Trouble sure way to get excitement

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 2, 2020)

If you go looking for trouble, you'll probably find it. If you've seen any national news recently you've watched it happen.

Seventeen-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse intentionally went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, a place he knew was experiencing trouble, just to participate. He found trouble. So did the people who went there to riot and chose to attack the wrong person.

Some people believe Rittenhouse ended up committing murders. Others-- such as myself-- believe it is clear he acted in self-defense. No one doubts everyone involved found trouble.

It doesn't matter whether I would personally like those on either side; I doubt I would. Nor does it matter what their motivations were for going to the riots. Whether the rioters showed up to express frustration over police brutality, or as an excuse to riot and loot, the results were the same. Whether Rittenhouse went to protect private property from rioters, or went looking to "hunt rioters"; only he knows for sure.

If you want excitement, looking for trouble is a sure way to get it. Often more than you wanted.

It's not even necessarily wrong to look for trouble if you aren't violating any innocent person's life, liberty, or property and as long as you're ready to deal with the consequences. Many people actually make a paying career out of doing so. Just know there will be consequences and they may spin out of your control. Know what you're getting in to.

So many times, I've seen people go looking for trouble, then act surprised-- and complain and blame others-- when they face consequences they didn't want. I can even relate a little.

I used to hear people talk about someone "buying trouble"-- doing things to cause themselves unnecessary problems later. This is how I see voting for the lesser of two (or more) evils; buying trouble. Whether you "win" or lose, you still participated and agreed to whatever trouble results. Why complain when it's what you were looking for?

Others see the refusal to play the rigged political game the same way since whether you play politics or not, politics will be used against you. Personally, I'd rather face trouble due to refusing to violate others politically than from trying to use politics against them. You may see it differently.

Either way, as long as you are prepared to deal with the consequences and aren't harming anyone, go ahead and look for trouble if the thrill makes you happy.

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Bureaucracy vs innovation

In spite of all the valid criticisms of Elon Musk, I am fascinated to watch the progress SpaceX is making on its Starship program.

And the progress is happening fast enough that I can actually watch it happen without getting bored. 

It's not like NASA's government bureaucracy, moving at a speed that only a glacier would be jealous of. From week to week, usually day to day, real progress is being made at SpaceX's Boca Chica, Texas facility. 

When there's an inevitable "RUD" (rapid unscheduled disassembly-- an explosion), as there have been a few of, it doesn't stall the program for a year and a half while committees write up reports about what they think may have happened. The problem is analyzed while the program continues to progress. 

Admittedly, none of SpaceX's RUDs have killed astronauts yet (it will happen eventually) but NASA-- along with its favored "contractors" (boing!)-- looks downright incompetent by comparison.

And I enjoy that.

Imagine the progress SpaceX could make if freed from government millstones entirely. Just imagine how much progress could be made in every area if government were shoved aside like the worthless parasite it is.

That's a future I'm hungry to see. 

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