Down With banks!

 Posted by at 11:03  Down with, principles, rants
Feb 232015
 
An example of street markets accepting credit ...

Image via Wikipedia

I have had some issues with my bank lately.  I don’t really want to hash out details but Holy Crap can they be problems to work with.  I know everyone has a story where the bank made them bend over right there in the lobby to receive their *(insert your own term here, this is a PG (mostly) rated blog so…)*.

I was thinking today about the past, back when computers didn’t rule the world and people had to carry their little bank books with them to prove how much money they had.  Back when a handshake was good enough to secure a loan and people tried to do the right thing by each other.

I suppose that is an idealistic “It’s a Wonderful Life” scenario that can never again be realized.  Computers and micro details about your life and money history are very important today.  My wife and I recently bought a car and of course our credit is not very good with a kidney transplant’s medical bills.  We knew that however, so it wasn’t a surprise.

The dealership sends the credit application to several lenders and then we get rejection letters for two weeks.  My favorite rejection letter said they could not give us the loan because of “insufficient debt experience”.  I’ll tell you, that was actually a very proud moment for me because it says that we have been living without credit cards and financing for long enough that it is adversely affecting our credit.

Credit is so important now that employers are checking it to give people jobs.  I think it is a bunch of crap that how you pay your bills is involved in so many decisions about you.  If it wasn’t for direct deposit I would probably have a shoebox under my bed with all of my savings in it.

I am tired of banks and creditors, unfortunately, there is no way to get rid of them until the world really goes to hell and then people are screwed who don’t have some cash in a shoebox.  FDIC can’t guarantee anything if there is no government left.  I say let chaos ensue and go back to the barter system.

Have a great weekend

-Justin

Justin

Justin is the young Coot with a Cantankerous Soul who continues to be educated by older, more cootish Ralph and Bob. His Cantankerosity is his own.

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Retro vindication

 Posted by at 11:03  principles, rants
Feb 232015
 
wall of microwaves
Image via Wikipedia

Folks who know me know that I am a very retro type guy.  My tastes run retro in music, in politics, in lifestyle…in almost every aspect of my life.

I love to cook…and don’t own…or want…a microwave oven, even to boil water or melt butter for a recipe or to reheat leftovers.

I love to fish, but I’d rather do it with a cane pole or cheap spinning rod/reel combo from a creekbank or the banks of a farm pond than with a lot of high tech fishing equipment from a 60 MPH bass boat.  Folks sometimes think I’m so retro that the term “luddite” is a fitting description for me, but I’d like to dispel that notion and tell y’all that I’m retro because I’m so dumb.

Yep…I’m dumb, and my retroness comes from that.

My overall retroness is an outward display of a desire for “the way things were” socially and an acknowledgement that I’m not smart enough to re-invent the wheel, instead looking to the past to find what has worked before and a desire to “fix things” by a return to those times.

A few examples would be:

Today’s youth’s disrespect for rules and authority.

When I was a kid if I screwed up 2 blocks down the street from my house while out playing, the neighbor (stay at home) mom gave me a swat on the ass and sent me home, where my mom’s reaction was to send me to my room until my father got home when my butt got rally blistered.  Now, the neighbor mom isn’t home, and if she were and even looked crosseyed at Little Johnny his parents lawyer up.

The other side…authority…has done it’s share to cause it’s own downfall too.  When I was a kid my parents taught me to “look for the cop on the corner when you have a problem.  He is your friend.”

No more.  Law enforcement has become, in large part, jackbooted Gestapo-like thugs.  If two kids hav a schoolyard fight, rather than being sent home with a note for the parents the kids leave school handcuffd in the back of a police car.  Hey…authorities…listen up!  Every rule infraction doesn’t require criminal charges!

In the 50’s and 60’s the family unit included a father and a mother.

Single family households were rare.  Also in the 50’s and 60’s dropout rates were much lower, drug useage was not as bad, teen pregnancy was an anomaly rather than something normal…

…can you imagine an out-of-wedlock birth in the 50’s being cause for celebration, complete with baby shower and proud grandparents?

So…I’m retro…because I’m too dumb to come up with new ideas to fix societies ills…but I see solutions in the past.  I’m a big believer in “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.  I’d kinda like to return to societal mores that weren’t broke.

Bob@HayleStorm Interactive

Bob comes to us with a skeptical attitude and a full cup of Cantankerousness. He also writes about homesteading and yurts over at JuicyMaters.com and rants about politics at Common-Sense-Conversation.com Most of the time, though, you'll find him at HayleStorm.net, cranking out great websites for clients OR writing tutorials teaching them to build their own sites.

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Three Cheers for Fat!

 Posted by at 11:03  rants
Feb 232015
 

No-fat is no-good

You know what really kills me? It is all these no-fat, lo-fat foods. Not that you can’t still find the good tasting stuff with all the goodness of real high quality fat around. Ben and Jerry’s is still going strong but our  whole society is just over loaded with message against fat. You would think that fat was a plague from the devil just like that insidious apple in the garden instead of God’s gift to good tasting food and healthy living. You heard me. I said healthy and fat in the same sentence.

