Mountain Xpress Forums

Living “off the grid” versus being “plugged in”

2009-11-19T00:13:54-05:00

Over a few drinks the other night, a friend and I were talking about life and how each of us has chosen to live. We both have many of the same priorities and views about the world, society, politics and capitalism, but we have gone about living our lives in two rather distinct ways.

My friend is a carpenter by trade who lives on a relatively self sufficient farm in Sandy Mush. He rarely needs anything outside of his biodiesel and a few other things that he “treats” himself to (electronics, CDs, or the occasional DVD). He views the outside world as a rat race and hopes to just do the best he can through his farm and his work for himself and his family and sees no point in interacting with the outside world- unless it’s on his terms.

I see the point in his philosophy, but isn’t there something good about good old fashioned subversion? Isn’t there something to be said about someone being relatively in the middle of things and interjecting ideas that are unpopular?

I guess the thing I don’t get is how living a relatively off the grid lifestyle anything but an extension of an “I got mine, #### the rest of you” attitude?

(Piff and Tattooed Jay- I know you guys are interested/participate in this lifestyle to an extent, and I mean no ill will by that statement, it was just the best way to describe the sentiment I was going for).

Racism and Propaganda

2009-11-17T11:17:09-05:00

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypIbTpnuNgg&NR=1[/youtube]

Wow the end of this commercial just sneaks up on ya…Ever since Obama got elected I’ve been surprised at how the media has slowly turned it’s head and has started bad mouthing our first black president..witrh all it’s polls and pseudo news..It’s racism disguised as commentary..

Obama has taken us in a few short months from a huge mess to a slightly smaller mess..That’s good..We’ve been heading toward an economic collapse for decades now..It’s not over and will most likely take decades before we get back to some form of normality if there ever was such a thing..The beautiful and noble thing Obama has done is continue to take on the greedy insurance companies and try to get health care for the poor..That’s enough for me..right now..

All this “is he doing a good job “?...is just plain bull..I think he’ll go down as one of the greatest presidents we’ve ever had..just for the fact he achieved health care for all the people..I’m sure he will get this done if given enough time.. In the mean time we need to be patient..we didn’t create this mess in a year and it’s gonna take time to fix it..

And another thing..Obama is just the spokes person ..leader for his team..he has surrounded himself with some very smart folks who..I think..are heading our country in the right direction..

November Challenge: A Thread A Day

2009-11-04T12:43:36-05:00

There’s been a downturn in the boarding output of recent, and I’m as much to blame for this as anyone. Maybe it was Halloween combined with the distraction of the election, but there’s been a lot of soft boarding of recent. We are MX Boarders, and we must board hard or die!

So, today I’m bringing back the Thread A Day challenge. It couldn’t be more simple: Start a new thread a day, then post a link back to it here. The threads have to be real threads about some kind of actual topic, but they can be silly or weird.

Lurkers and forum newbies, this is also your chance to show that you have what it takes to be champion MX Boarder.

And to show just how serious (business) I am about this, here’s my first thread ...

Manheimer, Bothwell and Smith: What do they mean for Asheville’s future?
http://www.mountainx.com/forums/viewthread/2477/

Aggresive Dogs

2009-05-26T18:38:24-05:00

Just saw where a young girl was attacked by three aggressive dogs..( this was the third time these dogs had attacked and then obviously been left to attack again)shes currently in the hospital having her head sown back together.. my family andI have been attacked three times in the last two years..once at Home Depot..a Doberman came for me and my dog and I knocked over a cash register and escaped.. the owner of the dog nonchalantly called his dog off no apology no nothing…the other incidence were similar except the other two dogs drew blood.. one bit my wifes hand and the other tore into my poodle and lacerated her back…What gives…these animals are scarey.. many of their owners seem to have a secret satisfaction in scaring the crap out of us..I say enough is enough…these animals are as deadly as guns and the owners of such beasts that allow them to harm others should be treated as the criminals they are… assault with a deadly weapon…police..lawmakers.. animal control ..lets do your job.. protect the public.. everytime I see an aggressive dog I’m scared to death,, I was attacked by a doberman when I was 10 years old and he lacerated my leg.. after that I carried a pellet gun where ever I went…what ever loop hole that has allowed these beasts to harm us must be closed..owners of aggressive dogs need to be scared to death of letting these killers loose… let’s do it let’s do it now…

Bill O’Reilly: We can’t kill all the Muslims

2009-11-11T20:51:07-05:00

This sounds worse than is intended..But ya have to wonder what was he thinking?

http://rawstory.com/2009/11/bill/

Bill O’Reilly: We can’t kill all the Muslims

By Raw Story
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009—8:48 am
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.abill2 Bill OReilly: We cant kill all the MuslimsIn an interview with Lt. Col Ralph Peterson Tuesday following the memorial for Ft. Hood shooting victims, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly declared, “we can’t kill all the Muslims.”

