Belief

I Believe

By Terence Gillespie January 9, 2017

… that life can be optimized with respect to a minimum of seven areas. Delete any one of them from the equations of your awareness and your life will degrade, sooner or later. Since these areas are irreducible I call them the Seven Matters of Life.

I believe …

… that words are how the truth comes to us. They’re also how it can be taken away. Seen only as symbols and grammar, truth and lies are made from the same raw material. Your only hope is discernment. Your life depends on it.

I believe …

… there’s something wrong with every body and finding out what it is could be one way we can save our own lives.

I believe …

… as long as mankind is walking the planet, words are here to stay. They’re the hardest ingredient to delete with any hope of communicating fully. Take away someone’s words and you rob them of the dearest part of their humanity.

I believe …

… that almost everything against us, and for us, has an invisible origin. Master this unseen realm, and what obstacles remain of the visible world are child’s play to contend with, in comparison.

I believe …

… that life is optimized around these variables in approximately this relationship:

I believe …

… that Christianity is not a religion. It’s a relationship with God centered around His presence in our actual lives. Without transformation of character and supernatural power there will be no great works. But, with them? The world is yours!

I believe …

… in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is unseen. I believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Business

The Seven Matters of Life

By Terence Gillespie January 5, 2017

“Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler.”

— Albert Einstein

I’ve found that life can be optimized with respect to a minimum of seven areas. Delete any one of them from the equations of your awareness and your life will degrade, sooner or later. Since these areas are irreducible I call them the Seven Matters of Life. They are: Personal, Health, Spiritual, Business, Family, Law, & Government.

The Seven Matters exert an inevitable, if not invisible, influence on our lives. As with natural laws describing gravity, time, the speed of light, etc. they persist whether we ignore them or not. We “escape” them only through acknowledgement and mastery.

My writing is an informational vortex swirling around the Seven Matters. Ideally, it serves as a generational boost to reduce the time needed to put your own life on optimal track.

A Portrait of the Seven Matters

To portray the seven matters I’ll use a pattern-type at the core of natural design: Fractals. Before fractals were discovered, Hollywood was unable to reproduce mountain landscapes without using artist renderings or real pictures of mountains. Now, they use triangles, a computer, and a dash of randomness to create breathtaking landscapes.

The point of using a fractal to portray the seven matters of life is this:

Fractals prove that stupefying complexity can emerge from utter simplicity. The reverse is not true.

Also, I want to make a point, graphically, about the nature of optimizing one’s life:

Even when a complex solution is needed it will inevitably be constructed with simple (not simplistic) components.

The Metatron Cube

One of my favorite fractals is the metatron cube, sometimes referred to as “the flower of life”. It’s formed with 13 spheres set in relation to each other, like this:

Within the metatron cube are many other shapes. For example, it contains all five platonic solids.

In this revolving view the cubic relationships of the same fractal are emphasized.

Fractals can represent infinity by putting the same fractal within itself. Here’s what a metatron cube looks like with each sphere filled with its own metatron cube:

Working Portrait

Please don’t mistake the colorful portrait, below, as “New Age” philosophy with its nauseating relativism. To the contrary, it’s a working portrait of the seven matters at the core of each person. Though we’re all unique, and at differing levels of development, our design is specific and persistent.

Notice these aspects of the portrait:

The seven inner-spheres of the core correspond closely to the seven matters of life.
The “matter” at the center is Spirit; a reference to the spirit inside you and to God.
Each sphere is a fractal identical to the others, and to the whole.
The outer spheres represent personal interactions with the external world. They are the natural outward reach stemming from the inner core.
To the extent the inner-core is balanced, so is the person, and so are interactions with the external world.

Everyone has these “matters” in their life, in one formation or another. My choice of their positions is, therefore, a kind of self-portrait. Change the position of the “matters”, especially the one in the core, and the resulting life of the person will be quite different.

Defense

The Rulers are Invisible

By Terence Gillespie May 11, 2016

We have met the enemy, and they are invisible.

Almost everything against us, and for us, has an invisible origin. Master this unseen realm, and what obstacles remain of the visible world are child’s play to contend with, in comparison.

