Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 11, 2021

This reminds me why bagpipers march when they play, it’s harder to hit a moving target.

Take it from me, kid. Having a home office means you rarely have time to go outside for any reason, especially play. Having a home office in a van would be 10 times worse.

Lately, I’ve been spending an hour or two some days, sitting on the porch w/ my Kindle. It’s downright nice. Unless the wind is coming from one of the fires. Or unless the temperature has gotten above 95º.

With climate disasters all over the world, indoor , out door scenarios will be the same!!

First, grow up. We’ll talk again. Living/working space is-a-changin’.

there are full time RV folks who work from their rigs. But they still stay inside to get much of it done. Sun on a screen makes it hard to see and bugs are distracting.

“Down by the river.”

Play outside… that’s not very common these days. I remember asking my son and his friend to drop the gaming console and go play outside for a bit. They didn’t even look at me. I insisted and said go outside for fifteen minutes and I’ll play a video game with you afterwards. They left to go outside. A few minutes later I had to go in the back yard, I opened the door and both of them fell inside the house backwards. They were literally sitting against the door, looking a their watch, timing 15 minutes…

Seems the lack of exposure to sun and physical play could eventually turn out to be a physical negative in the growth of humans. According to some estimates, average height will either stabilize at current levels or possibly shrink, skin will lose natural protections from sunlight and infections, arms and legs will weaken, and active interest in the the environment and protection of nature will wane. Hands will reshape to emphasize the thumb, and eyes will lose long distance acuity and become light sensitive.

I won’t be around to see that evolution but I can wonder what will happen when, as is likely to happen, the work-a-day world and the environment reach a point where the fix requires physical effort and strength to correct and digital game heroes aren’t up to the job.

I am really really glad all that came along so long after my days in the sandlots and grassy fields of my youth. There was a dirt lot across the street where, on almost any day, out of nowhere there arrived a dozen or more kids with ball gloves and bats. Older guys and returned vets watched and coached and praised and fussed, while moms groused about tracking dirt into the house right before dinner time, but delivered hugs before turning out the light at bed time.

Teachers fought our ignorance and indifference while pastors tried to light the way. Saturday movies cost 4 bits including candy, popcorn, soda, news, cartoons, short subjects, serials, and major stars. Colds, scratches, real cuts, and sometimes killer disease affected everyone equally, and addiction was more about which tv programs to watch every night. Bicycles were a preferred mode of transport, while walking took a little longer. but offered more chances for foolish play. From age 12, money was earned by cutting grass, delivering newspapers, fixing stuff, and just doing chores. Discovering girls just added confusion to the mix, as it has ever since.

All in all, with all its fun, its knocks, and its trials, it was great training for what followed in the 70 years since, and I am grateful.

So Accidental Injury law.

Actually, that’s not a half-bad idea…

Office in Van, don’t forget the fuzzy dice, shag carpeting

Now that kids are doing most of their work on a tablet or laptop, you can already have that indoor-outdoor office. Just get a glare reduction filter for your screen and bring it on out!

Doctors tell me to go out in the sun because it’s healthy, and to stay out of the sun because it’ll give me cancer.

Picnic tables.

Show of hands here. How many people who, at that age, said “When I grow up, I’m going to be [an XYZ]”, ever actually ended up being an XYZ?

When I was an auto damage appraiser, I had an office in a company issued van. Pros and cons, but it did use a lot of gas in order to keep it heated in the winter, and cooled in the summer (otherwise the computer didn’t work so well.)

One anecdote (I have plenty.) I actually got rear-ended in my office once. While I was legally parked in a parking space, someone backed out of a space across the aisle from me, and accelerated into the back of my van. Still, I would have been fine if I hadn’t been standing up reaching for a file when the van was hit. I got tossed over the center console into the back seat.

Go for it, kid! There will be careers to find (or make!) where you can do just that!