I’ve been a long time mediatemple.com hosting customer but costs have just gotten too high for my website TinyHouseDesign.com. This site gets a lot of traffic and really needs to be in a cloud environment like Rackspace’s cloud sites.

Traditional hosting typically requires that you pay for a set amount of server resources (bandwidth, cpus, memory, etc). Busy websites typically have deep peeks and valleys in traffic which often stretch and underuse those server resources.

A much better way to go for busy websites is to host in a cloud environment where you pay a flat rate for the baseline resources and then for the resources you actually consume – instead of for the resources you think you might consume. This should be great for my busy blog because it gives it the room to grow while costing less each month to host.

If you have a new blog stay with cheap hosting as long as you can. If you reach a point that the blog really needs something like Rackspace the revenue (ads, ebook sales, affiliates, etc) from the blog should easy pay for the cost of hosting.

The hosting plan I signed up for is about $100 a month. This new account even has room for low traffic sites like this one so I’ll probably move all my websites to my new Rackspace account and save even more money.

I posted the following comment on a YouTube and thought I’d post it here too. I think it sums my current political thinking quite nicely.

I voted for Obama last time. I wanted change. I was also a Democrat and still consider myself as open minded as they come. But I think the labels liberal, conservative, democrat, and republican just divide us and shrink our options. I’m an American Citizen – bottom line. I’m voting for Ron Paul and even if he pulls out I don’t think it’s a wasted vote. A wasted vote would be for one of the pre-packaged candidates – they stand for identical core values and represent the same powerful interests.

In a nutshell, I think either of the main stream candidates, Romney or Obama, represent the current paradigm (based on acquisition, consumption, debt, and war) and will do anything to protect it. While we all rely on this current paradigm daily the longer we rely on it the harder the hit will feel when it fails.

We definitely need change. Obama chose not to deliver. We need a new paradigm where balance is held higher than acquisition.

Ron Paul isn’t perfect. I don’t agree with him on every position. But he comes a hell of a lot closer to supporting the core values that need reigniting than any other candidate.

If I used my vote on Romney or Obama I’d simply be voting for the current paradigm to continue. I’m sick of watching debt soar, wars rage, sabers rattle – all for the maintenance of the current paradigm.

So I’m going to stand with those ready for the paradigm shift in the hope that we can restore true freedom to Americans. Ron Paul may not be the best answer but he’s a hell of a lot better choice than the current powers-that-be for fixing the core problems America faces.

There is a lot of economic doom & gloom in the press lately, enough to make you crazy. For example, take this article titled, Is this finally the economic collapse? written by Keith R. McCullough, the CEO of Hedgeye. McCullough suggests that our 90% debt to GDP ratio is so high that real economic collapse is closer than ever.

Some somewhat extreme watchdogs have also been keeping an eye on some of the usual and unusual economic indicators and have summed up 15 Economic Statistics That Just Keep Getting Worse.

Another article caught my eye; a Bloomberg opinion story recently reported that the, U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don’t Even Know It.

I’m not sure what to believe and don’t take any of this at face value; but it does bring up some interesting points and logical conclusions.

• If we the people can’t slow our run-away government spending, we can expect to see a big jump in taxation since someone is going to have to pay all this money back.
• I can’t imagine any politician voluntarily choosing to make hard choices like doubling taxes on their watch. In fact they all seem hell-bent on creating some kind of artificial economic stability at any cost.
• I also can’t imagine any politician actually admitting that an economic train-wreck is eminent because it could trigger an economic train-wreck.
• Judging from the noise the doomers are making about the eminent collapse, it might explain why the politicians are so hell-bent and spending our unborn descendants’ tax dollars today.

We should not let paranoia overcome us; but we should also listen to our built-in survival instincts.

Logic tells me that the economic numbers show that we may be moving onto thin ice again; but that we might cross this frozen lake without incident. But my instincts tell me I should tie a safety rope onto my belt in case I fall into the the sub-zero waters.

People with a clear minds find a certain level of preparation prudent and practical. The metaphor of tying on a safety rope while crossing a frozen lake helps me consider my next steps. Digging a bunker in my backyard and filling it with guns & ammo seems insane but building a rotatable inventory of non-perishable food seems much more reasonable.

No matter what kind of safety rope feels right for you, now seems like an increasingly bad time to ignore our instincts.

I continue to ask myself… why do I live in California? I don’t like bureaucracy and now California is adding even more layers that will effectively cut the income of online entrepreneurs state-wide.  ABX1 28, was just signed by Jerry Brown. Sadly he might have just said goodbye to many California-based online entrepreneurs.

