandatory. It’s so crucial to rural land it makes for a go/no-go buying decision. If you’re lucky enough to have a stream running through your land then you have a huge jumpstart! You’ll still have to setup pumps, plumbing lines, sewer and leach field, but, drinking water is only a two-stage gravity filter away.

Everyone else has to either drill a well and hope for the best or haul water in. If drilling a well is mandatory it’s too big a risk to not have an idea of whether you’ll be successful or how much money to set aside for the expense.

Cell Phone Coverage

Will you have to drive to get a signal on your cell phone? That could be a time and money losing proposition. Satellite has too much latency for any VOIP functionality you may be counting on. Best check on this, in advance.

Structure vs. Strategy

Structure order is only part of build strategy. You may know what to build and still get stuck on strategy. Since we’re building remotely I’ve been thinking through the various options. Here’s some thoughts off the cuff in the spirit of sparking a jumpstart or an idea to break the logjam of the theoretical.

As discussed previously, unless your paying someone else to build you’re going to need tools, supplies, a place to store them and a place to stay while you’re building. While large industrial one-use tools are best rented general tools and equipment are best owned for long term use.

Store all tools and supplies underground on-site.
Store all tools and supplies in an on-site Shed.
Build an on-site shed supplemented with small public storage rental.
Keep RV onsite or in local public storage and pick it up when visiting property.
Rent and return a separate RV trailer for each building session.
Keep RV on a friends property and pick it up when visiting property.
Build a pole barn on-site large enough for supplies, tools and to store RV inside.
Put a wood stove in the Pole Barn (Properly vented and with CO2 detectors all around) to heat.

We live a considerable distance away from our potential building site. That means any RV must be stored or rented locally even if we own it. I’ll be driving the truck to the site and it’s not worth the extra gas to haul an RV back and forth. The gas savings alone would pay for the RV or its local rental.

When in Doubt

The more clear and definite your vision the less time you’ll waste. The best use of your time is spent building structures that fit into your overall site plan. You would have built them anyway and just decided to build them first because of their superior marginal utility.

If you’re stuck on what to build first then there are three ways to go.

Build the Smaller Thing

Let’s face it, building something useful that you would be proud to have on your land is always a bit more difficult than you first imagine. Maybe what you have in mind is too ambitious. Take it down a notch or two. Instead of building a pole barn build a shed. Instead of a shed build a metal canopy. Instead of a canopy a Bear Grylles lean-to to take the edge off the wind for overnight camping.

Cut to the Chase

If you know a larger pole barn will obviate the need for a shed, smaller barn or serve as a workshop (And maybe even store an RV) and you have the means then the optimal use of your time is to build it first. Such a barn is a considerable project though much less than a home. The useful structures you build before your home may still, in themselves, be considerable projects. But, they still bestow the benefits of building it backwards.

Temporary Stuctures

Anyone who’s hauled a port-a-potty or scaffolding onto a building site knows that temporary structures can be the Optimal next choice. If a temporary structure has that much use, and you’ve got the money and time, then build it.

Build It Backwards Advantages

The idea of building it backwards can be implemented in an infinite number of ways. Limiting the focus to my family’s personal goals the approach has the following advantages over a more traditional strategy:

Gets you thinking of ways to use of your land, immediately.
Gets your land ‘producing’ at the beginning of the building process rather than at the end.
No debt. Purchasing the land and building slowly is a form of self-financing that keeps you from having to take a loan.
Flexibility. As circumstances change and money comes and goes you can make optimal choices on the margin about the timing, cost and usefulness of the next step.
Working harder now to build a second house will enables renting your current house in the future for retirement income.
You get to design and build exactly what you want, where you want it, and when you’re ready to build it.
Motivates site planning from the beginning which saves time, money and effort.
Provides a place to live on your property whenever you decide to be there.

Provides a place to live while working on or building the next phase of your country home.
May provide a place to rent for income or on-site security.
Starts momentum. Once you’ve built something useful the chances of adding further improvements rises exponentially.
Your improvements to the property for tax purposes will be minimal. By the time it amounts to something you’ll be getting maximum value from the land.

The most useful things built on land are built last. Reverse that convention and build it backwards. Small structures provide big comfort and improvements relative to their size and cost. Return on investment is high because investment is small and return is relative to the nothing of the vacant land your starting with.

Get the most important uses out of your land first, and soon. Doing so may rescue this widely held and rarely realized dream from the never-to-be-crossed-out section of your bucket list.

