WHEN ARE THE SEMINARS HELD ?

Classes are currently being offered in both America and in Southeast Asia. Keep an eye on our home page for the latest information.

SEMINARS IN AMERICA: 

Skip is now "semi-retired" and spending most of his time at his "winter" home in Southeast Asia.  For example, on one of his recent trips to Asia he did not return to America for almost five years, and there were no seminars at all during that period of time. 

At this time, it appears that he will offer one or two classes per year in America. If you are among the first to make reservations via e-mail,  there is a good chance that you can attend one of those classes. 

However, The Log Home Builders Association of North America currently has three instructors. When Skip is not available to teach a class in America (which is almost all of the time), one of the other instructors fills in for him.

SEMINARS IN THE PHILIPPINES:

Skip is now teaching his classes on a regular basis at his beach-front home (a resort under construction)  in the Philippines. 

This website contains a lot of information about the Asian classes -- the specific location -- the cost of transportation -- the length of the Asian classes -- the "vacation" aspects of a trip to the Philippines -- etc.

Having visited Skip's beach-front home in that area,  I would say that the Philippines is similar to what historians say Hawaii was like 150 years ago. 

If you think you might be interested in attending Skip's class in the Philippines, then please check out the appropriate page of this website.

THE DATES OF THE NEXT SEMINAR IN AMERICA: 

The following letter from Skip explains, at least partially, why he has such a hard time scheduling classes now that he is semi-retired.  It also contains some good information about log homes in general.

The "note" (immediately below) prefacing Skip's letter  is one that I wrote in Skip's absence to someone name "Harold" -- in response to his inquiry about the "next available seminar." 

Sorry for the confusion...

Dear Harold,

My name is Rick, and I am a volunteer at the Log Home Builders Association of North America. 

Thank you for writing to us about your interest in attending the Log Home Building Seminar near Seattle, Washington. 

Unfortunately, Skip's mother passed away recently, and therefore he is currently attending the funeral and visiting relatives and friends. 

Not knowing what else to do in Skip's absence, I am forwarding to you (see below) a copy of a recent note that he wrote in response to someone else’s inquiry about the seminar. 

The following response was sent to some guy named “Al,” but I assume that it contains the necessary information. 

If the following letter does not answer your questions, then please write again and type “PLEASE FORWARD TO SKIP” in the subject line. 

I will then forward your note to him wherever he is.

Sorry for the confusion.

Sincerely,

Rick

Dear Al,

Thank you for writing to me about your interest in log homes -- the two-day seminar -- politics -- freedom -- etc.

You wrote a looooong and interesting letter Al, for which I thank you. 

I can certainly relate to your concerns about what is currently happening "socio-economically" to our great country, America.

Also, I can relate to what you said about the steady eroding away of our freedoms -- the way our Constitution is being ignored by the American government -- the extremely high cost of homes -- and the need for the American people to solve these (and other) problems.

Therefore, because you were kind enough to share some of your opinions with me, I will, in turn, hereby attempt to do the same -- especially regarding some of the specific problems you mentioned. 

But remember -- you asked for it !!!    

;-]

First of all, please forgive me for not responding sooner. The delay was caused by the fact that I have been having a problem with my computer.  It picked up a virus, and I was afraid to send any e-mail because of the possibility of spreading it. 

This problem was compounded by the fact that I have been on a remote (although extremely beautiful) tropical island here in Southeast Asia, with no access to "computer wizards."

I am back on my own island now, and this is one of the first opportunities I have had to catch up on the e-mail.

*****  Please let me know if you receive this note.

Regarding the seminar, I have been retired for most of the past twelve years.  I have been living primarily at my beach-front home here in Southeast Asia and I seldom return to America. 

For example, on one of my recent trips to Asia I did not return to America for almost five years, and there were no seminars at all during that time. 

However, I will definitely be returning to the states for my mom's 99th birthday on March 1, 2003. 

This means that there will be a seminar either on the weekend either in the middle of March or the end of March (we will soon know the exact date). 

My schedule will be approximately as follows:  As things now stand, I will arrive in America on approximately February 20th -- and I will return to the land of the free on approximately April 1. 

If you are interested in attending the seminar, then please keep in touch with me via e-mail so I can give you the exact date of the seminar as soon as it has been determined.

For now, if you have any "specific" questions about log homes (like "yes" or "no" questions?) that can't wait until the seminar, then please just drop me a note. 

