22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Discussion of Web Log and Analysis topics from the Generational Dynamics web site.
John
Posts: 11478
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:10 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA USA
Contact:

22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by John »

22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

User avatar
Tom Mazanec
Posts: 4180
Joined: Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:13 pm

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by Tom Mazanec »

Thank you for posting!
I used to follow the Gene Catlow webstrip (I am a Furry). One day the cartoonist did not update, as he had religiously before that. Later we found out he was dead.
So I got scared when I logged on a few minutes ago.
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”

― G. Michael Hopf, Those Who Remain

John
Posts: 11478
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:10 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA USA
Contact:

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by John »

Tom Mazanec wrote: > Thank you for posting! I used to follow the Gene Catlow webstrip
> (I am a Furry). One day the cartoonist did not update, as he had
> religiously before that. Later we found out he was dead. So I got
> scared when I logged on a few minutes ago.
No need to be scared. Technically, I'm still alive and in good
health, as far as I know.

There was no article written on Sunday evening for two reasons.

The first reason was that I couldn't find any topic that really
interested me. The only thing that was going on was the Afghanistan
elections, but I just didn't feel like writing about Afghanistan
again. I can always write something about any news topic, but if it's
not interesting then it takes a lot of time because it's late in the
evening and I keep falling asleep.

So then I thought, well why don't I just skip tonight? I've thought
that before, but I always banished the thought.

But this Sunday was different, because it sank in that I've only sold
about 30 copies of my Iran book, and that's pretty much the end of it.
I had hoped to generate some income, but the Iran book was just
another project that took a lot of time and work, and it's a really
fantastic book. But nobody gives a shit about it, so it's worth no
more than a piece of garbage. So why did I even bother?

So on Sunday evening I thought, who cares if I skip a day? Well, I
care, since I haven't missed a day in years, but of course that's just
another sign of some kind of obsessive insanity. But if almost nobody
else cares, then why should I care? So I decided to take the evening
off, the first time in years, and actually that was pretty relaxing.

Over the past 15 years, I've written 6,000 articles without being paid
(except for some nice people who sent donations). I've posted
thousands of articles on Breitbart and they've unequivocally refused
to pay me, even though they make money from ads. I asked Steve
Bannon, but he blew me off. I even asked someone from the NY Times if
there's anything I can do for them, and I was blown off. Lol! It was
worth a try, right? I've asked other people if there's anything I can
do to earn some income, as a journalist or analyst, and I've been
unequivocally refused or blown off.

Then there's software engineering. I've been a Senior Software
Engineer my whole life, and I'm still one of the best software
engineers I've ever met. But it now turns out that nobody over age 60
can get a job as a software engineer. In fact, it's almost impossible
for anyone over 35 to get a job as a software engineer. Just google
the words "computer industry age discrimination" if you don't believe
me. There are articles that say that the age limit is 30 for anyone
hired through LinkedIn. When I worked for IBM (years ago), IBM could
brag that it never laid anyone off, but last month IBM faced an age
discrimination lawsuit saying that it's firing all its employees over
age 40.

I have a particularly harsh view of life (or at least my life) that if
something has no monetary value then it's worthless, and therefore the
stuff that I've done -- the book, the articles, the software
engineering -- is all completely worthless, and therefore I'm a
completely worthless human being. It's nice being told that I'm
benefiting mankind, or other kumbaya nonsense, but if it doesn't
translate into money, then it's worthless.

Anyone who reads my articles knows that I analyze geopolitical and
financial trends and reliably predict where they're going, even though
such predictions are always right, and they're almost always
unpopular, and nobody's willing to pay anything for them. (This is
the Cassandra curse.) So analyzing personal trends, unless something
changes, with 100% certainty I will run out of money well before the
end of next year, and that will be the end of Generational Dynamics
and the end of me.

So it was on Sunday evening that this all really sank in, and I fully
accepted the inevitability of this situation, and decided that I need
to start making final preparations and plans, and decide on timing.
I'm always telling other people to plan for the inevitable, so I have
to do the same. I'm writing a book on China, and I'll get that done,
and possibly another book as well. One other thing I want to get
done, as a kind of legacy thing, is to update the "Download" page on
my web site, and ask people to download those materials and save them
for the future.

If anyone reading this would like to make some "last requests," feel
free to ask them. But there's nothing imminent going on, so there's
no hurry.

I'm also aware that I'm not unique in this situation, so if you want
to post your sad story as well, feel free.

Guest

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by Guest »

If anyone reading this would like to make some "last requests," feel
free to ask them. But there's nothing imminent going on, so there's
no hurry.

I'm also aware that I'm not unique in this situation, so if you want
to post your sad story as well, feel free.
Don't give up John. I've been following you for about 10 years reading your articles everyday. I don't have much to say because I would rather listen then talk about things I know little about.

Back in 2011 I told some friends and family that we are headed for a world war against China. They laughed and said I was crazy and now more and more of them are becoming worried as they watch the news. Even the mainstream news media runs articles about a coming conflict with China once in awhile. I've directed them to your work but they have no interest in following it. I've found most people are emotional beings who would rather ignore bad news then face the facts. My own grandmother died early of breast cancer because she was too afraid to see a doctor and get a lump checked out. They could have caught it in time and she could have lived a longer life. The same is true with your work.

