Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

It's not quite that bad round here RAS (as in it's not horizontal), but it's still heavy and persistent.

You could say it's persisting down.

[Deleted User]

Today, I picked up two more Powerbanks, and a pair of wireless headphones (from Home Bargains), and a set of Tyre Traction Tracks from Aldi.

[Deleted User]

I've been meaning to mention this, for a few weeks, but kept forgetting.

Anyway, here goes.

When I went on holiday, last month, I took along a small 1st Aid Kit, pretty much identical to this one, except mine's blue.

At first sight, it looks to be a perfectly good 1st Aid Kit, but look again.

In particular, take a close at the bottom right hand corner.

Spotted it?

Yep, it's fitted with those interlocking eyes, for a small padlock, like those fitted to a suitcase.

This poses the question, given a 1st Aid kit will likely be required urgently (often with little or no warning), and possible not for use by yourself (you could be the casualty), why on earth would you lock it shut :huh:

Frugalsod

Bedsit_Bob wrote: »

I've been meaning to mention this, for a few weeks, but kept forgetting.

Anyway, here goes.

When I went on holiday, last month, I took along a small 1st Aid Kit, pretty much identical to this one, except mine's blue.

At first sight, it looks to be a perfectly good 1st Aid Kit, but look again.

In particular, take a close at the bottom right hand corner.

Spotted it?

Yep, it's fitted with those interlocking eyes, for a small padlock, like those fitted to a suitcase.

This poses the question, given a 1st Aid kit will likely be required urgently (often with little or no warning), and possible not for use by yourself (you could be the casualty), why on earth would you lock it shut :huh:

I think that it would have a use in that you could seal it with cable tie so that it could not be tampered with. There could be situations where that is very handy, such as a bug out location like a cabin. So you could see if it had been used while you were away. Then you could check straight away rather than discover that what you need is already gone when you need it.

Perplexed_Pineapple

I'm following international events with increasing incredulity. The American's can't decide whether torture is a bad thing, the Russians are in denial and the Swiss have imposed negative interest rates. We live in interesting times, as they say. It's probably a good thing that the SNP didn't win the Scots independence referendum since their entire economic plan was based around North Sea oil which may now have to close down as unprofitable. I read this that I thought was interesting about the Russian position:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30483873
I can't help thinking that it's all going to end in tears. Main prepping priority now is to pay down debt before they have to hike interest rates which I predict will be shortly after the next election....I can't see any party getting an overall majority so we will probably end up with another fudge that distorts democracy and satisfies no-one.Still, looking forward to the days getting longer again in a week or two, and we'll have some old-school fun at Christmas.

Softstuff

Frugalsod wrote: »

I was trying to be very polite and not trigger any profanity blockers.

I really feel very sorry for Australians having to put up with him. Even the US media have done reports on him. Very funny.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3IaKVmkXuk

I'm an athiest, but I'm at the stage of getting down on my knees and praying that all the things he breaks and stupidity he encourages can be fixed by the next government.

Mardatha, he makes Gordon Brown look positively competent. The problem is, the rest of his government seem pretty dire too. This is the Treasurer and Finance Minister, prior to delivering a budget which has some pretty terrible plans for the poor:
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/treasurer-joe-hockey-and-finance-minister-mathias-cormann-pictured-smoking-cigars-ahead-of-tough-budget-20140509-zr8i3.html
Let them eat cake??

Frugalsod

Perplexed_Pineapple wrote: »

I'm following international events with increasing incredulity. The American's can't decide whether torture is a bad thing, the Russians are in denial and the Swiss have imposed negative interest rates. We live in interesting times, as they say. It's probably a good thing that the SNP didn't win the Scots independence referendum since their entire economic plan was based around North Sea oil which may now have to close down as unprofitable. I read this that I thought was interesting about the Russian position:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30483873
I can't help thinking that it's all going to end in tears. Main prepping priority now is to pay down debt before they have to hike interest rates which I predict will be shortly after the next election....I can't see any party getting an overall majority so we will probably end up with another fudge that distorts democracy and satisfies no-one.Still, looking forward to the days getting longer again in a week or two, and we'll have some old-school fun at Christmas.

