A few years ago I found myself in the position of taking a pre-employment polygraph examination. I wrote most of this at the time and then sat on it for a few years due to the intensely private nature of the experience. It’s interesting to me to see how it’s aged. — In a slightly…
Category: General
Nixon Impeachment Timeline
The Watergate Hotel burglary occurred in June 1972. From 1972 to October 1973 there were four unsuccessful resolutions to impeach Nixon (two were pre-Watergate). No traction could be found on the Nixon inquiry until the House Judiciary Committee took interest in late October 1973, after the infamous “Saturday Night Massacre” in which Nixon’s order to…
Current Podcast List
I’m a bit of a podcast addict. As a rule of thumb I don’t listen to every episode of each podcast, I just focus on what interests me at the time that I go to download new episodes. Description by the podcast in quotes, any commentary by me in italics. A few current listens have…
Lessig, Ito, and Pure Absolute Fury
In the 2000’s I had a short-lived legal enthusiast blog inspired in part by law professor and legal reform activist Larry Lessig. I moved on from it after a few months but Lessig continued to be of interest to me. While I didn’t agree with everything he put forward he remained a guidepost of someone…
Fighting Back: Depression Ain’t Invincible
Consider this the second part to my last blogpost; in that one I talked about my experience of depression, especially as a depressive episode approaches and unloads. In this post I’ll be detailing some of the tactics and strategies I’ve used over the past three decades. Some are old hat, some are newer. Some are…
An Anecdote: What It Feels Like When A Depressive Episode Rolls In
Foreword: I wrote this for myself, a bit, but in the writing of it decided it may be useful to others, whether they’re seeking to understand or just want to know someone has felt similar. If you’re part of the latter, please seek professional help: things can get better, and while everything won’t be magically…
The Danger of Artificial Intelligence is Still Us
Earlier this year I had the privilege of being included on a discussion panel about the dangers of artificial intelligence. This is an area I’ve long watched and the panel went off well; I’ve been meaning, since then, to piece together my notes into a coherent blogpost. Nearly six months after the fact oughta be…
Visualization: Viking Burial of the Past
Came up with this visualization earlier this year and it’s been quite helpful, especially when used at the end or beginning of each day. It’s relatively simple and once you’ve got the basics down you can walk through it as slowly or as quickly as you’d like. Relax however you like. Sit in a chair,…
A Revenge Fantasy
I have a very specific revenge fantasy in mind for the person that stole my Amazon package with a spool of solder in it. I hope you open that package, pal, and I hope it confuses you. I hope you don’t know what the hell it is. I hope, in your darkened den, in your…
The Wellsian Mirror
I’ve struggled recently with the individual and collective response to the Trump administration. The level of inaction and unconcern feels nothing short of pathological given the material harm that’s being caused. And I’ve been unable to construct the right internal model in order to understand it until the past few days. On the whole, people…