Archive - Observations

On photographs, memories, growing old

I was recently visiting my wife’s parents. I returned from a run through suburban New York. Groomed grass. Intimidating facades. I came home to stretch…

Jun 17, 2022 •

January 2022

On the Three Dollar Sticker

Tap. Push. Tap. Tap. The mechanical swivel of the front door lock granted us access from the cold and into our just-warm-enough-for-refuge rental home…

Jan 17, 2022 •

On the Table in the Sun

“Why don’t we sit over there?” she innocently suggested. Approaching the cafe parklet on a sunny, frigid Washington DC Saturday, we nuzzled into the…

Jan 11, 2022 •

April 2021

On the price of a smile and a wave

How a man on the side of the road adds value to the world every morning

Apr 22, 2021 •

November 2020

On hidden risks of technological efficiency and cognitive homogenization

I keep a spreadsheet of great thinkers. From Homer to Hume. From Charlotte Brontë to Ta-Nehisi Coates. This morning, I was recalling a thought-provoking…

Nov 21, 2020 •

October 2020

On The Changing Faces of the Morning Sky

It is 7:52am. I am tucked into my morning sofa, where I read and write. Second coffee. Brain and soul uncluttered. I looked up. An idyllic landscape…

Oct 11, 2020 •

September 2020

On imposter syndrome and Jack London

Every great thinker was once just a regular person like you and me

Sep 26, 2020 •

On the myth of inevitable progress

We tend to assume progress is inevitable but risk complacency and inaction in belief

Sep 19, 2020 •

On zebra cakes and bringing your whole self to work

Do you remember Zebra Cakes? These were treasured children’s snacks in the 1990s along with Gushers and Dunkaroos. I hope a number of readers are…

Sep 12, 2020 •

On nature and the end of a summer

When I was a boy, nature afforded me endless possibility. We built a treehouse in the woods adjacent our home in New Jersey; it really was just a floor…

Sep 7, 2020 •

On the utility of being radically non-naïve

At the intersection of optimism and pessimism is a realism that helps one pursue creative ambitions, build successful organizations, and face calamity…

Sep 5, 2020 •

August 2020

On self-imposed repetition and accepting systems that control us but grant us perception of free will

Increasingly we are layering systems into our lives that we chose and controlled, that come to control us should we choose to not live actively and…

Aug 25, 2020 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts