Brilliant piece here Gabriel. Full of refreshing thought crimes. Unfortunately, it is morning and a sunny day (so far), and my little homestead beckons, and must be attended to, lest we starve next winter.
Perhaps I'll get back to this comment after some reflection.
I'll just say this though: I do not believe the deployment or - how shall I say? - "rollout" of the digital age has been a net benefit to society. I think it was an intentional giant lobster trap, so to speak.
Compare and contrast these two short videos - they pretty much summarize my own thoughts on how we were seduced and cajoled.
I saw the Steve Cuts cartoon when it came out but it is even more acutely accurate now. About to take the kids and the dog to the beach. Where, weirdly enough, we will find many who are on their cell phones. I don’t think Elon will have trouble chipping people.
If you turn back the lifestyle dial about 100 years, most people don't know how to make vinegar, where baking soda / sodium hydroxide comes from, or how to make soap from oils and lyes.
Even with the internet, people struggle to understand that, let alone produce it. Actually I don't think most people know how to cook from scratch. I'm trying to put together a small library of basic recipes, but also some chemistry and science resources. Old school encyclopedias are on my list too.
Library book stores, where they sell used books, are a wonderful place to get many books you may be looking for. I found recipe books at half price, thats half of $1-$5, depending on the book. There are chemistry and lesson books too. Good luck.
There's a quote for that - and here it is, from Wendell Berry, who was by no means virtue signalling, just expressing despair.
"Our model citizen is a sophisticate who before puberty understands how to produce a baby, but who at the age of thirty will not know how to produce a potato."
This practice was common in the days when preppers were called “survivalists” which had ominous overtones. I may have some of those references myself 😎
“It didn’t take much for people to eye-for-an-eye themselves into a very blind world. Not only can people not see what’s right before them, but they can hardly hear those around them either. Instead, people instantly react to the quickest impression they can form to a particular post, comment, or piece of media. Nobody feels heard, and all feel forgotten. The wounds from past battles accumulate as the war on all rages on.”
In a twist of irony, even articulating this sentiment will catch you in an argument with those who can’t see how we’ve been manipulated in this malarkey. 😢
Here is a question to ask yourself: when was the last time you read INK on PAPER? Younger people (and many older as well) NEVER read from a book. Tablets & laptops should be only used in a limited amount by children, they certainly should not be the primary educational tool.
There is also an unwillingness in most to do ANYTHING that gets their hands dirty. For over thirty years I have baked bread. I still do it most weeks now, including freshly grinding wheat into flour. I have had people say “can’t you make enough money in the time it takes for one batch of bread to buy a WHOLE YEAR’s supply of bread?” And while the answer is easily yes, that really isn’t the point. In fact during the lockdowns 3 years ago, I went from my normal two loaves to baking 4. This gave me my loaf & the one I give to neighbors, and two more to share with other people in the neighborhood. Most were quite shocked at this.
Sadly my backyard is so heavily shaded I cannot garden any more. I used to love coming home after seeing patients, go out to the garden & pick a few tomatoes, peppers, squash - and at times asparagus (never did real well, I confess) - and let this ape some green beans. Fire up the grill & add olive oil to the veggies & some form of dead animal (yum!), and voila! Dinner is served! And cleanup was ... what cleanup?
Still work on my vehicles, mow the lawn, etc. I know “doctors don’t DO that sort of thing!” This one does, it’s called LIFE. Work is a part of life, but there is far more to it.
I need to finish my write-up I have promised the FLCCC folks on my DIY NIR sauna. $200 & it does just fine, thank you! After Dr Mercola recommended “a kit” that was reasonable in his eyes, I looked it up => $3500 (Sauna Space, go check it out if you don’t believe me). So I did one in the basement in my gym, but I just finished a second one for the screened porch in back as I don’t really need the heat & humidity INSIDE the house this time of year...
So excuse me, it’s time to go sweat & listen to some music.
I would add in reference to your “streaming” content point: I actually need to get broadband wired to my home, as I’ve been using a phone for hotspot access for years! I have a gazillion dvds & blu-rays, and continue to pick them up FOR NOTHING on eBay! CDs, too. I am almost done digitizing my music collection for ease of use, but I LIKE hard copy! I toy with doing a video server, but that is more complex. Handling discs isn’t an issue, far easier than when films were on ... FILM!
BTW: there are some INCREDIBLE earphones, excuse me “in-ear monitors” now for $20. While most phones are phasing out headphone jacks (& people listen to compressed music files over crappy Bluetooth codecs for a TERRIBLE sound), LG made a few generations of phones with audiophile grade hardware inside. Their “quad DAC” setup is killer. So I recently picked up an LG demo phone off eBay for a music player. It doesn’t even have a cellular radio in it, no place for a SIM. A $7 app is useful, a cheap case, and the $20 Truthear Hola IEMs, listening to .flac files ... it’s LOVELY (and I really DO need to stop this & hit the sauna & listen to some tunes!).
Brilliant piece here Gabriel. Full of refreshing thought crimes. Unfortunately, it is morning and a sunny day (so far), and my little homestead beckons, and must be attended to, lest we starve next winter.
Perhaps I'll get back to this comment after some reflection.
I'll just say this though: I do not believe the deployment or - how shall I say? - "rollout" of the digital age has been a net benefit to society. I think it was an intentional giant lobster trap, so to speak.
