February 2012
1 post
2 tags
December 2011
3 posts
“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a...”
– Richard Buckminster Fuller
(Found while reading my daughter’s Christmas present, One Hundred Butterflies, which is full of stunning photos.)
“People who can—and do—think about how others experience the world are more...”
– Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn
"Happiness is an imaginary condition…"
After all, perfect happiness may also be an unreachable goal; it is, as one writer put it, an imaginary condition that’s usually attributed to children by adults, and to adults by children.
Unconditional Parenting, Alfie Kohn
And the “one writer” Kohn references (whom I haven’t read):
Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now...
November 2011
2 posts
G.I.Joe, Donald Rumsfeld, and My Business...
Knowing = Half the Battle
Quantity of Unknown Unknowns = ∞
Knowledge of Unknown Unknowns = One Fourth the Battle (proposed) ≅ Humility
Knowledge + Humility + Execution = The Battle
Pretty sure there’s a kitschy business book thesis in there that could become a bestseller to the entrepreneurs of my generation that have a soft spot for G.I.Joe. Though it’d probably be more...
“We are conscious of only a tiny fraction of the information that our brains...”
– The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris (p103)
October 2011
1 post
Differences in Vegetables Between California and...
Josh's Wife: The only vegetables Josh eats are fried okra.
Me: ... What's okra?
Josh's Wife: It's a green vegetable, kind of like celery.
Me: Like bok choy?
Josh's Wife: ... Bok choy?
August 2011
1 post
2 tags
On Getting Laughed At
During a wedding reception I attended last night, a conversation I was a part of turned to health care, employee benefits, and taxes. The most vocal of the participants, in between drags of his cigarette, was explaining to those who opposed the individual mandate that they should simply get involved and work to change the laws.
As if that wasn’t quite enough to indicate his willful...
April 2011
1 post
The Calf-Path by Sam Walter Foss (1858-1911)
One day, through the primeval wood, A calf walked home, as good calves should; But made a trail all bent askew, A crooked trail, as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled, And, I infer, the calf is dead. But still he left behind his trail, And thereby hangs my moral tale.
The trail was taken up next day By a lone dog that...
March 2011
1 post
Can't really argue with that...
Ave: I naked!
Me: You are! Oh... there's poops on the floor... Why'd you take your diaper off, honey?
Ave: Cuz there was poops in it.
Me: Well, can't really argue with that.
February 2011
1 post
Rhyming Without Vowels
Noa: [Types "HCWMNBGJL" on the keyboard.] Mommy! What does that spell?
Mommy: There are no vowels. That will be hard to pronounce. HuSssWuhMuNeBeGuhJeL.
Noa: That rhymes with Angel!
January 2011
1 post
Things I Learned While Watching McClintock
McClintock!, starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara, is not only quite entertaining, but also very educational. Here are a few things I’ve learned. A good friendly fist fight is a fantastic way to settle differences between men.
Spanking your love interest with an ash shovel is the first step towards romantic reconciliation.
Never, ever let a little ol’ Indian raid break up a...
December 2010
1 post
“You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out...”
– Anne Lamott
November 2010
0 posts
No, but...
Daddy: "Rosada. Can you say that? Rosada?"
Noa: "No."
Daddy: "Rosada."
Noa: "No, but I can say 'garden fairies!'"
October 2010
2 posts
“A-CHOO! Haha. I made sparkles on your phone!”
– Noa
(If you haven’t seen how droplets of sneeze make an iPhone’s screen sparkle, you’re missing out.)
August 2010
1 post
My little pusher robot
Noa: can you watch madeline with me? pepito and madeline are in a cage, but don't worry, they will push the bad guys and they will get out of the cage. i don't want to be in that movie. but i will push the bad guys and they will be killed.
Mother: how about if they go to jail.
Noa: yes, they will go to jail. we will push them and they will go to jail!
April 2010
1 post
1 tag
“Many organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, counsel...”
– Spanking May Make a Child More Aggressive, BusinessWeek.
I’d love to see the margin of error on that estimated 35%-90%.
March 2010
3 posts
1 tag
On Zealous College Students
“You should always try to make friends, but there are certain things about religion that can’t be tolerated,” Gress said. “Basically, the intolerance of religion can’t be tolerated.”
Atheist student groups flower on college campuses (AP)
The above quote illustrates perfectly why socially and politically active college students are so easy to dismiss en...
“Iron sharpens iron, but marshmallows get cooked and devoured.”
– Proverbs 27:17 (kind of)
1 tag
“From the perspective of others I am part of the world, but when I observe the...”
– Ergo Proxy, Episode 11
1 tag
Ignorance of the law is no excuse unless, of...
I should probably stop being surprised by the legal and ethical transgressions of our elected officials, just as I should stop being surprised by the transgressor’s colleagues defending him. Sometimes, however, the method used to skirt responsibility amuses me, such as Charles B. Rangel’s claim of ignorance with regard to his most recent ethics committee investigation.
