On the one hand, I own enough already to keep me busy for the rest of my life.
On the other hand, I still want everything on my Amazon wishlist.
Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
Needs versus wants
Posted in Life on December 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Commitments
Posted in Life on December 11, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I’ve come to think of commitments as the structure of life.
Make the right commitments, and I have a platform to stand on.
Make the wrong commitments, and I have a prison to live in.
Out of action
Posted in Life on December 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Home sick again today. My fifth illness in the last two months. I’m glad I have a couple of weeks off over Christmas and New Year’s—I clearly need it.
Bleah
Posted in Life on October 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I have had an Inspector Maigret mystery checked out but unread, in case I needed something to read while sick in bed.
Coming in handy today…
How I know I’m stressed
Posted in Life on October 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Aside from the more obvious indicators, there seem to be two reliable indicators that I’m feeling stressed:
I don’t blog.
I don’t read.
20 years ago
Posted in California, Life, Ohio on September 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
It was 20 years ago last night that I spent my first night in the dorms at Ohio State.
Last night, I dreamed that I was checking in to Morrill Tower all over again, but this time I was 38.
(The number of people who know me who would be surprised to see me moving into Morrill [...]
A splash of determination
Posted in Life on September 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
If there is a better motivator to clean a messy desk than spilling a half a glass of water across it, I do not know what it is.
The virtue of simplicity
Posted in Commerce, Humor, Life, Philosophy on September 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
In Book II (369a-372d) of the Republic, Socrates reasons step-by-step through what would be required to create a simple and harmonious city, one in which the citizens “will live in peace and good health, and when they die at a ripe old age, they will bequeath a similar life to their children” (372c-d).
Socrates then continues [...]
The Great Vacation ends
Posted in Life, Yardwork on September 1, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I’m back to work in less than 12 hours. It’s been a good time off. Mostly relaxing.
Of the seven things I had hoped to do during the vacation, I finished two and made serious headway on a third. Round about Tuesday, my will to get anything done just died for four or five days. Got [...]
One down, six to go
Posted in Life on August 26, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I have a list of seven things I want to accomplish while I am on vacation.
I finished one this morning: Cleaning out the cul-de-sac of my L-shaped bedroom. I had had a big, wobbly desk back there for as long as I had lived here, and I have finally cleaned everything off it, dismantled it, [...]
Submitted for your approval…
Posted in Life, Video on August 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
During the summers when I was a kid, I would watch two old television shows every weekday: Perry Mason and The Twilight Zone. The first one would have been no surprise: I loved mysteries and puzzles, and had an unhealthy fascination with Los Angeles. The latter one, though…I have always steered clear of things (roller [...]
The Great Vacation begins
Posted in Life on August 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
My next day at work will be September 2, the day after Labor Day.
I will be staying in town, working on projects around the house and starting to get ready for Portland-to-Coast 2009.
Allergies
Posted in Life on August 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
When I was in 1st and 2nd grade, I would look at the kids who had allergies—struggling to breathe, wrestling with their inhalers—and think, “I’m so glad I don’t have allergies.” It seemed like the most miserable fate in the world.
Somewhere along the line, “I’m so glad I don’t have allergies” turned into “I don’t [...]
The Magician (Card 1)
Posted in Life, Tarot on August 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
There seems to be a hierarchy in the computer world, with the elite programmers as the superstars and the help desk and documentation folks as the untouchables. The principle seems to be that those who can make the machines do their will are those most worthy of our applause.
In politics, charisma gets awed admiration—the ability [...]
Loving the alien
Posted in Academic, Books, Life on August 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
A few days ago, I wrote about how difficult it can be to learn about cultures that are unconnected to one’s own; how we lack a context in which to understand what we are trying to learn.
Part of my difficulty in this kind of learning is that I tend to approach it purely intellectually, which [...]
