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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

How Marketers Get You to Buy, Basic Composting


Bruce’s Poor Man Survival Bulletin

A Digest of Urban Survival Resources


For Independent Minded People!

ISSN 2161-5543

In This Issue:

1.       Buy my stuff-how marketers get you to buy

2.      DIY Solar Panels

3.      Basic guide to composting

4.      Search for credit unions by location

5.      Why Obama Care is destined for failure



"You wonder why anyone would make the mistake
of calling it the Commerce Clause instead of the
'Hey, you -can-do-whatever-you-feel-like Clause?' ”

-- Judge Alex Kozinski
(1950-) Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit



Buy My Stuff - How Marketers Get You to Buy


After writing a best selling manual on small business marketing and teaching retail marketing at the college level for nearly a decade, I’m very aware of the many tricks used to encourage consumer buying.


It’s an Investment…auto dealers and retailers of high end electronics such as HDTVs use this ploy frequently as in “this is an investment you can enjoy for years to come.”  Most of us know, somewhere deep inside, the minute you drive off the dealer’s lot, the car you just purchased dropped in price a minimum of $1000.

Electronic gadgetry seems to be updated every three months, often rendering your current Iphone or other gadget nearly worthless.  It has always puzzled me to see folks line up around the block well before midnight to buy the latest iPad, electronic game or other item knowing full well within a year the price will drop and/or the product will be outdated.


Upselling…Often an advertised ‘special’ or loss leader item is hidden somewhere in the store or there is an extremely limited amount of that product allotted to each retail outlet.  Once you’re at the store, the clerk will announce this particular item sold out…but, we have another, even better brand at a slightly higher price. In extreme cases, this could be a ’bait n switch’ tactic and it is against the law.

 Then, the clerk will use every trick to lure you into buying an extended warranty on the item.  Very seldom do you need a warranty for a name brand appliance, electronic item, computer or what not as a warranty is already included and you simply need to read it prior to purchase AND then make sure you keep the warranty and original receipt stored away safely should the need arise.


Supermarket Psychology…Supermarket layouts are designed to encourage shoppers to linger longer and spend more money.  Using everything from end caps and just the right kind of slower Muzak, to placing products closely associated with freshness, such as fresh flowers and fresh fruit just by the entrance, they know our minds tend to associate freshness with goodness and healthy living.

The goal is to create the impression of freshness which is why they employ water misters by fresh vegetables (the average apple is about 14 months old by the time it reaches the supermarket floor) and place fish on ice.  Modern refrigeration doesn’t require ice.

Hand writing sale prices on stickers or chalkboards also helps to give the impression that supplies are limited or these items just came in.


Our best advice, shop sale items, use coupons, visit local farm markets and use a list (and stick to that list)!



Canned air is expensive.  Try using a blow-dryer instead to get rid of dust and debris on your computer keyboard.



PM’s Compendium of Useful Resources



DIY Solar Panels - Free ebook & other resources

It’s a short guide on how to built an electricity from Solar Panel. Here’s the main point of the Solar Panel Design : The main stumbling block to building solar panels is acquiring solar cells at a reasonable price. New solar cells are very expensive, and can even sometimes be hard to find in quantity at any price. Blemished and damaged solar cells are available on and other places at a fraction of the cost of new perfect cells. These second rate solar cells could probably be used to make a solar panel that would work just fine. There are lots of other sizes of solar cells besides 3 X 6 inches available. You could use larger or smaller cells for your panel. Just keep a few things in mind. Cells of the same type all produce the same voltage no matter what size they are. So the same number of cells is always needed. Larger cells produce more current (Amps) and smaller cells produce less current. The total power your panel can produce is determined by Amps X Volts.
Good sources to use…















Basic Guide to Composting


If you care about the environment, you will be in favor of the composting process. This concept is all about giving back to the land what it has given you. It is all about recycling. It is all about a cycle that things go through in order to grow.



It is an interesting cycle. If you just take a moment to take a deeper look into a pile of decaying things, you will see that some things that are slowly becoming part of the land. And you also see some offspring that are growing from the process.



That's life. And that's how your life is also going to be. If you are in touch with nature, you will see such cycles as miracles, and something to be joyful about.

Compost is also more than just a using fertilizer on soil. This actually means that the cycle of life goes on. You can gather decaying leaves of plants and other manures and things that can be found in your garden for this purpose. You will then use all the materials to form your very own compost.



This process is actually practiced by many farmers in all parts of the world. But ordinary gardeners or people who love nature and things that revolve in it can also benefit from this.



