Category: Personal

Today, Bets and I undertook a massive task: to go through the accumulated papers of 10 years, and dump what needed to be dumped. We just threw out a 4 drawer filing cabinet, and it was packed with useless papers. One of these papers was the following, from my time at OU as a Master’s student in philosophy. My observed rules of the academic study of philosophy.

1. Whenever someone says “I will show” they probably won’t.
2. Any ethical argument that relies on a Nazi example is automatically at question.
3. The non-philosophical default setting for metaphysics is realism; for ethics is relativism; and for logic is ignorance.
4. Even diehard Idealists won’t step in front of a bus
5. “Ceteris Paribus” conditions aren’t and won’t

If any of that makes any sense, you paid attention in Intro to Philosophy.

….BIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🙂

Betsy made me a phenomenal cake (White Chocolate pound cake) and we’re heading to a lovely dinner tonight at the Lantern. Unfortunately, that’s about it for this week, since the paper is still sitting on my head. Paul wants to see another draft this weekend, so…writing will happen.

Returned from the Big Apple on Monday, and immediately entrenched myself in work. The trip to NY was really interesting…I’m not quite sure what to think about it. First time there, and it was a bit overwhelming. I’ve been to many big cities…LA, New Orleans, Chicago, Washington DC…but this was my first big northeast city. I caught myself trying to imagine what it would be like to grow up there, to raise children there, what kinds of influence the surroundings would have.

Having spent 18 years of my life in a town with a population of 2000, it was really odd. At the same time, it was exciting and vibrant…I can totally see why people who leave a city like that go into withdrawl. It was easy to believe that I could literally leave the hotel at any time and get anything I wanted. Really need to buy a DVD at 4am? No problem. Need a new pair of shoes at 3am? Can do. That sort of availability has to tweak your expectations a bit.

This was even more interesting given that Bets and I are moving back to rural america, more or less, by going to Sewanee. I can’t ever, ever, ever see myself living in a big city, but I think I have a better idea why people might want that now. NY had a vibe unlike that of any other city I’ve visited.

Well, New York has certainly been interesting. I’m in the Hotel New Yorker, in Chelsea. Within pretty easy walking distance of a LOT of downtown, including Times Square, and right across from Madison Square Garden. Very cool to see a lot of the stuff that I’ve only thus far seen on TV. The flight in was honestly the best, landing in La Guardia, and seeing the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and such. Very, very cool.

However, Times Square gives me Blader Runner flashbacks. I keep expecting a blimp overhead spouting “…can be yours in the outer colonies…”

Here’s a quick look at what I’m doing today: going mano a mano with Ian Taylor in New York. For giggles, here’s a look at two versions of my superstar card for the game Raw Deal: