There are 466 blog posts for you to enjoy.
Huancavelica, Perú
June 22, 2025
I'm in Huancavelica, Perú. This place sits at 3,704 meters (12,093 feet). If I remember correctly, that's a bit higher than the peak of Mt. Hood, Oregon. My brain is suffering, dizzy, mild headache. When I lived in Arequipa, Perú (average 2,328 meters/7,638 feet), I felt this way every day for six months; it's not fun. It's also cold, this afternoon high was 17° C (63° F). I was told it's this temperature all year round. It might be high, it might be cold, but it is quite pretty in this narrow valley with the Mantaro River running through the center of town.
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The Art of Noticing: Where Ideas Truly Come From
June 17, 2025
“You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas frombeing bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we'redoing it.”
— Neil Gaiman
As writers, we're often asked, "Where do your ideas come from?" It's a question that, at firstglance, seems straightforward. Yet, the answer delves deep into the essence of creativity and observation.
Neil Gaiman, in his essay "Where do you get your ideas?" , addresses this very inquiry. He suggeststhat ideas aren't elusive treasures hidden in distant realms but are ever-present, waiting to be noticed. They emergeduring mundane moments—while daydreaming, feeling bored, or simply observing the world around us.
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A Simpler Lifestyle
April 8, 2025
In the book, Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, he told the story of his own life living minimalistic alongside a pond called Walden Pond. Thoreau moved to a small cabin near Walden Pond, on land owned by his friend Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts. He talked about living a life of simplicity, where one reduces material possessions and distractions in order to focus on what's truly important. He talked about importance of independence and self-sufficiency. He built his own cabin, grew his own food, and lived on a small budget, and so, demonstrated the power of self-reliance. Throughout the story, nature is a central theme. Thoreau drew on his daily observations of the natural world to reflect on deeper philosophical questions. He wanted his readers to consider how they spend their time, arguing that the value of life is not found in material wealth or productivity but in mindful, purposeful living. In general, the book Walden challenges the notion that more possessions or success equate to happiness or fulfillment.
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Faster Horses and Smarter CPUs: Why True Innovation Still Bows to Convenience
April 2, 2025
It's 2025. We carry AI in our pockets, stream 8K video on demand, and talk to chatbots that can quote Shakespeare, debug code, and flirt all in the same breath. We've mapped the human genome, landed rovers on Mars, and built quantum computers in glass-walled labs. And yet, here we are, still shackled to the same CPU structure we had 20, 30, even 50 years ago.
Why? Because convenience rules.
Let's back up a second.
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On the road, again
March 10, 2025
Yes, I'm on the road, again. If you have been following my journey across and up and down South America, you might remember I wrote that I was in Paraguay and planned on staying there. Well, I've changed my mind.
This time my visit to Encarnación was during the summer months - mid-December to early February. And my word, it's hot! After seven years in Tucson, Arizona, and 9 years on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, I thought I was well acclimated to hot weather. But I certainly wasn't acclimated enough for the hot summer in Encarnación!
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