You see California wants to collect sales tax on sales that include banner clicks from websites owned by people who happen to live in California. The main stream media is making it sound like the bill leves sales tax on buyers in California, but california buyers always paid sales tax on online purchases. What the bill actually says is that if someone, like an affiliate, is part of the sale… sales tax must be sent to California too.

The problem is that affiliate programs are basically advertising programs that typically pay a fee to website owners when a buyer ends up buying something from the advertiser’s online store.

In other words, in cases where the buyer and seller are no where near the borders of California, California still wants to charge sales tax because the website where the buyer saw the advertising is owned by someone who happens to live in California.

Affiliate fees are advertising fees! Affiliates don’t sell products or have anything to do with the transaction – they essentially get a commission based on the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.

So now Amazon.com is telling all of us idiots that haven’t left this sinking ship (California) that our affiliate relationships are canceled.

Now… I don’t make much money from Amazon myself – but I’m beginning to wonder how this going to effect Google Adsense and all other online advertising programs. If those get hit by boneheaded laws like this my independent online income will evaporate – so long as I stay in California.

I must say… Jerry Brown and the fools that manage California might have just given me a business reason to leave – and Oregon and Washington are looking more inviting all the time.

UPDATE October 3, 2011 – Governor Jerry Brown just signed a repeal for this legislation and we’re back in business as an Amazon Affiliate!

I was shocked to hear that Californians didn’t pass Prop 19 this past week. Shocked. I was certain that Californians would thumb their noses at the Federal Government and vote to make growing a few marijuana plants legal in this state. I mean if we (by majority vote) can elect Jerry Brown as governer how can we not vote to legalize pot. LOL

Well the good news is that the Emerald Triangle will survive. I was born in Mendocino County and lived in Redwood Valley for years as a starving artist, so I have some strong feelings about the place and dream of moving back all the time.

If pot had been legalized I’m certain that things would radically change up there. The local economy would collapse, real estate values would plummet, folks would be forced to leave, the county government could face bankruptcy. I know this sounds crazy but everything relies on marijuana up there, even for those people not working directly in the business.

So for now illegal pot growing is safe. Marijuana prices will stay high and business will continue as usual. But I’m also certain that this close call has sent a strong signal to everyone in the region that high profits will someday come to an end. Just like the larger global economy… all bubbles eventually burst.

Here’s a glimpse into the Emerald Triangle.

That’s right I’m party-free. Oh you didn’t know you could do that? I’m not sure you can in every state but I bet you can. In California all I had to do was write “decline to state” in the political party box.

I think this is an important step for everyone to do, conservative, liberal, or other. It seems like too many of us have taken sides against each other, dividing American citizens into easily controlled groups.

Does that sound crazy, easily controlled groups? Yeah maybe it is, but there are a growing number of us free agents. I just wish there were more true revolutionaries running for office. Who knows maybe if enough of us say enough-is-enough there will be.

This photoshopped image became a reality as the inhabitants of Peacetropolis gather at exactly 11:41 a.m. today to have their photo taken by satellite. I’ve not seen the actual photo yet.

It will be cool to see what Black Rock City looks like from space. I wonder what aliens think of Burning Man? Who knows maybe some of them are there now in attendance LOL

Peacetropolis! ~ image by Ashanti Vivia – SentienZe MediA (Artist’s Rendering)

I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it until the grid goes down… the perfect strategy for a post peak oil future is to simply choose to downsize consumption, grow increasingly self-reliant, and live more sustainably.

A recent report from the German Military, (Peak Oil – Implications Of Resource Scarcity On (National) Security from the Center for German Army Transformation, Group for “Future Studies” July 2010), summarizes the risks to civilization as humanity runs out of gas.

What is doesn’t say is how to avoid trouble. I suspect most people have trouble connecting the dots because they can’t imagine anything more normal than commuting by car, gas heat, hot running potable water 24/7, electricity oozing out of their sockets, and ample supplies of food on store shelves.

The core problem is that we’ve built a civilization on non-renewable cheap energy. So all those normal luxuries are normal when cheap energy is available. But like falling off a cliff, it’s not the fall that kills you – it’s the instant you stop falling that does you in.

We can wish for thorium parachutes but the truth is that relying on a dream is just not practical. Instead choose a well-tested safety harness.

The more of us that start moving in this direction the stronger our civilization becomes. If happy motoring continues, those of us living more simply and closer to the land will simply be leading happier less-dependent lives. If happy motoring ends we’ll be the best prepared for a oil-free future.

Living with less is the best peak oil hedge.

You know civilization is nearing collapse when Paris Hilton’s cocaine possession arrest the the top story on Google News. WTF!?