Welcome to the first post of 2025! January always seems to bring a heightened awareness of time and its relentless march forward. As we flip to a fresh calendar, it’s hard not to reflect on where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and the infinite possibilities time holds—whether measured in the ticking of a clock or […]
TANSTAAFL, Time Travel, and the Price of Progress Read More »
Farnam Street recently posted one of the clearest explanations for why utopias can’t work in real life. Apart from being super interesting reading, the post also made me reflect on utopias in fiction. I don’t like utopian fiction and tend to avoid it. Even before I read the Farnam Street post, I thought most of
Why Utopias Don’t Work…anywhere! Read More »
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I’m just a little bit in awe of science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein – for a variety of reasons, including the fact that he’s one of a microscopic collection of authors who can make me cry. Heinlein had
Aim to be a Live Lion Read More »
If it can’t be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion. Robert A. Heinlein – The Notebook of Lazarus Long Say what you will about Robert Heinlein, he does make you pause to think at least once in every book. His The Notebook of Lazarus Long is stuffed full of thinkers. I’ve
The Immoveable Object and The Irresistible Force Read More »
Reader reviews are one of the most heartfelt ways you can thank an author for entertaining you, or moving you, or even blowing your mind. The sort of reviews you write for Amazon and other book seller sites are called “reader reviews” and they’re a lot different from professional reviews. No one expects readers,
How To Write Reader Reviews Read More »
If you’ve been following my blog posts for a while, it is probably not a big shock to you if I tell you that I am subscribed to several productivity blogs. One of them, Zen Habits, recently put up a post about deliberately scheduling reading time into your day. If you’ve never deliberately schedule something
Read more books by deliberately…well…reading Read More »
Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very young, the untraveled, the naive, the unsophisticated deplore these formalities as “empty,” “meaningless,” or “dishonest,” and scorn to use them. No matter how “pure” their motives, they thereby throw sand into
The Use of Lubricant Read More »