Compare and contrast these two short videos - they pretty much summarize my own thoughts on how we were seduced and cajoled.
1984 Apple's Macintosh Commercial (1 minute)
https://sp.rmbl.ws/s8/2/O/3/f/M/O3fMh.caa.mp4?u=3&b=0
Unfortunately, that's not quite how it turned out, is it? This is now the hellscape we now inhabit.
Are you lost in the World like me? Steve Cutts (3 minutes)
https://sp.rmbl.ws/s8/2/l/g/3/T/lg3Th.caa.mp4?u=3&b=
Thank you for sharing the two videos. I hadn’t seen the “Lost in the World” one before, and found it very moving, and spot-on accurate for today.
I saw the Steve Cuts cartoon when it came out but it is even more acutely accurate now. About to take the kids and the dog to the beach. Where, weirdly enough, we will find many who are on their cell phones. I don’t think Elon will have trouble chipping people.
Brilliant videos. Thanks for sharing them.
If you turn back the lifestyle dial about 100 years, most people don't know how to make vinegar, where baking soda / sodium hydroxide comes from, or how to make soap from oils and lyes.
Even with the internet, people struggle to understand that, let alone produce it. Actually I don't think most people know how to cook from scratch. I'm trying to put together a small library of basic recipes, but also some chemistry and science resources. Old school encyclopedias are on my list too.
Library book stores, where they sell used books, are a wonderful place to get many books you may be looking for. I found recipe books at half price, thats half of $1-$5, depending on the book. There are chemistry and lesson books too. Good luck.
There's a quote for that - and here it is, from Wendell Berry, who was by no means virtue signalling, just expressing despair.
"Our model citizen is a sophisticate who before puberty understands how to produce a baby, but who at the age of thirty will not know how to produce a potato."
I like that one. It's got a few layers to it, because potatoes are stupidly easy to grow.
This practice was common in the days when preppers were called “survivalists” which had ominous overtones. I may have some of those references myself 😎
“It didn’t take much for people to eye-for-an-eye themselves into a very blind world. Not only can people not see what’s right before them, but they can hardly hear those around them either. Instead, people instantly react to the quickest impression they can form to a particular post, comment, or piece of media. Nobody feels heard, and all feel forgotten. The wounds from past battles accumulate as the war on all rages on.”
In a twist of irony, even articulating this sentiment will catch you in an argument with those who can’t see how we’ve been manipulated in this malarkey. 😢
Here is a question to ask yourself: when was the last time you read INK on PAPER? Younger people (and many older as well) NEVER read from a book. Tablets & laptops should be only used in a limited amount by children, they certainly should not be the primary educational tool.
There is also an unwillingness in most to do ANYTHING that gets their hands dirty. For over thirty years I have baked bread. I still do it most weeks now, including freshly grinding wheat into flour. I have had people say “can’t you make enough money in the time it takes for one batch of bread to buy a WHOLE YEAR’s supply of bread?” And while the answer is easily yes, that really isn’t the point. In fact during the lockdowns 3 years ago, I went from my normal two loaves to baking 4. This gave me my loaf & the one I give to neighbors, and two more to share with other people in the neighborhood. Most were quite shocked at this.
Sadly my backyard is so heavily shaded I cannot garden any more. I used to love coming home after seeing patients, go out to the garden & pick a few tomatoes, peppers, squash - and at times asparagus (never did real well, I confess) - and let this ape some green beans. Fire up the grill & add olive oil to the veggies & some form of dead animal (yum!), and voila! Dinner is served! And cleanup was ... what cleanup?
Still work on my vehicles, mow the lawn, etc. I know “doctors don’t DO that sort of thing!” This one does, it’s called LIFE. Work is a part of life, but there is far more to it.
I need to finish my write-up I have promised the FLCCC folks on my DIY NIR sauna. $200 & it does just fine, thank you! After Dr Mercola recommended “a kit” that was reasonable in his eyes, I looked it up => $3500 (Sauna Space, go check it out if you don’t believe me). So I did one in the basement in my gym, but I just finished a second one for the screened porch in back as I don’t really need the heat & humidity INSIDE the house this time of year...
So excuse me, it’s time to go sweat & listen to some music.
"Here is a question to ask yourself: when was the last time you read INK on PAPER?"
..I've been called out!
Ha! Well, my friend, it’s time to change that!
I would add in reference to your “streaming” content point: I actually need to get broadband wired to my home, as I’ve been using a phone for hotspot access for years! I have a gazillion dvds & blu-rays, and continue to pick them up FOR NOTHING on eBay! CDs, too. I am almost done digitizing my music collection for ease of use, but I LIKE hard copy! I toy with doing a video server, but that is more complex. Handling discs isn’t an issue, far easier than when films were on ... FILM!
BTW: there are some INCREDIBLE earphones, excuse me “in-ear monitors” now for $20. While most phones are phasing out headphone jacks (& people listen to compressed music files over crappy Bluetooth codecs for a TERRIBLE sound), LG made a few generations of phones with audiophile grade hardware inside. Their “quad DAC” setup is killer. So I recently picked up an LG demo phone off eBay for a music player. It doesn’t even have a cellular radio in it, no place for a SIM. A $7 app is useful, a cheap case, and the $20 Truthear Hola IEMs, listening to .flac files ... it’s LOVELY (and I really DO need to stop this & hit the sauna & listen to some tunes!).
Terrific analysis!