What books helped shape your political and moral opinions? A lot has gone into my reading list. Here’s a list of the things I think were most important, with a focus on fiction: Starship Troopers. Often derided as fascist, this book... isn’t fascist. It’s not a complicated book, but it does contain a lot of… Continue reading Books that Shaped You
Category: psychology
My Thoughts on Vapor Trails
This is my response to "What does everyone like about Vapor Trails?" To me, Vapor Trails is an amazing album. When I first heard it, it was a revelation: "Rush is back!" -- and I didn't even realize how much I'd lowered my expectations after T4E, which was a good album but lacked a certain… Continue reading My Thoughts on Vapor Trails
Education in 2021
Education is going to have to change in the world of COVID-19. Here's what I think it should look like when things have stabilized. It's not really COVID-19 that's the motivator; it's just the proof that we should have changed education a long time ago. And I'm not an educator, unless you count my experience… Continue reading Education in 2021
“People are stupid; get over it”
One of the things I tell my kids all the time, in an attempt to help them cope, is “people are stupid; get over it.” For a long time they saw this as being cynical; in some ways they still do, but they’ve also matured enough to see it for what it is: coping with… Continue reading “People are stupid; get over it”
Newsblur; Fricassee; old friends – 14/Feb/2019
Things I'm thinking about: RSS Feeds I've started using Newsblur again. I shut off Facebook a while back for various reasons (nothing drastic, just... tired, mostly), so my news has been supplied by a fairly limited set of channels. Newsblur fixes that. It's not just Newsblur, of course; you can use any of a number… Continue reading Newsblur; Fricassee; old friends – 14/Feb/2019
Impressions
Things I think about sometimes: I love the idea of being someone who might be described like "He only cares about the things that matter," except loving that particular idea means that I... care about things that don't matter. Darn it.My DJ name is rather obvious: "43rd to the Q."Finally got a new phone! I'm… Continue reading Impressions
Blogging, getting wordpress running properly on Ubuntu
Things I'm thinking and feeling: I really don't "blog" all that much. I record, I guess, and that's sort of a "web log," but I really don't expose much of my innermost feelings - it's like observations with a mirror in the way. I've always been that way when I write. Always.Today I'm going to… Continue reading Blogging, getting wordpress running properly on Ubuntu
Lorelai, Maven changelog plugin, the government shutdown
Things I have travelled across: github-issues-maven-plugin generates a markdown file with a list of closed issues for a target milestone. Useful for creating release notes.The death of a child is always heart-wrenching. 🙁 Rest in peace, little one, even though I only knew you through friends of friends.Bless social media for bringing people together... except… Continue reading Lorelai, Maven changelog plugin, the government shutdown
More Peter Gabriel, The Upside, Police, CSS
Things I'm thinking about wondering: One of the reasons I like Peter Gabriel so much is that, as a lyricist, he's willing to ignore rules that I try to, like, pay attention to. In "Big Time," for example, there's a line: "And my heaven will be a big heaven, and I will walk through the… Continue reading More Peter Gabriel, The Upside, Police, CSS
NCAA Football, accents, free will
Things I'm thinking about Monday: Tonight's the last NCAA football game of the season. Thank goodness. I hope it's a good one.I want to pronounce "Monday" with a Scottish accent, but it turns out I have no idea how to make it sound like it's a Scottish accent. It's not my accent, whatever it is,… Continue reading NCAA Football, accents, free will
