Personal response to COVID vaccine concerns for any anti-vaxx friends

What I did below (indented) was first to free write this once, and then loosely edit it ~2x. There are whole pages more I could say, dozens of links I could provide, and extra super-conspiratorial objections like those of some baby-boomers I could also respond to… stuff like A) the vaccines are made from aborted … Read more

“My, how time flies!”

“My, how time flies!” Note: This post was written and edited as part of an exercise in couple’s counseling with my wife. In the session, I stated that I *loathe* when someone says, “My, how time flies…” because I so vehemently disagree. The counselor pushed me several times to move past my own logical, analytical … Read more

Zen in the Art of Archery

Zen in the Art of Archery (1953, read 2018) ($4 Kindle, amazon.com link) Herrigel Eugen At sixty pages with simple English, this deserves its status as a classic, where it remains one of the easiest books to learn about philosophy, the subconscious, the self, etc.…. I am so grateful that I did not merely learn … Read more

Anthem, Ayn Rand (1938)

Anthem Ayn Rand, 1938 (amazon.com link) The book opens with each “individual” referring to him/herself as “we,” and the direction of Rand’s use of language becomes clear rather quickly. It makes for a pointed conclusion, highlighted in the third and fourth quotes below: “We love you.” But then they frowned and shook their head and … Read more

The Demon-Haunted World

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Carl Sagan “The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.” The Demon-Haunted World is nothing shy of a manifesto for science, reason, and wonder. Indeed, the balance (required!) between both healthy skepticism and wonder is Sagan’s introduction to … Read more