Just discovered this. Wonder why I didn’t find it sooner. And yes, they’re going to do one for Peak Oil too (which should be easier, as the science is even less contentious).
Monthly Archives: November 2006
The nature of our temptation
(HT Angry Chimp on the KillerApe list)
TBTM20061129
“I want to say: it’s not that on some points men know the truth with perfect certainty. No: perfect certainty is only a matter of their attitude.”
(Wittgenstein, On Certainty, 404)
TBTM20061128
People won’t wake up to the problem until there is an ‘Energy 9/11’ (from remarks by Matt Simmons here).
Even then it won’t help.
I’m in very gloomy mood re: Peak Oil etc at the moment. Probably just a way of distracting myself from work pressures. Ho Ho Ho.
I wrote this for a list the other day:
I haven’t worked out a great level of detail, but roughly I’m persuaded:
1. we’re at peak now;
2. the political impact of the peak will make things much worse, specifically i)
the ‘export-land’ problem – amount available to trade will contract much more
swiftly than the gross total, and ii) the Asian powers have taken steps to kick
the US where it is most vulnerable (see for example);
3. despite that, the West is much better placed to cope, ie much more room to
conserve and adapt (= sod global warming) – that won’t stop the rolling
recessions/depressions though – but I think in the short to medium term the rule
of law will hold in the West (possibly fascist, esp the US, but still a
recognisable rule of law);
4. the impact on the developing world will cause the cascading systems of wars,
à la Rwanda, which will escalate and expand; what I’m not sure about is whether
the Muslim world will destroy itself (and Israel) or whether it will achieve
some form of unity. In other words will the main battleground BE the middle
east, leaving it like Germany in the 1600s (over a third of the population
killed by war, but probably worse, especially the secondary effects) – or will
the muslims unite around a radical caliphate and face the West with an
oil-driven jihad? (See this);
5. I think 10-15 years into the recessions there will be large segments of the
west that have shifted to alternative/renewable energy sources; I see one of the
core issues as being the capacity to defend those segments from all the forces
(within and without) that will fight for them. Here my speculation runs out of
steam, but I said to a church group recently that film acts as a mirror for our
unconscious knowledge, and that we should study the films of George A Romero for
an understanding of what will come. (Small bunch of rich people stuck behind a
wall while the hordes gather outside… and the walls won’t keep them out
forever)
But all of this I see as ‘ceteris paribus’. Even if there’s only a fractional
chance of something being different, I think it’s worth focussing on and trying
to bring about.
I’ve realised that this isn’t a specific answer to your question(!) – sorry. So
a specific answer – maybe an oil supply of around 65mbd in 2015? Something like
that.
TBTM20061127
And now, because I know there are so many Ollie fans out there:
I keep trying to think up alternatives for the Stuart Townend ’till on that cross…’ bit.
So far:
‘Till on that cross, as Jesus groaned, the wrath of man was overthrown…’
(which induces groans of its own)
or
‘Till on that cross as Jesus died, the nature of human anger was exposed and deposed…’
(but that doesn’t really scan, does it?)
TBTE20061126
TBTM20061126
But there’s another country I’ve heard of long ago…
On being human
Kim Fabricius with ten thoughts here.
I’ve probably said enough about ‘let us be human‘ for the time being. It’s certainly an idea whose time has come. (And it’s not my idea, thank God.)
TBTA20061125
An experiment. I don’t think I’ll do it like this too often, the single image is more in tune with my tastes, but I wanted to see how the technology worked.
Might put up a few videos of Ollie playing though.
Burnt out
(Taken from ‘A Time to Heal’)
Burn-out in carers
This is a syndrome of physical, spiritual and emotional exhaustion that is particularly likely where there is an experience of discrepancy between expectation and reality.Three stages of burn-out have been described:
– In the first stage there is an imbalance between the demands of work and personal resources, which results in hurried meals, longer working hours, spending little time with the family, frequent lingering colds and sleep problems. This is the time to take stock, seek God and the advice of those around us.
– The second stage involves a short-term response to stress with angry outbursts, irritability, feeling tired all the time and anxiety about physical health. This stage highlights a real need to get away from it all.
– Terminal burn-out, stage three, creeps up insidiously. The carer cannot re-establish the balance between demands and personal resources. He or she goes into overdrive, works mechanically, by the book, lacking the fresh inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They tend to be late for appointments and to refer to those they are caring for in a derogatory manner, using superficial, stereotyped, authoritarian methods of communication.On an emotional level, the carer becomes exhausted, incapable of empathy and overwhelmed by everyday problems. Emotional detachment becomes a form of rejection, which can develop into irritability and even aggression towards those nearby. Persons in this situation put themselves down, feel discouraged and wonder how they ever achieved in the past. Problems pile up and paralyse the mind. Disorganisation results in more precious energy being expended to make up for lost efficiency. Fatigue deepens and thought processes slow. Physically, an inner tension, an aching across the chest, weakness, headaches, indigestion and a lack of sleep are often experienced.
I read this whilst on retreat. I wasn’t expecting to read something like this (I thought I was researching the healing ministry) but it was quite a revelation. I’ve highlighted the bits that apply. What really got me was the ‘aching across the chest’ part.
I knew something was wrong when I was putting on my socks one morning, I put one on and then stopped. I just couldn’t continue.
The retreat has turned me around, but there is much work and sorting-out-of-my-life to be done.
In particular, that opening sentence is one I have been mulling on for the last several days. The “discrepancy between expectation and reality” is what I need to resolve, which will take the form of abandoning all desire for particular results, especially “success”. I do believe that success is an illusion; unfortunately it is an illusion that has turned my head, fraying my relationship with God, and knocking my ministry off track (much of that can’t be shared here, sorry).
The thing about going into overdrive applies. In my clergy support group a few months back I had feedback about being someone who gives the impression of high demands, ie being very demanding. I don’t really demand much from others, I don’t think – tho’ I’m sure I do demand some things, loyalty mostly – but I am very demanding of myself. I have felt tremendously driven to be a ‘good priest’. Hmm. Nothing I would wish to defend theologically, but that doesn’t stop it being the human truth.
There’s still a bit of me that is trying to justify myself before an angry God. I think that’s why I find Alison et al so helpful. Reconciliation in the wink of a hippo.
Just as I am, without one plea – O Lamb of God, I come.