Obviously, I can't "teach" by e-mail -- but I can certainly answer a few questions if that will help.

In your note, you asked me if there were any "tips" or "suggestions" I could give you regarding the purchase of your property. 

Yes... in my opinion, there are a few VERY IMPORTANT things that you might want to keep in mind.  Unfortunately, these things are sort of difficult to explain -- and, at first glance they might sound bazaar. 

However, if you can be patient with me, I will try to at least give you the essence of the concept -- as follows: 

At this time, many people are including wording in their real estate contracts, approximately as follows:  " ...as a down-payment, the purchaser has hereby paid the seller $___________ in Federal Reserve Notes; AND in addition to the Federal Reserve notes, the purchaser has also hereby paid the seller twenty-four American silver dollars that were minted prior to 1964."

[In order to understand the importance of the above-mentioned wording, it is necessary to read what the Constitution says about the number of "dollars" that must be involved in a transaction before one can gain access to a Common Law Court. Then it is necessary for you to determine if Federal Reserve Notes constitute "lawful dollars and/or lawful money."]

The theory is as follows:  If you ever have a "legal controversy" regarding your property (law suits -- seizures -- liens -- claims -- infringements -- encroachments -- eminent domain -- etc.), the above-mentioned wording will probably be necessary if you want to gain access to the Common Law Courts that are guaranteed to you by the Constitution (AND WHERE YOU STILL HAVE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS), instead of the Admiralty/Equity Courts that are generally the only types that we now have access to (as indicated by the gold fringe around the flags that hang in every courtroom). 

Also, it might be extremely advantageous for you to purchase and register your property in your "true and Proper name."  In other words, it appears that your government will always try to register your property in the following way:  "ALBERT J. JOHNSON" [which creates a "legal fiction"] instead of using your "true and Proper" name: "Albert J. Johnson."

I will buy you a lunch if you can register your property using your "true and Proper" name -- instead of in the "legal fiction" [look it up in "Black's Law Dictionary"] name that is written using all "upper case" letters.

In fact, I will buy you a lunch if you can get the American government (at any level) to enter into ANY contract with you through the use of your "true and Proper name." 

For example, the following documents that you accepted from your government are all "contracts" (Driver's License, Social Security Card, Voter's Registration Card, Credit Cards, motor vehicle title, motor vehicle registration, Summons and Complaints, the registration of your real estate for taxation, etc.).  Not surprisingly, your name on all of these contracts has been "converted" into a "legal fiction."

In other words, you can not even get a so-called "driver's license" that has your "real" (true and Proper) name on it -- and this is not by accident. 

Even your bank account is not in your "true and Proper" name.  Instead, it is in the name of a "legal fiction" that is "created" when your name is written using all "upper-case" letters.   This is shown by an experiment that you can do regarding your own personal checking account -- as follows:  Use a powerful magnifying glass (at least 8 power, as per a jeweler's loop) to examine the "signature line" on one of your personal checks. You will find that it is not a solid line at all.  Instead, it consists of "words" that are deceptively written so small that you can not read them with your naked eye. This relates to the fact that the bank account is not in your "true and Proper name" at all.  Instead, your bank account is in the name of the "legal fiction" -- and therefore, "authorization" becomes an important issue.       

Do you know what it means when you accept the "misuse" (it is not a mere "miss-spelling") of your name written in all capital letters ???

Regarding the fact that the above-described “legal fiction” is a “creation of government,” it appears that an applicable “Maxim of Law” is as follows:  “The government has the right to ‘absolutely control’ (e.g. disregarding the Constitution) anything that it creates.” 

Have you ever wondered how the bureaucrats obtained jurisdiction over you regarding such things as how big the front door of your home must be -- if the door opens "in" or "out" -- the color and/or height of your fence – where your children go to school -- how often you must mow your lawn (in some areas this is an important issue) -- etc.??

You are now "on the way" to knowing how they did it...

I have a lot more information on these topics if you are interested in knowing more about the "law" – or if you are interested in using the law to obtain a greater amount of freedom from the bureaucrats. 

If you are concerned about protecting your freedom in America, then I strongly recommend that you purchase an unabridged copy of "Black's Law Dictionary." 

