swbluto said:https://www.tractorsupply.com/landing-pages_events_sale-event.html?cm_mmc=Email-_-Ecom-_-2-17_2017_10_25_Prepper_Event-_-hero&cm_lm=4153574845454c45523737405941484f4f2e434f4d
Off the grid product page. Wow, lots of overlap with what my interests have been this year, lol.
It's interesting this has only been a trend since 2016. Wasn't the case in 2012,2013,2014,2015 according to that one guy's data.
I started thinking, it's plausible a modern recession wouldn't affect the employment rate, because the flexibility provided by increasingly prevalent 'part time", "contract" and/or "uber work" means that adapting to a reduction in retail spending would just mean reducing hours, contracts or a reduction in rides demanded and the such,which wouldn't affect the unemployment rate, but it sure as hell would affect people's incomes.
it's interesting to think this "modern recession" (reduction in incomes but not employment) started back in 2016, because that would be 8 years after the last recession, fall 2018, which fits within that recession every 7-9 years trend.
Normally I'd think a recession would mean reduced employment, but I guess it could also be plausibly linked to transiently reduced incomes (during the cold months apparently) or transiently increased 'essential' commodity costs (i.e., higher wood prices, again during the cold months for some reason... skyrocketed like 1.5 months ago).
I started thinking about this again in connection to the HEB chick. So, if there was a recession that started In October 2016, where hours were reduced but not necessarily employment, then retail workers would feel the brunt of it during the slower months. Like the HEB chick during the slow month of July. If she were dependent on her income to pay rent, let's say... then very plausibly she could've been highly motivated to find some guy to take her just like she seemed to be doing.
If she were to be blamng anyone for her reduced hours, she'd likely be blaming out of towners and getting angry at them.
The other theory is that she was an underage attention-seeking hoe desperate for love and attention, and while this seems plausible... I definitely think she was looking for a guy with means. Because her interest as reflected by her smile became genuine once she seemed to infer I had a logging job, and her desperation seemed to be a bit above and beyond than someone looking for some dick because those generally aren't hard for girls to find. Then again... she seemed like a really horny girl, so hell if I know.
Let's say the HEB chick was a damsel in distress as she seemed to be.
The damsel-in-distress, persecuted maiden, or princess in jeopardy is a classic theme in world literature, art, film and video games. This trope usually involves a beautiful or innocent young woman, placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster, and who requires a male hero to achieve her rescue. After rescuing her, the hero often obtains her hand in marriage.
Yep, she was a beautiful young woman and there's that married thing. She was acting so happy like she was the bride to be on her own wedding day.
My intuition in that "her kind was rare", definitely seems to be the case. Seems like most young girls just hang out with family and there's no real desperation on their part, then they get older and unattractive, and then nobody really wants them.
Seems that's likely the historical norm, daughters living with family. So probably not much has changed there.
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Laptop boobed up. Fan error. Tried blowing it out with the air compressor thru the fan duct (It's nice I didn't have to power it since it already had compressed air from the last time I used it to fill up the tires) thinking dust might've been a problem. Problem not fixed. Will try the other youtube fixes tomorrow or tonight. In the meantime, I'm using my backup laptop and it's a good thing I got it earlier this year. The next valuable "backup thing" to have will be a backup vehicle. The other backup thing I have is a backup generator.
In reviewing the end note, I think the outrageous smile with the next customer was likely because she was really happy(i.e., ecstatic) and she was a sociable person. The second explanation is she was trying to make me jealous.
I cleared the branches out of the construction site and now I just need to clear out the saplings. I think I will aim for below-ground root chopping as opposed to root removal. I'll remove roots as I need to for the pier footings. I should get that done within 5 days, getting ready for lumber purchases in 6. There's a real time pressure to getting the house done, though I can wait a couple of weeks to decide whether I want to relinquish much dough for it. If my theory of "November will be stellar due to Christmas" is correct, then I might want to wait until November 15 or so which when the trend will become apparent. If it's not stellar, then I might want to revise my planning.
Times are tight, cash is king and large assets move slowly. [Though I suspect I wouldn't have much trouble moving the RV. Seems like times are tight, RV and trailer demand goes up.]
I like that freezing to death is not really a huge existential risk here in Houston like is up north.
The summers may be relentless, but you're not going to die because you're sweating and its hot.
But, in the north, the winters may be relentless and there's a real risk of freezing to death if you don't prepare accordingly and/or you just don't have the supplies available (I.e., wood or fuel, wood stove and/or heater).
So, in terms of climatic survival risks, Houston is a good place to be. I was simply wanting to get away from the snow, lol, and keep my heating costs down. Cooling costs are fairly cheap with the fan sufficing.
This has been the second day where I ran the generator for less than the full day. Won't be running it tomorrow, either. It sure seems like a surefire sign of what's happening to demand when I'm not running my generator, lol. (Especially this puny one, lower production rates)
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Trying to figure out how I can list on ebay. I was banned there because international buyers with little grasp of English could barely understand my listings and they thought they were buying CNC machines when I was selling coupons for assembling them from kits they would send me. That business idea didn't work out, but it did get kicked me off the site because of all the damn international buyers who didn't understand my listings.
I have accounts there, but seems like it'd be difficult getting money transferred from paypal. Well, I do have wells fargo accounts, which I could plausibly use. They're now empty but I can fill them up for use. I'd also have to get a cell phone... oh... it might be worth it. My product listings on ebay would be standardized to enable keeping things in stock ready for immediate shipment. I'd also likely need to increase production rates to keep ship times down, means I might be looking at getting another genny if warranted. Maybe another 2000w Honda.
Seems like the monthly cost of maintaining an ebay account would be the cell phone. $7/month. I could get another dedicated VPN IP, but I think I would try jumping around on this connection I have. I'd need to enforce strictly followed procedures to ensure IP separation compliance, procedures I've yet to design.
I think I'd prefer pushing that direction after getting the house built.
I figure November sales look good, push getting the house built as early as possible. I.e., ramping up Christmas orders. [I'll push to ebay anyway, but less pressure to do so quickly.]
If November doesn't look good, delay housing until December and immediately push to ebay. Get a stove for the RV. Will eventually move the stove to the house anyhow, so not a foolish purchase.