The Cyberstalker - Lessons Distilled
I wrote a couple of months ago about my recent terribly failed foray back into the world of dating. The next day, I elaborated on the story with some details that confused the heck out of the people who read it.From the tone of the posts, it's pretty obvious that I was racked with guilt about the mistakes I had made. On top of this, I returned to California after what happened to find my...
The Rules and the Rulemaker
I often encounter the argument that, since the mechanisms that govern life within an individual living organism are so incredibly complex, and since the diversity of organism in our world is legion, that this must be evidence of the existence of a Creator. Conversely, others look at the mechanisms that led to the complexity and diversity of the world, and insist that all of it occurred randomly. They reach completely the opposite conclusion: a world...
Speak for Yourself
The conversation began with him offering an (unsolicited) political opinion to me: "The thing about Democrats / liberals is that they don't like the American way of life. They don't like the principles this country was founded upon, and they want to change our way of life, even though there isn't a better one anywhere else in the world." It ended with me replying: "You're obviously not a Democrat / liberal, so why would I...
Shamed By Technology
Just now, I was attempting to help my mother connect her computer to a wireless network. I'm a fairly technically savvy person; I'm a software engineer, and because I often take an intense interest in subjects that I don't need to, I have a pretty decent understanding of how 802.11 wireless networks function. (Though the low-level hardware in routers and wireless cards is completely alien to me.) Trying to help someone else do something this...
Lone Wolf
A few weeks ago, I left the life that I had cultivated in Santa Barbara. I did this knowing that I probably wouldn't be returning to that life ever again, and with a heavy heart. Naturally, like any person facing change, I resisted and heavily challenged the wisdom of this decision in my head and heart. But to paraphrase the old Magic 8-Ball: all signs were pointing to "yes". And by "yes", I mean "get...
Whence Cometh Evil?
From the actions of the person who believes themselves to be incapable of doing evil.
The Jerk Factor
My father has a concept that he likes to share with me often. He calls it the "jerk factor". It's quite simple: in any given circumstance, in the absence of rules, there is a subset of people in the population (the "jerks") that will abuse the lack of rules. This will lead to rules being established. If there are established rules, then the jerks will abuse any leniency in the rules. This will lead to...
Namaste
When King Solomon prayed, he never asked for wealth, power, status, or women. Instead, he asked for the one thing that he felt more valuable above all else: wisdom.
In evaluating our experiences, the question that we should ask ourselves is not, "Why did this happen?" or "Whose fault is this?" but rather: "What have I learned?"
Law of the Highest
It's been over 10 years since I last finished reading George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984. Books taste different on your palette depending on the age you are. What follows is actually the thoughts I had after finishing the book several lifetimes ago. If I read the book now, I'm sure my takeaways would be starkly different. So, you're about to hear from 20-year-old me. If you haven't read 1984, I suggest you stop reading; my point...
Caliban Not Seeing His Own Face
More recently, I've been told that I have a tendency to idealize other people. I absolutely do this, for the simple reason that I want to find and emphasize the good in everyone. In high school, I found myself surrounded by friends and acquaintances who would tear other people down behind their backs, even as they smiled to their faces. Being exposed to this, I found it was a habit I readily picked up and...