I work with a couple of guys that don’t take direction, or input, well. Surprisingly, I can make an observation, they will shoot it down. Yet a day or two later, ask why I didn’t follow my suggestion.

I have found this to be moderately successful. Rather than contradict them, or try to convince them I am right – I wait. If the comment or information isn’t sufficiently compelling, and they ignore my input, oh well. But surprisingly, from other people’s experience with these two guys, what I contribute does eventually get incorporated or acknowledged. It does happen.

At such times I find a pithy phrase from Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden Universe series of science fiction novels comes in handy. “Ah.”

But – how do you manage to soak dried beans before cooking? Or prepare veggies and whatnot for the crock pot in time for a nicely cooked meal?

I think that Sharon has in invested interest in making matches that will ease the transition from now to whatever the heck is coming. That (and her past ) is what makes the renta-yenta come to mind.

By the way, Sharon, my kilt fixation outweights the wish for a donkey. (Just so you UPS me the right guy. A background in special ed or as on OT would be a big plus. Don’t forgot that I have a varmit proof garden when mentioning my merits.)

MEA

Well. The family member I’m thinking of is a Baby Boomer and her view of life is simple. “I’ve worked at XYZ for everyone at home all my life, and I’ve earnt everything I have”. There is no interest in any form of change, of understanding energy, of being co-operative to changing needs. Why?????

She’s popular, fit, busy, has everything at hand and is used to things being “someone else responsibility” if it is outside her own world.

She has settled and arrived at a position in life. Game over, she’s won – and about anything she does not want to know.

She is actively dis-interested in anything to do with peak oil, climate change, recycling or the future. Indeed her view is limited to “now” and “her kids”.

She’d be happy and unworried to be the ruler living on Easter Island who ordered the last tree to be chopped down. After all, she gets the tree (happy happy happy), someone / something else has done the work – and the now is good.

The world of men, appliances and fashion is there to serve her, and she is surrounded by people and things and situations which provide, serve and please.

And that’s normal for several billion people; it’s called “having arrived” and “the good life”.

We had an argument today; she thought I was insane (like if I’d suggested we go eat rubble) to want to take a frozen item out of the freezer ahead of time – and put at the top of the fridge. There it would both thaw and cool the fridge, saving money / heat energy recycling…

a) that’s thinking outside her timeframe, which is “now”, and
b) we have a microwave which does the defrost.

I think we’ve lost it; there is way too much cultural inertia.