Musings
My Friend
On the death of a friend, we should consider that the fates through confidence have devolved on us the task of a double living—that we have henceforth to fulfill the promise of our friend’s life also, in our own, to the world.1 —Henry David Thoreau May 22, 2010, seven years ago today, my friend took…
Read MoreLove Will Tear Us Apart
In the opening to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, lead singer Ian Curtis sings about his failing relationship with his wife. He describes how their relationship has become routine, ambitions are low, and the resentment that naturally follows is tearing them apart. Sadly, Curtis killed himself on May 18, 1980, shortly after…
Read MoreSystems Thinking
In May 2017, Kenyan runner and Olympic medalist Eliud Kipchoge ran the marathon distance in 2:00:25 on the Formula One track in Monza, Italy. And yes, I stayed up and watched a bunch of guys run 15+ laps around a racetrack for—unfortunately—a little over two hours. I’ll come back to this. I enjoy reading about design—aesthetic…
Read MoreA Run To Remember
From the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon website: Our mission is to celebrate life, reach for the future, honor the memories of those who were killed, and unite the world in hope. This is not just another marathon. It is a Run to Remember…and a race to show that we can each make a difference and…
Read MoreHumility
I’m going to forgive you in advance because I know most of you are not aware that Bob Taylor died last week. I’m also going to forgive you for not knowing who Bob Taylor was. Teams led by Robert Taylor pioneered or perfected many of the innovations we associate with modern computing: the computer mouse,…
Read MoreDay 1
Nikki forwarded me a link to an article about Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, and three words he recommends we use to make good decisions and do good work: “Disagree and Commit” This phrase was quoted from a letter Jeff sent to his shareholders. I had read another article that included the full text of…
Read MoreThe 1 Percent Rule
There are approximately 16,000 tree species in the Amazon rainforest. However, 227 “hyperdominant” species (1.4% of the total) are so common that they account for half of all the trees. Of the 16,000 species, 11,000 only account for 0.12% of trees. Why? In nature, as well as in human society, we are often faced with…
Read MoreDoomsday Prep For Non-Paranoid People
That is the title of an amusing article I read by Leigh Anderson. I will warn you there is a bad word in the article, but overall I found it funny and thought-provoking. Reading this article coincided with Kimray’s Annual Shareholders Meeting where the subject of “what do we do if something bad happens” almost always…
Read MoreBananas
In 1890, a pathogen called Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense wiped out the banana plantations across Latin America. This was because unlike in a natural environment where there is diversity, the banana plantations had been reproducing and planting clones of the Gros Michel banana. Basically, every banana plant in Latin America was an identical twin of…
Read MoreAll the Small Things
Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge of blink-182 wrote a song called “All the Small Things,” which includes these words: All the small things True care, truth brings… She left me roses by the stairs, Surprises, let me know she cares I love that song because it reminds me that I don’t have to do big,…
Read More