Category Archives: Uncategorized

Hazards of Self-Education

Posted on March 17, 2019 by Jeff

For the relentlessly curious and those moving faster than the speed of communication (a metaphorical sound barrier), self-education is a necessity. As someone with an education in programming and who often worked just behind the cutting/bleeding edge I’ve experienced both … Continue reading →

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Grooks

Posted on March 9, 2019 by Jeff

Grooks are haiku for scientists and engineers written in runes instead of ideo- or picto-grams. The term was coined by Piet Hein, a Danish poet, inventor, and scientist. My description is about as helpful as describing a haiku as a … Continue reading →

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Weighted Pros and Cons

Posted on March 7, 2019 by Jeff

Listing Pros and Cons (points for and against a decision) is familiar and I’ve used it many times. It forms a foundation under more sophisticated decision making techniques like modern versions of Ignatius of Loyala‘s discernment. Mostly when I’m done … Continue reading →

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Cohen and Hayes

Posted on August 19, 2018 by Jeff

I’ve been reading Terrance Hayes’ American Sonnet for my Past and Future Assassin and listening to Leonard Cohen’s songs, particularly Hallelujah and Suzanne. Some of the sonnets are relentless, pedal to the metal all the way, though there’s always some breathing in them, between … Continue reading →

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Gatekeepers

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Jeff

The gatekeepers have stopped the barbarians at the gate. They guard access to empty pews. The horde demanding entrance is empty too. Who are the gatekeepers for: botanicals (e.g. quinine) religious images (e.g. kachina dolls) recipes (e.g., chitlins, gumbo, pizza) … Continue reading →

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Appropriate? or Appropriation?

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Jeff

Austin, TX is a “humid, sub-tropical” climate.  In my daily activities, the “strenuously casual” dress of where I came from Davis, CA. It is a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, so drier than here. My clothing is less appropriate here, but a suit, … Continue reading →

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The Great Silence

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Jeff

At a writer’s retreat in a former convent, the leader, a Zen Buddhist practitioner, spoke of the Great Silence, a practice shared by many monastic traditions. Silence is observed by the whole community from dinner to breakfast the next morning. … Continue reading →

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Slight Change of Direction

Posted on December 19, 2017 by Jeff

This blog has been anonymous for a number of reasons. Those reasons are going away or gone. I was a programmer who wrote on the side for forty years. I’m now swapping those. I wrote articles for computer magazines (e.g., … Continue reading →

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It’s Really Old

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Jeff

I read widely and have heard various estimates of the age of the universe. Nearly 14 billion years. Big number. Numbingly big number. A recent Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), Where Your Elements Came From, shows the periodic table … Continue reading →

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I Won’t Back Down

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Jeff

Well, I won’t back down No, I won’t back down You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won’t back down No, I’ll stand my ground Won’t be turned around And I’ll keep this world from … Continue reading →

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