Category: Thoughts

  • Too Many Things To-Do

    Too Many Things To-Do

    Sometime ago I heard David Allen speak on Getting Things Done (GTD). I’ve since read both of his books and his system is pretty good – keep sets of lists that have everything that you need to get done. When something new pops in your head, write it down. Clear out the accumulating piles of…

  • Contentment is not found in more

    What makes someone rich? Being surrounded by a group of people who you love, of course. Though this really wasn’t what my friends and I were trying to actually posit by the question. We reworded it to: “What do others think that it takes in order to consider themselves rich?” Someone speculated that having a…

  • Finding Joy in Moving

    Finding Joy in Moving

    I hate moving. But I love helping other people move. Even if an acquaintance is moving, I often volunteer to help even before they’ve picked a date. This weekend I had the opportunity to help some friends move. People are always surprised when I tell them I enjoy helping other people move and so I…

  • The Unknown Technology

    The Unknown Technology

    There are inventions which would have changed our lives, but we’ll never know them. Most start-ups with a brand new idea don’t succeed for all manner of reasons. Sometimes the invention was horrible. Sometimes though, they fail simply because the cards didn’t fall right. What’s lost, is not only the technology as conceived but also…

  • Sacred Abstractions

    He puts his hand around her back and kisses his wife. She puts her arms around him and they kiss.  He takes her by the hand and leads her toward the bedroom.  They close the door behind him. We are very familiar with this story structure.  It is used because what is implied by the…

  • Don’t Force It

    Don’t Force It

    One of the greatest home chemistry experiments is mixing cornstarch with enough water to make it the consistency of Elmer’s glue. This highly viscous liquid behaves in fascinating ways. For example, if you poke it really hard with your finger it will hurt. If you simply put your finger on it slowly, it will feel…

  • The Sublime Joy of the Subtle

    The Sublime Joy of the Subtle

    I initiate the ritual by ordering my cappuccino. The barista pounds out old grounds, the grinder whirrs to life and professional hands expertly level and tamp the grounds. The espresso pump shoves hot water through the fresh coffee and the barista froths the milk into a creamy foam that floats in the cup. The expectation…

  • Leveraging the Asymmetry of Order

    Leveraging the Asymmetry of Order

    A riddle: What do the filibuster, the bus drivers of Morelia and hunger strikes have in common? While strolling the streets in downtown Chicago, I considered the incredible buildings that took decades upon decades to create. Even in the last decade, things continue to change and evolve. The great Chicago fire wiped out much of what…

  • Slow Goals

    Slow Goals

    Dead people are influencing our thinking. Not in a supernatural way, but in how they influenced the way their culture taught their children to think. Consider what words your parents taught you first – objects and colors or verbs? The Geography of Thought by Richard Nisbett goes through the influence of philophers from thousands of years…

  • Paying the Cost Today

    If I say this, then she is just going to say this. If I don’t say it though… We all have this type of internal conversation — simulating future possible events and speculating on their outcome. It’s one of the many things that distinguish us as humans. We simulate what the future might look like,…