The organic residue that you collect when you gather different materials from the land that is converted into something black, somewhat fragrant, and crumbly (decomposing) is what will be the compost. The idea here is to arrange the materials so that the soil bacteria and fungi can survive and also multiply as they all break down. The bacteria act as the converters of all raw materials so that they must be in a workable environment with proper moisture, food and air.



If you haven't made yours, but is interested in starting a compost, you can begin by gathering the green and dry elements that you can see around your garden. You must think what you can feed the bacteria for it to thrive. For such, you can tap on the grass clippings, the green weeds, as well as the vines of pea and leaves of lettuce. What do they have in common? They contain sugar elements as well as proteins and they all can decompose fast.



Dry leaves and other small twigs must be mixed with the greens when decomposing. These materials take a lot of time in order to decompose because they contain little nitrogen. That is why they must not be left alone in the process.



You can also build a compost pile by mixing a fertilizer, then adding manure and garden soil between every layer of your gathered waste material.



You need not be a pro to be able to come up with your own version of this tool. All you've got to have is a big heart for nature and you are set to go.



What you have to remember is that you are doing the environment a great favor by being involved in such a process. Not everyone loves to garden, having said that, it is also true that not everyone will love the idea of making compost.



Practice will make everything perfect. This is also true with the idea of composting. Through time, you will be able to develop your own techniques. And hopefully, you will be able to share with others what a gem you have found in this kind of process.


Search for Credit Unions by Location…

Or by the organizations they’re affiliated with, including companies, schools or places or worship by going to:




Fix hardened paint brushes by simmering in boiling vinegar and then wash with soapy water.





The Nanny State Updates…


Prison Nation…The USA now has more people in prison than any other country in the world. According to USAToday, one in three Americans will be arrested by the time they are 23 – up 22% in 30 years.  It’s no wonder, we have more laws than any other nation.  Disgusting.  States today spend more than $50 billion a year on corrections, yet recidivism rates ... Study: Prisons Failing to Deter Repeat Criminals in 41 States…

Refer back to our story from…John Stossel’s Illegal Everything - How Stupid laws and red tape are ruining small business and the countrybetter stop those entrepreneurial children now from running a lemonade stand or selling Girl Scout cookies from home! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuIahM4mB-8&feature=share


Don't worry about a thing - Joe Biden says everything is going to be alright…

The city of Trenton, New Jersey is so broke that it has decided to indefinitely postpone buying more toilet paper for city buildings.



Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) will now provide credit in local currencies. This will not only facilitate growth in trade but it will also lessen dependence on the U.S. dollar as the medium for trade.



A TSA manager (not just an agent) at Dulles International Airport was recently discovered to be running a prostitution ring out of a local hotel room. TSA agents have been charged with crime after crime after crime and yet we continue to allow them to be in charge of airport security.



Vented plastic berry boxes provide drainage for seedlings.  Close covers at night to protect them from the cold.




The Parting Thought – Will ObamaCare do any good?



  While the legal debates at the Supreme Court continue to confound and confuse, it should be apparent to all the concept was flawed from the very start.  The plan failed to address many key issues including:



--It didn’t tackle Tort Reform and the massive lawsuits which drive up the cost malpractice insurance and ultimately, the premiums we all pay.



-It failed to eliminate Workers Comp costs for small businesses, a vital component of any health care plan.



-It failed to recognize how low income earners whose budgets are already stretched to the bone, can afford another cost of living hike.


Current Gallup polling shows about 75 percent of Americans believe the law is unconstitutional.


The act imposes new burdens on states in three dangerous and damaging ways.

First, it costs our businesses with new taxes. Second, it costs our residents with higher premiums. Third, it costs our states, threatening to reduce access to care for Medicaid recipients on the losing end of strained budgets.


Tallying these cumulative economic burdens explains and justifies today's stubborn public opposition. Rather than controlling costs, the law controls lives — even to the point of worsening them.


My premise has always been that, yes there is a need for universal coverage in this country as we are the only country which doesn’t offer basic health care coverage, creating a negative factor for the US in the world marketplace.


The single payer plans in Europe provide coverage at much lower rates than we do.  Obamacare created a messy, half-measure program that has too many flaws.  Wouldn’t it have been far easier to simply extend the Medicare/Medicaid program to everyone while eliminating Workers Comp costs?  Work needs to be done also to address the lawsuit problem in this country as well.  Until these issues are resolved, the current plan is destined to fail.



“Until the next revolution”, the Poor Man



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