Thoughtical | Raised By Turtles

The Last-Straw Ratchet

31 Dec 2018 (updated 16 Nov, 2019)

We have good camels in our caravan. Maybe not great, but good. But then we pile on too much, so the good camels leave and get replaced by slightly worse camels and we ratchet down, because too many camel drivers think their job is to make the camels adjust to the load, when usually their job is to adjust the load to the camels.

Farmers and Miners

17 Dec 2018 (updated 16 Nov, 2019)

A farmer works the land for generations and, if careful, the land is worth more with each passing year. A miner extracts what he can from the land and, when done, it’s worthless. Most business people are either farmers or miners and we need both. The problem is miners who mistake themselves for farmers.

The Complete List of Things You Must Do Everyday in 2018

3 Jan 2018 (updated 16 Nov, 2019)

It’s not a long list. In fact, it’s very short. Unlike the list of things you don’t actually have to do every day no matter what people tell you.

Bug Zappers and Thoreau

6 Dec 2017 (updated 16 Nov, 2019)

Thoreau loved swamps. Modern Americans love swamps too, as long as they surround them with bug zappers. I think there’s a lesson in there.

Going Solar without Rooftop Panels (Renters Too!)

22 Nov 2016 (updated 22 Dec, 2020)

If you live in the PG&E service area, and a growing number of other locales in the US, you can now choose grid-sourced solar energy for your electricity. Reduce your carbon footprint and encourage more renewable energy in the future.

Why I Quit Using Facebook and Pocket

12 Feb 2016 (updated 2 Sep, 2021)

It wasn’t just that I grew tired of being a click slave in the Facebook mines, but I also didn’t like what it was doing to my mind. What *was* it doing to my mind? That’s a bit complicated.

Why I Don’t Go Paperless

5 Nov 2015 (updated 14 Nov, 2019)

Is it really “green” to go for paperless billing, or is it just a “dark pattern” by which companies seek to distance you from your costs, fees and other nastiness? Read on to see wny I think it’s a dark pattern and what the actual difference in carbon footprint is.

The Boy Behind The Couch

4 Nov 2015 (updated 14 Nov, 2019)

In which our hero recalls an embarrassing moment in the life of a barely-teen introvert upon reading a chance passage in Susan Cain’s book Quiet and discovers his true nature.

Learning to Read

3 Nov 2015 (updated 14 Nov, 2019)

We talk about “learning to read” as if it’s something we do and is done. As in “when did he learn to read?” But I’m 52 and still learning to read. In this article I recount my meetings with extraordinary readers and what goes into truly learning to read.

Sarah’s Watch

26 Oct 2015 (updated 21 Dec, 2022)

A man awakes in a cell with nothing but a watch that won’t even truly tell him the time. And secondarily, an experiment in writing using the Hemmingway App

Personal Favorites

Improved Roads (thoughts on the loss of wild places)
A Theory of Dryer Crimes (fiction in which Jason turns out to be an asshole)
The Forgetoir (a new literary form to replace the memoir)
The Faithful Couple (a poem about long-term love)
Curriculum Vitae (a poem about learning to live)
Best Jeremiah Johnson Quotes (the only post to appear on both the "favorites" list and the "most popular" list, because JJ is a movie to live by)
Ice Cream For Dinner (imaginary high school graduation speech; my chance to tell young people to stop listening to the lies of their elders)
The Boy Behind the Couch (reading Susan Cain and my secret life as an introvert)
How To Tell Tom from Las Vegas (my friends get this, others may not)
Sarah's Watch (fiction fragment and experiment in writing with Hemingway App)
Learning to Read (and what makes a great reader).
You Can Always Yell Later (a life lesson from my mom on getting what you want and making the world better)
I’d Like to Add You to My Network. Some of these Linked in connection options are getting scary (humor, I think).
Six Essential Skills that Marketers Can Teach Academics (for scholars who write grants and apply for fellowships, please stop aiming the gun at your foot).