< Gentle laughter > I'll tell ya man ... it's been a day. I was asked to sit in on a meeting where four bureaucrats from different branches of government were gathering to discuss how to address an environmental problem at the Transfer Station i'm responsible for operating. These aren't evil people operating some secret cabal. They're people just like you and me ... albeit a little better educated.

If i were to boil it all down ... i would say that it's become a very complicated world with all of it's rules & regulations. I'm not quite sure why i was asked to attend other than perhaps to speak for the voice of common sense & reason. By the end of the meeting ... I was left with the impression that they've kinda got themselves all tied up in knots and can't get anything accomplished. It all requires further study.

Lol ... i politely suggested to my boss that we make a start on the project with the resources we have on hand and he didn't like that idea at all !

The only reason i bring any of this up is that it's a real life example of how the world works.



There's a pattern that repeats over and over again. Things start out simple and then grow & evolve over time. Given enough time ... a system grows into such complexity that it becomes unwieldy and impossible to manage effectively. It's at that point where the whole works becomes so cumbersome that it collapses in upon itself and it all devolves into chaos. In time ... a new simple order emerges from the wreckage of the old and the process of growth & evolution starts all over again.

We were talking about your Bronco a few posts back. It's really the same thing. The vehicles were pretty simple when they first started mass producing them back in the early 1900's. Most anyone with a sixth grade education and a little common sense could work on them. In time ... they became more complicated. More powerful engines. Better fuel economy. Lower emissions. Safer to drive. By the time your Bronco rolled off the factory floor ... the machine had become a lot more complicated with it's various sensors and computer controls. Now a days .... the new vehicles rolling off the factory floor are so complicated that a computer has to tell the automotive technician what part needs to be replaced. Whoo boy ... those new vehicles are expensive to buy as well !

This is where the new will most likely emerge from the old in some fashion. We went from the horse & buggy to the the gasoline powered automobile. The next step will probably be to go from gas to electric vehicles.

As it relates to Gloom & Doom ... the original idea of the thread ?

That should be self explanatory. Just ask yourself at what stage of things we are currently in.