Business

Wealth Transfer around Collapsing Asset Prices

By Terence Gillespie September 10, 2014

The decimation of the middle class continues through 23% unemployment¹ and the daily evaporation of net worth. Those who remain employed are running to stand still taking up the slack of former, less fortunate, co-workers. Mortgage holders above water are the exception and many are cashing in what’s left of their 401k to meet expenses. The word retirement is fading into the dreams of yesteryear and will be a mere web-search term for children born after 2000.

There is a moral, peaceful and non-violent way to be on the receiving end of this slow-motion artificial wealth transfer. One of the keys is to understand . . .

Why Asset Prices Collapse

“Asset prices collapse during periods of hyperinflation when priced in gold.”²

When first reading that I wondered, “If assets are desirable and the currency is worthless then why would their price go down?” The answer is that prices rise in fiat and fall in gold. Why would prices fall when measured in gold? Current news headlines provide some answers:

Some assets were overpriced to begin with and are returning to normal.
Unemployment leaves people with less to spend causing less demand.
Those with income cut back, save more and buy less causing less demand.
Current housing inventory and projected foreclosures could meet demand for three years of sales. That figure is closer to four months in an efficient market.
Equites, when priced in gold, have lost enough real value to cause people to flee into safer investments.
Retirement plans are being liquidated to meet monthly expenses
Luxury items are being sold to meet monthly expenses.

If current trends continue #2, #3, #5, #6 and #7 will get worse. If the banksters checkmate themselves into an inflationary corner then they will get much worse.

Women, Computers and Volcker to the Rescue?

In the early 80’s America was rescued from runaway inflation by three things: A massive influx of women into the workforce, the personal computer and the temporarily sane monetary policy of Paul Volcker. Many women followed the pied piper of woman’s liberation but the piper’s agenda was to double the work-force tax base. The second rescue was the personal computer and the ensuing productivity boost it poured into the economy. From a monetary point of view the same amount of money was now circulating in an economy with more productive workers and twice as many of them. Once again, the American public and ingenious entrepreneurs saved the state from its incompetence. Mom is now gone from the house, working and replaced with daycare and using computers developed by private entrepreneurs. And yet, it’s Paul Volckers’ monetary policy that is purported to have rescued America.

Is there anything on the horizon that could rescue the economy, today, as women and computers did in the early 80’s? Cold fusion? Free energy from the sky? A quadrupling of workers or their productivity? I’m not sure. But, there are ways to rescue oneself and family in any circumstances if they are understood.

Inflation and What Else?

The US has done more to cause hyperinflation than any country that’s ever actually had it. And yet, the US continues to escape this well-earned fate. Instead, bubble after bubble is popped and the proceeds are put into the bags of the ones who create them. For those who care about macroeconomic measures the most reasonable short-term expectations are more of the same of the last decade:

Informal Devaluation
Stagflation
Continued Decline

Great, but it’s a waste of time to dote on things one has no control of. Instead, why not bone up on the usual ways wealth is transferred under these circumstances? The “Collapse” that everyone is expecting is occurring in slow motion. However, since it’s easier to see the trades if we pretend it will happen overnight I’ll refer to what I think will happen over many years as the “Collapse”, below.

Wealth Transfer around Collapsing Asset Prices

Vulture economics is wealth transfer from weak to strong, emotional to rational, unprepared to prepared, city dweller to farmer, productive to unproductive, Keynesian to Austrian, and from the manipulated to manipulator. In a crisis the unprepared and wealthy (In fiat only) will sell anything to meet basic needs. In Weimar, well-to-do city dwellers came out to the countryside to exchange cigars for meat, pianos for wheat flour and gold watches for potatos.³ In essence, they traded Diamonds for Water.

Prior to Collapse

In a trade of Diamonds for Water the guy with the water gets both and the guy with the diamonds gets some water before losing both.

The general pre-collapse roadmap is to:

Think like a foreigner in your own country.
Move towards employment and safety.
Postpone the purchase (And sell excess) of future collapsing assets.
Don’t payoff your house. Make the minimum payments on all mortgages and large fixed debts.
Purchase real money and wealth storing assets.
Stock up on the life essentials while they’re available and cheap.
Invest in the factors of your own production.
Warn who you can without causing resentment.
Make a shopping list for the eye of the storm.

