Do something even if it's wrong.
ANDREW LOURA
Do I need an intro for these Q & A posts? Not really. You know the program by now. Here is the third edition.
Q: What do you think of the trend of fake trends?
A: The short answer is that journalists have run out of things to report. A fake trend is where you have what amounts to a human interest story like someone still writing with a manual typewriter or still using a flip phone in a world full of smartphones or eating a vegan diet and then conflating that into some popular thing picking up steam and taking over the world. The problem is that it isn't true. They are lying about something that is interesting for the moment but amounts to absolutely nothing. Why not let it be a human interest story? Why lie about it being a bigger deal than what it is?
Q: Is Medjugorje legit?
A: I don't think so, and I don't waste my time on the "apparitions" there. I think some grifters have made a nice little industry for themselves with this thing, and the dirty hierarchy tolerates it because I suspect they get a cut of the action. This is one of the things that needs to be cleared out with the next purge.
Q: What happened to the Blue Collar Ph.D.?
A: The Blue Collar Ph.D. began as an idea on a cocktail napkin while having a discussion with a welder who spent half of each year fully employed and the other half unemployed relative to the demands for his skills. I mentioned to him a fellow from my welding class in high school who was great at welding but decided to learn tool and die making after leaving high school. The combination of being a welder and a machinist greatly expanded his employability. That was the genesis of the idea behind the Blue Collar Ph.D.
I wondered to myself what would happen if someone decided against going to college but spent that same amount of time compiling a basket of blue collar skills. I thought this would be cheaper, better, and more lucrative than getting a typically worthless degree from State U.
I made a drawing on the napkin of a full portfolio of skills that resembled an investment portfolio. Each section was like an asset class. Instead of cash, stocks, bonds, and metals, I put down equipment operation, industrial skills, construction, and automotive. Welding was under the industrial skills set while carpentry was under the construction skills. Imagine a plumber with a CDL who could also weld and build a deck for the back of your home and work on your car. That guy will always have a job somewhere.
The flaw in the Blue Collar Ph.D. idea is the atrophy of skills from disuse. I employed the idea at my workplace by diversifying my skill set with cross training. The problem came with the desire of management to force you into specialization. They wanted you to do one thing well not do three or four things competently. This specialization increased productivity but also increased risk. When someone called in sick, they had no one to fill that hole except yours truly. Management optimized for the best scenario. I prepared for the worst case scenario. Needless to say, I won that bet time and time again because shit happens.
I made it my goal to "complete" the Blue Collar Ph.D., but those plans ended with my accident. The Achilles heel of that strategy is that every job depends upon your good health and functioning. I don't have a strategy for being old, sick, and injured. But if you are able bodied, I highly recommend the Blue Collar Ph.D. as a strategy for always being employable. Being consistently employed is better than being lucratively employed on an inconsistent basis.
Q: What dumbphone do you recommend?
A: I am not wedded to any particular brand of phone, but I am wedded to a particular type of phone. This would be a robust flip phone like the Kyocera DuraXV I got from Verizon. It cost me 300 bones which is pricey for a dumbphone, but I have to use a phone that will last and take a beating. My last phone lasted 7 years which is about 40 bucks per year. It was still working and could go on indefinitely except for new batteries. But it was 3G and outlasted the network. I expect my current phone to do the same.
The reason I recommend a flip phone over a candy bar phone or touchscreen phone is to prevent the dreaded butt dial. I switched to a flip phone in the aughts because of the butt dial. I was surprised that smartphones brought it back. Additionally, the clam shell design helps make the phone more robust and resistant to damage. Plus, it is very satisfying to close at the end of a call.
I am not a fan of the hybrid dumbphone/smartphone. Some new flip phones have apps preloaded like Facebook and allow you to use a web browser. This runs counter to using a dumbphone for digital minimalism. I like the basic functions of voice and text. I like having a calculator on the phone which represents the "app" I use the most. But I keep it as dumb as possible.
Q: Why do they build ugly churches now?
A: The architecture of a church makes a theological statement. Churches of a Calvinist/Puritan strain tend towards the plain. Traditional Roman Catholic churches tend towards the ornate and beautiful. Then, Vatican II and the Novus Ordo happened which diminished belief in the Real Presence. That's when Catholic churches began to look like converted Pizza Huts. I expect them to install drive thru windows any day now.
Q: What is up with analog?
A: This question is inspired by the Andrew Loura YouTube channel. This young man has a real affinity for manual typewriters, paper notebooks, physical books, and analog clocks. Yet, he uses a smartphone and confesses to being addicted to the thing. I am a 55-year-old Gen Xer who uses a mix of analog and digital solutions. I have always done this. I am typing this on a Chromebook from notes written in pencil on the back of a piece of paper I salvaged from junk mail. The thing I find annoying with this newfound love of analog is that these young people think they have discovered something new and secret. They haven't.
