If you’re alive in a decade, it will be because you’ve figured out how to forage locally.

The death and suffering will be unimaginable. We have come to depend on cheap oil for the delivery of food, water, shelter and medicine. Most of us are incapable of supplying these four key elements of personal survival, so trouble lies ahead when we are forced to develop means of acquiring them that don’t involve a quick trip to Wal-Mart.

Happy thoughts from this article in the Arizona Republic. It’s funny how now that there’s less Bush agenda holding up the idea that Everything is Fine and There is No Crisis, people in the red states are starting to catch up with the rest of the planet as to things being Seriously Not Okay.

I’ve been somewhat gratified and bemused watching Seattle slowly start to adapt to the idea that Massive Change is Coming. The resurgence of backyard poultry, the 100 mile food plan taking off, and other things along those lines all are starting to catch up as it becomes obvious that a great time of transition is starting and that things are not going to be the same. It’s interesting to see that happen.

One of the reasons that I chose to live in Seattle in the first place is that I think it’s going to be more livable in the long term. Certainly, people in Arizona have to realize that life there isn’t sustainable. I don’t know what the world has in store, I know that people are trying to do things like make fast breeder reactors at the same time that they’re working on alternative fuels, but it’s going to be a rough transition.

Certainly, if you live in someplace like Arizona, and you can only get by on an average day by expending tons and tons of energy, there’s going to be nasty times ahead and they’re going to come even sooner for you than for others. Maybe the difference between arizona and here is a matter of degree, but it’s a degree to which i’ve gotten accustomed.

the vehicle slammed on the brakes and then did a uturn on broadway, and a well-built guy in his early 20s got out and started yelling at the woman for what she said. He yelled a variety of racial and gender-based insults at her, and was threatening to hit her (both verbally and through violent guestures and posture.) She called the police and he moved halfway back across the street and started yelling at her continuing to threaten.

Since he had a friend also yelling at her, I went across the street to witness. Another person did as well, a local bookshop owner. I figured that standing there and not getting involved would cause them not to do anything other than threaten until the police came and then they would run away. Eventually, they went running off into the Washington Mutual parking lot having threatened her, bookstore owner (Jamie for those that know her) and virtually everyone else in Seattle.

These gentlemen in question were from South Seattle by the highschool bumperstickers on their car, not hill residents. It seems, though, that even by anecdote there’s been more violence of whatever sort on the hill recently. It makes me sad because generally I’m fond of this neighborhood and recently it seems to be getting both more gentrified and more dangerous, both of which are hostile to its unique character.

[edited to add: I talked with her afterwards, because I had descriptions of the guys and their car license plate/make/model and etc..., but she decided not to press charges. She was physically okay although upset and shaken. This was at the corner where Jai Thai is.  This was actually posted a week ago, but didn't appear right away for various reasons.]