A shift in focus to the invisible root causes of oppression enables an enormous reclamation of human resources. This is the Way to advance, directly, in what is a spiritual wrestling match masquerading as conventional warfare.

from Within

The seven deadly sins of greed, pride, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth reside within. It’s only their effects that become visible. All of these sins can manifest physical obstacles onto our path until we get them under some kind of control.

from Without

The book of Ephesians has the clearest and highest view of the invisible rulers that originate from without.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”¹

The placement of the final four elements to be in opposition to “flesh and blood” makes them all inhuman. A word study reveals them all to be of supernatural origin, as well.

“6:12 This list of spiritual rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers (see 3:10) gives a sobering glimpse into the devil’s allies, the spiritual forces of evil who are exceedingly powerful in their exercise of cosmic powers over this present darkness. And yet Scripture makes clear that the enemy host is no match for the Lord, who has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col. 2:15; see also Eph. 1:19–21). 6:13 Therefore. Because the Christian’s enemies are superhuman spiritual forces, he cannot rely upon mere human resources but must take up the whole armor of God.“²

Given their destructive potential, understanding rulers and authorities to refer to an invisible realm has a profound impact on the optimal deployment of human resources in what Paul refers to as a spiritual wrestling match.

A Divine Council of Evil?

With the detail in this and other passages I wonder if it’s possible to make an Org Chart of what might be called the Divine Council of Evil. Scholars are divided on the question:

“Some scholars have believed that it is possible to reconstruct at least in part some of the hierarchy represented by these various supernatural forces and powers, on the basis of the neoplatonic system of nine such powers arranged in three orders of three each. NT terminology and usage does not, however, lend itself to such a classification, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to determine what are the significant differences between these supernatural powers and forces.”³

But that hasn’t stopped people from trying:

The Origin of the Invisible

If Ephesians tells us what we’re up against and what to do about it, Colossians tells us who created what we’re up against:

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”⁴

Paul uses three powerful rhetorical devices in this verse:

He sets up a pattern of contrasting opposites: One is visible and the other is invisible.
The nature of the opposites show the completeness of the creation being described. Nothing is excluded from a creation that includes all that is visible and all that is invisible.
Instead of completing the AB pattern of the first two opposites Paul lists four things of the same type, for emphasis. All four are invisible “sacrificing the balance of the hymn in order to add a further reference to Christ’s superiority over all beings in heaven as well as on earth.”⁵

The pattern is A-B, B-A for the first two comparisons. Instead of extending that pattern it’s followed by A, A, A, A:

From the Inside Out

Against these invisible rulers of sin, weaknesses, and the “Divine Council of Evil”, where does one begin to “wrestle” free? As all the great masters have concluded: from the inside out.

Sins manifest into physical obstacles. For example, when sloth combines with natural entropy and results in clutter, “Who” is the oppressor making things hard to find? Similar examples would illustrate the same pattern with the other deadly sins.

One Stone, Many Birds

The “schemes of the devil” use sins and weakness as their primary means of control. Any “stones” you may throw in the direction of their elimination could hit many “birds” of prey.

Taking action on your own sins and weaknesses is under the jurisdiction of your own will. There is no permission required and you can start immediately, if you like.
By doing so you begin to remove both yourself and the primary sources of leverage used by external rulers and authorities (both visible and invisible) to control you.
By doing so you start to “clear the decks”, removing clutter and complexity from the “battlefield”.

A Nod to the Visible

There are visible counterparts to the invisible thrones, dominions, rulers, and authorities. We do have kings, governments, tyrants, and pricks on earth, just as there are in heaven. Sometimes, a rock is just a rock.

But, appearances can be deceiving. Visible obstacles may be put on your path through invisible means. David Pawson defines a miracle as “a natural event with a supernatural cause”. Looking in the mirror I find it hard to argue the point.

Most of the Biblical references to “rulers” are to the unseen realm. In 55 uses of ἀρχή or Archē only two might refer to something visible:

Luke 12:11
“When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say.”
Titus 3:1
“Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed.”

