The Joy of Turning Someone Loose
Through a strange series of twists and turns, I’ve become a sort of de facto A/V guy at my company. And largely my colleagues have been content to be dependent on me when the use of a microphone is involved. […]
Your Word Becomes Your Destiny (or a Judge)
Committing a plan or a value to spoken word or written word is a powerful act, and it always has consequences. Even if you have an idea you haven’t acted upon yet – say, a vacation to Puerto Rico – […]
Why I Love Old Rock and Rollers
Mick Jagger is a great-grandfather. Yet I suppose he still gets up on every tour date and sings about how he can’t get no satisfaction. There are countless bands and older musicians who (despite being well past their prime) still […]
Everyone You Meet Is a Craftsman: A Clue to Good Conversations with Strangers
Today I had fascinating conversations with strangers across several spectrums of life. I spoke with runners about their favorite races, and I asked a race organizer about what it takes to organize a running event (lots of relationship-building). I spoke […]
He Who Takes the King’s Coin Becomes the King’s Man: Be Careful About Accepting Help
Here’s an old principle that is often forgotten: “he who takes the king’s coin becomes the king’s man.” This wisdom has many layers. The most common understanding is that taking pay from another person or group reduces your independent judgment […]
Why You Should Sing In Public
The other night “Dancing in the Street” came on in Publix while I was doing my grocery shopping. Naturally, I sang along. Then I walked past the dude from the meat department (or some other Publix employee). I kept singing. […]
Questions and Answers on the Habit of Daily Blogging
A new acquaintance recently started to get into the habit of daily blogging, and she sent over some excellent questions to get my thoughts. Here are my answers (in case there are more writers out there considering the habit): 1. […]
Let Your Dog Work
This weekend I hung out with a few retriever dogs brought out to fetch doves at a hunt on my family’s farm on John’s Island. I saw one dog who had been hunting for what must have been 14 years. […]
The Joys of Unsuccessful Hunts
Today I went on two unsuccessful hunts. In the morning I missed a shot at a grazing doe (a deer, a female deer). In the afternoon I sat with little activity on a dove hunt – with missed opportunities and […]
The Silver Lining of Social Media’s Negativity Obsession (and How To Defeat It)
Shockingly evil things + news often seem to defeat good things + good news in the war for human attention, especially on social media, TV, etc. There’s one silver lining to all this, though: The good is going to have […]
Good Fiction Is Like Case Law
Good fiction is a lot like case law. Stick with me here. You’ve probably been in moral dilemmas before that are harder than some court cases. And you’ve had to play the judge. Should you cover up a friend’s misdoing? […]
Make Good Memories Like It’s Your Job
The future is uncertain, but what is done well is done well. I’ll always have the Christmases with my grandparents, the movie nights with my father, the books read with my mother, the balls thrown to my dog, and the […]
Music Is An Augmented Reality Technology
It’s one kind of experience to drive down a country road. It’s another to drive down a country road while listening to “Country Roads, Take Me Home.” It’s one thing to work on a project late into the night. It’s […]
To Solve the Problem, Move the Problem
Do you ever feel stuck or unsure where to begin on a creative problem or work task? Whenever this happens to me, I find it helpful to open up a Google doc and start spitting out random ideas. Why is […]
Get Off the Pendulum: The Trap of Reactionary Thinking
When I was younger, I used to enjoy riding Pharaoh’s Fury at the Coastal Carolina fair. This big sphinx-headed boat swung back and forth on a mechanical arm, terrifying and thrilling the riders, and (in our imaginations) we thought about […]
You Can Talk To Anyone. Are You Interesting Enough?
Twitter is one of the best and worst things about being alive in 2019. But you already know what’s wrong with it. Let’s talk about what’s right. Gary Vaynerchuk compares Twitter to a cocktail party. You can mix and mingle […]
Look for Accidental Learning Opportunities
Sometimes learning new knowledge and new skills can come to you by accident. Recently I set my Google search to send me results in Portueguese. Now I’m seeing all of my key Google search functionality (the menu bar, etc) in […]
If It Has Rhythm, It’s Dancing
Tonight I stopped by Georgia Tech for their monthly social swing dance, and I picked up a new dancing skill or “phrase” along the way: the breakaway. Here’s a little sample: In a breakaway, two dancing partners separate and pretty […]
Keeping Your Word Is Counter-Cultural
I was talking the other day with some friends about the phenomenon of flaking and non-committal answers out about in the culture today. I fully admit that I was engaging in some unnecessary cane-shaking. But I’ve heard the complaint and […]
Sleep Through Your Evening Commute
I’m a big fan of living outside of the normal modern human time cycles. Rush to work at 8? Rush home at 5? No thanks. If you’ve tried it, you know that traveling and trying to get things done (from […]
Lead a Life That Confuses the Archaeologists
If you want to lead a good life, a good rule of thumb is to live a life that is not merely the product of your age. Your life shouldn’t be reducible to the dominant forces and trends of your […]
The Value of Knowing Awful People
“Surround yourself with people you want to be like.” “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” This is all fine advice. I’ve found it to be true in my own experience. But like […]
Don’t Underestimate the Resilience and Resourcefulness of the Homeless
You can say (people do say) many things about homeless people. But a fact that is under-appreciated is just how resilient and resourceful they often are. There’s a woman who lives on an overpass near Atlantic Station. For some time, […]
The Problem with “Here I Stand, I Can Do No Other”
“Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.” According to some tellings, this is how Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther responded to demands that he recant positions which the established Church of his time considered […]
How Do We Make Truth Faster Than Falsehood?
“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes.” A lot of people complain about fake news, but I’ve spent enough time in my career trying to debunk it that this is […]
The Difference Between Poor, Mediocre, Good, and Great Song Lyrics
The worst song lyrics are heavily literal and dependent on adjectives, e.g. (using the example of a love long) “She’s hot. . .” Mediocre song lyrics use similes (“X is like Y”), e.g. “She’s hot like the Texas sun. . […]
Find Your Play In Your Purpose
Is life about just devoting yourself to some higher cause? Some people say yes. What’s the point of just consuming, reproducing, and dying? This is the purpose camp. Others argue that life is just about having a good time. What’s […]
Being in Two Zones at Once
Somehow near mile 2 of a trail run today, political philosophy entered the picture, and I spent the rest of my run (including the most difficult uphill portion) exchanging ideas on the state, liberty, and culture with my trail-running partner. […]
Three Generations of Manhood in Homer’s “The Odyssey”
Today I finished reading The Odyssey, that complex, brilliant, violent, old, relevant epic poem about the journey home of Greek hero Odysseus. I have many thoughts about this book (“why is the ending so abrupt?” “Wow, Odysseus is wily and […]
Why I Like Working Next to a Construction Site
Have you ever had to go to work next to a construction site? If you’re like most people, you’re happy when it’s over. The end of a construction project means the end of congested roads, loud equipment noises, and the […]