The First of Many Returns

I have been absent from the channel for some months now. I am very happy to see how much Steem has grown. With the introduction of Dtube they are going to become mighty tools for freedom, and therefore liberty. I must admit to a tinge of guilt for not at least checking in with the community. While not perfect (what is…) it is wonderful to have a place to reliably come home to and not have it tainted with the darkness of sophistry and socialism. I value this place because it values the individual no matter how little a contributor, and I appreciate not having the dread of standing under the leftist Sword of Damocles. However, my absence hasn’t been without its own growth and learning. For example, I’m typing this article using a Steam controller.

It’s a minor skill I’ve developed on my journeys, but it does take diligent practice, like almost everything, to become proficient, despite the amazing intuitive construction of the controller. The software and hardware engineers that designed it created an incredible piece of kit. I’ve accomplished much more than relearning how to type with only my thumbs though. One of the paths wandered under practically no supervision began with Dr. Jordan Peterson. I am among the “aimless and disenfranchised lost boys” of my generation. A simple nudge of guidance is all it took: clean your room. From there I cleaned my house. I also found an original set of The Gulag Archipelago. It has become one of the several books I’m reading at the moment. I decided to delve further than I had planned into studying concentration/forced labor camps.

Using google Earth I mapped the closed and currently operating known labor camps in North Korea and have read about the horror stories that have come out of them. I decided the least I could do is go about setting my family in order since three generations of family are sent to Nork Gulags for the offence of one individual. It was no small task looking into my familial problems, and without hanging out my dirty laundry, I plan to delve into that situation if for no other reason but to just have it written down into a cohesive thought, but I think it could be of benefit to others if they have been betrayed by a narcissistic matriarch. One kernel of knowledge I’ve gleaned is that, by and large, there is no correct way to raise a child because each one is truly individual, but as a whole, every strata of society knows how to cut children down. Not all of my leave has been filled with peril and being distraught; parts were actually very fun and lovely.

Towards the end of February I took a class hosted and taught by Curtis Stone aka The Urban Farmer at Steadfast Farms in Arizona. I learned a great deal about farming, and how many skills are needed to be developed in order to become successful at an enterprise. There have also been a few overnighters in the mountains, and many great conversations over coffee or beer. I am planning on recording some of them in a podcast format this summer over Dtube with interesting people in my area. Hopefully I can amend my absence by expanding the Steem community.

~Semper Paratus
RL

(Yes, I used the derogative “Nork”. I of course am not referring to every North Korean, simply the government, and more specifically the Bowibu. I also understand that what is posted to the Steem blockchain will remain there in perpetuity. With this in mind: fuck the 3rd Bureau.)