May You Live in Interesting Times

May you live in interesting times

Firstly, according to Wikipedia, the titular phrase of this post has never been traced back to a Chinese source, but it’s apt nonetheless. We live in interesting times. And it sucks. So yay us! In no particular order, it turns out that Elon Musk is really, really weird. And a massive hypocrite. I mean, I’ve long thought he was a hypocrite when it came to business, but said hypocrisy is also showing when it comes to philosophy intersecting with business. The free speech absolutist has been banning left-leaning accounts while letting the fascists, racists, and homophobes run loose. He’s been banning Continue Reading →

Chaffin’s Razor

I have this theory, something I’ve been working on for many years. One of our listeners (D. Scott Frey) on The Apple Context Machine came up with the name “Chaffin’s Razor,” and I quite fancy that name, so let’s go with it. In any event, here’s my thought: When someone does or says something that appears irrational, there is almost always a piece of missing information that would either explain the behavior or cause the observed to behave or speak differently. That’s the shortish version, but the long version starts with the fact that very few people are crazy. Sure, Continue Reading →

I Wrote the Book I Want to Read – What about a Book that Will Sell?

Turtle Reading

I’ve been working on my first novel, a SciFi book about a PI who gets dragged into something much bigger than he thought. All he wants is to drink his strained-algae coffee, but it turns out he’s going to have to save the world. It’s called The Mason Truman Project, and I’ve blogged about it several times. I finished the book early last spring, and I’ve been working on refining it off an on since , while I also worked on the second book in the series. I started shopping it out in June, resulting in another raft of fine Continue Reading →

What’s Up with All the Cheating on U.S. Top Gear?

Cheating, Next Exit

Have you watched Top Gear? There’s two versions—the original is a BBC show featuring three brits as hosts, but the History Channel (of all networks) is broadcasting a U.S. version based on the original with three American hosts. I really enjoy both shows, but there’s something bugging me about the U.S. one, namely: what’s with all the cheating? In case you’re not familiar with the franchise(s), Top Gear is a show about cars. Three men do mostly manly things with, to, and in cars. They race them, they destroy them, and they test them. They praise the good and lament Continue Reading →

Life Is…Getting Older

Life Is...Getting Older

I got a notification from GoodReads the other day. It was an update letting me know that one of the authors I had tagged—George R.R. Martin in this case—had new blog posts I might like. Here, let me show you what I saw: Talk about accidental poignancy! Two unrelated blog posts listed in reverse order, and they say, “Life Is…Getting Older.” Boy, truer words were ne’er spake. Then last night, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine. During that chat, she asked me if I thought it was true that we undergo major transformations every ten years, Continue Reading →