I can't personally abide populism, but I am intrigued how it can share such similar sentiments across the left/right spectrum. This but from John Haidt (author of "The Happiness Hypothesis")  really teases out something that's been on the tip of my tongue for a while:

We really hate cheaters, slackers, and exploiters. By far the most common message ( Read more... )

After reading this quote from "1066 and All That", I think I have a beautiful description for my philosophy of conversation now: Wrong, but Wromantic. I mean, it just grabs the gleeful enjoyment I get from grabbing the weaker side of an argument, making a go at it, and trying to have a good old time the entire way.

( Pictured: Belli's new look.. )

It sure has been a while. A lifetime to be precise; not mine of course, but rather that of my seven month old daughter, Ella. At this point in her upbringing, I have to say it's been enjoyable. She sleeps most of the night, and when she does wake up, she takes a bottle and goes right back down.

But, enough of the more banal details, this is ( Read more... )

From the NY Times review of "Bird Cloud" by Annie Proulx

“I like a colorful, handily cluttered kitchen and Bird Cloud’s cabinets and drawers in red, violet, aquamarine, burnt orange, cobalt, lime, brick, John Deere green and skipjack blue inspires stir-fries, osso buco, grilled prawns, Argentinean salads of butterhead lettuce, tomato, sweet ( Read more... )

As a water treatment guy, I feel obliged to talk about the hexavalent chromium story. A friend of mine asked me about it, and I emailed him this reply:

Hi B,

It's true inasmuch as CrVI (hexavalent chromium, as opposed to the other form Cr III, which is probably inside one of the vitamins you may have in your cabinet) has been found in tap water. A ( Read more... )

As the missus enters the later stages of pregnancy, her personality is beginning to be altered by the hormones and discomfort. Nothing too significant at this point, but a healthy reminder that we are not just the sum total of our experiences and knowledge, but also of our perceptions. It is easy for a person to be aware that there is some chance ( Read more... )

Is the word pants plural because it covers your genitals ( Read more... )

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I've come to start wondering whether I'm more drive by guilt or shame. Guilt being a concern for doing what's good or bad to my own conscience, and shame being that concern for how others view my actions ( Read more... )