"Just smile and wave boys," he said, as he walked out of the office door. We were going for lunch, and our poor colleague was stuck with the boss. It was a Madagascar reference. A cute, funny scene. But what it reminded me of was a poem by Stevie Smith; not quite as funny; not... Continue Reading →
To be like dirt
Flowers grow on dirt; manure. On diamonds? Never. May I be like dirt. May those who encounter me grow and bloom.
On reading novels and living the life you cannot live
I'm an avid reader, but have grown up reading almost exclusively non-fiction. Not because I don't enjoy them, or think any less of fiction than I do non-fiction; it's mostly because I can never remember the names of all the characters! (Especially in novels...) In non-fiction, the cast of characters tend to be ideas. And... Continue Reading →
Why do I run?
When Polly wants a cracker, Polly eats a cracker. But the million-dollar question is not whether parrots and humans can act out their inner desires - the question is whether they can choose their desires in the first place. Why does Polly want a cracker rather than a cucumber? Why do I decide to kill my... Continue Reading →
Bipolar
My child. Makes me mad as hell. Then looks at me, says, "sorry" with a look in his eyes that tells me he really means it. Hell no longer, I wonder what it was that I was so angry about.
Two Quotes from Søren Kierkegaard
I came across two quotes from Kierkegaard recently, from two very different sources. It was quite a coincidence, and I thought that it must have been a sign. Here's the first, which funnily enough came from a book on IT leadership, called A Seat at the Table, by Mark Schwartz: If I were to wish for... Continue Reading →
The passionate introvert
This TED talk really surprised me. The content was great, but it was Brian Little's delivery that really made me go "wow!" So many times during the talk it felt I wasn't listening to him talk on the subject of "personality" but rather his grandchildren. His passion was evident, and his joy contagious. I couldn't... Continue Reading →
Deciphering Fake
This was supposed to be a post on radical transparency. But an article bashing radical transparency just left me feeling so outraged with its lies and misleading statements that I just spent the last four hours of my life writing this warning to all of us media-consumers out there: Don't trust all you see, even if it... Continue Reading →
Doing what’s right – pasta and the lizard brain
I cooked pasta for lunch today. Though it turned out pretty good, the pasta was a little soft, far from the al dente I was aiming for. This despite me checking every couple of minutes or so to see how it was doing, and taking it off the stove the moment I found it to be... Continue Reading →
Getting the most bang for your charitable buck
I just received a mailer from Effective Altruism, via which I do a monthly donation to charity. The mailer asked me to rate from 1 to 10, with 1 being least likely and 10 being most, how likely I would be to recommend Effective Altruism to a friend. I gave it a 10. And since... Continue Reading →
Donn, fragments 