[SilentSniperx13D]

Well I figured this would be a good place to post this. Heres one of my projects at the shop, its a twin cylinder air cooled hauling beast! Its going to be at the Lake Erie truck pulls 2010 next month, its made to look like a semi truck (still has alot of work to go on it) but the stack and lights all work.

[matt]

I see a lawnmower How much HP does it have? We have got this one: Gutbrod 1200H, 18 HP, Hydraulics and front power take-off shaft. To bad we don't have a grass bag for it...lol

Anyway I managed to find a already finished Cobra Helicopter model that probably needs some small tweaks but should be useable for us. In 2 weeks we will have further informations about that, because this is when we I get the files.

[SilentSniperx13D]

looks like all old mowers do, and front drive is outta class, mines got a hydrostatic rear drive with differential. and for the motor mines got an 18horse twin cylinder 4 stroke with a fuel injector (not a real big deal though. hahah)

and Ive got 3 different cobras but Cassio insisted that I start one from scratch

[princessugly]

fail spammer.

[Fixx]

princessugly, on 19 August 2011 - 03:17 PM, said:

fail spammer.

LOL, sheesh they don't even try to hide it anymore do they.

Currently my free time is taken up learning how to grow food and generate my own electricity. Guess which way I think things are going

Actually, I just hope for the best but plan for the worst by nature.

It was the RC thing a while back but I decided that next time I build a funky ride it's going to be one I can sit in.

[Chael]

Wow, even people in Canada are worried? I always figured Canada would be safe...

My dad and I try to stock up on canned food (particularly those with high water content) in case things get bad here. Everyone should have some kind of emergency supplies.

[matt]

Uhm, what catastrophic event are you guys preparing for?

I waste my time with starcraft 2 (80%) and my bachelor thesis (20%), yeah I'm that lazy ...

[Chael]

Well it's not really anything specific. It's just a good idea to have supplies just in case.

[Fixx]

Chael, on 01 September 2011 - 08:32 PM, said:

Well it's not really anything specific. It's just a good idea to have supplies just in case.

Ya, it's like the whole boy scout saying about always being prepared. Not just with food and shelter but in general. For instance everyone should have a cash float in the bank (or under a matress) in case something happens with their job. It's actually a very old idea and how people used to live but in the modern age of convenience and instant everything it seldom practiced.

To give some specific possibilities:
- hurricane
- earthquake
- solar flare (big enough to knock electronics)
- complete and utter failure of the financial system
- war

These things actually will happen. Maybe not to you or me or even in our lifetime but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

[Fixx]

Chael, on 31 August 2011 - 11:42 PM, said:

Wow, even people in Canada are worried? I always figured Canada would be safe...

A lot of people up here do not think the way I do. In fact your perception is probably common around the world. I even still believe it to an extent.
But the reality is:
- We too have fault lines, and not just out west, we have ones in Ontario that run pretty much right under our nuclear reactors (which are inherently safe from meltdown but could still leak radioactivity into out water, air, and soil). In fact we just had an earthquake in that area last month (although only a 2.5 or something like that). The Canadian shield has no faults but is also not very habitable. Cold and no soil to speak of.
- Our economy is still very much tied to the U.S. economy. And we have many of the same issues such as personal and government debt. Our true unemployment numbers are currently at the same levels as the great depression, when you don't qualify for unemployment benefits you don't count in the statistics. Our problems seem less because we lag the U.S. in some of the disastrous business practices like sub prime mortgages, but we still did it just not as much. Besides, if one major economy collapses then the world economy will likely collapse, which is what happened in the great depression.
- Global warming may sound good for Canada, as I used to think, but the reality is that global warming increases the energy of the entire system which also increases the chaos. I myself have seen three tornado type storms (i.e. constant lightning, super high winds) that were not in our tornado alley this year, usually this is a 20 year event. Our far north is already a desert and warming up any area with no soil foundation for food has limited advantages. Also my sister did a school project that showed that we are overdue for an ice age which is preceded by global warming.
- There are celestial events that have happened throughout history that have decimated some lifeforms that populated the planet at the time. Although we are much more advanced scientifically at predicting these events the common man is still not informed of possible impending doom, probably to avoid panic. Several times I have heard news reports of a near miss to our planet which was reported after the fact, even though we can not truly tell if a near miss will be a hit. There have been actual massive hits in modern history but luckily they have been in non-populated regions.
- There was a massive power outage (I believe on the eastern side of north america) that was attributed to a solar flare that occurred in the 70's (I think). An event like that today would cripple all sorts of things.
- The geological record has shown relatively sudden pole shifts throughout history. As far as I know we have no way to predict when this could happen but the resulting disruption in our magnetosphere would kill most of the life on the planet.
- Empires typically last about 200 years. Which, arguably, makes the american empire due to fail. Canada is, once again arguably, a satellite of that empire and would be subject to the same anarchy that typically ensues.

Two things I would like to qualify here. Firstly, I won't want to see any of these things happen to affirm my belief that they could happen. Secondly, I consider myself a realist in that these are worst case scenarios and there upsides and other possibilities that are associated with these probable events. For instance, a rather cold, upside to mass extinction events is that they control over population and leave only the "strongest" of species. The quotes on strongest is a whole other discussion. Another example is that the abandonment of current economic logic could result in a sustainable and fair economy that could represent the next leap in human evolution. It is my belief that this will happen eventually.

It is at this point I would like to sate that I am rather drunk and more honest then I tend to be due to social sensitivities. I am well aware that my views tend to spark controversy and that is yet another thing that occupies my spare time. I like to predict the future through logic and historical knowledge and I like to debate future possibilities for the direction of mankind. This is also the reason why Mad Max movies and auto-combat games are another way I've spent my spare time. I believe this is the form the anarchy would take in our modern society (Libya is a good current example it seems).

Anyway, short response, you and your dad are right. Preparation is a good thing as long as it doesn't impact your current standard of living too much. Food, water, and shelter are always relevant. The country is irrelevant since the future is always uncertain.

[matt]

You forgot to mention the zombie apocalypse...!

All joking beside, I see your points in a similar way. To bad you cant prepare for everything. Lets see what the future brings Watch out for the germans, after recessions we tend to go on global rampage!

[Cassio]

Who cares when the world ends 2012 anyways?!

[Fixx]

I didn't mention the zombies because I didn't want to seem like an alarmist.