Category: Seedlings


  • Notes on Disasters.

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    Even when it’s not right outside your window, it consumes all of your mental bandwidth. The hurricane, the aftermath, the entire region that is suffering. This is the kind of thing that sets people back ten or twenty years. You hear the stories, but now you know. This feels different, more sinister. In grade school…


  • Creative Environments

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    “What we can do is construct an environment that nurtures trusting and respectful relationships and unleashes everyone’s creativity. If we get that right, the result is a vibrant community where talented people are loyal to one another and their collective work, everyone feels that they are part of something extraordinary, and their passion and accomplishments…


  • Keeping Dirt In One Spot

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    We’re looking at four (maybe five?) straight days of rain here in Asheville. Yes, North Carolina gets hurricanes – but we’re also 400 miles inland and up in the mountains. It is an odd place to be when this kind of weather hits. Loads of rain isn’t uncommon for Asheville. When we moved here in…


  • Method: Blind Brainstorming

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    Brainstorming could use an overhaul. The idea of brainstorming was invented by an advertising exec in the 1950s. “It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think up a new one.” – Alex Osborn Any participant of a brainstorming session typically falls into one of two camps: This is amazing, this is…


  • Post It Note Productivity

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    Every day there is a new productivity tool or method. A new youtube video about how some joblo organizes their day. Look at this new notes app, it screams at you when you don’t update it enough. If your day is larger than a post it note, you are attempting to do too much with…


  • maybe Not Free Will

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    Free will – the capacity to choose between different courses of action. Your choice in this moment, right now, can change your outcome. There is no prophecy, your life is not guided. You get to pick. I wanted this node in here because it comes up a lot in the studies of Benjamin Libet –…


  • The Brain Reclaim Project

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    The theory: a lot of us are some degree of miserable because we have no control over our brains/ minds/ conscious experience. If our bodies are the “meatsuit” of our brains, which experiences consciousness, then what about our bodily experience is reducing our control over brain stuff? Things That Need Looking Into: The goal, maybe:…


  • Idleism

    • The Loss of the “Literary Man”

      The headline is simple but does what it can to rattle the alarms: The Disappearance of Literary Men Should Worry Everyone. The author spends a lot of the essay pointing out how the numbers and proportions of male/female students, writers, readers, etc. have changed over the decades. Yes, duh. They’ve dropped across the board. Oh,…

    • Why Kids Can’t Read

      I have no patience for podcasts. I leave it to my wife to decide what gets listened to on long road trips (or, in the winter, when a 1,000 piece puzzle is littered all over the dining table). During our drive back from Savannah, where we spent the week of Thanksgiving and adopted our darling…

    • Affiliate Arbitrage

      Theory: search and referrals rarely deliver consumers results for the “best” product or service they are looking for. Just about every link on any “buyer’s guide” page goes through several hoops of affiliate reference codes. So you have to ask: is this product really the best? Or is the publisher getting the most incentive to…

    • How To Grieve a Dog

      When I was 10 or 11 I remember my father taking me with him to an animal hospital out in the sticks. The cat, Friday, was in the back seat in its travel trailer. I don’t remember much about the cat other than that we didn’t care for each other very much. It was effectively…

    • The Logic of Reading Well

      The current reality: reading isn’t a priority. When newspapers were still a stalwart of our cultural hegemony, even they were written at a 7th grade reading level. After all, everyone needs to know the news. I far the average reading level is far less than that. There is the story about the woman suing because…

    • The path to better brains

      Write more. All the time. See what your thoughts look like on paper. Writing by hand conditions fine motor control. This can help with everything from improving synapse connections to properly fingering your partner to orgasm. Read better. Learn to read a text deeply and thoroughly. Ideally, spend large amounts of time with novels published…

    • This robot will sell you a soul

      Was I worried about AI “taking my job”? Never. Mostly because I wasn’t sure what it was they were taking. Oh no, is AI going to run off with all of the people who send me bottom-dollar offers through Upwork? I will say I noticed a two-year lapse of people reaching out for content and…

    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…