In 53 out of 55 cases the reader must jar themselves out of the natural tendency to mistake the word for its earthly equivalent. Just as legal terms in Black’s law dictionary have only a small overlap in meaning to their common use, so does this Biblical word rarely resemble the vernacular.

Reclaiming Human Resources

There is much visible work to do. To ignore this fact is to carelessly devalue precious human labor (The most noble form of money). However, by shifting the focus of that work to the invisible root causes of oppression, we may reclaim the enormous human resources currently wasted on merely resisting the damage of effects!

We have the means to throw the originating rulers off our backs. We have a helper to inspire us to bridle, and then repudiate, the sins within. Every time we do so we gain immediate ground. Soon, it becomes obvious that evil is weak, and always has been. Its appearance of strength was only relative to our lack of clarity and unwillingness to remain squared-off, no matter the cost, to what intuition always informed us were the Real perpetrators.

Even our direct work (at last) is only part of a long-running cleanup operation of an ancient victory. For the Lord has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him”.

We are beneficiaries to the inheritance of that victory. The cost is no more, and no less, than its recognition.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Eph 6:11–12). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. ↩
ESV Study Bible comments on Ephesians 6:12-13 ↩
Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 147). New York: United Bible Societies. ↩
Colossians 1:16, ESV ↩
“The fact that all four terms thus refer only to the invisible, heavenly realm and the repeated emphasis on Christ’s supremacy and triumph over the “principalities and powers” in 2:10 and 15 do therefore strengthen the likelihood that the two lines were inserted by the author(s) of the letter, sacrificing the balance of the hymn in order to add a further reference to Christ’s superiority over all beings in heaven as well as on earth” … Dunn, J. D. G. (1996). The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: a commentary on the Greek text (pp. 92–93). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: William B. Eerdmans Publishing; Paternoster Press. ↩

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.

Admin

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

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.

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.

Emergency

The Best Knife in the World

By Terence Gillespie September 9, 2014

The best knife in the world is the one you’ll have with you when you need it.

And, just like The Best Gun in the World, the features of a knife you don’t have with you, don’t matter.

A knife may have been mankind’s first tool. A knife can make the difference between life and death although self-defense is not its primary use. There’s so many uses for a knife that it’s just plain sub-optimal to be without one, ever.

I prefer access to four types of knives, at all times:

Kukri for chopping
Full-Tang Hunting & Utility
Multi-tool
Folding knife

Access to all four is no problem around the house, if traveling by vehicle or in a group. All four are too much weight to carry on foot and alone.

The concept of “Best Knife” is to focus on what can be with you at all times. Given size, weight and bulk the only knife I can count on to have with me anytime, anywhere is a folding knife. None of the others can be tucked away in a tuxedo or a bathing suit.

A kukri, hunting knife and multi-tool are what I would bring to a survival situation. A folding knife is all I can expect to have when one occurs. Not having one makes it too likely I won’t have a knife, at all. With so many everyday (Sometimes urgent) uses for a knife I find that unacceptable.

Minimum Criteria

Modern technology enables the luxury of the following minimum attributes for a folding knife:

Solid Locking Blade
Hard, but not brittle Steel that holds an edge, has some rust resistance and doesn’t break or chip in tough circumstances.
Ambidextrous Open
Non-slip, hard, tough and lightweight handle
Deep carry clip (Accessible but not legally concealed)
Fits every wardrobe, comfortably
Easy to maintain
Fits your hand and can be held rock steady in tough use

Ambidextrous open is mandatory. Ambidextrous carry is not. I carry on the right side front pocket and have never needed to retrieve with the left hand. If I did then the deep carry clip and ambi open would save the day. Either hole or thumb studs are fine for ambi-open.

One should have to destroy the knife before the blade lock fails. How important are your fingers?

Blade materials are getting better all the time. While most steel HRC58 or greater will do I’ve had excellent results with ATS-34, 154CM, D2 and AUS-8 (And have read of extraordinary results with M2 and ZDP-189). ATS-34 and 154CM are metallurgic brothers. The D2 holds an edge better than ATS-34 and I hear M2 and ZDP-189 hold their edge even after the knife dulling exercise of cutting up a few dozen cardboard boxes. I’ve found that D2 and AUS-8 will rust when around salt water. Since my blades are black coated I sharpen’ that rust off.

