Starting over has never been an easy thing. For much of human history, we’ve been integrated with our tribe or tied to the land. Strangers from elsewhere were viewed with distrust in spite of all the major religions espousing love and hospitality for such people. But somewhere along the way, it became possible to leave behind who you were and build a new life. I’m not here to judge the people that did that. Read more...

There are a number of useful metaphors and mental models through which to examine the world and how we operate in it. This post will focus on games. I’m no expert in game theory, but these reflections require nothing so rigorous. Instead, this will highlight various games or game-like elements that we can choose to play in our lives. Our approach to the world and the strategies and tactics we bring to bear will define our experiences. Read more...

There are times that I’m struck by the synchrony of events in the world and in my own life. There’s no need to believe in destiny or some greater coherent plan to find moments when patterns align. The law of averages does all the work. Last week, the US elected a new president (based on all available information that we have at this time). Last week, I also took a voluntary severance offer from my job of 17 years, 4 months, and six days. Read more...

Today is Election Day in the United States. To say it is more politically charged than any election in my lifetime is an understatement. I can see one of two broad outcomes for how it will go. Either the results will be so overwhelmingly in favor of one candidate that the outcome is undeniable, or the race is too close to call and the remainder of the month is filled with outrage, sensational news coverage, and exhausting malaise as all the tallies are added, disputed, lied about and argued over. Read more...

Before 2020, I’d periodically see articles and conversations about work-life balance. The idea being that you need to find the right set point where you didn’t work too much but you also got the work done that needed to be done. Then a pandemic came and a lot of people found themselves working remote. Now it was possible to start work earlier and work longer because there were no commutes. Work could find you later in the evening because your workstation was no longer miles away at an office. Read more...