My Optimal choices are laid out in Your Optimal Bailout Plan, Depression Proof Your Money, Checklist for Hard Times and 240 Jobs That Won’t Disappear in an Economic Crisis. Essentially, you sell assets whose price will collapse (Further) and buy the staples of life while they’re available and cheap. Later you buy the “diamonds” by preserving the purchasing power of your savings and not relying on anyone to provide life essentials for your family. If hyperinflation occurs pay off your mortgage with an egg. If it doesn’t use silver and inflation to pay off your house.

Foreigner in Your Own Country

You hear it all the time: Those ‘foreigners’ come over here with suitcases and buy everything in sight because the Euro/Yen/Yuan/Franc is strong. The opposite used to be the norm: Americans traveling everywhere for $10 a day on world wide shopping sprees.

Gold is the best money in the world and enables easy conversion to every form of cash. If your idea of cash is limited to government issued fiat then at least hold a stable one. They’re all based on nothing but Swiss Francs and Canadian dollars will faire better than the dollar. See How To Buy Swiss Francs in 5 Minutes or Less.

Today, you can swap in and out of any currency in the world with the click of a button. There’s nothing to prevent swapping into the strongest fiat of the moment. It’s well known that during the currency crisis’ of Chile and Argentina the first people to exchange local fiat for US dollars were among the few to keep their savings from disappearing into smoke. Those who bought dollars prior to the official devaluations and newly issued local currency were saved. Soon it will be even more ironic that the widespread use of US dollars provided the stability needed for these countries to transition into a new fiat currency based on ten times the nothing of the first one that collapsed.

Or, you can “play it safe” and keep your “money” in the bank. You’ll be able to retain and spend every cent as it’s being devalued.

Field Trip

Take $500 to the bank and tell them you’re going on a trip to Switzerland and would like to purchase Swiss Francs. Take the Swiss Francs and put them in your pocket and let the feeling of having cash wash over you. If you ever need emergency cash convert them back and you’ll probably get more dollars than you started with.

Factors of Your Production

The best investment is in the factors of your own production: Health, education, training, building a strong network and community. If there’s no market for your specialty consider moving and/or directly producing what your family needs. Create a water rain catch system, grow your own food, make your on electricity, etc..

“Before you hunker down get out of the way”⁴

Many people are newly unemployed. Though beyond the scope of this article to explore would moving be a better use of your time than scanning the want ads? Would a move within the US, or to another country, be the best start of a new business or profession?

Wealth Storage

The TRJ/CRB is a benchmark representation of commodities as an asset class. These commodities are not the only place to store wealth but they do represent assets with well established markets.

Aluminum
Cocoa
Coffee
Copper
Corn
Cotton
Crude Oil
Gold
Heating Oil
Lean Hogs
Live Cattle
Natural Gas
Nickel
Orange Juice
Silver
Soybeans
Sugar
Unleaded Gas
Wheat

Most of these have indexes for those who trust brokerage accounts. At least 10 of them, however, could be personally purchased and stored. Notice this list is in the Before Collapse section of the article.

Collapsing Assets

All of the following assets are collapsing and will continue to collapse relative to gold. Don’t be fooled by nominal price increases in fiat. Sell them now, if you can.

The US Dollar
Municipal Bonds
US Treasuries
High Multiple (P/E) Stocks
Financial Stocks
Equities in consumer discretionaries
Grand Pianos
Diamonds
Luxury cars
Yachts
Jewelry
Rental Houses
Designer Watches
Designer Handbags
Recreational (Only) Property
Luxury (Empty) Apartments
Overpriced Wine

Signals to Look For

The Mainstream Media does not report real news so you’ll have to glean the timing of the worst part of the collapse from alternative media or inductive reasoning applied to personal observations. The short list would be:

Witnessing a diamonds for water trade.
A precipitous rise in gold or silver.
Stock market collapse or close.
Sharp increase in the rate of failing banks.
Social unrest, heated protests or riots.
Bank holiday followed by formal devaluation.

We had family members stay with us, last Christmas, from Venezuela. The week after they returned home Chavez devaluated the Bolivar by 40% for non-food and medicine imports causing panicked shoppers to flood the stores to beat overnight price increases. A devaluation of 40-50% seems to be the norm. States may fear social unrest if taking more than 50% of people’s money overnight.

During Collapse

Trade gold, silver or other wealth storing assets for assets whose price has collapsed, but, still represent good underlying value.
Stay out of the way of those competing for food, water and essentials.
Help whatever family and friends you can.
Pay off your mortgage and all fixed debts denominated in the collapsing currency.
Buy houses, land or whatever real estate you can use and manage.
Buy equities of companies unlikely to be nationalized (If there are any) and who produce things needed to rebuild.
Go bargain hunting with whatever you have left.

