Back in 2004

A series of my favorite old essays I wrote back in college during my 21st year, that I think it worth revisiting, so I am bringing them back on up on the blog. A seminal year in my life and a time of change and reinvention, I think many are worthwhile for reconsideration,.

Sixty Miles of Backwoods Freedom (from 2004)

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When is the last time, you just grabbed your camera, filled up your tank, and drove, with few parameters? The only limitations where I wasn’t going to go farther then 60 miles or so round trip, and had a rough idea of going through Rensselaerville SF and Partridge Run.

Well, I tried that on Tuesday. It was kind of a way to escape. I got some really nice pictures, and saw some interesting things along the trip.

First off, was the triangle I came upon. I actually went to triangle intersections —they are interesting to photograph, and get a look at them close up. A triangle is a beautiful shape, I must say.

The Road

Then it was west. Big open roads, cruising away. Stop for a shot at Johnnie Cake Road in Rensselaerville, with a picture of a barn and the Catskills in the background.

Scutt Road

I turned down the road, and drove down it, the hills and all. Stopped at the end, and got another picture of the Catskills, facing down 357 (or one of those 350-399 Renselearville Alb County Roads ;). A farm field, with a trailer, bailing equipment, and a bunch of junk in the center. An interesting view, to say the least.

Then it was to the other triangle. No, I don’t remember what the name of these corners are —does it really matter? I drive past a farm, with a freshly painted sign advertising their holstein cows. Far better, then the rusty, ugly farm signs that tend to dot the roads.

I have to mention the beauty of the bright blue sky, on the green grass. There is something so nice about spring. And being out where it’s open. And not having a plan.

Catskills from Cheese Hill

Winding down Cheese Hill Road, was interesting. Some interesting views of the valley, and the rolling hills. I stopped to get a picture of the turkey that was on the road, set my parking brake, and reached out with my camera. By then, the turkey was gone.

In the Year 2525 (from 2004)

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There is a lot that can be learned by that Zager and Evans song from the late 1960s. Are we going to become the destiny of the lyrics of that song, or will find ways to embrace our past and integrate it with modernity? Will everything we think, do, and act be defined by the pill that we took today? Prozac seems to be bringing us into that society today, and we can only imagine what further psychoactive drugs will do in the future.

It seems like before we know it we will be able to pick our kids from the bottom of long-glass tubes. We already have cloning and in vitro fertilization and the sciences of both are being perfected. 2525 is only 521 years away, and by then the technology certainly will mean we will not need a husband or wife. That is scary to see our words being defined as science fiction.

Shoreline

In 3535 or sooner we won’t need to do anything as we will have machines to do all of our work for us. Machines are already displacing blue collars, and when will it be that a computer will replace us in the future. The possibility is frightening: justice administered not by human but by computer.

The song ends suggesting that man has taken and taken and never given back anything in returns. That certainly reflects the model of man today, in which we continue to consume ridiculous amounts of earth’s natural resources without ever considering the consequences of our actions. Pretty scary, although I believe human nature will have to change as we see our resources being used up in increasing rates.

Today's blast from the past, a decade ago, looks at where an unchecked "technocratic" society can end up taking us.