The panel did...
February 2010
3 posts
“But if Stack’s manifesto begins to attract serious attention, I think...”
– Terrorism: the most meaningless and manipulated word, Glenn Greenwald
A Conversation with Joomla (by a friend, Steve B.)
Steve: Hey Joomla, I want to build a website in you.
Joomla: All right, here are the things you need to give me...
Steve: If it's all the same to you, I'll just stick with the design and functionality the client asked for.
Joomla: I'm afraid that's not going to fly. You need this website to be good right?
Steve: Well, yeah and I know exactly how I want to build it. I don't really want it to use most of these things that come preinstalled in you.
Joomla: Well, you should have thought of that before you became a web designer. Your site's got to have this, this and this, or it's not a real fucking website.
Steve: Calm down, Joomla, let's talk this over. I don't really need these things. They're kind of just complicating the functionality.
Joomla: Oh, so my functionality's too complicated for you, is that it?
Steve: What? Why can't we just build a website?
Joomla: Listen, bitch. I've been doing this a lot longer than you. I'm telling you if it doesn't fit these parameters, your website's gonna suck. Now who do you want to listen to? Your client and the site she's paying you to build, or the CMS that's been getting things done the same way in every site for years?
Steve: MODx never called me a bitch.
Joomla: Oh, so now the truth comes out! Why don't just you just run back to your little whore MODx and leave me alone!
Steve: Because the client already had you installed and they only paid me $300. I.E. not enough to bother setting up a content management system that actually makes it easier to MANAGE MY FUCKING CONTENT!
Joomla: Ooh. Ooh that's cold.
Steve: Yeah, that's cold, but we're stuck with each other, so shut the fuck up and do what I say.
Joomla: I don't think so. This is my house, bitch. You can build the website I want or you can go home.
Steve: I swear, I hate you so much.
Joomla: Go fuck yourself. And give me the damn site structure I asked for in the first place.
Steve: I am so ignoring you right now.
January 2010
1 post
December 2009
2 posts
“From the day she was born she’s shown unfettered hostility toward my...”
– Me, half asleep while defending my nipples from Ave the Destroyer’s razor sharp baby fingernails.
1 tag
Is it lying or stupidity?
CBO found that premiums in the individual market will rise by 10% to 13% more than if Congress did nothing. Family policies under the status quo are projected to cost $13,100 on average, but under ObamaCare will jump to $15,200. …
“No Big Cost Rise in U.S. Premiums Is Seen in Study,” said the New York Times, while the Washington Post declared, “Senate Health Bill Gets a...
November 2009
2 posts
“I understand your reasons for making your choices, but try and understand mine...”
– Bill Albertson in a comment on BoingBoing about the ACTA
1 tag
Overheard at my house
Noa: I put them in my pocket, because they were unfriendly.
Heidi: What'd you put in your pocket, noa?
Noa: Those.
Heidi: Those what?
Noa: Those.
Heidi: Monsters?
Noa: No. Those.
October 2009
2 posts
“I really wish it were patriotic to own a firearm.
Unfortunately, owning a gun...”
– Jason M., during an IM discussion on the 2nd Amendment
On the Media, Fox News, and the Obama...
The media want to maintain their intimate relation to state power. They want to get leaks, they want to get invited to the press conferences. They want to rub shoulders with the Secretary of State, all that kind of business. To do that, you’ve got to play the game, and playing the game means telling their lies, serving as their disinformation apparatus. Noam Chomsky, Chronicles of Dissent
...
September 2009
3 posts
“In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet...”
– Ayn Rand, Introducing Objectivism
“The amount of respect an IT pro pays someone is a measure of how tolerable that...”
– j.ello, The unspoken truth about managing geeks
"Well that's a slippery slope."
When having religious discussions I often hear the counter-argument (if it could even be called that), “That’s a slippery slope.”
As I see it, that is tantamount to:
I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, but I’d rather be wrong than critically examine my underlying beliefs, which may lead me to your conclusions (or worse, beyond your conclusions and into a...
August 2009
2 posts
I love my city for many reasons, not least of which is that I can walk to the beach at 8pm on a summer evening to jump in the waves with my daughter.
“With the Republican party leaderless and in backbiting disarray following its...”
– Camille Paglia, “Obama’s Healthcare Horror” on Salon.com
July 2009
4 posts
Laughter and giggling.
Free Bag of Dreadlocks, Strawberry Blond
Partly just to see what would happen, I put a bag of my dreadlocks (from my first haircut in 7 years) on Craigslist. Within 12 hours, I had a taker:
I’d be interested in using your dreadlocks to make a merkin (a pubic wig) as a prop for my photo studio. I do a lot of art photography with nudes, and I could see this being an interesting garment. Maybe I could make a tiny loincloth with it....