Shopping List

Real Estate
Farm equipment
Fertilizers
Agricultural commodities
Energy producers
Mining companies
Oil producers
Energy
Forestry
Manufacturing
Mining
Transportation
Utilities
Water

Real estate now shifts to a good buy as people dump it for essentials or to escape. You may have sold luxury condos and vacant rental houses prior to the collapse. Now is your chance to get them back … if you want ’em.

Gold Cost Average the Purchase of Real Estate

You can do it with stocks so why not with real estate?

It’s the same principle, just harder to imagine because real estate is rarely cheap enough to allow it. Instead of lamenting the nominal price drop of your house buy two or three more during the collapse. When things return to normal it will more than make up for what you overpaid in the housing bubble. By this time you may have already paid off your house with silver because the mortgage is denominated in fiat and you’ve got real money.

When sanity returns you will have saved yourself from being one of those guys you meet who got burned in Peru, Chile or Argentina and are still bitter over never having recovered from the collapse.

After the Collapse

Welcome to the latest third world country. Your neighborhood is starting to resemble the pictures from your last trip to Mexico. The middle class is gone or fled, labor is cheap, imported goods are expensive and the local goods get exported to countries that can afford them. Infrastructure disintegrates for lack of money and power outages are a way of life.

Try to look on the bright side: Markets have been cleared of toxic debt, derivatives have disappeared, entitlement programs have been cut or renegotiated and policy makers have learned their lesson!? Or is that being too optimistic?

Well, at least labor is cheap and you can afford a nanny for each child if that’s your style. And massages, spa treatments, manicures and dinner out will be as affordable as they were on that last trip to the Belize!

Don’t Be a Vulture

The problem with eating raw flesh and blood is that it’s not good for you. Vulture economics requires stomach bacteria for digesting flesh without remorse. You’re not a genius to be in a temporary position of strength with your fellow man. But, you have a chance to act like one for recognizing him as such. This is your moment to shine by using strength in an exemplary manner. The golden rule remains golden. Will you?

If someone offers diamonds for water give them water and let them keep their “precious” diamonds. Use the chaos to invest in assets and people who are going to improve lives. If anyone’s going to be left with capital to rebuild why shouldn’t it be the good guys?

“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”

– Matthew 25:29

¹Shadowstats, September 9th, 2014

²In Peter Schiff’s 2007 edition of Crashproof

³When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimar Collapse

by ADAM FERGUSSON.

⁴Peter Schiff, “The Little Book Of Bull Moves in a Bear Market”

Health

Dvorak – Your Optimal Keyboard?

By Terence Gillespie September 5, 2014

The QWERTY keyboard most people use was designed for the typewriter in the 1870’s. It’s named after the key sequence on the upper left of the keyboard.

There were no ‘typists’ before the typewriter, so, QWERTY was designed for the typewriter. Many key combinations caused the machine to jam so were placed on the new keyboard to slow them down. This was a good thing because untangling the levers was time consuming. Ironically, you could get more typing done by typing slower! Typists were also taught to strike the key hard and release quickly; another jam avoiding technique.

Today, there are no mechanical limits on typing yet most are using a keyboard designed to slow them down. The widespread use of computer keyboards provides the means to escape from this mechanical prison to whoever wants to be free. In fact, most of the typing world is a few clicks and a decision away from keyboard freedom.

And what does keyboard freedom look like?

It looks like typing as fast as you can think. It looks like being comfortable writing as long as you want. It looks like being able to type for the rest of your life with no arm or hand pain.

The Dvorak Keyboard

You probably have a QWERTY keyboard in front of you. Here’s what the Dvorak keyboard looks like:

Dvorak studied hand shape, letter frequencies and combinations and arranged the keyboard to minimize hand movement and maximize the speed of typing the most common letters and combinations.

For instance, the most frequently used letters in the English language are “ETAON RISHD LFCMU GYPWB VKXJQ Z” (In that order). The first 12 of these letters are used 80% of the time. Notice how 10 of those 12 letters are on the ‘home’ row of the keyboard. You can type thousands of complete words without even moving your hands off the ‘home’ row of the Dvorak keyboard!

Notice how all vowels are on the left side of the ‘home’ row (except for ‘y’) with consonants on the right. Since English words are mostly a pattern of Consonant | Vowel | Consonant | Vowel most words are formed with the letters typed by alternating hands like beating a drum. The most common letter pairs in English are “TH HE AN RE ER IN ON AT ND ST ES EN OF TE ED OR TI HI AS TO”. Looking at the Dvorak layout notice that those letters are either right next to each other or easily typed with alternating hands.

