Theorizing is one thing; doing is quite another. No matter how good you think your theories are, applying them to the real world is always a revelation. More than that, actually doing is far more fun that theorizing. And right now hundreds of thousands of young people (and a lot of older ones too) are building the economy of the future. It’s a magnificent thing to be part of. Continue reading “ROSC 15: Building Ourselves a City”
ROSC 14: The Bitcoin House
It’s been a strange but recurring theme in my life that when a cluster of bad things hit, something good follows close behind. Often, I learn later that the good thing was initiating just as the bad things struck.
But whatever that is and however it works, it happened to me again. There is currently so much going on that I barely know where to begin.
It’s been a strange but recurring theme in my life that when a cluster of bad things hit, something good follows close behind. Often, I learn later that the good thing was initiating just as the bad things struck.
But whatever that is and however it works, it happened to me again. There is currently so much going on that I barely know where to begin. Continue reading “ROSC 14: The Bitcoin House”
Earned Knowledge, L11
The Second Europe
Europe, by 1300 AD, had a very specific flavor. Things differed from place to place, of course, but the life on the continent was now fairly uniform, and far better for most people than it had been under Rome. (Elites didn’t have it as well.) But as groups of humans do, these people began to solidify their arrangements: to see rules and hierarchies as more fundamental than real things. Continue reading “Earned Knowledge, L11”
ROSC 13: Time to Have Fun Again
Last Wednesday was my day to reorient myself. I end up doing that from time to time, and I think it’s essential, given the complexity and pressures of modern life… and very certainly so, given the complexities of a non-standard life.
Immediately I focused on the messes of the sanitarium and the “superfluous” people I had lent my time to. I don’t regret it of course – it was the right thing to do and may end up keeping a few people from deep trouble – but it quickly became a double-scoop of drama, the kind of thing that can raise your blood pressure unhealthily. Continue reading “ROSC 13: Time to Have Fun Again”
ROSC 12: The Second Blow
After I left the big breakup at the sanitarium, I spent a few days ruminating on it all. I took a couple phone calls from Esther and another from Johnny (who was worried for Esther). I was hoping that things would reach their end quickly. I’ve never seen one of these situations heal, so I’d rather the break was quicker than slower.
What I didn’t expect was another crisis to be thrown on top of it. But that’s what we got. Continue reading “ROSC 12: The Second Blow”
ROSC 11: The Stone of Stumbling
Last time I left off as we sat in a full dining room at the sanitarium, where, hopefully, we had broken through the hurtful theology of our time, giving these people a chance to heal on the inside. And while the moment lasted a useful amount of time, it was soon enough broken by Dora, who excused herself for a doctor’s appointment. Esther excused herself as well and drove her mom. Continue reading “ROSC 11: The Stone of Stumbling”
I Like Jordan Peterson, But He’s Wrong
Anyone teaching young men to seek responsibility and meaning has a place near my heart, especially when he or she delivers their message in a humane way. And Professor Peterson has certainly done that, at great personal cost. Nonetheless, I’m hearing from young people, asking me to address another part of his teaching that is impacting negatively upon them. And after getting substantially the same report from multiple directions, I feel compelled to write about it. Ah well… Continue reading “I Like Jordan Peterson, But He’s Wrong”
ROSC 10: Truth at the Sanitarium
Last week young Esther asked me back to the sanitarium and told me that the people there “wanted to talk.” I was reasonably sure that the meeting was prompted by Dora’s cancer diagnosis – she seemed to be important to the rest of them, making her passing a turning point – but I also gathered from Esther’s expression that they had more on their minds. Continue reading “ROSC 10: Truth at the Sanitarium”
ROSC 9: Maladjustments
As I sat with the TCM crew at Jay’s (for those who don’t recall, TCM means the creatively maladjusted), I realized that they were living up to their name. The ideas they came up with for the sanitarium people were pretty far outside the box. Continue reading “ROSC 9: Maladjustments”
ROSC 8: The Exchange
I don’t use phones very often; most days I talk on the phone no more than once or twice, and often not at all. Phone calls interrupt me, and interruptions waste a lot of my time… I have to figure out where I was before the call, reassemble the pieces, and get going again. In the construction business, we used to call that demobilization and mobilization, and it led to serious losses. Continue reading “ROSC 8: The Exchange”