It’s a miracle you are reading this sentence. A miracle that can only be caused by massive global cooperation of people over centuries. I believe it is cooperation that is the single greatest asset of the human race. When we work together we make miracles. When we are selfish and work for ourselves, we corrupt…
Update to “Relearning to read“. I have been reading more and more each day since my work days have ended. I decided to read light fiction to start. The Jason Pargin book was fine, but I wasn’t inspired to read another of his series yet. Also, I purchased Kindle Unlimited to save money. ($12/month) All…
The doctrine or political position that opposes the withdrawal of state recognition of an established church; — used especially concerning the Anglican Church in England. Opposed to disestablishmentarianism.– Wikipedia article As a child, my father taught me to do some dumb tricks, like spell Antidisestablishmentarianism. Unfortunately, he didn’t teach me the meaning. As you can…
I’ve been trying to live the life of a retired person, but I am finding it harder than I imagined. Every successful person has a serious amount of luck in their history. I am no exception. I have been extremely fortunate in my career to be able to retire in my 50s. I used to…
Yesterday, I rewatched Big staring Tom Hanks, released in 1998. The setup is fairly simple. Josh, A 13 year old boy is entering puberty and likes this girl. Unfortunately, he is short and the girl likes an older 16/17 year old boy. So, Josh wishes on a magic Zoltar machine. He says “I wish I…
Scott Pelley worked at CBS News as a journalist for 37 years. He was recently fired and went on the NY Times Daily podcast to give an interview. I really wanted to be on his side, but he made it so difficult. In fact, at the end of the podcast, I really hated him. Full…
My kids often tell me that it would be criminal to bring a baby into this world, but I strongly disagree. It’s by far the best time in human history to be born. Things are better now than they have ever been worldwide. By the numbers News shows often highlight the bad things in the…
The first book I read for fun was at summer camp when I was around 11 or 12. The book was A Cast Of Killers by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick. It totally captured my imagination and I read it without stopping, cover to cover. Thus began a decades-long obsession with reading. I actually got in trouble…
Some birds have been leaving dead mouse parts in a small stone water pool we have in our front yard. The mystery is why. I have thought of some possibilities. A Sicilian Message Maybe the birds are sending us a signal. Like “Luca Brasi swims with the fishes”. The birds are saying that our days…
This has come up recently in many forms. It’s interesting to me how trust is the key ingredient in almost all human interactions. Musical Bands I have two family members in bands and the issue of trust comes up often. I’m not a musician but I understand how you need to trust your drummer or…
The zen feel of the dog laying its head on my lap. I never want to get up. The visual creativity of the Jujutsu Kaisen bunny fight scene. The screensaver in my office showing pictures from the my past. The memories fill me up. Paradise season 2 episode 4, “A Holy Charge”; so sad and…
Writing in March 2026 I’ve never experienced such a period as the current, when the possible futures are so diverse. Where things are changing so rapidly and it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. It’s honestly unnerving. I find it soothing to break down the plausible options rather than be overwhelmed by infinite possibilities. US Dictatorship…
I grew up outside of NYC in the suburbs and lived in Manhattan for many years. After 9/11, the city became unpleasant and we decided to move to my wife’s hometown, Berkeley, California. I had visited California once before (Santa Monica), but I had little experience with the state. I quickly fell in love with…
We are all humans. There are commonalities that binds us all, baked into our DNA. One of those common threads is the desire for increased social status. We use status to denote in-group and out-group. We use it as a weapon when we verbally decrease a person or group’s status. We use it as a…