The hardest row to reach is the bottom row. That’s where Dvorak placed the least commonly used English letters. Dvorak also factored in right-handedness and ‘inboard stroke flow‘ (Think of the way we roll-tap fingers on a table top from the little finger to the index finger).

Other Dvorak Layouts

Using the same Dvorak principles there are also Left and Right one-handed keyboards, a layout for C programmers and a keyboard for most latin script based languages.

Reviewing the Options

For English and languages based on Latin script you have the following keyboard options:

QWERTY -English or your language version.
COLEMAN – ‘Improved’ QWERTY meant to ease retraining of QWERTY typists.
Dvorak (English or your language version).
Map your Own Keyboard Layout. – An interesting alternative now possible using Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator, KbdEdit or Keyman Developer.

(Non-Latin script languages like Chinese, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Russian, etc. may have to Map their own keyboards if their default hasn’t been optimized).

My Take

QWERTY is not an option for me because it hurts my hands. The faster and longer I type the more it hurts. Coleman is a compromise meant to save on retraining QWERTY typists rather than optimize hand movement for language– No thanks. The idea of mapping my own keyboard layout is fascinating, but, I couldn’t improve on Dvorak and Dealey’s design; They were exhaustive and thorough in their quest to Optimize the keyboard for English.

Speed is One Thing

A fast typer can type as fast as they can think in words. Faster than that is useful for dictation and contests, I suppose. There are four non-speed benefits to optimizing keyboard layout:

Comfort
Long term injury avoidance
Increased daily stamina (And no soreness)
Increased lifetime stamina

Based on soreness near the end of my QWERTY days I’d be in trouble, today, if I hadn’t made the switch.

The Big Picture

Keyboard use is so widespread that almost every job requires it. The more keyboard use the more productivity gains to optimizing it for the user.

Writers, programmers, travel agents, secretaries, bloggers and publishers may get the biggest payoff. However, that list is growing as is the keyboards role in every day life.

Making the Switch

The Dvorak Keyboard is a button push away on on most computers. You change the setting in your preferences and “Voila” the keys are remapped. You don’t need to buy anything.

I switched to Dvorak five years ago because my hands hurt. As a piano player I was a very fast QWERTY typist and my hands ached and cramped at the end of long writing days. If I didn’t do something I would have been in trouble just when I needed to type more than ever.

Actually, Dvorak was not my first choice. Dragonfly was.

Dragonfly

Why type when you can talk?

They say it’s best to write like you talk. People complicate their written words and keep their spoken words simple. I also think more clearly when speaking than writing because of the person I’m talking with. Why not bypass writing, altogether, and go right to the spoken word to capture thoughts and let the computer do the work?

Dragonfly is great, but, it slowed the transition to Dvorak since there was less need to type. That’s not a complaint. I felt more comfortable making the switch to Dvorak because my dependency on the keyboard was less. I recommend that transition technique if you don’t mind learning both Dragonfly and Dvorak at the same time.

I stopped using Dragonfly because my aging Windows computer couldn’t run it and the Adobe Suite at the same time. Now that Microsoft has been banished from my life and a beautiful and powerful UNIX machine awaits Dragonfly will soon follow.

How Long Does It Take?

The websites and books on Dvorak say it only takes a few months. It took me six months. During the transition I was using Dragonfly to dictate most writing right onto the screen. Since I wasn’t typing as much there was less practice time on the ‘new’ Dvorak layout. Otherwise, it probably would have taken the normal two or three months.

Labels on the Keys?

I tried putting labels on the keys, but, found it confusing. When logging into the computer the default keyboard is QWERTY. It doesn’t switch to Dvorak until it boots up and reads your preferences. Therefore, you have to type your password using QWERTY. Having the Dvorak labels on the keys made password entry confusing. I took the labels off and printed out a reference diagram for Dvorak forcing myself to find the keys by looking at the diagram. You have to type without looking at the keys to gain any speed. Why not skip the crutch of looking at the keys right off the bat?

What about Phone Keyboards?

Many people wonder if I get confused when using the keyboards on phones since they are all QWERTY. No, not at all. In fact, I prefer that phones have QWERTY because I can visually find the QWERTY keys faster than Dvorak!

