[PenultimateManStanding]

That was a nice post, somethingtosay, in that other thread. This thread was good; it was way back on page 22. I thought you might enjoy reading it. BTW, how often do people ever get back this far into the old pages I wonder? (something: I just noticed that though you haven't been posting a lot you've been here since October so you probably already saw this. Good posts here anyway.)

[somethingtosay]

Nice one, I did read the first two pages back in Dec but the last 4 pages are new to me. It fits in with my last post here which is cool.

You are right in thinking that there is a tide of dumbness coming: in review of this thread I would see it as a result of the me-first principle / competition-at-all-costs that has been guiding western civilization for a long time. Think about how the accounting mentality of educational marks, or of sport scores or how big a bank account you have, minute to minute stock market reports and how most things are measured in terms of winners and losers have crept into our way of life. Modern life was suppose to give parents quality time to think and learn, and spend quality time with their children, so that they may make decent choices with their life and better the planet for it. The reality for most parents spend less quality time now than in the past with their children, which is the opposite that was promised by the industrial age, and so the prognosis is not good. The education system has become a surrogate parent.

A model I use in my thinking is an older homestead farm: where everyone was put to work and had a job to do; as a result you had intergenerational teaching going on and learning was not done in a cubicle. For example a 5 year old child seeing a bull mount a cow for the first time and asking why? would prompt some pretty interesting intergenerational dialog.

[PenultimateManStanding]

Somethingtosay, you have lots of time while driving a rig to think. That's good for anyone who is comfortable with their own mind and thoughts, in fact its a luxury. I have plenty of time in my work to do the same thing. If I could hear the kids I'd probably say 'I gotta find another line of work!' Usually I just take roll and give them their assignments and sit back and keep an eye on them. I do occassionally do some teaching, but not often. It depends of the lessons left by the regular teacher. Kids sometimes ask me 'aren't you bored?' I tell them 'no, just thinking.' Regarding your observation that we are too busy these days to spend a lot of time with our kids, I remember when I was a kid they said that in the 'future' (which has arrived) we won't have to do much beause machines will do everything. Hah! Didn't work that way did it!

[somethingtosay]

Yes th time to think, with the view constantly changing is the best part of driving. Also, I get to meet many types of people and so I get to observe what we all have in common and what makes us different. I also get to blind test what I have observed about human behavior with total strangers with remarkable consistency of results. Also every day is different, particularily if you do open-board dispatch (which I do), and you have to develop a make-the-best-of-the-situation attitude as Murphy is your copilot ready to wreck your day. If you don't overcome the bad days, trucking will ruin you. I now know that a positive freindly attitude, with mutual respect as the basis will get you farther in life than any other attitude. It will also get you out of a difficult situation much faster and you have more fun, with less stress as a result.

Trucking is best career move I have made so far as I grow stonger in confidence and gain strength in my thinking, and these are important internal skills to have to meet the challenges of peak oil.

[UIUCstudent01]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PenultimateManStanding', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('BastardSquad', 'I') thought this link might be of interest here.


http://www.ourcivilisation.com/

[UIUCstudent01]

He had this excerpt which I found very remarkable:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he Peloponessian War
by Thucydides
Book 1—Paragraph 23
War began when the Athenians and the Peloponnesians broke the Thirty Years Truce which had been made after the capture of Euboea. As to the reasons why they broke the truce, I propose first to give an account of the causes of complaint which they had against each other and of the specific instances where their interests clashed: this is in order that there should be no doubt in anyone's mind about what led to this great war falling upon the Hellenes. But the real reason for the war is, in my opinion, most likely to be disguised by such an argument. What made war inevitable was the growth of Athenian power and the fear which this caused in Sparta. As for the reasons for breaking the truce and declaring war which were openly expressed by each side, they are as follows......