Debt is the Money That Makes the Economy Function
If you buy or sell anything you should watch these videos to understand what it means on a global scale. The simple act of borrowing creates an exponential effect in the world These videos explain how banks create money out of nothing to get interest (income) from something that never existed. The summation of the process is an endless system that grows out of control exponentially. Unbelievable! Comments welcome.
The video is split into 5 segments due to YouTube limitations.
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Counting down the final days of windsurfing
Yesterday I walked out of the office and realized that the wind was blowing and it was a beautiful fall day. The leaves were almost completely turned colors and the sun was out. As spontaneously as the wind blows I decided to cancel my plans and head off to Sunday Lake. By the time I arrived the wind was calming into a light breeze. Not knowing if this was the last hurrah of the summer I setup and went out anyway. The breeze was light and gusty but just enough to move me around. The sun slowly dipped behind the western hills and created a luscious orange sky for me to enjoy as the evening drew to a close.
The following day the same thing happened today, except this time I made a mad dash for the lake. Everything was ready from the day before so I just had to pack a few things and head for the lake. On the way I picked up some hamburger to cook after I finished wind surfing. I called RJ and asked if he wanted to join me. He didn’t windsurf with me but enjoyed watching as it brought back memories in his mind.
The wind was awesome. It was one of the better days for wind surfing. The wind was a tad gusty but there were plenty of moments for me to lean against the wind as the board skimmed across the water. The board moved just like a boat gaining speed to plane across the water. My arms were dead tired as evening drew near but I pushed, or rather pulled, as much as I could to enjoy the rush.
The evening was cloudy and not as picturesque as the previous night but I did share the lake with 50 or so geese who were flying south for the winter. After dusk started RJ and I made a fire and cooked the hamburger. While I was out on the lake he went and got some condiments to go along with them. It was a blustery but fun evening and we stayed well past dusk talking and enjoying each others company.
Tips to upgrade and maintain X-Cart PHP shopping cart
During a recent shopping cart upgrade these three tips came to mind. Mostly when I failed to follow my own advice. The tips are in regards to manually patching files that have been customized.
- Comment, comment, comment. If you make a change to a PHP file or template that was supplied by the vendor make a comment. Know what line the change started and where the change ends. When manually patching the file the comments will keep you from having to guess if a change is a patch from the vendor or a customization you made.
- When making a customization, comment out the original code block using block comments (not line comments) and make your changes to a copy of the original code block. Eventually when the original code gets patched or updated by the vendor you will still have a reference to the original code and a utility like WinMerge will be able to help match up the changes to the original code.
- For files that need manual patching use a utility such as WinMerge to find and resolve conflicts. If you make ample comments and left original code blocks in place WinMerge will better be able to help you get the file patches and your customizations back in place.
Good luck on patching your custom cart!
Game day was all wet
Lamentably game day was canceled. WO left early and BE was busy with some fall projects. DA was off buying a guitar of some sort. JK, MR, and I were the only ones to show. The highlight of the week just swept under the carpet, how sad.
JK had a great idea, swimming at the verona open pit. Yaw! MR tagged along but wouldn’t put a suit on. We appreciated his company none-the-less and he was able to snap a few pictures.
The water was cold after the first jump, cool after the second jump, and swimable after the third. Perhaps it was because our skin was de-sensitized from hitting the water (or maybe our brains were a bit mixed up from the fall).
The evening was beautiful as the trees hinted of the fall colors that were about to abound. To my dismay the exotic teal green color of the clear water was gone and everything seemed so much darker as the sun poked in and out of the evening autumn clouds.
Together we go to get the dragon’s gold
Tonight we played a new game from BA’s collection. Dragon’s Gold is a card game where only the Dragon’s die and the loot is split between the players who battled the dragon. The tricky part is no defeating the dragon but negotiating how the treasure is split. If all of the parties can’t settle on the split within 1 minute the treasure is lost and no one gets any. There are ample special ability cards to throw some very interesting twists into the game. After all the dragons are disposed of the treasure is counted and a winner is decided based on point value of pieces and sets. If you really want to know more BoardGameGeek has a good write up with lots of pics.
I sat out the first game because its only a 6 player game. WO, CF, DA, JK, MR, and BA played the first round. All I can comment on the first game is you have to keep an eye on CF – don’t let him fool you into thinking he doesn’t have a good plan. He managed to win by a landslide because he read the point card and won with the black diamond and lots of gold, silver, and … umm red peices. Magic orbs I think. It was quite an upset but everyone had a good time.
The second game I joined in for. JK and DA stepped out so the 5 of us played again. There wasn’t much squabbling among the players about how to split the treasure in spite of some instigation on BA’s part. Of course he had other reasons for his “helping” other players divide up the treasure. He drew a special card that allowed him to steal treasure from the dragon’s pile as long as he doesn’t get caught. It didn’t last very long as I busted him in the act. He had a great game face trying to deny it; I almost felt bad turning him in because he was such a smooth thief. It was all for naught because MR managed to, dare I say, horde, most of the precious gems. He won with like 3 sets and the majority of 3 of the 5 precious gems. After such an impressive win with so many gems I think MR would have been sent out to spent it on a round of grog! (Or root beer depending on your persuasion)