Dvorak is in my muscle memory and QWERTY is in my visual memory. That reads much more confusing than it feels. When typing I never look at the keys; I just feel where the letters are. Since the letters are in the Dvorak layout those are where I ‘feel’ the letters. Without the Dvorak labels my keyboard is still, visibly, QWERTY. When tying in my password in the morning to login I look at the keyboard.

What About Using Other Computers?

99% of the time you use your own computer. If you need to use another computer (And the owner lets you!) just temporarily change the keyboard setting. When you’re done switch it back.

I still hunt and peck in QWERTY faster than many can type. However, I have to take my hands off the keyboard and look at the keys. I was a touch QWERTY typist so memory of the keys is still there. What I’ve lost is the muscle memory of QWERTY. My muscle memory is now Dvorak.

It ‘feels’ similar to being bilingual. The idea of knowing two words for everything is only hard to imagine for someone who has not yet learned a second language.

Nobody Wants to Use My Computer!

People start typing on my computer and can’t figure out what’s ‘wrong’ with it. My wife won’t even do quick web searches, technical support frowns, friends shake their heads . . . everybody hates it.

And I love it!

Anything that keeps people off my computer is a good thing. It adds another layer of security for snoops in places where they don’t belong.

Going From Hard to Easy

You may think switching to Dvorak is going from something easy to something hard. That’s backwards: Going from QWERTY to Dvorak is going from something hard to something easy. Sure, the transition will take some effort and probably shouldn’t be done in the middle of a project. However, thereafter your life will be easier, not harder. That goes double if you’re a writer or depend on the keyboard for your work.

Good Reasons to Delay the Switch

After using Dvorak for five years I recommend considering it for Your Optimal Keyboard in English. It’s hard to imagine QWERTY being Optimal in this age of computers unless:

Your job requires using many different keyboards not under your control.
You must use a dumb terminal that’s not switchable.
You share your primary computer with someone not open to switching.
You’re in the middle of a pressing project and are waiting for things settle down before making the switch (Referring to a project here, not life).

Otherwise, save your hands and increase your productivity: Either switch to Dvorak or Roll Your Own . . . .

Rolling Your Own

The optimal keyboard layout is specific to the language. Dvorak was originally developed for English after exhaustive studies of language use. To reach the Dvorak level of Optimal in your language would require the same exhaustive studies. This work has already been done in Latin script languages. But, if you’re not satisfied then there’s never been an easier time to roll your own.

Computer now have the option of using any keyboard mapping you’d like. Marcus Brooks has some great tips if you’re interested in developing your own keyboard layout.

Mastery

Talking Through the Equation

Small Changes Can Have a Huge Impact

What You Control . . .

. . . and What You Don’t

On Values

On Goals

On People (H)

On Things

On Purpose(s)

On Environment(s)

Reality has ~10 Dimensions, Not Four

What God?

Business (Job) vs. Calling

Some Output Examples

On and On It Goes

Justice Provided by the People Involved

The Del Real Factor

Johnson’s Latest Ploy, Revealed

E-mail Between Host and Parasite

The Parasite Responds

Johnson’s Assaults

and Taunting . . .

John Cobin Interview

GGC Theatre

What happens next?

The purpose of the Book

How to Get Your Copy

The Outlier’s Handbook

(Thriving in Artificial Chaos)

Table of Contents

Part 1 — What Outliers?

“Let Your Reasonableness Be Known to Everyone”

What Outliers?

Part 2 — It’s Your World, Boss!

This Is Where You Live

American Roulette

Lifecycle of Nations

Danger, Will Robinson!

Technocracy: The Trojan Horse of Global Transformation

Regional Bloc Head Mercantilism

Part 3 — The Usual Suspects

Call Them As You See Them

Origin & Story of Rulers and Authorities

They Walk Among Us

Elements of Their World View

Their Goals

Their Methods

Part 4 — Acquiring Immunity

Move #1: Acquire Personal Immunity

Personal Matters

Health Matters

Spiritual Matters

Locational Matters

Family Matters

Legal Matters

Financial Matters

Political Matters

Perspective Matters

Doing Matters

Part 5 — Ants & The Human Mosaic

Change The World in Four Moves

Part 6 — Problems: Solutions

Move #2: Specialize & Pick One

Personal Concerns

Health Concerns

Spiritual Concerns

Locational Concerns

Family Concerns

Legal Concerns

Financial Concerns

Political Concerns

Part 7 — Appendices

No Body is Perfect?

Not IF, but WHAT?

What’s Wrong With Me?

The Earlier, The Better

Should you stop drinking Wine?

Replacements

My Replacements for Wine

“Before you hunker down get out of the way”⁴