There are 6 approaches (that I can think of, anyway - tell me if I missed any) to approaching the problems one encounters in life:

1. Anticipate and avoid them.
   
2. Fix the problems.
   
3. Pay others to solve them.
   
4. Adapt to the new situations so they stops being problematic.
   
5. Run away.
   
6. Ignore or accept them.
   

Different kinds of problems lend themselves to ( Read more... )

I helped lead a landscaping project at the SF zoo this morning. Some of the volunteers wore wading boots and extracted weeds from a pit filled with mud. Every single one of them ended up covered in some pretty strong-smelling mud by the end. But at one point I overheard one kid saying to another, "I thought this would be boring and we wouldn't get ( Read more... )

Diane and I went to see the Blue Angels perform for Fleet Week yesterday. They were pretty amazing to watch and I was glad I biked because those who drove had a terrible time getting their cars to and from the event. One of my roommates, however, does not like the idea of having an air-show at all. I'm in two minds about it. While I realize that it ( Read more... )

While designing user interfaces at VMware, we take great care to ensure that all the text we display is succinct, clear and relevant. We do this because people simply don't read long swathes of text that aren't interesting or entertaining. Wouldn't it be wonderful if legal text was held to the same standard? ...if the entire body of tax law had to ( Read more... )

I was at an Easter party yesterday and, at one point, mentioned how I'd been surprised last year to discover that Good Friday isn't a statutory holiday here the way it is in Canada. A random person sitting beside me then remarked, "well, that's how it is when you live in a place where the government is hostile to religion". A little stunned by that ( Read more... )

Simplicity and efficiency are generally held up as virtues. So is diversity, which tends to breed innovation and harbour flexibility. But diversity exacts a price in the form of decreased simplicity and efficiency. Are the benefits of diversity worth the cost? Let's consider a few systems where this has been an issue ( Read more... )

My church held its annual daschund races today morning. I had no idea how prevalent those wiener-doogs were! In total there were 36 dogs entered into the event. There were a surprising number of long-haired daschunds too; something I'd never actually seen before. Not all of them were specimens of athletic prowess, however. During the initial 3-way ( Read more... )

For somebody who makes a living working in hi-tech, there is a remarkably long list of modern technologies that I avoid using: cars, TVs, alarm clocks, VCRs, voice mail, painkillers, antibiotics, microwaves. That said, I do use computers, a cell-phone, the Internet, climate control, electric lighting, trains, aeroplanes, a digital camera and a hi- ( Read more... )

I'd been thinking about putting this argument into words for several days now after discussing the issue with several people recently but this blog entry finally prompted me to actually do it. I'm a big proponent of individual freedoms, generally ranking them higher than other desirable goals like financial security, professional recognition, ( Read more... )

Ever since I was a kid I have been unable to drink plain white cow milk without suffering from a powerful urge to throw up. I'm not lactose intolerant because if I add a strong flavour to the milk I can drink it with no ill-effects. So for years I drank chocolate milk to get the calcium that it seemed was best absorbed from milk. That's actually ( Read more... )