I was having a discussion with a friend recently in which he lamented about the number of gifts his children had received for Christmas. It was January 16th and there were still a few gifts under the tree, not yet…
Category: Observation
Things that have made me go “Hmmm…”
The downside of reducing consumption
I was thinking about ways to reduce my consumerist footprint. I’ve come around to the conclusion over the years that I don’t need to buy and collect movies. I rent movies right now, which is good, but I thought I…
Me to We: Four paragraphs
I am currently reading Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World by Craig and Marc Keilburger. On pages 44-45 I came across a few paragraphs that ring so true for me and echo so well some of the…
Dump deconstructed
Since I am a renovator, I am obliged to haul demolition and construction debris to the dump from time to time. I expect this gives me a somewhat different perspective on this topic than folks who don’t make that trek…
2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl
I may have had a mini-epiphany brought on by reading something in a book I purchased a week ago called 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, written by Daniel Pinchbeck. I wasn’t really sure what it was about — some kind…
Less egregious orchids
“Ever felt pangs of guilt for being born in Canada?” “Not sure what you mean.” “Well, I mean, my wife and I watch HGTV all the time. She’s a designer, so when the kids aren’t monopolizing the TV we flip…
The golden rule
“What I’m saying is that religion thinks it holds a monopoly on morality. No religion, no morality. I call bullshit. In fact, I would say it’s possibly a fear of having no morality — or rather, being told that one…
More geo-engineering hijinx
Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. And I’m not sure about the former. — Albert Einstein It appears that the notion of reflecting the sun’s rays in order to deal with global warming has not died…
I am an evolutionary success — maybe
“Mike, look at me.” “I am looking at you.” “No. Look at me. What do you see?” “Okay… I see a thirty-something software guy, balding and growing a paunch.” “Aha, you mock me to camouflage your own glaring inadequacies, but…
Ishmael revisited
In my life I have read only two books a second time. The first was aeons ago and I cannot now recall what it was. The second was Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, which I just finished a month ago. This…