Occupation of Independence

It seems odd that videos by "nomads" are so plentiful and popular on places like yoob toob, (aka, You Tube.) It is easy to explain why they are produced: for advertising income. But why would anyone want to watch this drivel? The videos are amateurish -- the makers don't even understand the medium of video. They shouldn't just sit in their car, and give the viewer a talking head to look at. Or they talk about their rig -- which is only interesting to the 0.1% of the audience that has the same rig, accessory, or problem. Or they show themselves heating water or talking about whether their breakfast will be porridge or corn flakes. Many viewers are armchair travelers who like romantic escapism about pretty scenery. Many nomad vloggers have drones that show the van sauntering down a curvy road, with mountains and lakes in the background. That is quite engaging to the viewer because it helps them think, "Ahh, I too could be doing that." That's fine, but they

  It is refreshing to take a vacation from yourself, every now and then. This is being manifested right now by camping within sight of Lake Mead. Avoiding camping near water became a habit for me the first year, as an RVer. Bugs, crowds, noise, fees, restrictions, etc. And besides, I didn't have an activity that involved water. I have no desire to relive my sea kayaker/Viking days. Being near water is helping to revive an interest in taking photographs. Is it wise to try to will yourself into a new or old interest? The short answer is No. But is seems to be working a little bit right now. This is a big issue for a retiree or anybody who doesn't live the standard lifestyle of 'the hamster wheel' in a big city. I don't feel like taking it up right now, but am interested in comments on this topic.

  The other day I got email from a friend who is a different kind of traveler, compared to me. They are airplane-oriented, so their lifestyle has really been shut down compared to an RV traveler (like me) in the USA. Just think how unevenly and unfairly hardship is distributed right now during the virus stuff! And when you get lucky, it is so easy to ignore people who are unlucky -- even if you know them well. Sigh. Since I sometimes wonder if I have wasted too much time in my life reading useless books (or other media), this might be an interesting case. What is the best book that helps you experience what it is like to be a lucky one, when others are unlucky? The limiting case might be, say, Missouri or Kentucky during the War Between the States. Or what about Germany during the 30 Years War? There must be something written about a society 'circling the drain,' and misfortunes landing on individuals unfairly and unevenly. from qz.com

I went into the library the other day to look for a couple DVDs to watch. It was strange to walk in there. There were only two cars in the parking lot -- the librarians. There were no patrons, customers. Normally I struggle to find a DVD worth watching, despite them having hundreds to choose from. But this time I gave up after 5 minutes. As I walked out of the library I realized something quite important: that I was unlikely to ever walk into a public library again. This was a sad thought. Why so? After all, when was the last time I walked into a brick-and-mortar travel agency, video store, gym, bookstore, aquatic center, bank, bowling alley, or movie theater? But there are no nostalgic connections to this last list of places. With public libraries there are memories.  Helping my (librarian) mother at a small town library, and being so pleased with making a perfect impress of the due date on the label of the book. Being pleased with an unusually good library -- or even a Carnegie libra

'Portentous ' is not a word that I would expect to use very often, when discussing media drivel. But it might be the right word to describe an article about Turkey's successful use of drone swarms in recent conflicts. If inexpensive drone swarms are the way of war in the future, it could change the balance of power between the leading warmonger states. You would expect the USA to continue to 'fight the last war', with billion dollar aircraft carriers and a handful of ultra-expensive aircraft. It will continue to look back to the "Good War," World War II. Even if there were a change in thinking in the Pentagon, why would the USA be good at mass-producing anything? But not all powerful countries are post-industrial like the USA. China should be hugely successful at mass-producing drones. What am I overlooking? It seems like the USA should just accept secondary military stature gracefully, and try to stay out of the way of the up-and-comers. from ibtimes.co