Category: Society
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Unimpressed
My younger self would not be so impressed with me. In college, I dreamed of getting a Ph. D. in physics. When push came to shove, I only got a master’s degree in physics. This would have been okay if I had stuck with physics. I taught math and physics for about five years after…
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Screensavers
Most computers still have screensavers. Although it turns out the name ‘screensaver‘ has become a bit of a misnomer. It’s been about a quarter-century since computers needed a moving image to “save” a CRT monitor from getting a “burned-in” image. LCD and LED monitors don’t have this problem. So why do we still use screensavers?…
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Address Labels
Today, I opened a letter requesting a donation to a charity that does good work. The non-profit organization included a special gift: address labels! I’m happy to receive useful gifts from any non-profit organization. It’s just that I don’t consider address labels as useful as they used to be. This is a comment on how…
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Unfinished Projects
Each year, I work on several projects that I don’t “finish”. I see this as a good thing. Not every project needs to be completed. There is value in having unfinished projects. In fact, we can learn a lot from the patterns we notice associated with unfinished projects. Here are a few examples. One thing…
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Project Work
My most important activities over the years have been connected to working on meaningful projects. This is not a coincidence. What’s the best way to contribute to the future of humanity? Work on meaningful projects. I’m not joking. Artists are encouraged to build a portfolio of meaningful projects. While this is not a requirement for…
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Meditations – Part 2
Somewhere along the way, I finished reading Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius. It took me a few months because I mostly read a page or two at night before falling asleep. Meditations ends with a whimper rather than a bang, which is why I did not feel compelled to say anything about it the day I…
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Missing Toastmasters
I joined Toastmasters soon after I started working at Terumo BCT. Our meetings were at noon, once a week, and it was a nice break from my usual work. I enjoyed getting practice giving talks. I enjoyed getting to know the other people who regularly attended. I enjoyed getting and giving feedback in a supportive…
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RiffTrax
Rifftrax is awesome! I don’t know how many movies we’ve watched on Mystery Science Theater 3000. I do know that Rifftrax is carrying on that fine tradition. Over the past few days, we’ve watched Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi again, with Rifftrax.…
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Work Patterns
I was a physics instructor for about five years. I was an aerospace engineer for about five years. I was a video game developer for about five years. I wrote software for various companies for another five years. I’ve been at Terumo BCT for about six years, which is the longest time I’ve ever worked…
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Our Genetic Heritage
Since we talked about it with Kris today, I thought it was also worth including here. Some men have a larger impact than others on the genetic material of the human race. A single woman can only have so many kids (say 20). A single man can have MANY more kids (say over five thousand).…