David Rauschenbach ("Leader by default")

In 2000 I started reading that water tables were dropping worldwide, and that government subsidy-based clear-cut monoculture farming had destroyed the soil's ability to retain water, causing most continental fresh water to now rush straight into the ocean, while taking the remaining topsoil with it. This massive wealth destruction pattern is similar enough to one credited with contributing to the toppling of the Roman Empire, which may have been the very cause and driver of monetary debasement, or cause for the need of credit. The fall of the empire may have merely been expedited by the other convergent factors.

Analysts conclude that future wars will be fought over water, and history is packed with tales of drought devastation woes (including several civilization busters), so I set out to discover what, if anything, people were doing about it. Not much, as it turns out, unless you move to Turkey. It seems that most people are perfectly willing to take their blind faith in government or technology to the grave, even though they should know by now that such faith is totally unwarranted.

So after failing to discover any leaders by choice in the game, I realized that I would once again have to become a leader by default, in order to get what I needed done.

This Kasbah is probably the smallest practical fortress, and is my idea of reasonable living quarters. This single-family African version could be considered multi-tenant by western condo standards. But, I would enlarge it to consist of at least a dozen large and small residences around the perimeter, which would open up the center courtyard to 2-3 acres, in order to hold kitchen gardens, fruit trees, garden showers, and a pond.

My wife and I took a break from the grind, to learn what Doug Casey is up to in Cafayate, Argentina.

After selling my mobile e-mail business to Synchronica, my family resided part-time in Berlin between 2008-2009.

Business brought me to Bodiam, East Sussex, England, where I was able to visit Bodiam Castle, which dates back to 1385. I was surprised to learn that the toilets dumped straight into the moat, which everyone would have smelled.

Synchronica acquired Axis Mobile, and sent me over there for a few weeks to check out their Mobile App Server and IMAP gateway, which they produced using my GoodServer product line that I sold to Synchronica a year earlier.

A visit to my mother's family and birthplace.

Before closing up our residence in Germany, my family spent a week driving the historic Fairy Tale Road. It is one of many special routes shown on any road map of Germany.

My family lived on a small farm in Indiana for 5 years, where we produced children, grass-fed chicken, and software.

After relocating from Berlin, Germany to Mesa, Arizona, my family spent a few hours in the Salt River Valley, 10 minutes from our home. The state calls it the Tonto National Forest, which is wishful thinking, because I've never heard of a cactus forest. It's just another man-made desert. But, there are trees along the cool river. The temperature was 111°F (44°C) when these photos were taken.