I would begin by looking up such things as:

1.  Color of Authority
2.  Color of Law
3.  Color of Office
4.  Legal fiction -- fiction of law -- etc.
5.  Straw-man (in fact, I would do a lot of research this one)
6.  Good faith/bad faith
7.  Legal
8.  Lawful

Also, I would learn the difference between the following:

1.  Citizen and citizen.
2.  The State of Washington and WASHINGTON STATE.
3.  The united states of America, and the United States of America.
4.  The U.S. and the U.S.A.
5.  The names Thomas Quincy Jones and THOMAS QUINCY JONES.
6.  Etc., etc., etc.

Whoops !!!  It appears that I got side-tracked.

Remember... I only mentioned the above issues in an effort to respond to your specific questions. 

Obviously, it is difficult to discuss one of the issues without slopping over into a few others. 

Back to log homes now... 

Again, I thank you for your interest in attending the seminar.

For now, please drop me a note if you have any specific questions about log homes, and I will do my best to answer them for you. 

It looks like I will be returning to the states to teach a class approximately once each year -- until the old ticker gives up.

See "PS" below.

Your friend,

Skip

PS --

Please stop by for a visit if you find yourself in our area of Asia.  There is always room for one more person at our dining room table -- and there are plenty of coconut trees that you can use for a hammock "camp-out" on the beach.  Our home is 15' from the ocean at high tide, and at low tide we can walk 1/2 mile towards the ocean without getting our ankles wet. We are in an area of native fishermen that live in grass shacks and fish from small dugout canoes that have outriggers on both sides.  These people are totally friendly and hospitable -- especially when dealing with "puti ungoys" ("white monkeys" -- which is what they humorously call us).  Some of our friends come to visit us thinking that they will only spend a few nights -- and they end up staying a month or two. 

In fact, when people get a taste of the freedom here, they sometimes end up staying forever. 

For example, in my area of Asia there are no building permit laws, no building code laws, no speed limit laws, no motorcycle helmet laws, no seat-belt laws, no police, no evidence of government, etc.

In other words, these people are relatively free from government intrusion upon their daily lives -- and the system works much better than the "police state" system that we now have in Amerika.

One of my friends who recently came for a visit, just went back to the states to sell everything he owns.  He will soon be returning here to stay forever.  This happens a lot.

PS --
I just returned from another visit to several so-called "primitive" tribes. Except for a lack of access to medical care, it seems to me that these people are much better off than many of the Americans back home -- in "spite" of (or perhaps "because" of) our American laws and technology. Oh well...

PS --
It might sound weird, but I prefer not to have students in my class who work at the following occupations:

MEDICAL DOCTORS:  It is generally accepted that the leading cause of death in America is the high cost of medical care -- and therefore my ethical/religious convictions prohibit me from accepting money that was derived via that source.

LAWYERS:  Melvin Beli said it best when he said, "In American jurisprudence, your guilt or innocence has nothing to do with the outcome of your trial." How much of this type of justice can the average American afford ???  

JUDGES:  What happened to the Common Law Courts that are guaranteed to us by the Constitution ??? 

POLITICIANS:  Can you explain the "Lobby System" ???

POLICE:  Statistics show that America has turned into a "police state."  In other words, statistics show the following:  There are twice as many police in America (per capita of population) than there are in any other country in the world.  There are twice as many people in prison in America than there are in any other country in the world.  The American prison-system is the second largest industry in America -- second only to the automotive industry.  There are more people on "Death Row" in the state of Texas alone than there are in any other so-called "democratic" country. More than half of the world's countries have abolished the death penalty -- meaning that it has been abolished in all of the "civilized" countries -- and meaning that still exists only in the most "primitive" countries.  Police power in America is used primarily to generate income for our "officially bankrupt" government.   

PRISON GUARDS AND/OR EXECUTIONERS: Can you imagine what kind of a person could find happiness being a "prison guard," or an "executioner" at a prison ???  Would you want to spend two days sitting next to such a person in a log home building seminar ???  Frankly, it would make me want to throw up. 

BUILDING INSPECTORS: Before there were building codes, the average life expectancy of a normal "wood frame" home in America was 75 years.  Now that there are building codes, the average life expectancy is 30 years.  Do you think it is by "accident" that the average life expectancy of a new home matches the average duration of the mortgage.  How stupid are we ???

GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATS OF ANY KIND: In my opinion, this needs no explanation.

Personally, I prefer to have students who work at "productive" jobs, such as:  laborers, hair-dressers, store clerks, salesman, cooks, housekeepers, maids, mechanics, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, contractors, real estate agents, welders, high school and college students, truck drivers, taxi drivers, nurses, janitors, photographers, house-wives, house-husbands, etc. 

