John George Peppers wrote:That train has already left the station...the time for investing in foreign currency itself has passed. The rates of conversion(back and forth) will take away any profits you might see.

ERawk wrote:Learning how to garden and grow a few things.

Yngwie Einstein wrote:Buying guitars may be nice. But if we are truly going to be in an economic apocalypse -- which I doubt very much -- who will be able to afford the guitar when you want to sell?

With lumber prices climbing, Chicago is sitting at a crossroads between crime and commerce.
Experts say the spiraling price of lumber has made pallets valuable enough to steal, a sharp contrast to just a few years ago when companies let them pile up in factory yards. By some estimates, nowhere in the country sees more of these timber thefts than the distribution hub that is greater Chicago.

“I would imagine it's more frequent and unreported than it should be,” said investigator Patrick Staples of the Northern Illinois Auto Theft Task Force, which last year arrested a man for swiping a trailer full of pallets worth about $2,300. “But if guys do this twice a month, they're making a good living and not getting caught.”

Bruce Scholnick, president of the National Wooden Pallet and Container Association, said the cost of wood went up as sawmills became more efficient. They were able to use more of each log for furniture or building material, leaving fewer lower-grade scraps that are turned into skids. That caused the price of wooden pallets to rise to about $5 apiece -- and criminals took notice.

“I live in the city, and you see people push them down the street in shopping carts. Five, six, seven, 10 years ago, you would see them in the garbage.”

ERawk wrote:

slincire wrote:

ERawk wrote:Learning how to garden and grow a few things.

This, aside from the hipster aspect, seems pretty interesting on that end.

Not surprised they settled in Tivoli. It's right next to Bard College so they can still see P-Fork's flavor of the month without traveling far.

I've always joked about how I could live in two places; either with everyone or without everyone and no in-between.