The fall in oil price is only temporary. I suspect that within a couple of years it will be much higher. Saudi Arabia are trying to drive out the frackers of the market and they will win. They only have to keep the situation too volatile for fracking to be viable to keep them out. They are already cancelling drilling. Also once interest rates rise then frackers will need oil prices closer to $200 a barrel to be sustainable. At some point in the future Saudi Arabia will not be able to flood the market and drive out competitors and then prices will be on the permanent rise and then countries that pushed on with green measures like Germany will be laughing.

The Russians are spinning it. It is all PR. No different to what our cowboys in Parliament do.

As for the Americans thinking Torture is okay is down to massive propaganda. They might start changing their mind when American hostages are tortured before beheading as revenge. Americans are now less safe not because of the disclosure but because of the act of torture. China is right to criticise that America no longer has the moral high ground over human rights.

Personally a coalition will be best of all. If the Tories win then watch council services collapse. Labour might be little better. I suspect that we will have far more UKIP MP's in a decade.

I do agree about the debts and but interest rates will only rise if there is a collapse in the pound. The banks are still far too weak to cope with any interest rate increases. The real economy is still far too weak to cope with any increases in interest rates and I suspect that we could still have very low interest rates in a decades time. This will create other problems like pension funds will be unable to cover liabilities. So the real reason for concentrating on debt clearance is that deflation is coming and when that happens debt burdens rise as real effective interest rates rise. Gradually deflation erodes business incomes and so will wage incomes will fall. When that happens the only way out is bankruptcy but people will hold on for as long as possible.

The reason why deflation is what is coming is that sales are falling. Even if the prices of goods are rising people are buying even less. Look at the typical household who are cutting spending on groceries, even with a rising population food sales are falling. Hardly the sign of a healthy economy.

GreyQueen

Well said, as usual, frugalsod.

I think that the trouble for a lot of us, most definately for me and people I know personally, is that so much of my income is taken up be the bare necessities; rent, council tax, utilites, food, and the costs of these go ever higher. And this is at a time when wages haven't moved for years. The discretionary spending pot gets smaller and smaller............and my rent will be going up again in 3.5 months and I won't know how much by until a month before, but it's gotta be paid.

I used to run a car, or rather a succession of cars. The youngest of them was 10 when I first got it, they were all very small, very cheap hatchbacks, I used them thriftily and disposed of them when I started to get into the too-many-repair-bills state.

My last car was sold in 1997 and I haven't owned one since. Could afford to buy a cheapish car cash-on-the-barrelhead today but I simply don't have sufficient income to run a car.

An awful lot of people are paid in the region of £800-£1,000 pcm for full-time work, and if that is the sole household income, it is insufficient to buy many of the trappings of modern life which help the economy go around. So they're not getting bought.

There is also the unofficial inter-generational transfer of wealth, with a lot of adults getting subsidised by the Bank of Mum and Dad, often into their own middle life. Of course, how families organise themselves is their business, but it gives an artificial boost to the consumption patterns of the recipients, which isn't originating in their own earning capacity, but is reflecting wealth (stored energy) earned by the previous generation(s).

And that Bank has finite resources and a finite time to operate.

mardatha

But why has the price of oil collapsed? It must be artificial. Six months ago the world- inc India and China etc-needed as much oil as the world could produce - why now has it collapsed? It doesn't make sense and somebody is doing it.

GreyQueen

mardatha wrote: »

But why has the price of oil collapsed? It must be artificial. Six months ago the world- inc India and China etc-needed as much oil as the world could produce - why now has it collapsed? It doesn't make sense and somebody is doing it.

The condensed answer is in two words; Saudi Arabia.

Seems that they're trying to undercut in nascent fracking boom (no bad thing IMO) with a sideblow to beggar our North Sea Oil industry (very bad thing). Lots about it on Zer0 Hedge.