June 30th, 2009 § 0
It’s easy to let the tools we have control us, rather than the other way round.
We live with near limitless connectivity, information from all over the world available at the touch of a button, and access to others nearly instantly from all over the globe.
It’s easy to see how this much access can quickly become burdensome rather than helpful. » Read the rest of this entry «
June 19th, 2009 § 0
I took a personality test recently at work, and the results were interesting. I’m posting the final analysis here for all of you to check out.
It’s long, but give it a look if you have the time. I’m interested in an outside perspective on this, especially from those who have known me for a long time…
June 12th, 2009 § 0
Lil opened her eyes from the dream. She had just been running through a forest. A woody, damp, earthy-smelling forest. It always seemed so real. The spicy aroma of pine sap lingered in her nose and throat.
She had never seen a forest in person, not even so much as a lone tree. There were still some one Earth, but they were mostly in sanctuaries and religious settlements. There were certainly none this far into the industrial sector.
She rubbed the scratchy sleep out of her eyes, took a deep, sooty breath and rolled off of her worn mattress onto the cold concrete floor. She wrapped her gray tunic around herself and stared disdainfully at her surroundings. Gray walls, gray floor, gray clothes, gray sky. She recalled the vivid greens and cool browns from her dream; the occaisional bright yellow or purple of a flower. It seemed so alien to her. How could something like that ever have existed in this world?
In the growing light of the morning she finished dressing herself, consumed the remnants of last night’s nutri-pak, and in spite of her drap surroundings, skipped out the door to her room in the worker’s compound.
June 12th, 2009 § 2
I think Nick gets excited about evolution. I see him write about it just about every time there’s a major discovery, or a new book out about the subject.
I guess I’d sort of place myself in the “I don’t really care” camp. In spite of my conservative Christian upbringing, the idea of evolution isn’t appalling to me- though it’s not really appealing either. I guess I just don’t see how the argument really fits into my life in any meaningful way.
Before I get going, let me preface by saying that I think science is fun and exciting. I like physics especially, and I used to work on a nuclear power plant. This also isn’t going to be an article about evolution or creation or the eternal battle between the two. If a fight is what you’re looking for you’re in the wrong place.
The real question I pose isn’t a new one; it’s been asked thousands upon thousands of times, but here it is.
Are we really any better for all of this scientific mumbo-jumbo? Are these new discoveries and theories really that useful to humanity? Are we making things better for ourselves, or just more complicated?
I’ve got more ideas, but two hundred some-odd words is a good sized blog post for now…
June 11th, 2009 § 2
I sagged against the tree lazily. I felt its bark scratch at my back through my shirt on my way down to a seat at its roots.
“It’s a nice thing, touching a tree,” I think as I slide down to the ground and smile up through the tangled branches. “I wonder just how old you are?”
The blades of grass prick my hands as I come to rest on them. I tug gently at the ends my pants legs, lean my head back against this ageless giant and prepare for the spectacle. There is and ant, and two flies who are also here to watch.
The sky has been deep, warm orange fire for a long time now. The white-yellow blaze of the sun has fallen almost to the top of that far away hill.
Breathing slowly, and making the most of each moment, we watch as it drifts slower than a feather falling- down, down- until it is nothing but a silver speck just a lantern shining from beyond that bush there- the one right on top of the hill.
Then it is gone
June 10th, 2009 § 1
I normally wouldn’t publish a post like this, but I thought it might be interesting to do so to keep people abreast of the development of the site.
The purpose of this entry was to upload images and test the funtionality of the “gallery” settings in the media upload area (That should make sense to wordpress users).
The pictures I posted are all grafitti work of banksy, an artist of which I am a great fan.
June 9th, 2009 § 0
(edit this paragraph)They stood on the side of a rain-slick street. Everything reflected darkly off the black pavement, giving the impression that there were more lights than really existed, although none of them gave quite enough brightness for a night like this.(edit this paragraph)
He stared up at the black night for a moment, searching the sky for the words he needed, as if there would be an answer there.
He looked back down into her face, still beautiful even with the cloud of sorrow draped about it. The yellow light from the streetlamp diffused through the mist that was gathering a the frizzy ends of her dark hair, giving her an angel’s golden halo. There was an ocean of tears pooling behind her eyes, like a dam filled to the brink of spilling over.
He wished so badly that he could keep them back, stop the impending flood; but this storm had gone on for too long already.
He held her tight for one more moment, one last kiss. Then, after a long breath, he opened his mouth to speak…
