Yes, this is another one of those posts about the problems of gamification. Because I like games that grind. Give me eight hours of strategic, deliberate decision making and I’m there. For this, I blame my mother, who restricted how much time we could play video games, except for one game that we were allowed […]
When I was in high school, my brother’s irresistibly charming girlfriend was in charge of drumming up support for the blood drive, one element of which was convincing me to wear a costume that was supposed to make me look like a blood drop. It is difficult to properly describe the blood drop costume. Think […]
I generally try not to write about current events, but I’m on a plane and this is my damn blog so you get what you get. Also, I think this is important: stick with me all the way to the end. This week, I attended the National Spelling Bee, which has to be the single […]
I admit it: I don’t actually mean the title of this article literally. Risks are great but only when built on a foundation of knowing what the heck you are doing. Yet big bets when the moment is right are not only the only way to beat the house, they’re also critical to human happiness […]
I spend less than two minutes choosing what to wear every morning. And I spend less on clothes in a year than most people in my income bracket do in a quarter. And I do it all by satisficing. To start, I wear basically the same thing every day. Levi’s 514 33/34 jeans in a […]
I’m not generally a “fan” kinda guy. But I’ll admit that Terry Pratchett is kind of a badass. His prose has that dry humor that actually works really well in light fantasy books and it isn’t often you find somebody who can make you laugh out loud while reading. And in addition to being funny, […]
It is no great secret that I love my work and working in general. After all, Churnless‘ motto was taken from a Teddy Roosevelt quote (“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”) and I come from a family and community where […]
Edison once said something to the effect of not failing at making a light bulb, but simply finding a bunch of ways of making a light bulb that didn’t work. What he didn’t point out is that the reason he got to the light bulb and others didn’t is that they didn’t have access to […]
So the first guy on the plane can’t get his bag into the overhead bin. It’s a puddle jumper, so the bins are small, and he’s got one of those backpack with large wheels. Clearly frustrated. Only one flight attendant, chooses not to help, just snaps at him: “Next time, check your bag!” Awesome. Clearly […]
I really, really want someone else to be writing this blog entry. I want it so much I’m willing to pay for it, which is why I’ve been trying to hire a ghostwriter for the longest time. Seems like a pretty decent gig: I’ll pay you a decent wage, and you spend 30 minutes talking […]