Until I Die

Standard caveat: This is not prophecy. What follows is merely my best understanding of what my convictions indicate I will experience in the days ahead. These are my plans based on rather fuzzy expectations. Your mileage may vary.

We will be very surprised at the odd mixture of things that keep on dragging along in the same direction until they fall apart on their own, alongside the things that will change dramatically because large forces will impact them. Don’t be deceived. When the large forces move, there will be shocking changes. It’s not that there is any great intelligence behind the changes; it’s more complicated than that. It will be quite chaotic.

Even though the value of the US dollar is declining precipitously, I’m holding some cash for emergency use. I’m trusting the Lord to provide, and He’s providing some cash right now. I get visions of disruptions in banking processes somewhere ahead. Yes, some of it is planned, but plenty of things are coming that no human could plan.

Humor me for a moment. One thing requires a little explanation. This blog, and my previous blogs over the past two decades, often focused on my explorations of computer technology. I don’t enjoy it that much any more. I feel really blessed by the opportunities to communicate in ways I could not have had prior to the Internet, but things are changing.

I was there watching it when the Net first exploded, and wasn’t that interested until I realized how convenient it was to type stuff into a computer and modify the contents without the necessity of piling up lots of papers. My household baggage was vastly reduced when I got rid of the big pile of paper notes I was keeping.

At some point I became rather obsessed with the means and methods of computer technology. For the longest time, it simply did not matter objectively what means and methods I chose, so I felt free to explore all that was possible. If you scan back over the oldest posts on this particular blog, you’ll find examples of that childlike poking around.

My enthusiasm has died. There’s too much that needs doing in the time I have left, and I can’t afford the energy it takes to explore much any more. My flesh still loves it, but as that flesh ages and pieces of me keep coming closer to expiration, my heart rules more strongly. And my heart is not amused by the youthful exuberance of poking around in computer technology. I think it’s really time to just take what is offered, what is easily obtained, and get on with the original purpose of getting the message out.

My concerns now are censorship. Not stopping it; that demon has been set loose on our world. It’s more now a matter of tactics in working around it, even as the whole thing comes down around our ears. All I’m doing with technology now is keeping track of what is cheap and effective in the current situation. I haven’t forgotten that all technology sucks, that all of it could be better than it is. I’m still quite aware of what ought to be, but there’s nothing to gain from pursuing that. The system of oppression is closing in, and strategic considerations are foreclosed. All of my choices are now tactical, exploiting opportunities while they are open, and ditching the debris when opportunities close.

The reason I’ve bothered to explain all of that is because it’s the same for almost everything we should do in pursuit of the gospel and Kingdom glory. Don’t invest in the human future in any way, because all the fun stuff will be gone soon. Leisure will die. More and more of our time and resources will be consumed in just the bare minimum of survival. Don’t get lost in battles that have no meaning. The one thing that matters is the gospel, our covenant and our convictions (yes, that’s all one thing).

Thus, I’m now splitting my limited attention on technology matters between Microsoft and Apple, hedging my bets and keeping my options open. Naturally I have Android on the side, but I trust Google less than all the others. I expect Google to crap on us first. If you have a Linux/Unix device, there’s nothing wrong with that. Keep on using it as long as you like it. I’ll even be glad to help you with it, but I’m not using it myself any more, unless I somehow come to need a server, in which case it is obviously the superior choice.

For those of you who need more specifics: I sense that Microsoft will be the last to turn against us, too entangled with government to die easily. Apple is more dangerous to itself than anyone else, but they will be around a good while, yet. Google is riding too close to the edge, pushing the boundaries and is likely to go over a cliff at any moment. For the consumer, their Android device stuff is tolerable for now, and Chrome OS is okay for what it does, but don’t lean on them too heavily for the future.

Those recent storms that swept across Oklahoma, Texas and neighboring states are just a down payment on far worse that’s coming, and far more often. Hackers and saboteurs have nothing compared to natural processes; power and network outages will become common. I’ll keep my old desktop system as is with a big back-up power supply, and invest more in mobile technology for the future, stuff that can be recharged and not require constant access to power.

I have an iPad and I’m looking at a Surface device next, all with cell capability. For printing, I’m actually looking at dot-matrix machines. It’s the one kind of printer where you are actually paying for the printer, not some bait for a high-volume ink/toner selling program. Despite the prices of those toys, all of them must be considered expendable in the end. And I have a manual typewriter in the closet, alongside lots of paper, pencils and pens.

My mission is to communicate the message until I die.