Oklahoma was an experiment that lasted half my life. I lived in Oklahoma when I was 12, again when I was 15, from 17-23 (the rest of my boyhood) & 24-28 (the beginning of adulthood) and again from 30-31 (my experiment with on-campus grad school). I returned in 2000 as a married man and stayed for more than 10 years after that. It's on that 10year period I place most of my attention, because I … [Read more...]

To those who left us, who abandoned me or my wife or the both of us, throughout our lives, because we weren't finished yet, or we fell short, or because in some ways the world had shattered us like glass and we were looking up in pieces with sharp edges. You were foolish and impatient. You lacked integrity and were possessed of cowardice. You judged without reference to your own frailty. You … [Read more...]

On New Years Day in 2002 I dumped a corporate job in the sales department of a national office supply chain. Leaving shocked my boss and one of my colleagues. I remember having the discussion with my coworker. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "Anything but this," I said. "But for now I plan to go back to running my own business" which is what I did. My work at that time was mostly seasonal, … [Read more...]

I hated it that the new Sherlock Holmes movie made the guy more of a savant, less of a methodical erudite. The meaning of the character was ripped away. Then, in addition, he was made an action hero - not that an intelligent man could act speedily, craftily, and quickly when needed, but more fundamentally an action-driven character - a martial artist for whom ass-kicking is as easy as calculation, … [Read more...]

In new (current stories), there's a marked difference from a few decades ago. Villains can't be nearly as passive, now: they have to remain a continuous threat - it's not about punishing them - "bringing them to justice", it's about stopping them they have to be a direct threat to the reader, vicariously living through other characters - they can't just be bad people hurting someone else - they … [Read more...]

Four things have driven a renewed review of writing software: YARNY: Finally, in time for NANOWRIMO 2011 (that's National Novel Writing Month), someone is offering a cloud version (Yarny), and I'm committed to moving everything to the cloud that's possible and practicable. WRITERS' BLOCKS: A colleague recently introduced me to the world of kanban, and I built a personal kanban, which is … [Read more...]

Logic has been one of the most successful experiments of my experimental life. Logic saved me when I was a child and realized adults could be wrong. Logic saved me as an adult when I realized the world, in general, could be wrong. Ad Hominem (Argument against the Man): I give the average person under two minutes to go from hearing some fundamental assumption they've made about the world … [Read more...]

A TOS ("Terms of Service") document on a web site is the provider's explaination of the boundaries and limits of the relationship between provider and client, and the basis on which the provider will accept a relationship at all. In other words, either by interacting with the provider, or by explicit agreement, or both, the client is accepting the boundaries and limitations. I find this a useful … [Read more...]

I need to systematize my time in such a way that I accomplish the incredible goals I have. This is more a statement of goals than anything, but it's also an ongoing experiment. I took flack for meticulously structuring my time in college, as the most effective people I knew did, because it wasn't cool or romantic. Girls especially didn't like it - but in retrospect, people like those girls were … [Read more...]

I recently spent 10 days with a local Occupation movement, that bases itself on Occupy Wall Street. I helped clean up a bit, contributed some writing and thinking, served as a timekeeper and a moderator a couple of times, collaborated with others in thinking about order and civility, and made various kinds of donations. In the end, I decided to leave, because I felt that there was insufficient … [Read more...]

I've tried nearly every barcode scanning app for the Android phone, but I have a really cheap Android by Huawei that doesn't have autofocus (my next Android will). I'm really glad to be able to get a cheap Android. I got it to use Cricket Wireless' unlimited Android plan. No contract, unlimited use, one flat price makes me a committed Cricket client. But most barcode apps don't work without … [Read more...]

I'm finding it really helpful to make sure there's fruit at every meal, fruit in between meals, and fruit always on the counter or washed and available just inside the fridge. That includes tomatoes, and I count carrots with the fruit, since I treat them the same way, whether it's eating or juicing. The healthy body needs fruit 3 times/day (real fruit, not that bullshit about a V-8 sufficing) - … [Read more...]