I totally like to have students who are economically "disadvantaged" -- or who have "bottomed out" (because of drugs, and/or alcohol, and/or 'state-manufactured-crime,' and/or the "system") and are looking for a way to turn their lives around.

My primary goal is to teach people how to use log homes as "tools" for achieving a greater measure of "socio-economic freedom" in their lives. 

In your letter, you mentioned that you are a Christian, and you explained some of your beliefs -- for which I thank you.  I must say that my family and I always work hard to follow the basic humanitarian principles -- at least we try our best.

[Not that it matters for the purpose of this discussion, but we do not use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs of any kind (even prescription drugs.]

On the other hand, I NEVER back down from a fight if the fight is justified in order to protect what is left of the American way of life.

For example, I always wear an "American-flag-lapel-pin" on my shirt collar.  I do this in Cambodia, Laos, Burma (the locals still call it by that name), Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, etc. 

I even do this when I am on the island of Mindanao.  

Because of my American flag I am "very often" attacked verbally -- and I am "sometimes" attacked physically (occasionally by more than one opponent at the same time).

On the island of Mindanao, a group of Muslim extremists actually threatened to kill me because of my flag. 

I wear the American flag in supposedly "hostile" territory because I want to make a political statement to these people, many of whom have never seen an American (or even a "white-man"). 

I want them to realize that us Americans (at least on an "individual" basis) are friendly, polite, honest, and good people.

I also want them to know that us Americans are not "cowards" -- that we are not afraid to wear our flag anywhere in the world -- and that we are prepared to die if necessary to protect our flag.   

Please accept my apologies for the above ramblings.

Remember... you started it by bringing up these topics. 

And besides, at my age (hey, I'm an old man now) I feel that I must take advantage of every opportunity to make "political statements."

I think I'll go for lunch now.

I'm lookin' forward to hearing from you again !!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE DATE OF THE NEXT AMERICAN SEMINAR

Skip occasionally flies back to America (from Southeast Asia)  to teach his two-day seminar -- AND to officiate at the meetings of the Log House Builders Association of North America.

THE "PREVIOUS" SCHEDULE WAS AS FOLLOWS

HOW TO ENROLL IN THE AMERICAN SEMINAR

Prospective students should copy the APPLICATION and send it to  Skip’s American mailing location.  Please follow the mailing instructions very carefully.

If you have any questions about this, please just send us a note via e-mail, and we will get right back to you.

A WAITING LIST FOR THE AMERICAN SEMINAR... (?)

HERE ARE A FEW IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER:

MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THE FREE LOG HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION MEETINGS, WHICH HAVE BEEN A TRADITION FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS.

Members generally bring their floor plans to the meetings to have them constructively criticized.

They bring their scale models (usually 1/2" ='S 1').  for the same purpose.

They watch videos of log houses being built, see slide-shows of log houses being built, make arrangements to help each other work on their houses, make arrangements to trade tools for labor, labor for tools, labor for materials. These meetings are very effective.

Some members have gotten their log houses built without ever touching a tool -- simply by inviting other members to "work-parties" -- as per the old fashioned "barn-raising" parties. 

In  this website, there is a separate page regarding "FREE LABOR."

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APPLYING TO THE SEMINARS IN THE PHILIPPINES: 

Please contact us by e-mail if you think you might be interested in attending one of the seminars in Asia.

The classes in Asia are essentially the same as the classes in America. 

The same things (the saddle-notch system -- the Scandinavian Chinkless system -- and the Canadian Chinkless system) are taught in both locations. 

For a complete list of everything that is taught in our seminars, please refer to other pages in this website.

You will also find a relatively complete description of the socio-economic-cultural location in Asia.  

The class is held on a beautiful, tropical island -- in a beach-front home that is located only 15' from the water. 

Because of this beautiful location, the students often want to take breaks (for swimming, sunning themselves, talking with the natives, going fishing with the natives, wandering off with the native girls, island hopping etc.). 

Therefore, we allow "four days" to complete the Asian seminar -- instead of "two days" as per the American seminar.  

After the most recent seminar was over, a student remained in the Philippines for an additional month.  He spent every day with Skip (island hopping, touring the villages on Skip's motorcycles, learning about the culture, etc.).    

Click HERE for Application.

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