The Best Knife in My World for the last 8 years is made of ATS-34 and I have no complaints. However, I’m always game to try new metals. My next folding knife will be made of either ZDP-189, M2 or D2 depending on price. The first two metals cost more because of the expense of the metal and the effort and equipment wear involved in the forging process.

I wouldn’t get fancy with handle shape. The closed knife must be flush with clothes and not stick or catch when retrieving.

The drop point tip is the most versatile with plenty of tip reinforcement for most work. Unless you’re stabbing cans or such all day there’s little need to give up cutting surface for a tanto point.

Zeroing in on Your Optimal

Less obvious attributes I’ve discovered optimal are:

Not so expensive you won’t use it or take risks with it.
Not so expensive you won’t replace it if lost.
Not so flashy it draws attention at social occasions.
Partially serrated (No more than 1-inch or so).

Optional, but nice to have is an overall length (When closed) that is 1-1.5 inches longer than your palm width. If so, it can be ‘palmed’ to apply blunt force as a hammer or as an alternative to the blade for self defense.

A knife is no place to skimp on quality. And yet, I’d rather have two that meet my criteria than one I’m afraid to use or lose.

My all black tool often goes unnoticed when used during social occasions. With the added advantages of corrosion resistance and salt-water protection I now insist on a black coated blade and handle for a folding knife that has to go everywhere.

That 1-inch of serration has saved me many times when primary blade dulls. I can still cut now and sharpen later which makes all the difference. I won’t give up cutting surface for a tanto tip, but, that 1-inch (Only) of serration has been a lifesaver.

In order to meet all the above criteria the Best Knife in My World needs to be:

3-4 inch Blade Length
5-6 inch Overall Length
6 ounces or less
Black coated blade made from one of (ZDP-189, M2, D2, 154CM or ATS-34)
Black handle – Tough, light, non-slip (G10 Works well)
Drop point tip
Partially serrated
Solid locking blade
Ambidextrous open
Deep carry clip

Even if you tweak some values you’ve got a solid framework for deciding on Your Optimal Folding Knife. However, the most Optimal knife is not The Best Knife in Your World unless it’s in your pocket when you need it.

Settle on The Best Knife in Your World . . . sooner, rather than later. With so many everyday (Sometimes urgent) uses it may be no laughing matter that. . .

“The features of a knife you don’t have with you don’t matter.”

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.

Admin

Using Contacts to Manage Objects & Vendors

By Terence Gillespie September 5, 2014

Contacts can be used for much more than storing phone numbers and addresses. I make a new contact for every object, thing or vendor that needs to be tracked or managed. Camera’s, phones, kitchen appliances, software, computers, A/C Units, subscriptions, vendors, utilities . . .you name it. Simply keeping a little information on each item in the notes section of a contact makes a huge difference when action involving the object is required.

Naturally, there’s a folder in the filing cabinet for most things and vendors. But, 99% of the time all I need to pay a bill, upgrade software, fix the A/C, renew a subscription, cancel a service, etc. is contained in the contact notes. And, since contacts are synced everywhere I can access them from anywhere enabling me to take action from wherever I happen to be.

When it comes time to sell, ask for help or turnover over the management of an item the contact has all the relevant details. A quick read brings anyone up to date.

Why the Notes Section?

I tried using other fields, but, it made it too complicated to share between people and applications. Now, the only standard contact fields I use are Name, Address, Phone #s, Email, Web address, Company and Title. Everything else is input in the free form notes section of the contact.

Most Objects Have Vendors

Surprisingly, almost every object or thing is associated with a vendor. Therefore, I found that all the fields needed to track vendors can be used to track almost any object, as well.

My Template or Roll Your Own

Through experience I’ve discovered there’s about 35 things I may need to know about an object to perform most tasks that involves it. In practice, only 10-15 of these are needed for any given item although I keep the rest in to help my eye locate fields, quickly.

