Yearly Archives: 2026
Something To Think About
(the sky is falling, the sky is falling!)
PS: Two more were apparently shot in Portland this evening (Thurs) for the same reason- trying to run over ICE officers.
"The media is making a big deal about the Dow Jones closing above $49,000 for the first time. But with gold closing above $4,490, today’s 49,462 close is worth just 11 ounces of gold. In Sept. 1999, the Dow was worth over 43 ounces of gold. That’s a 74% decline over 26 years."
Peter Schiff, Jan 6, 2026
"When this channel breaks, the dollar is going to get absolutely demolished, and commodities are going to rip. ... Time to get long commodities. Like, yesterday."
"Your pay didn't go up, the dollar became worth less. Your house didn't become worth more as you've lived in it, parts wore out and broke. The price went up because the dollar's worth went down."
"If you have your food pantry good to go, look next at ammo as a hedge against inflation and as a store of wealth."
"Last week (end of 2025) the Federal Reserve pumped something like 105 Billion into the financial system because the banks got caught with their pants down. They were selling the same bar of silver 15 times or more."
[They kept that real quiet. I heard it was Chase Bank that went under. Chase placed a massive short on silver and silver sky-rocketed. The bank couldn't cover the margin call.]
"New tires, brakes etc on the cars, while those things are available. Spare filters for everything that needs them. Spare wicks for the lanterns. I am sure we are not ready, but we have sure tried to cover all the bases."
I believe the only reason now - like "today" now - isn't the time, is it's winter. Minneapolis may signal the lit fuse though.
Remember: the dollar is backed SOLELY "by the full faith and credit of the United States Government".
I have no doubt we'll see something similar to FDR's gold confiscation: a new currency, exchange the old for the new at 75% exchange. Chop a couple of zeroes off the dollar: the $100 bill becomes the new 80¢?
Confiscation (under a different name) of 401Ks, reduction in Social Security - perhaps by 50%? Reductions in Medicare.
Gold is sexy, shiny, and everyone goes ooh and aah over it. A tenth of an ounce of gold is $50 and is about the smallest practical amount. Silver is more practical; I can buy 90% silver dimes which have a melt value of $5.55. It's expensive you say? Yes it is but it won't be too long before we all go "I wish I had bought it at $75/oz". (I expect the stock market to keep going though - it's the only game in town.
Oil is cheap right now; I'm investing in oil and pipeline stocks right now because I expect another 1973/1979 sticker shock. Silver ETFs (SLV) are running about $70 right now - Kitco silver runs about $76/oz. My dealer charges $4.50/oz so I can buy physical silver for about $72. I expect a temporary dip; I'll load up on silver ETF at $57 - if it gets that low.
Get your vehicles in good long-term operating condition. Kerosene for kerosene lamps. Prepare for no electricity at times.
I keep dollars in the Bank of Mattress. Their value is decreasing but it's what I need to spend for groceries and other everyday items.
I keep minimal $$ in any bank; sometimes I need a checking/credit card account. Amazing how many places won't accept cash.
If I had to, I can pay off my mortgage. Don't want to - I was lucky and bought with low interest and I can use the cash for other things that pay better than my mortgage rate. Not sure it beats inflation though. (CPI based on the method used in 1980 - Jimmy Carter - is running about 12%. It peaked at about 17% in 2023).
It's musical chairs time. Be where you want to be when the music stops.
Damn, I'm not ready for this ... and no way to know how badly I'm prepared until badly arrives.
Continue reading →Travelin’ Man
Moving as fast as it appears. I-95N between Richmond and DC.
Just another day of commuting.
On A Roll Today
lots of posts ...
Check out this article at "American Thinker" (americanthinker dot com)
"What are you prepared to do to save our country?" by Bob Weir
If the refrain ‘no one is above the law’ is to mean anything, we should see more politicians being perp-walked from their government offices.
Continue reading →How Can Anyone Not Like Bagpipes?
Stolen from the Tube (Utube dot com/shorts/_0er0m0G53E)
I've made that call to the porcelain god many times in my youth after a night of excess drinking.
Continue reading →The Empire Comes Alive
Venezuela, Russian tankers, Hilton hotels, Greenland, ex-Capt Senator Kelly ...
Hold on to your hats people, the 2026 ride is just beginning.
Continue reading →Textures
Seems one of my common photo subjects is "textures" - a photo of nothing in particular but of surface variations.
There is rarely a "tale"; rarely any deep meaning. Nothing more than a surface pattern that catches my attention.
Make of the image what you will - there will be others.
In this case, the side of a barn; east of and not far from Lake Huron, still standing, exposed to the west, never painted ... the barn was built in 1902, the photo taken in 2013.
Continue reading →Tunesday – You Want It Darker
A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's double selection: Leonard Cohen/Iggy Pop "You Want It Darker" - 2016/2022
Leonard Cohen's last album, released on his 82nd birthday and 17 days before he died - this being the title track. Iggy Pop recorded a cover of this song for "A Tribute To Leonard Cohen" in 2022.
Leonard Cohen was born in Quebec in 1934. He was a poet and novelist but began a music career in the mid-60s. His most famous song was "Hallelujah" released in 1984. He stopped recording in 1991. In 2005, he discovered that his money and publishing rights had been stolen by his manager so he returned to music and released three more albums. "You Want It Darker" was released three weeks before he died in 2016.
Jim Osterberg Jr was born in Muskegon, MI and began later moved to Ann Arbor. Although he began as a drummer, he found his calling as a front-man. His rise to fame as Iggy Pop began when he was the song-writer and vocalist of the local Detroit band, "Iggy & The Stooges". Considered a proto-punk band, they produced two albums before breaking up due to Iggy's heroin addiction. The name "Iggy" came from an earlier band called "The Iguanas". The rest of the band began calling Iggy "Pop" in reference to another local character who had a similar look after shaving his eyebrows. Iggy Pop wrote David Bowie's hit "China Girl" and other songs covered by Bowie.
Continue reading →Store At The Corner Of Main & Oblivion
Somewhere in a forgotten part of back-country Utah, this structure was once the general store of a long since faded away mining camp. Nothing else remains except scattered worthless rubble. I could make a wild guess that the rest of the settlement was of wood and was either stripped of material when the mines played out, or burned down, or just faded back into the earth from which it came.
I drive on.
Continue reading →PolyTicks
It's not so much that I support whatever Trump does as it is: "If the left is against it, it must be good."
Of course, the trouble with that is that if Trump does something the left once did, it's now bad because "Trump" - especially if Trump succeeds where the left failed.
Venezuela being a recent example.
Only 305 shopping days until Election day. Buy your politician now before the rush.
Continue reading →