Irrelevant →

Published April 9, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 9  ·  ,

At the dawn of the internet, posting a commercial message was the indicator used by everyone to point and say, “that is spam.”

This was a huge mistake. Because it led to a deep rabbit-hole of requiring us to answer the question: Is this message commercial?

I think it’s commercial? …do you? Wait what is “commercial” is it any time we exchange any amount of value? That’d be two people talking! “Commercial” isn’t inherently bad… Ok, but we need to agree so we can make a decision! Is “we” a few of us in this space, or does the poster’s opinion matter? Does their “street credit” in the space affect how much we value their opinion? Maybe we can rate-limit how many border-line-commercial messages each person can… Oh, wait, I know! Let’s appoint someone to be the arbiter of this space and… deep. deep. rabbit. hole.

And we went to great length to try to place (move, cajoul, beg, etc) the commercial stuff into designated areas.

It’s not commercial that is the problem. SURPRISE is the problem. If something is unexpected, it better be perceived as desired. It’s not the content of the message (post, email, phone, whatever) that matters, it’s the recipient’s REACTION that matters.

That phone call at dinner from the caller ID you do not recognize—unexpected and undesired—spam!

The garage that fixed my car that later robo-calls me to beg me to 5-star rate them—unexpected and undesired—spam!

The web site pop-up dialog talking about…—spam!

So the first challenge is to get control of the channels. I’ve moved away from anything where random people can easily interrupt me. (Where “moved away” means everything from literally eliminate said thing, to change or reconfigure how it works, etc. My “inner circle” of people can easily surprise me, of course!) This drastically reduces surprises, and so drastically reduces spam.

Then the second challenge is to locate the channels that contain the information—including commercial information—which I want to receive. My favorite clothing retailer has learned that I like to be surprised with email from them. Commercial? …absolutely. Spam? …yes, please.

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Time is slipping →

Published April 8, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 8  ·  

Thank you for giving me a few moments of your time.

Every moment—well, minus the 1/3 of my life when I’m horizontal and unconscious—I have the power to exercise my free will to decide what to do with my time. Since you are on the Internet, you likely also have this power and freedom. (Many people do not.)

Which moments do I regret? The ones where my choices were not intentional. Moments where I was habitual. Moments where I was reactive.

 ɕ

Ownership →

Published April 7, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 7  ·  ,

Ownership is somewhat of a gray area, both with physical and virtual real estate. I use the term loosely here. Ownership depends on how much control you have over the property, so we have a spectrum of possibilities. For instance, if you want to discover who really owns your home, stop paying your property taxes for a while and see what happens.

~ Steve Pavlina from, Virtual Real Estate

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This pull-quote has little to do with the linked article. It simply made me laugh out loud—for real, in the literal sense. If you’ve not owned a house, you cannot aprehend property taxes. I digress.

Just before this article by Steve, I had read a short piece about adulthood and children. A piece about parents who give children too much choice. It contained a thought or three about:

Why would I want to grow up and have to accept all the responsibility, when I already have all the freedom and luxury?

That is one of the Big Questions. The day on which I understood the answer was the 3rd most important day of my life.

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Inspiration is for suckers →

Published April 6, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 6  ·  , ,

The thing I care the most about: what do you do when no one is looking, what do you make when it’s not an immediate part of your job… how many push ups do you do, just because you can?

~ Seth Godin from, Self directed effort is the best kind

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Stumbled over this 8-year-old post from Seth. It’s suprisingly apropos—confirmation bias in action I suppose—of a conversation I just had.

There are two ways I can go with my thoughts on this: It turns out that I do a lot push-ups, (and other things, “Hello, Art du Déplacement,”) just because I can. But I think there’s a more interesting thread I can pull from this serendipity.

I don’t trust inspiration. I don’t trust it to show up, let alone motivate me. If something inspires me, I channel that energy to envision the path which could make the inspiring idea into some reality. I use moments of inspiration to propel me into doing the hard work of figuring out the next possible step. …and the step after that. …and after that.

The rest of the time—most of the time in fact—all I’m doing is working my systems. A bit of this, a bit of that, some of this, and some of that.