The nature of your work is depressing and upsetting. That doesn't mean it should be ignored and isn't important.

I'm not a very religious person, but I believe in God and see signs in my life that a higher being exists and things happen for a reason. This section of your book really peaks my interest and I would be happy if you one day decided to expand on your thoughts:
According to beliefs in most religions, wars are the fault of human beings, and are certainly not God's fault.

But now we've shown that wars are caused by generational cycles and by the fact that population grows faster than the food supply, and that poverty mathematically MUST increase every year, until a crisis war breaks out to bring down the population again.

Now, if God is all-powerful, and God created the earth, it's clear he could have created an earth where the food supply and population grew at the same rate. Instead, he created a world in which the population grows substantially faster than the food supply. That's his fault.

That means that periodic wars are mathematically required. That's also his fault. Therefore, wars are God's fault, not humans' fault.

So if you're religious, then Generational Dynamics tells you that wars are God's fault. If you're not religious, then Generational Dynamics tells you that wars are part of Darwin's "survival of the fittest" paradigm. Either way, it's not human beings that are at fault for war. We're just doing what our DNA is telling us to do.
For the record, your work has made an impact on my life. I changed several major things in my life based upon Generational Dynamics. I try to enjoy each day, the little things, and the people I spend my time with.

In my opinion, if you are looking to be able to make a living with your knowledge you need to be writing books and articles about how to survive and thrive during a generational crisis and war. Americans subconsciously know things are going bad and survival interests are booming. People who accept what is coming want to know how to invest, store wealth, where to relocate to, what skills they need to learn, what jobs to work, etc.

Use the lens of Generational Dynamics to offer a unique perspective that nobody else has done before.

While you don't have a crystal ball you do have the ability to perceive things on a generational timeline. For example, during the stock market crash and great depression who lost everything and who came out ahead and why? Can you contrast this to today's situation? What will total war with China do to domestic manufacturing? Would an investor be better off stockpiling gold or investing in companies that will transform into the American war machine? Where should someone relocate to if they want to minimize the impact of the impending Chinese surprise attack?

These are the things that people will pay to read or belong to a website. All survival websites are speculation. Nobody knows the future yet there are people making money right now running websites dedicated to preparing for war with Russia, peak oil, global warming, etc.

FishbellykanakaDude
Posts: 1313
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by FishbellykanakaDude »

John wrote:
Tom Mazanec wrote: > Thank you for posting! I used to follow the Gene Catlow webstrip
> (I am a Furry). One day the cartoonist did not update, as he had
> religiously before that. Later we found out he was dead. So I got
> scared when I logged on a few minutes ago.
No need to be scared. Technically, I'm still alive and in good
health, as far as I know.

There was no article written on Sunday evening for two reasons.

...

So then I thought, well why don't I just skip tonight? I've thought
that before, but I always banished the thought.

But this Sunday was different, because it sank in that I've only sold
about 30 copies of my Iran book, and that's pretty much the end of it.
I had hoped to generate some income, but the Iran book was just
another project that took a lot of time and work, and it's a really
fantastic book. But nobody gives a shit about it, so it's worth no
more than a piece of garbage. So why did I even bother?

So on Sunday evening I thought, who cares if I skip a day? Well, I
care, since I haven't missed a day in years, but of course that's just
another sign of some kind of obsessive insanity. But if almost nobody
else cares, then why should I care? So I decided to take the evening
off, the first time in years, and actually that was pretty relaxing. ...
OK,.. create a YouTube channel, and ask for funding via Patreon and/or PayPal.

Simply fill it with various ramblings and analyses, and cat videos proving that cats are (or aren't) a Chinese expat "Meowist Sinification Force".

You're Greek, "SUPPOSEDLY", in air-quotes and all-caps, so the effects your being a true modern day Cassandra SHOULDN'T be much of a surprise to you, and you SHOULD know that you SHOULDN'T base your worth (self or otherwise) on your being remunerated for your Cassandra-esque communications.

Sorry for the overemphasis, and all-caps-itudinousness of the preceding "shoulds", but I'm remarkably "rude" and/or terse sometimes, and it made for some nice punchy verbiage, so,.. yeah,.. that.

Anyway, go out and buy a blue-water boat you can handle double-handed (in the 35 to 45 foot range), learn to sail and repair the damned diesel engine on board, and prepare to sail off into the tropics (or wherever).

You will also need to create a (probably separate) YubbTubb sailing channel to document your progress and as another source of funding (via asking for donations to your "beer/rum fund" and another Patreon/Paypal account, of course).

That should keep your mind and body busy, as well as the therapeutic value of your writings (and Cat Videos), until you can set off on your adventure, or the world goes blewwie.

Oh,.. and do PLEASE write a GREAT computer game of the "Civilization Building/Survival/War Gaming/Political/Economical/Etc" genre(s) based on Generational Dynamics and the potentially amazing ramifications of GD Theory!

