Category: Books


  • This Black Box of Doom is getting Heavy

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    It’s billed as “satire,” but, man, I don’t know. Maybe it was the vibe of the trip, but I picked up this book when we were recovering from Helene in Charleston. At the same time, in the same shop, I also bought Loneliness & Company. Both books addressing more or less the same problem: tech…


  • Loneliness & Company

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    Spoilers within, because there are points I want to keep track of. The premise of this book: a top-of-her-class researcher is hired to a company post-graduation to help with the development of an AI application meant to resolve the idea of “loneliness.” In the end, the project more or less fails. If technology drove up…


  • Failing Creativity – Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    “Hate” is such a strong word, but I can’t get my head around Rubin’s dumb book any other way. I’ve soured on Rubin over the years as he has shifted from less business and more “creativity,” wandering the world in his unruly, unwashed opulence. Sure, he looks the part of a creative guru, but my…


  • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…


  • Recently Read – August 2024

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

  • The Ghost of The Living

    The Ghost of The Living

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    “They say when you meet someone who looks just like you, you die.” p.Wish, The Doppleganger “No one makes themselves; we all make and unmake one another.” Naomi Klein, Doppelganger Going through Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger, something I snagged from the library purely because of the subtitle “A Trip into the Mirror World,” I was opened…

  • The Age of Information, The Aging of Information.

    The Age of Information, The Aging of Information.

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    Some thoughts on James Gleick’s The Information. “The alphabet is like a contagion – both the virus and the vector of transmission in and of itself.” Back in the “learn to code” days – a phrase shot off in mean spirit by anti-intellectuals to journalists and academics who were loosing their jobs by the thousands…


  • Planned Life

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    Words about Alex Shakar’s “Luminarium”


  • The Lost Art of Reading

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    Some notes and such from David L. Ulin’s The Lost Art of Reading


  • Spending 2024 with Infinite Jest – Notes on the first readthrough.

    • Idleism

      Not to be confused with idealism. Then again, maybe idleism is the ideal? A working philosophy, a working definition: Anxiety happens against a scale of productivity. The more productive you think you need to be, and how productive you are, determine your anxiety. Idleism is about resetting the bandwidth of productivity. Your productivity should primarily…

    • Notes on: Figuring by Maria Popova

      “So much of the beauty, so much of what propels our pursuit of truth, stems from the invisible connections.” And just like that, with the thesis set, Maria Popova takes us through over five hundred pages of invisible connections between Johanns Kepler in 1617 to the launch of the Voyager space probe in 1977. Between…

    • Recently Read – August 2024

      Two major novels of note: Heretics – Leonardo Padura Translated by Anna Kushner The back of the book alluded to Padura being “Cuba’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez” – which is quite the statement. Heretic’s is a novel of Jewish diaspora masquerading as a crime novel set across a vast span of time and locations. 17th century…

    • The Firm Pays For It

      One day I’ll get my print story running again.

    • Notes on ADHD

      For most of my life, my attention span for any job is about 6 months. Once I hit the 6-month mark I get restless in the company/ position, and I start looking for other stuff to do. This was particularly excruciating in sales and account management roles when every day/ week was more or less…

    • New Rules for Social Engagement

      I am absolutely the kind of guy who can’t be trusted to spend “just a minute” on social media because I will absolutely lose the next two hours of my life to it. I get sucked in even though I KNOW there is rarely anything interesting out there. If things were perfect, I would just…

    • Algorithms Just Replace People

      When I lived in Cap Hill in Denver, my Friday night routine involved walking by a little strip mall that had both a Qdoba and a Blockbuster. I suppose I am that old. I would pick up a few DVDs and two burritos for the weekend and keep walking the few blocks to my apartment.…

    Four months, one reading. And I’m not finished yet! Time to flip this over and see what else it can tell me.