Meditation teachers will often refer to scientific studies on the effects of meditation, such as the Dalai Lama’s well-publicized cooperation with western neuroscientists, which goes back more than 30 years.

As a garden-variety practitioner, I never imagined my brainwaves would be of interest to the scientific community.

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Think you’re gonna find Buddhism in Steeler Nation? I didn’t. When I moved to Pittsburgh, I didn’t expect to find many meditation centers; certainly not the diversity and convenience that I had enjoyed back in Boston.

I easily found Pittsburgh Shambhala, but Tibetan Buddhism is radically different than the Theravada Buddhism that speaks to me, and ( Read more... )

With the perspective that comes from thirty years in tech, I’ve gained quite an appreciation for the basic absurdity of developing software.

A quick look in the rear-view tells a revealing story.

Of the volumes of software I’ve written, perhaps a quarter of it was never even used. And nearly all of the code that did make it into production was ( Read more... )

Every time I venture into the job market, I’m shocked and more than a little insulted by the job titles on offer.

Let’s be clear. I am a professional software engineer focusing on user interface design and development.

I am not a Ninja or a Jedi. Nor am I a Rockstar or a Guru or a Wizard. I am neither an Animal, a Unicorn, nor a Unicorn Tamer.

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Back in December, one of the teachers at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center sent me an email, inquiring whether I would be willing to volunteer to periodically read the announcements before their Wednesday evening dhamma talks.

This was ironic and fitting, after something ( Read more... )

A week ago, I helped put up my art school’s senior show, wherein our graduating class of about 18 graphic designers show off their stuff.

Now that the show has been up for half a week, yesterday was our artists’ reception, the tacky little party where all the kids get to show off their work to their family and friends in the school’s main gallery.
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Why is it so hard for people to be perfect?

I mean, am I missing something? How hard is it to remember simple things ( Read more... )