Category Archives: Musing
Follow your passion?
Anyone who has ever done a google search about careers has inevitably come across the phrase “just follow your passion” which is almost no help whatsoever. I was interested in learning about engineering topics in college, but I certainly would not consider myself passionate about beam deflection theory or bolted joint calculations. For some time,…
Therefore I am
Western thought might be best summarized by the oft repeated Rene Descartes statement, “I think, therefore I am.” The focus is on the individual, and one’s own thoughts are emphasized above all else. I recently came across a much different view. In a podcast interview, aboriginal author Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta made the claim that the…
Biomimicry
The science fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke coined the oft-cited phrase, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. There have been many remixes over the years, and a new favorite is, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from nature” which came up in a podcast interview with Dr. Angus Harvey (who is the writer…
Citrus Season
I sometimes mention that my favorite season is “citrus” when the topic comes up. It’s a joke but also very true. Southern California doesn’t have nearly as much seasonal weather variation as my home state of Nebraska so my wife and I find other ways to mark the changes, most notably with food. We primarily…
A Ten Thousand Dollar Day
I got married just last weekend. We spent over $10,000 on the day which, despite being well below national averages, still feels exorbitant to write down. The ceremony itself was small, intimate, and in a native garden. For lunch, we fed our guests a memorable four-course meal with fresh gelato to top it off. And…
Selenography
I’m a very topographically inclined person. I enjoy staring at maps, I have a strong memory for where events happen in a geographic sense, and it bothers me if I’m unsure which direction north is while walking down the street. I’m also an amateur astronomer and have been so nearly as long as I can…
Hello World
It seems appropriate to leave my initial “Hello World” post here. The phrase It reminds me of my freshman year of undergraduate when I had to pick a coding class to take. We were given two options: MatLab or Fortran. Not knowing any better I signed up for Fortran because it fit better in my…