When a new contact is created I cut/paste the 35 fields (See below) into the notes section and fill out the ones applicable to the item. Feel free to use my template, roll your own or even keep it free form. The idea is to keep everything you need to know about an item to perform work about it, at your fingertips.

Powerful Benefits

Synced Everywhere – Contacts (And Calendars) in most software are the most likely to be synced across the web, multiple computers and your phone. Data stored in one of these structures is usually available everywhere you are. You probably won’t need to purchase new software.
Enables Action – Most actions revolve around objects, things and vendors. Having the details at your fingertips for everything in your life eliminates the prime reason for not taking action: Having to find supporting materials.
Enables Delegation – I used to avoid asking for help to avoid having to list the 20 things people need to know to perform the action I needed help with. Having a contact with all the relevant data about every object in your life makes delegation a breeze. The contact is updated with every transaction. When you need help just forward it and ask for help. Ask the person to update the contact, as needed, and forward it back to you when they’re done.
Capture Process & Procedures – Voice mail access/shortcuts, directions to the mailbox, directions to a store, web menu navigation, who you last talked with and what happened, what are the usual procedures that happen around this object or vendor? Why be forced to rediscover this info every time you deal with the vendor? Why be forced to write down directions or access instructions every time you need help? Also, If you delegate a task involving the item then the person who help you has a place to capture process and procedures.
Enables Turnover – When it’s time to turn over the management of an object, thing or vendor you’ll be very glad to have all the relevant information and history in a simple contact you can attach to an e-mail.

Pointers to Physical Locations

Most items have a physical location or a folder in the filing cabinet associated with them. These locations don’t change often and rarely need to be accessed. However, if their location changes update the field in your contact. It will greatly assist in delegating and turning over the management of the item. It will also keep you from procrastinating should the folder be required to perform the next action.

Search Tags

I recommend putting search tags in each contact for two reasons:

They help find an object or vendor when you can’t remember its name. Just search by keyword to find the item.
They enable grouping items by keywords since most software will search and group by any text in the notes field of a contact.

For instance, every contact related to flying has the word ‘pilot’ in the notes of the contact. When focusing on that aspect of my life I can search for all contacts containing that keyword. Clever use of keywords enables some incredible uses. If you were to put keywords in each contact relating to Project, Role, Area of Focus, Entity, Responsibility etc., then you could spontaneously group all contacts:

Tied to a credit card that’s about to expire.
Whose address has to be changed if a business address is changed.
Related to my search for land in Wyoming.
Related to my role as a father.
Related to my rental house on Main street.

No need to go overboard; keep it simple. But, you can get a lot of bang out of the two seconds it takes to put a keyword in a contact.

Tracking Them Tracking You

More often than not you need to be more organized than the vendors you employ. When one of your search tags, above, shows a vendor who tracks you by a certain address you need to have that address in the contact you keep on them. You don’t need to put your full address, credit card, etc., just an abbreviation for it.

Also, the Journal History may help navigate the internal processes of a vendor, if needed. For instance, if you’re trying to obtain service it’s better to say, “I spoke to Bill Myers on 4/3/09 and he told me to call back, today, and ask for Nancy if the rebate was not received” than to say, “I forget when I called or who I spoke to, but, still haven’t received anything in the mail”.

Keep it Secure and Updated

Techniques that optimize action tend to consolidate data. Protecting access to your contacts is urgent if you use this method of tracking objects & vendors.

Make sure to keep the contact updated, regularly. Type in a few words in the Journal History section each time an action is performed.

Track Objects & Vendors, not Projects

I once tried to use contacts to manage projects. It didn’t work because it overloads the notes section of the contact. It’s best to use contacts to manage the objects that projects revolve around. Consider using a separate contact to track the following items:

Software, vendors, bank accounts, web ids, voice mail instructions, magazine subscriptions, websites, guns, air conditioner, appliances, phones, cell phone, light bulbs, batteries taken by alarms, web subscriptions, Organization affiliations, Camcorder, camera, certifications, car, cable, internet provider, Costco card, voice mail instructions, utilities, car insurance, rental house contacts/crucial info, copier/printer, etc..