Sometimes, the analog option is the best option. Other times, the digital option is the best option. There's nothing like a power outage to make you appreciate the analog options.
Q: Who was your favorite Beatle?
A: I have an appreciation for the underrated Ringo Starr, but I believe Paul McCartney was the real genius behind the Beatles. I have never liked John Lennon, and I think he was a despicable human being. I will never understand why people revered him as some kind of hero.
Q: Are you on Ozempic?
A: I lost a lot of weight over the past year which has certainly lead to rumors of me being on Ozempic or dying of cancer. The real story is that I have been in chronic pain in my legs from my poor walking gait and chronic nausea from overstimulation of my damaged brain. Pain and nausea have killed my appetite for food. I don't recommend this as a weight loss strategy.
I don't have a positive opinion of drugs like Ozempic. They are expensive, come with side effects, and require you to remain on them for the rest of your life. I would rather change my lifestyle than be on those drugs. I am committed to being full natty.
Q: Who is your favorite country singer?
A: Waylon Jennings. For a country singer, he knew how to rock.
Q: Should the Legionaries of Christ be abolished?
A: This question comes courtesy of Taylor Marshall:
Should the Legionaries of Christ be Abolished?
On this issue, I am 100% in agreement with Taylor Marshall. The LC and Regnum Christi need to be gone. Why does the Church allow them to continue? That's ea$y to an$wer. When they get done abolishing the LC and RC, they need to get rid of Opus Dei as well. Cults should have no place in the Roman Catholic Church.
Q: Should I get a CB radio that has FM?
A: I wouldn't waste my money on getting a new CB radio that has FM capability. No one is talking on FM in the USA. Sideband is a must IMHO, and you should try and get a radio that has SSB capabilities. FM is not a negative, and I would buy one if I was buying a new radio. But I don't need a new radio. The simple fact is that CB radio makers wanted to sell their European radios to the American market without having to eliminate the FM for the sake of the FCC. I don't see that as a bad thing. Just know that tuning on FM will bring you a lot of dead air.
Q: What do you make of people who own second homes and vacation homes?
A: I don't think very highly of them. I remember a fellow who I respected very much until I learned that he had a second home at the beach for vacationing. I still respect him, but that respect dropped a few notches. The same applies to the various wealthy Boomers I know who have beach houses, lake houses, mountain cabins, condos, and on and on. I know folks who can't even afford a single home for their families, but these Boomers are living it up owning homes that are vacant for most of the year.
I am not against wealth, and I am not against leisure. I am against self-indulgence and waste. These vacation getaways are a self-indulgent waste. Modesty requires living not only within your means but refraining from lavish living. The reality is that the vacation home is a vanity meant to flaunt one's status and wealth. For the rest of us, we stay at Motel 6. We'll leave the light on for you.
Q: What is your view of TRT?
A: TRT stands for testosterone replacement therapy, but it amounts to a shine job on what I consider to be steroids. Some famous folks who look amazing are using TRT. Other amazing looking folks are not on TRT but prefer to go full natty. I think long term use of steroids is bad for your health. I'd rather be skinny and old than good looking and dead.
Q: Where did the "C." logo come from?
A: When I began using the internet, various services allowed you to create an avatar. Most people used a picture of their face like on Facebook or Twitter X. I didn't want to do this, so I decided I needed to make a personal brand to put in the place of an avatar.
A brand comes from searing a mark into the hide of a cow to show ownership. In the real world, I show ownership of a thing by putting my initial on it. I definitely do this with a styrofoam cup of coffee. I also use the initial for engraving on tools or writing with a Sharpie marker or paint pen. Most of the time, my full name is good, but this becomes difficult on the side of a wrench. That is where the use of the initial comes from.
I wanted a more stylish logo for online stuff, but I am not an artist. I chose to use the Courier font in bold to type the initial. This allows me to reproduce my logo at will with just a keyboard. It is less Nike Swoosh and more New Balance "N." The dot is to distinguish me from organizations that use a C logo like the Chicago Bears and the Chicago Cubs. If I ever become famous, it will make for a quick autograph. I doubt that day will ever come. It is also handy to sign emails to let my people know that it didn't come from a spambot.
Q: Where did the Noble Peasants come from?
A: Noble Peasants is the title of the blog my wife started and who is known there as Mrs. Peasant. I am Mr. Peasant. The inspiration comes from the Angelus painting on the top of the blog and also hangs in our living room above the fireplace just like the one on The Andy Griffith Show.
I use the peasant term for people who live a lifestyle of voluntary poverty. People who choose minimalism are known as minimalists, but I was fishing around for a term for those of us who have similar aims to the minimalists. "Voluntary peasant" fit the bill. It frees us from the OCD nature of the minimalist aesthetic and allows us to wear eclectic items from the thrift store.
I have run out of questions to answer for this edition of the Q & A. That is my outro for this one. I will have a new edition when I get some new questions. Stay tuned, Gentle Reader.