What I really need is a commitment to be somewhere with another person, but I don't know anyone who wants to get up at 6:45am and go work out, so what do I do? My current answer is an automated wakeup call. So far, I'm looking at three services: iping.com (free - trying this M-F this week - I like that I can add a typed message) snoozester.com ($5/mo - looks the most interesting - trying on … [Read more...]

The beginning of ethics in a "first world" (wealthy, consumption-based, imperial) society is ethics in what you buy, don't buy, and who you buy and don't buy from. You can be saving kittens, helping grandma across the street, or donating time to a soup kitchen, but if you aren't paying attention to your consumption, you aren't even attempting an ethical lifestyle. Ethics, first and foremost, is … [Read more...]

1. Why *I* Went with Prime I find myself putting things in my shopping cart, and not ordering until I hit the magic $25 mark that gets me free shipping. That's a great plan to save money, and I love that amazon.com lets me do that. But it also means that a) when I need the item fast, I tend to shop - and shopping is the death of frugality and the immense killer of time. I hate that. b) I don't … [Read more...]

When I went looking for some service to receive, open, scan, and show me my US postal mail online, and then shred it when I wanted, I found like Earth Class Mail back in its early days. I had already been used to mail drops (forwarding services) since 1986, and had been using service since 1997 that allow me to write letters online, which they mail for me. In 97, you created contacts as unique … [Read more...]

I started running tonight. I didn't want to wait anymore - I want to keep pushing to lose weight and get healthier and stronger, and I felt a window of opportunity - the mix of available strength, enough fitness to start, the right emotional impetus. I tend to be very decisive when I'm keeping my eyes open for a result. I saw one, saw an opening, and pulled the trigger. This is how I got … [Read more...]

He was pointing out that it's one thing to say that here we wave to people when we pass, and another to say that we welcome strangers who aren't like us. … [Read more...]

Living the experimental life involves trying on lots of hats - lots of everything - from jobs to lifestyles to ethics. In that sense, some people can find it disturbing. Experimental living looks, feels, sounds, and acts differently than what most people are doing - most people do not live experimentally, not in the fundamental sense, though we are all, always, dealing with the unplanned, … [Read more...]

Life modification is far from new, but it is a hallmark of the 'experimental life'. It can include the big things, like radically changing your life goal for housing or trading a career for something that could cost you that Betty Crocker type of girlfriend, significantly altering your methodology for education to something no university is going to approve of, entering into non-traditional … [Read more...]

I love the new quad monitor stand from Tyke Supply. I got the kind that clamps to the desk, instead of sits on it and screws in. Lovely stuff. My concern was stability, but the reviews were quite positive and, sure enough, the center of gravity is just right. If I had a wish, it would be that it was taller by 3" (so I could bring the primary monitor up more) and the arms maybe 3" longer (because … [Read more...]

I'm deeply thrilled to take out a high deductible health care policy and open a healthcare savings account (HSA). Or at least as thrilled as one can be about paying for health insurance or health care. I won't talk about the inflated prices of both, here, but merely the reasons I chose this HSA approach. First, let me say that there's no comparison between this approach and an employer … [Read more...]

One of the principles that motivates and sustains an experimental life is the observation that "the world is big". Consistently, I find I'm not interested in the mentalities that there's a right and wrong way to live, a good and bad one, a smart and stupid one. The choice of a life (some people would say "lifestyle" but I think that's a word for superficialities - mere 'styles') - the choice of a … [Read more...]

I have one of those dishwashers that are made to be any color you like. There are two framed panels - you take off the frame, and you can flip it to black, white, gold, or beige. It's in perfectly good shape, but I needed to upgrade it to stainless steel - which is, after all, just a color. So I pulled the panels, took them to a stainless steel shop locally, and got two cut panels of brushed … [Read more...]