Rucksack Evolution

I haven't talked much about my views on education here, in this space. It's odd really. I've raised two kids, after all. Now, thanks to the pandemic, it seems everyone is schooling at home (which, by the way, is completely different from homeschooling). We were/are radical homeschoolers. The older kid is already an adult and off on his own. We must not of screwed him up too bad, because he's on scholarships and already has one degree under his belt (received at the ripe ol' age of 18) and is halfway through his next degree. And yes, these degrees are from actual colleges. The second kid would be a sophomore if he went to the local school. In truth, I couldn't tell you what grade level he is at. He could probably compete with any high school or community college graduate on even footing, and likely could do better than most. The hardest part about homeschooling is finding shit that isn't full of fake crap because of religion. It seems that if you are...

...the knitting needle that is. I am not a technophobe, a luddite, or a strict believer in the Unibomber Manifesto (although I do recommend that everyone read it. It should be required in schools, in my humble opinion. There's some good shit in there...but I digress). I'm not a technophobe, but I try to approach the CASUAL USE of certain technologies cautiously. I've lost loved ones -- not literally mind you, but figuratively -- to phone and screen addiction. Over the course of quarantine, I've almost lost myself to it. First, I tried a deadline. No phone until after 5 pm. This was fine in winter, when it got dark at 4:30 and I was dozing off by 9 pm. Not so great in summer when the sun is out until 10 pm and I don't crash until midnight. Then I tried limiting apps, like stupid games or anger-inducing social media. (This left me with Pinterest, the weather app, and Instagram...) Next I tried using the phone's built-in screen time limiting devices, like...

Have I mentioned lately my great distaste for consumerism? No? Then you must not know me very well! I've been doing a bit of reading on economic systems this week (the things we do for "fun"). The rabbit trail has been interesting, but most sources seem to break things down into the three main systems: Capitalism, Communism, and Socialism. None of these satisfy me, but before I explain why let us look at some simple definitions of each of these major models: Capitalism: USA! USA! Wait, no? Okay. Yeah, capitalism is not just the economic model followed by the USA, it is also what 'patriots' carry AR-15s to protect AND it's the official state religion. The general definition is that the ownership and transfer of goods and services is privately controlled, not state controlled. In practice, the corporations become the government and the interests of the richest become the law of the land, thus everyone else is then controlled by the mass consumerism nece...

What a time to be alive! No seriously, what a fucking time to be alive. When I was a punk-ass teenager in the southwest desert, we dreamed of these times. We schemed, we planned, we raged against the establishment, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Obviously we didn't rage loudly nor effectively enough, since fascism and authoritarianism has only gotten steadily worse since the 90s. Too many of us "grew up" and sold out. Now I got a kid that is raging, but unlike us as teens, he may actually be on the precipice of a battle for our lives and for our planet. Scary and exciting shit. We did a lot of talking on our short road trip last week. One of our most lively and in depth discussions was about a simple concept: Do the ends justify the means? When it comes down to it, I don't give a fuck what your ideology, political leanings, or spiritual beliefs are. I don't give a fuck if you are an angel or an asshole. The only thing that matters is do the...