Post -Feb 15, 2020
I read a different viewpoint (at least different than mine) as to why there is so much angst in the world these days in the Feb 9th Sunday review section of the New York Times, in the form of an essay written by Ross Douthart and entitled The Age of Decadence. It is based on a book Douthart has coming out later this month entitled The Decadent Society, which I of course have ordered. It can be read on the internet at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/07/opinion/sunday/western-society-decadence.html
I will comment more about it in a future post after I have read the book.
In short, having a technical back ground, and therefore being sensitive to the high pace of change due to rapid changes in such things as digital electronics, transportation, food production, medical care, and a long list of things that affect human life. But in his essay, Duthout suggests that we are either in, or entering an age of decadence and stagnation, in which we will not seek change and innovation, and backs up his argument by discussing periods the past where this was the case ( the Chinese, Ottoman, and Roman empires) and quoting studies indicating that such things as innovation are actually decreasing in the world. Since I live in Silicon Valley, and have spent much of my life working with Stanford students who want to start companies and revolutionize the world, I find this an interesting argument. And since I do study and write about creativity, I am looking forward to more of his argument.
On the hardware side, my Peterbilt truck restoration project rolls ahead. The photos below show the completed interior and a couple of shots of the exterior including engine. Lots left to do. Next on the agenda is to see if it still runs after our re-wiring and its sitting stationary for many months (it better), and then get busy on some long needed body work. A good way to stay out of trouble, and keep my chops as an all around mechanic (as well as an engineer)
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