Eclectic Living
For eclectics, the new year is generally an uplifting time. It's an excuse to take stock of one's life and reset the switch. Eclectics revel in change and new things, so a whole new year holds a lot of promise and potential energy. Many of us use the new year to resolve to make certain things better... Continue Reading →
Some scientists get to have a lot of fun. "Hey, let's do an experiment where we get to shock people - there are endless possibilities here. Oh, and maybe we'll learn some stuff." These scientists determined that people would sacrifice a certain amount of pay not to be shocked (no surprise there), but they would sacrifice... Continue Reading →
Which statement most closely describes how you feel: 1. I care about all people (even if they're from another country), the environment, and the future of our planet. 2. I care about people (especially people from my country and people like me), the environment (especially my environment), and my kids. 3. I care about middle class Americans... Continue Reading →
I had a dream last night that I was keeping dodo birds the way one might keep chickens. They had been resurrected, phoenix-style, through DNA lab work. I was excited to tell my stepmom - this would be a great bird to add to her life list. In the category of birds that have run afoul of man's... Continue Reading →
Is there such a thing as an honest-to-God, real-life asshole? This was the debate my brother Zach and I had after hiking the mountain passes in Colorado. I was on the pro-asshole side, while Zach argued that nobody is truly an asshole. Our debate was a rather sucky one as debates go, and quickly ended at an impasse.... Continue Reading →
Half-assed outcomes can be categorized as tangible or intangible. Tangible half-assedness occurs when the product of work is subpar. Half-assed work can include everything from an insufficiently cleaned room to a shoddy construction job to a poorly written term paper (or blog post*). Half-assed work arises when the project is done too hastily, without focus, or simply... Continue Reading →
Back in the heady summer of 2002, I spent many late nights and early mornings chasing World Cup soccer games around Boulder County - the Cup was in South Korea and Japan that year. I found games at beerless bars and at various friends' houses. I joined a gaggle of bleary-eyed soccer fans at a bar in south Boulder... Continue Reading →
Americans drive an average of over 9000 miles a year per capita, or 25 miles per day.* I used to be closer to the national average when I had a painting company - some of the guys that worked with me even called me Sir Drivesalot. These days, because most of my work and projects are... Continue Reading →
The one and only time I tried acid, in my senior year of high school, my fellow trippers and I figured out how the universe works. It's all spheres, everything is spheres. Humans are spheres and we have multiple size spheres that interact with almost infinite other spheres. From atoms to planets to stars, all objects... Continue Reading →
In Part I of this edition of Poppa's Notes, I briefly discussed and then summarized Seneca's "Letters from a Stoic" (aka "Epistulae Morales Ad Lucilium"). Seneca wrote these letters to his friend Lucilius. Here's Part II: 78 - Sorry to hear you've been sick, Lucilius. Now buck up, li'l soldier - you can overcome it with your mind. An... Continue Reading →
Poppa's Cottage 