( ..and throwing in some zombies or/and aliens to "twist the dynamics" might be fun! )

Several tens of thousands of copies sold at $10 to $24 per, with DLC and expansions and whatnot, would make a nifty source o' bucks. :)

The INEVITABILITY of Cassandra was in her not being believed. That was the greek tragedy quality/inevitability of her situation. But a present day Cassandra can simply sidestep that part, the tragedy part, and capitalize on the fact that being right about the world shows us where the real value is in that world.

Despair not kuʻu hoaloha! Choose happiness, regardless of the "situation".

Aloha nui ʻoe! Nā pōmaikaʻi īa ʻoe, kahuna nui. <shaka nui loa!>

FishbellykanakaDude
Posts: 1313
Joined: Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:07 pm

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by FishbellykanakaDude »

..oh,.. I forgot.

You won't be single-handed on that boat for long, as SOME lovely will find the adventurous life on a teeny boat too much to resist, even with YOU on board!

I know,.. weird, but true. No cap'tn goes single-handed for long,.. unless he, or she, wants to be. :)

Guest

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by Guest »

Great advice, Fishkanaka! :D You're good-hearted, but I still think you are obnoxious :lol: But your advice is solid.

John, go on YouTube. You will find sponsors and get ad money. I'm stony broke; otherwise I would sponsor you. I buy your books; it's what I can afford to do.

Most people I know are having a rough time right now. My lifestyle in my 20s and early 30s seems like a surreal experience compared to my life now. I used to be upper middle class; now I'm working class. If I were married with children, I would be living in dire poverty.

I understand your situation and how you feel. I have fallen from a rather high place myself. I know despair well. Don't give up. I'm riding this to the end. I want you to to. I care about you and what happens to you.

I think people have to hit bottom before they see things clearly. Money allows one to avoid or deny reality. People like you break through the bubble and upset people. I was over being upset about things a long time ago.

Trevor
Posts: 1209
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 7:43 am

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by Trevor »

I don't know how much it means coming from a millennial, but what you've built here is important. Not only with Generational Dynamics theory, but the fact that this has been my news source for the past several years. It's one of the only sources that isn't full of bullshit, which I appreciate.

I am sorry about things not working out for you. I don't have any magic words or instant advice, but it sucks that this hasn't received greater traction. Personally, I think politics has a lot to do with it; we'd rather consider the other side, climate change, immigration, etc. to be the enemy and that our opponents are the cause of it then to see the menace heading towards us. I enjoyed your book, for what it's worth.

I'm attempting to become a writer myself, with a book I've been working on for three years. The site helped me with a few of the details, even though it's fiction, and putting in lots of work with little to show for it is damned frustrating.

If you do stop posting news feeds, I hope you will at least keep the website up. Even if I disagree with you about a few of the details you've posted, Generational Dynamics is well worth studying. I'll understand if it's gotten to be too much, though.

If you want to make the big bucks, you can't use your brain. You need to write an unhinged novel, ranting that Muhammad was a pedophile, a genocidal lunatic intent of exterminating everyone who didn't follow him. Islam is a bloodthirsty cult, intent on world domination, exterminating all who do not agree with their evil worldview. They support rape, mayhem, and murder. That's what sells in this climate, and yes, this was meant as satire.

Thanks for everything you've done.

John
Posts: 11478
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:10 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA USA
Contact:

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by John »

Guest wrote: > Back in 2011 I told some friends and family that we are headed for
> a world war against China. They laughed and said I was crazy and
> now more and more of them are becoming worried as they watch the
> news. Even the mainstream news media runs articles about a coming
> conflict with China once in awhile. I've directed them to your
> work but they have no interest in following it. I've found most
> people are emotional beings who would rather ignore bad news then
> face the facts. My own grandmother died early of breast cancer
> because she was too afraid to see a doctor and get a lump checked
> out. They could have caught it in time and she could have lived a
> longer life. The same is true with your work.
You'd better be VERY careful about how much you tell people about
the predictions on this web site. If you aren't, then you too
could turn into a completely worthless human being.

John
Posts: 11478
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:10 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA USA
Contact:

Re: 22-Oct-18 World View -- No article today

Post by John »

Guest wrote: > I'm not a very religious person, but I believe in God and see
> signs in my life that a higher being exists and things happen for
> a reason. This section of your book really peaks my interest and I
> would be happy if you one day decided to expand on your
> thoughts:
I'm not sure what I can add to the text that you've already
quoted.
Guest wrote: > For the record, your work has made an impact on my life. I changed
> several major things in my life based upon Generational
> Dynamics. I try to enjoy each day, the little things, and the
> people I spend my time with.

I always like to tell people: No politician can stop what's coming,
any more than they can stop a tsunami. You can't stop what's coming,
but you can prepare for it. Treasure the time you have left, and use
it to prepare yourself, your family, your community and your nation.
Guest wrote: > These are the things that people will pay to read or belong to a
> website. All survival websites are speculation. Nobody knows the
> future yet there are people making money right now running
> websites dedicated to preparing for war with Russia, peak oil,
> global warming, etc.
These web sites make money by selling or advertising survivalist
products. Not one of my skills.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 45 guests