My Template

Whenever a new object, thing or vendor enters your life create a new contact and Cut & Paste this little template into the notes section of the contact. Put the Name, address, phone and e-mail of the contact in the normal fields for the contact. Then, quickly scan the template fields and fill in whatever you think will be needed to track the item.

As payments, transactions, name changes occur take a few seconds to update the contact notes. Just a few words in the Journal History can be a lifesaver when coming back up to speed on an item.

As mentioned, the template, below, is what I use, personally. Feel free to create your own or use no template, at all. Whatever keeps the right data at your fingertips and equips you for action is the best solution.

——Paste template, below this line, into notes section of the contact——-

Search Tags: [Put text here to enable you to find this contact]

Shared Drive Location(s): [Path on computer to directory or files about this object]
Physical File Location(s): [Name of reference folder in filing cabinet, Any applicable physical storage area]

Type: [Object, vendor, website, service, utility, etc.]
Services: [brief description of what this object does]

Info this contact has on Us: [How does vendor track you, what have you told them?]
Account #: [What is this vendors acct# for you]
Userid: [login or otherwise]
Password:
Entity:[Is this account with you or with an entity?]
Name: [What name do they have, if any?]
Address:
phone:
e-mail: [E-mail used by vendor to contact you]
spoken password:
credit card on file:

Method of Payment: Text
Entity who Pays:
Bank Account:
Automated?:
Frequency:
Amt. Due:
Date Due:

Info Unique to this Contact:
Serial #:
SKU #:
Model #:
Where Purchased?:
Order #:

Vendor Provides Multiple Services?
Vendor Has More Than one Primary Product:
Who do we talk to at this company?

Procedure(s):
To Pay Vendor:
To Change Address:
To Add Services:
To Cancel Account:
To Use Product/Service:

Journal History: [Brief description of your last interaction/transaction]”

——Paste template, above this line, into notes section of the contact——

Example Contact

Note how many of the fields, below, are not even filled out for this piece of software. That’s because those fields aren’t needed to manage the item. The idea is to keep it as simple as possible. I rarely fill out every field. However, using the full template for each item enables my eye to locate fields, quickly.

Search Tags: Omnifocus, GTD, Task Manager, MAC

Shared Drive Location(s): \Applications\Omnifocus, \date\path\here
Physical File Location(s): None, downloaded from web

Type: vendor
Services: software task manager for MAC based on GTD system

Info this contact has on Us:
Account #: OS6465738
Userid: none created yet
Password:
Entity: LLC
Name: My Name
Address: My Address for credit card purchase
phone: My Phone for credit card purchase
e-mail: My e-mail
spoken password: none
credit card on file: LLC Credit Card # Here

Method of Payment: LLC Credit Card
Entity who Pays: LLC
Bank Account: LLC account
Automated?: N/A
Frequency: N/A
Amt. Due: $79 one time purchase
Date Due: N/A

Info Unique to this Contact:
Vendor Provides Multiple Services? Multiple Omni software packages
Vendor Has More Than one Primary Product: omni graffle, sketcher, outliner
Who do we talk to at this company? web purchase only

Licence key = xaoe-4536-axeu-2563-oex5

Procedure(s):N/A
To Pay Vendor:
To Change Address:
To Add Services: www.webaddress_here.com
To Cancel Account:
To Use Product/Service:

Journal History:
Downloaded 14 day trial on 5/1/2010
purchased on 5/14/10, order id=OS6465738, received license key above

input license key into product and activated successfully

Simple and Powerful

Having the relevant data on hand for every object, thing and vendor in my life has been amazingly empowering. I’ve been able to accomplish things while traveling, avoid the hassles of finding support materials before taking action, take simple actions in time to avoid penalties and even turnover intractable admin tasks, as a result.

optimal

I believe …

I believe …

I believe …

I believe …

I believe …

I believe …

I believe …

A Portrait of the Seven Matters

The Metatron Cube

Working Portrait

from Within

from Without

A Divine Council of Evil?

The Origin of the Invisible

From the Inside Out

One Stone, Many Birds

A Nod to the Visible

Reclaiming Human Resources

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

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

Should you stop drinking Wine?