Our little domestic fascist problem, condensed.

Here’s the thing.

The U.S. right has largely been captured by ideological nutbars. 

QANuts, anti-vaxxers, gunhumpers, OathKeeperProudBoyThreepers. 

Trump-fellators. 

Lunatics whose purpose is to undo the 20th Century.

The problems with that are that 1) the "mainstream" news - that is, every information source outside the outright wingnut infostream - won’t even hint at that, and 2) even if they did…

...what can sane people do about that?

Ever tried to “debate” one of these conspiracy theorist loons or just a garden-variety nutter? 

It’s impossible. 

They’re not going to concede the argument, and if you “beat” them (through balloting or such) they’ll just lose their shit and start biting you. 

They're nuts. That's the point.

Problem?

You can’t fucking run a republic like that. 

Period.

What DO we do?

I don’t know. 

Or, rather, I do…

 
...but then it presents the issue of "...what do you do with the corpses?".

The engineer will see you now.

 I sent this to my corporate today:

"Here’s my thoughts at the moment.

My point in retiring is to step away from the need to punch the clock every week; I’m ready to start doing geology/engineering geology on projects that I enjoy and challenge me rather than worrying about getting in X hours a week and fretting about not making my billable target.

AND I’d like to be able to schedule out my work/life balance (as corporate likes to call it!) further out that day-to-day and even week-to-week, so I’m not getting a call Tuesday that I have to be on a drill rig in K Falls on Wednesday when I’ve got a romantic getaway planned for that day, or some volunteer work for Habitat or DOGAMI.

So what I’d like to do is help out with things that you can use my actual value for – tough stuff, local/regional knowledge, experience – more like a consultant than an employee. You have a big proposal and want research on local geology? Call me, and I’ll get on it. You have a big project next month? Let’s get that scheduled!

Now…I understand if that’s too big an ask. It’s kind of a weird setup. But that’s why I’m putting it out as an option, the option that I’m excited about."

My immediate boss - the chief engineer in Portland - said nothing. I think he may have thrown a plate of spaghetti against the wall, tho; he's that kinda guy.

His superior - the West regional chief engineer - agreed to my terms.

So. 

Now, after thirty years, I'm going through the door into the next part of my life.

Waiting room

Just wanted to check in briefly - and I do mean briefly; it's before 6am Thursday 10/20 and I need to be behind the drill rig up north of Battleground before 7:30.

I meant to post a bit more this month, but on my birthday I made the decision to retire. Or, at least, to begin the retiring process. I'm going "on-call" at my current job at the end of the month. From there it'll be a slow wind-down until I finally hang 'em up completely in five years.

That, in turn, has led to a sort of barely-controlled chaos. What does "on-call" mean? Which of my administrative duties (lab manager, radiation safety officer) do I retain? Do I pass off, and to who? Do I keep a physical space there, or work entirely from home?

So I'm sort of bustling about the anteroom until the moment I step across the doorway into my future.

At THAT point I'll have quite a bit more time, and leisure, and will certainly be here more often.

Until then, though...

I will say this.

I've been a geowageslave for thirty years; almost half my life. Doing geology for cash has been a huge part of who and what I am far longer now than I was ever a paratroop sergeant or fire direction chief. Yet this very blog, and a big part of my own self-image, remains trapped in the amber of the Army of my twenties and thirties.

Yet that wasn't who I was, and isn't who I am, nearly as much as the doing of earth science, everything from monkey-stupid construction work from dirt nanny to overseeing slopes and walls to genuinely challenging slope stability work. Too little of the latter, I'm afraid, but still...when I look at the sort of things that made up my days, the rock and slopes and soils were a lot bigger part than the cannon.

So it'll be interesting to see who and what I become as that daily dirt nanny work recedes. Will the skies change but not myself?

That's in life's next room, beyond the door from this waiting room.

I'm both excited, and more than a bit scared, to open that door.