Music, Art & Engineering
If I were a head of state in a western style “free market democracy” right now, I would probably secretly resent constitutional clauses that would restrict my government’s ability to censor the media. Faith, which is the essence of our financial system, had a fighting chance before our media outlets doggedly reported that we were … Continue reading When The First Amendment Is The Poison
Hate is hate. I don’t condone it in any fashion. The Knoxville man who opened fire on a children’s playing of “Annie” at a Unitarian church was clearly a man looking for someone to blame for his hardships. His conflation of “losing his government subsidies (food stamps)” and “hating liberals” belies his misunderstanding of the … Continue reading Knoxville Tragedy Spotlights Hate In Sensationalist Media
This must be the month of government bailouts: Bear Stearns, Fannie & Freddie, and locally, a one million dollar cash infusion from our tax coffers to the STAR commuter train from Lebanon to Nashville. While many would argue that Fannie & Freddie are too big to fail, a commuter train that is losing money may … Continue reading Is Government Bailout Of Nashville STAR A Good Idea?
The future of the American energy crisis is clean electricity. With clean electricity we can power our current interstate infrastructure, keep our car culture, and continue to enjoy our transportation independence. We can move goods around the country, and actually do it cheaper than ever before.
One of the best headlines in recent memory was the Onion’s, “Recession-Plagued Nation Demands New Bubble To Invest In.” The article lampoons the artificial wealth cycle of US capitalism, but also points to a more important question: what’s the next big thing that is going to pull us out of this hole? And my oh … Continue reading What We Need Is A New Bubble… A Green One
Detachment as it relates to daily practice is probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of zen discipline. People often ask, “if my goal is to reach a state of detachment, then why wouldn’t I just go hide in a cave somewhere?” After all, isn’t the lazy pot-head or drunkard on the side of the … Continue reading Detachment, Abundance, & Success: Just Another Day At The Beach
I have more or less been interested in the teachings of the Buddha since I was a teenager. I don’t recall precisely what my introduction to to the tradition was, but when I read the core concepts of Buddhists, I identified with them immediately. Throughout my life I may have gone through phases where I … Continue reading Buddhism & Christianity: Is there Compatibility?
Buddhism teaches us that suffering is caused by attachment. This idea is easy to understand, but difficult to apply in our daily lives. Suffering is caused by attachment? Simplistic? Elegant? Axiomatic? Whatever the case, the further along I go in my journey, the more this rings true. Perhaps it is just easy enough for some … Continue reading Get Happy: Let Go.
I had a blast playing with Richard and Jason at the Radio Cafe Friday night. Great crowd. Great performances also by Colin Wade Monk and Hitchcock Circus. Richard’s songs are smart pop-rock numbers with unforgettable hooks and clever storylines. The ‘Nots’ sound has quickly evolved into Uncle Tupelo meets early Replacements, with the rawness and … Continue reading Forget-Me-Nots Rock the Radio Cafe
My brother, Adam emailed me this morning about a whopping hospital bill he received for a recent visit to the ER… “Eighteen-Hundred freaking dollars for an IV and a gurney???” Absurd, isn’t it? We all know horror stories like this. A simple visit to the hospital because of a real emergency (like severe dehydration, in … Continue reading Health Care: Why is it so damn expensive?
After feeling like such a brooding nag in my last post about a cliff-notes depth look at the sacred texts in Islam, I thought I’d follow up with a nice 1-2 combo on something equally dour and that matters to you and just about everyone you know: the future of your economy. Yeah, I know, … Continue reading It’s A Bubble Bath…
Net Neutrality: there has been a lot of talk about this movement recently and an equal amount of misunderstanding. When I first heard about the NN bill, it was after it had already been voted down in the house.The same newspaper reportalso explained that the defeated bill was trying to prevent Internet Service Providers (ISPs) … Continue reading The End of Internet 1.0
In 1982, my father took me to a coworkers home to examine an electronic device called the TI-99/4A home computer. The coworker was a reseller of these systems and Dad was interested in purchasing one. I recall going down into the tan and brown decor finished basement of the man’s home, complete with wood paneling … Continue reading Humble Beginnings
Tornadoes and strong storms flattened homes and businesses acrossSumner county, leaving a trail of destruction several miles long, and at least 167 homes were destroyed in the Gallatin area alone. At least seven people injured in the storm were being treated at Hendersonville Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Marissa Murphy said the hospital was operating on … Continue reading Tornado Season
In 2002, theorganization known as “One Laptop Per Child” set out to do what many thought was impossible or impractical: build a mass-production laptop with a price tag under $100 thatis incredibly durable,can surf the web,and even run without electrical outlets via a hand-crank power supply. The concept is targeted at emerging markets (think Sudan), … Continue reading Cut the cord, slap it on the butt, give it a laptop…