The Most IMPORTANT Video(s) You'll Ever See

That's the title of a video series I saw recently.  Dr. Albert A. Bartlett is the professor pictured in the videos, and he is giving a lesson on population growth (among other details).  Dr. Bartlett has made 2 notable quotes regarding sustainability.

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function."

"Can you think of any problem in any area of human endeavor on any scale, from microscopic to global, whose long-term solution is in any demonstrable way aided, assisted, or advanced by further increases in population, locally, nationally, or globally?"

reference

I urge, no, implore you to watch these, as the subject of the video series has such an incredible effect on our future.

I was going to divide this 8-part series into 2 posts, one posted today and another posted tomorrow, but it's segmented kind of strangely, so I will post all 8 (which totals about an hour).  I would recommend though, watching it over a couple days if you don't have a lot of time (like me).

 

 

 

 

An incredible passage

From the current book I'm reading, The Great Frontier, by Walter Prescott Webb.

When these first men, many of them smarting under the man-made restraints of economics and religion, came to America they indeed and in truth entered a new world.  It is with difficulty that I find language to express its newness to the children of civilization.  In driving across the vast expanses of America I have often tried to visualize it as it was in this beginning, not the beginning of America, but the beginning of the European's experience with it.  Even at the distance of four hundred years, more or less, I find myself caught up with the combined emotions of wonder, amazement, and awe.  Here were new forests, new soil, and new streams; here was new silence and immensity, too silent and extensive to be broken by a single individual or by any number then available.  How small man feels in such presence.  But with this consciousness of insignificance goes that of elation which comes why man feels himself blended with nature where his vision is unobstructed and his acts unimpeded by other men.  What men had done to him all his life now fell away in a single instant: nowhere was there policeman, priest, or overlord to push him around.  All the barricades that men had placed around him came down, and he stepped forth freer of man than he or any of his fellows had been for a very long time.  Then and there he took a long step toward democracy, not political democracy but psychological, social, and economic liberty without which political democracy cannot long endure.  Though the European walls had fallen away, new ones rose around him, for he stood in the presence of a new master.  That master was nature, the forests and plains, the streams and deserts, the wind and the weather.  It is doubtful if man should be asked to change from one master to another with such contrasting temperaments.  Civilization shouts, gives orders, writes rules, puts man in institutions, and intimidates him with a thousand irritating directives.  In return it offers him protection, soul salvation, and a living if he can find it.  Nature looks down on him and broods in silence.  It never shouts, writes rules or builds prisons, and it makes no suggestion about destiny or the future.  Its noises of running streams and wind in the trees are its own, not directed at but soothing to him because he heard them before he heard the noises of civilization.  Nature makes no promises, writes no insurance, and cares not for the soul.  It is passive, receiving whatever is given to it, never striking back for vengeance or justice.  Thus frontier man became the only active agent on the scene, and his acts were unrestrained by other men.  In Europe, the theme of life was man against man, man against civilization; but on the frontier the theme was man against nature.  

 

Tranquility

Some days, it's good to mix it up.

Like when you decide, "you know, I think I'll dress very nice today" rather than tennis shoes and old jeans.




...



Then unexpectedly, government auditors show up at work to meet with you, and...look at that! You look like you knew the whole time. ;-)



by the way, great news!  I got my computer working again, finally!  So expect to see quite a few more posts now.

2011 Garden Layout

The garden layout is finally done!  As I've said before in past posts, I'm extremely (read overly) analytical about this stuff, and this is probably completely unnecessary, but hey - it gives me something to do in the months when there is no gardening to tend to.

You can find the 2011 garden layout link at the top of my blog, or by following this link.

You'll notice, there's quite a substantial size difference between 2010's gardens (a total of ~98 sq. ft.) and 2011's gardens (a total of 872 sq. ft.)!

12 days late but who cares?

I am not one to make New Year's resolutions.  I don't make them because I disagree with the whole premise of "I want to change something about myself, so I'll use New Year's as a starting point."  My personal opinion is, if someone was really motivated to change something, they would do so any time of the year.  But off my soapbox...it just so happens I have started really diving into some books/articles lately, and they are changing my long-standing opinion on many things.  So having ranted above about not making resolutions, I change my approach and say that I am changing some things (but I promise, it's only because it happened to coincide with the beginning of the new year!).

I was reading an incredible article about the failure incredible short-comings of our public school systems (link here) and though the article is deserving of its own post, I did take one thing in particular from it that made me think.  John Gatto writes:


One afternoon when I was seven I complained to him of boredom, and he batted me hard on the head. He told me that I was never to use that term in his presence again, that if I was bored it was my fault and no one else's. The obligation to amuse and instruct myself was entirely my own, and people who didn't know that were childish people, to be avoided if possible.

I cannot tell you how many times a day I will think or say "I'm bored."  It has to be dozens of times, and Gatto's grandfather makes a great point - the only one who can affect it (most of the time) is me.

Another thing I'm planning on venturing into is risk. In many aspects of my life, I'm a very safe, life-in-a-bubble, kind of guy.  I want to venture out and do things, but don't due to the risk involved.  But forget that! Time to make things happen, time to see just what can be accomplished when I take a leap.  After studying my ancestry for the past few weeks, I'm simply amazed at the incredible risk these pioneers took.  Leaving family, likely never to see again, and moving to the middle of a hostile environment, solely so that they could be independent & free - not like what we think of today (our rights per the Constitution) but actually free.  It sort of reminds me of the "if a tree falls in the woods..." question; if a pioneer lived somewhere, and he/she had no knowledge of governing entity, and vice versa, isn't that true freedom!? 

Now it sounds like I'm campaigning for no government - I'm not.  I'm just pointing out how risky our ancestors lives were, and how they knew a life that we will likely never see, and it excites me to find out a little more about it.  After all, the name of this blog is Chance the Rapids!  A metaphor for taking risks and living life to the fullest! :-)

I guess I'll finish the post for today with one last resolution.  Thanks to all my blog followers (hopefully I'll have more in 2011!), and my last resolution will be to actually be somewhat-consistent in my blog posts.  But, know that in down times, I'm going to have to blog about some random crap to fill the void!

Have a wonderful 2011, everyone.

Quiet on the homefront

The snow came trickling down on Sunday...first a flake here and there, then, what felt like a blizzard.  Although we were projected to get several inches, my area did not receive more than a dusting.  Some areas, about 40 miles away, did get 3-4 inches, and lots of kids were making snowmen yesterday :-).

Because of the inconsistently cold weather, I haven't done a whole lot outside; though, there's not a lot to do anyways.  Everything has turned that light brown color that winter brings, and though I love winter, I sure do hate that color.  After numerous revisions to the garden layout, I think I've finally picked all the locations & seed varieties I want to order (I'm not liking the price, though, heh).  I'll have to upload a diagram in a couple days.  I should be able to take advantage of our short cold-half of Spring, when the greens are growing, by removing them and planting Cantaloupe.  They wouldn't live into May anyways.

I also checked out the Farmer's Almanac for 2011, and saw the same prediction as 2010's summer - "Sweltering hot and very wet."  I don't know...last year was hot, but not sweltering.  And while it was rainy, it was only for about 3 weeks, followed by months of drought.  Oh well, at least it predicted a low number of tornadoes.

Well that is all for now.  Stay warm by the fire!

What I'm reading...

This book is deep!  I'm loving it so far.  It's the first book in a while that has really challenged me - somewhat complex in it's points and reasoning, but overall very good.  I'll have a full review later down the road when I finish it.