 ɕ

Not in the mood →

Published April 5, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 5

A self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood.

~ E. B. White

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Neutral isn’t great →

Published April 4, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 4

Not adding value is the same as taking it away.

~ Seth Godin from, The cost of neutral

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Some people execute. Some people judge.

Fact of life. Reality.

I tend to execute—frequently, rapidly, recklessly even.

I tend to judge—frequently, rapidly, recklessly even.

One is my super-power. One is my kryptonite.

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Roberto Regueiro Santiago: Rowing, mastery, and games →

Published April 3, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 3  ·  

Roberto Regueiro Santiago: Rowing, mastery, and games

What are the personal transformations that occur through competitive rowing and movement practices like Parkour?

Roberto Regueiro Santiago discusses his years rowing crew, both as an athlete and a coach, and his thoughts on the competitive nature of the sport. Roberto shares how an injury changed his perspective and opened up his possibilities, leading him to Fighting Monkey and parkour. He explains his ideas of mastery, as well as his approach to games and training.

I don’t think it’s totally necessary to master everything that you do in your own practice. But master something which gives you a deep understanding — what the thing is, [and] feels [like] in the first moment that you feel like that song, like the flow state — is when you really master something.

~ Roberto Rugueiro Santiago (1:29)

Roberto Santiago reflects on his journey from competitive rowing to movement disciplines like Parkour and Fighting Monkey. He describes rowing as the first activity where he truly experienced mastery, emphasizing the deep bond and unity formed within rowing teams. Roberto shares how the rigorous nature of rowing, with its intense focus on competition, shaped his understanding of perseverance and teamwork. However, an injury ultimately shifted his priorities, leading him to explore movement practices that prioritize longevity and holistic development over winning.

In discussing his transition to Parkour and coaching, Roberto highlights the importance of sharing his passion with others, describing coaching as a way to create training partners and foster community. He values the playful, game-centered approach in Parkour, which contrasts sharply with the rigid, competition-driven world of rowing. Games, he notes, allow for self-exploration, creativity, and growth without the pressure to outperform others, fostering a sustainable and enjoyable practice.

(more…)

Sleep →

Published April 3, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 3  ·  ,

There are exceptions, such as when I travel, where I end up unconscious on some other horizontal surface, but it’s as sure a rule as any that no matter what kinds of wild or unpredictable events happen during the day, the conclusion is quite predictable: me, horizontal and comatose.

~ David Cain from, We’re quite different but we still sleep together

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Elsewhere, I’ve written specifically about sleeping. Sleep itself is fascinating, and a critical component to—well, everything; Life, quality thereof, the ability to think, and so on.

But until I read David’s piece, I’ve never had the vertiginous perspective of millions of people laying out horizontally and slipping unconscious. A rolling wave of countless people passing into unconsciousness as the world rotates. It’s eery, a third of all people are unconscious right at this moment. Also this moment. And in a relatively few more moments, I will be unconscious again.

I’m not certain, but I think my perspective upon first awakening may have shifted a little towards the, “oh! This is interesting,” end of things.

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Busy busy busy →

Published April 2, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 2

Busy is not the point

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…is too short to pull quote. Click-thru you shall.

Yesterday I was talking about balance, and—boop—here’s Seth apropos. Like, get out of my head, but, wow, gee thank you.

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Defy mother nature →

Published April 1, 2019  ·  All posts on Apr 1

We come out of the box tuned for self-preservation and conformity. Not self-expression, not self-actualization, not happiness. But that’s what we want. Our genes want rock-solid, redundant systems for survival, nothing more. We want to have fun and feel good about our lives. Not the same thing!

~ David Cain from, Defy mother nature

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I’m uncertain.

I feel certain that I understand how to enjoy life. No mystery to me there.

The problem is balancing responsibilities. I’ve chosen this, I’ve taken on that, …sure, I swerve off the road—regularly—with things like stress-eating, rage, depression. But again, no mystery to me why that happens. I can tell from the center-line of the road when I’m heading for the ditch.

If I had a pithy solution to write here, I wouldn’t need to blog to sort out my thoughts, now would I?

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