Dear son, As you embark on your career and join the workforce, allow me to offer you some advice. First, remember the secular values you were brought up on: think for yourself, question everything, don’t follow the herd, be true to your core morals, believe only in the disprovable, don’t follow false idols, respect others, …
The bookcase in the picture has been our my house for the longest time, and every visitor is impressed. I designed and built it after being inspired by a leaning bookshelf I saw at Centre Pompidou in Paris. Getting the shelves to dovetail into each other was an intriguing challenge. It is made of painted …
I can clearly remember the day I first watched a video playing on a color LCD screen. It was many years ago, on my brand new Windows 95 laptop. When I first turned it on it started playing a cheesy 70’s song covered by Jimmy Cliff. That catchy tune brightened my day and left me …
A recent fall resulting in a fractured collar bone reminded me how fragile we are. We literally don’t know what we have until we lose it. We tend to take mobility for granted; having it taken away turns our world into a living hell. Losing your ability to perform basic daily functions for a few weeks is a priceless reminder of how crucial being fit and healthy is.
Robert M. Pirsig was right about technology being ultimately not scary. He was also right about the human relationship part, although he didn’t anticipate the rise of the social networking and its effect on human interaction. All these new members of the middle class connect with each other through their computers and phones. Their usage patterns, much like ours, gives a new meaning to the word “friend”.