“It’s clear that the problem is Islam,” Peterson quipped. “Where are the Southern Baptist suicide bombers? Where are the Methodist marketplace massacre types?”

“It was an act of terror,” O’Reilly remarked. “Let me play devil’s advocate here. Barack Obama wants to win hearts and minds in the Middle East, in the Muslim world, which is a good thing. And you know that. As a soldier, we can’t kill all the Muslims.

He added, “So we want to win the hearts and minds of as many good, moderate Muslims as we can.”

metaspam the forums in protest of richey

2009-11-11T20:24:24-05:00

metaspam the forums in protest of richey

a public golf course in western north carolina?

2009-11-11T03:07:02-05:00

I am looking for a cheap public golf course in Western North Carolina in the Franklin, Murphy, Andrews area, any suggestions, preferably something not too crowded or pricey

What is this?

2009-11-08T18:41:08-05:00

Post a picture and let the wacky guessing begin.

Start with this one:

Blogs and Websites you frequent

2008-12-21T19:11:53-05:00

I’d be interested to know some of the other blogs and websites folks visit for news-related info and dialogue.

(no, sorry, not porn or stupid videos of kittens playing basketball)

Scroo-hoo?
Drudge report?
theglobalreport.org?

Greatist Robin Hood in History Found Dead

2009-10-25T20:53:43-05:00

Jeffry Picower, a prominent philanthropist and one of the largest investors in the vast Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madofft and the creator of the Picower Foundation was found dead in the pool at his Palm Beach, Fla., home on Sunday afternoon. This is a very sticky kinda moral dilemma that makes me want to cry..I’ve been on an anti Madoff tirade for 5 months and now I find that one of the greatest beneficiaries of the stolen doe happens to be the greatest Robin Hood in history??..Wow ..Holy Crazy Moral dilemma.. The foundation that Picower created finances medical research at many leading institutions, human rights and child advocacy programs, and arts and cultural operations. This takes take from the rich give to the poor to another level..Hero or Villain ...Anybody got a take on this one?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/business/26madoff.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Investor With Madoff Is Found Dead in His Pool

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By DIANA B. HENRIQUES
Published: October 25, 2009

Jeffry Picower, a prominent philanthropist and one of the largest investors in the vast Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff, was found dead in the pool at his Palm Beach, Fla., home on Sunday afternoon.

His death was confirmed by the Palm Beach Police Department, which said it had received an emergency call at 12:09 p.m. from Mr. Picower’s wife, Barbara. She said that she had found her husband at the bottom of the pool. Mr. Picower, 67, could not be revived at his home and was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m. at a nearby hospital, according to the police.

William D. Zabel, a lawyer for the Picower family, said he understood that Mr. Picower had experienced “cardiac issues” in the past, and had Parkinson’s disease. “This is a personal tragedy, and the family is grieving,” Mr. Zabel said. “It will be making no further statement.”

The police department in Palm Beach said in a statement that it had opened an investigation into Mr. Picower’s death, a routine step in all drowning cases. As a result, the Picower home in Palm Beach “has been secured and detectives remain on the scene at this time,” the department reported on Sunday evening.

Mr. Picower, a longtime investor with Mr. Madoff, was sued this year by the trustee liquidating the Madoff estate. In that civil case, the trustee asserted that the Picowers had withdrawn at least $6 billion more from their Madoff accounts over the years than they had invested. The lawsuit was aimed at recovering as much of that money as possible to share with victims of the Ponzi scheme. Mr. Madoff has begun serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to the fraud.

According to Mr. Zabel, settlement discussions with the trustee were under way “and progress was being made” when he last spoke with Mr. Picower on Friday.