Fat is part of a healthy diet no matter what the government says

The body needs fat to be healthy and eating fat has very little to do with getting fat. Blame that on the carbs. Carbs are the evil dudes, especially the simple carbs like sugar and pasta. You know that fat has got to be  OK because the government is against it. If you have been around even a little while you realize that the government strenuously avoids accepting anything as healthy- just try to get anything approved by the FDA. When they do accept something, however, it becomes chiseled in stone, like the ten commandments. And when they discover the ‘truth’, they spare no expense with your money to harangue you with it.

We have all been brainwashed

By now, everybody believes that their health depends upon eliminating all fat from their diet because the government says so. And what do we find to help us? The helpful food companies oblige us with lo-fat and no-fat alternatives that either taste awful or are loaded with more carbs to make them somewhat palatable. Simple sheep that we are these days, we buy the stuff thinking we are being healthy by eating things we would never eat if taste were the criterion. These lo-fat and no-fat treats don’t spare us any calories. They just replace the fat with carbs which quickly settle on our ever expanding bellies. They aren’t so filling as the versions with fat and so we can eat more of the lo and no fat items.  And we do.

Eat Fat and Enjoy

Stop the foolishness and enjoy life. Eat food that is tasty, healthy and full fat. You will eat less. Enjoy it more and stay healthy. If you want to cut something in your life – start with the government propaganda and then cut out the carbs.

Ralph

Ralph is the inspiration for Cantankerous Old Coots and is our Grand Duke of Cantankerousness

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Should we rename us the Stumbling Old Coots?

 Posted by at 11:03  Ask A Coot!, Plain 'ol Cantankerous, rants
Feb 232015
 
Coots on a tire

Coots on a tire (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It seems that all I do on here anymore is bitch.  And it is sounding like a broken freaking record.  But it is something posted at least.  Here is the deal.  Cantakerous Old Coots is darn near a one person operation from Ralph.  I put some stuff in once in a while.  Bob has been MIA while working through his various programs and computer problems.

So some input, what should we do with the Coots?  I am sure that Ralph is getting tired of being the only Cantankerous one here, and I am not sure about his commitment to Cantankerosity after that Venice trip.  He may need some more time to revive that cantankerous attitude.

As for me, I am trying to get back in the writing saddle all over the board.  I ostensibly call myself a writer and creator of web content but I am resting on my laurels from the past.  So, if you are reading this, tell me what you would like to see from the Coots.  New content daily?  A break from Ralph?  Podcast revive?  Bob’s politics?  More News? More Hansi?

That comment section down there has been more active in the past couple of weeks than it has in a while.  Keep it up.  Let us know what the people want.  While this is far from a democracy here, we will listen to your suggestions and implement or reject as needed.  You all just have to let us know.  We will be anxiously awaiting, well more like just sitting here doing something else waiting for comments to come in and enlighten us.

You all can do it.  Just a few words down there.  In the comments.  you know at the bottom.

More to come…..

-Justin

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Justin

Justin is the young Coot with a Cantankerous Soul who continues to be educated by older, more cootish Ralph and Bob. His Cantankerosity is his own.

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Yes, you CAN make a difference. Here is proof.

 Posted by at 11:03  Bob's Politics, principles, rants, videos
Feb 232015
 

I rail about government quite a bit.  It is a really easy thing to do if you believe in the United States and the vision the founding fathers had for it…and if you believe in the rule of law as set down in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, along with subsequent amendments.

One thing I often hear…and that I find quite irritating…is the statement that, “I don’t do anything because it does no good.  Washington only pays attention to lobbyists and big doners.  The people have no chance.”

Bullshit.George Washington's 1788 letter to the Marquis...

OK…so we DO have to work a little harder than we would if we had elected officials that KNEW we were their bosses, not the other way around.  Well…a little hard work never hurt anyone, and we brought it on ourselves anyway, by sitting on the couch with a beer and chips and watching football and American Idol instead of paying attention to what was happening to our country.

So, now we get off our asses and take our country back from the communists.

Yes, I said communists.  With very rare exception…and to those exceptions, I apologize

…our elected officials in Washington fall into two groups:  Communists and cowards.  One group wants to destroy our constitutional republic, and the other group doesn’t have the balls to stop them.  Well,,,you and I, backing them up, can help some of them grow a pair.

And yes…your voice DOES make a difference, as the video proves:

Link to the Daily Caller story
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Bob@HayleStorm Interactive

Bob comes to us with a skeptical attitude and a full cup of Cantankerousness. He also writes about homesteading and yurts over at JuicyMaters.com and rants about politics at Common-Sense-Conversation.com Most of the time, though, you'll find him at HayleStorm.net, cranking out great websites for clients OR writing tutorials teaching them to build their own sites.

More Posts - Website - Twitter

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