I’ve spent time over the years wondering why I receive hostile or angry criticism. A few ideas float to my mind. Judging by the responses I do receive, many seem to be uncomfortable giving up any current personal comfort in order to address deeper questions about health, safety, how we work with the environment around us and who actually benefits from our current technology.

I’ve made no attempts to suggest solutions. The automation industry is far too complex for me to even try. The covid lockdowns showed me just how vulnerable the automation industry is to disruptions. Something that’s vulnerable to disruptions should be questioned. Especially when so many lives are dependent on it.

Those deeper questions may just lead us in a completely different direction. That is nothing to fear. In the process of that, we may just find a comfort zone between technology, nature and human creativity where it can all exist with minimal pain for us and everything around us.

Decreasing our dependence on technology will allow us, the ones who do not hoard wealth as a means of power over other people, to gain control and independence in our personal lives and our immediate communities. When we can be independent, we can become more resistent to disruptions in our communities.

All this requires us to be open, honest and to have the the will to attempt change. From my personal experiences and perspective, doing more of the same only enables to current situation.

Automation is so incredibly resource intensive and generates so much waste. I can’t see how letting ourselves become more dependant on automation is as beneficial as businesses and mislead common people make it out to be.

As demand increases, so does maintenance, upgrades and power consumption. Everything electronic requires plastic. Which is shipped in more plastic. Which is shipped on skids wrapped in more plastic. And when those electronics fail, then that is just more waste plastic because it’s easier, quicker and cheaper to replace rather than fix.

Electronics and automation are so fun and interesting. It’s amazing watching a line run at full speed in production. But it’s so painfully depressing how awful it is for our environment. The dust and oils are awful for the living beings that work in those environments. The repetitive jobs that it creates is absolutely awful for the mental wellbeing for the people who work there.

The mental damage of being there was so bad to me that when it came time to discuss severance pay at the labour board meeting after my wrongful termination, I purposely let the lawyers keep in a part in the contract/paperwork saying I could no longer work at any company under that international organization. They thought I would fight that so they would have reason to lower my severance pay. Nah. I took my winnings, which included getting the HR manager fired, and fucked right off.

Years later and I still feel a deep shame and regret for the time I spent in the automation industry and for all the damage and waste I caused while being in there.

Along with eliminating wealth hoarders who generate extreme amounts of waste, lessening our dependence on technology and automation are things I personally believe will be key to a liveable future. It’s a bit shocking to me how often I receive negative or angry criticism when I share these thoughts though.

Going to check out a techno party tonight with a friend. We were talking to a couple guys at the last party we were at and they mentioned they were both DJs and promoters.

I always enjoy going out with my friend. She’s way more talkative out of the two of us so I get to meet all these new people. I’m way more organized so I keep her on track and make sure she doesn’t lose everything. Lots of other people seem to really enjoy our energy and vibes which also feels pretty good.

Looking forward to tonight :)

Been slowly prepping my two garden beds. They’ve got so much mushroom mulch and compost that it’s gained some height.

I made compressed soil pucks and some of the seeds I planted in them are starting to grow. Hopefully more seeds start to grow as the weather warms. They are in the garage right now because the mushroom mulch was too smelly for them to be indoors where it’s warmer.

I’m also about 95% finished writing a bunch of scripts which will backup my computer, phone and my two raspberry pi devices on my home network from a single script that’s ran from my laptop. I’ve spend too many days just to save such an insignificant amount of time.

I hate stuff. I hate receiving because too much stuff gives me anxiety. That anxiety over stuff makes giving just as difficult.

I prefer spending my time with people. Either by being there for them or helping them. While I generally don’t like receiving help unless I specifically ask, I’ll allow those with good intentions to help. I can put aside any feelings of annoyances because I know they will feel good being able to help do something for someone else.

My closest relationships have been built on simply being available for each other. Gifts have never had the same outcome from my experiences.