2012.365.059

Take the leap!

How often have you wished for another day, another hour, or even a few more minutes so you could finish something? How many times have you thought, “I’d do _____ if I just had more time.”?

Well you do.

Time is a funny thing. It’s pretty much just made up. This year we get a whole extra twenty four hours in our made up calendar. An extra day. Maybe you didn’t notice, but it’s there. Now you can do those things that you’ve wished you could do. If you don’t happen to use the 29th of February to do those adventurous, wonderful, aspirational things, I’m sure you can choose a suitable replacement from the 307 days remaining in the year.

Pick one and do what you want! Ready? Go!

2012.365.058

No. No, no, no. No-no. No!

Have you ever thought about how many times a day we see or hear that word? No? So many times.

Why are we all so obsessed with the negative? I’m not suggesting we abolish it completely - the word no certainly has its place - but can’t we be a bit more judicious in how and when we use it?

No is absolute. It is authoritative. It is often intended to shut down hope. It is a rule… And maybe that’s my problem with it. For some, rules are to create order and maintain peace and harmony. To me rules are more often senseless dogma. They are meant to assert control and strengthen authority. They are black and white, and they tell us not to consider the possibilities in between. They are static convention. I say they’re often meant to be defied, questioned, and sometimes broken. I guess you could say there’s a bit of anarchist in me, but if you look back you could say that about anybody who changed the world for the better.

They didn’t accept no for an answer no matter how many times it was said to them. They fought no with why, and they ultimately won…

So the next time you have “no” on your lips, slow down… Ask yourself, “Why not?” Maybe your answer will come out differently…And the next time you’re told “no” don’t give up. Ask, “Why not?”

Maybe you’ll change the world.

2012.365.057

Compact!

The universe, according to current scientific theory and astronomical observation is rapidly expanding. Though it’s completely unrelated, it’s clear that somehow we are too… at least here in the U.S.

I parked my not-so-compact car in a space marked “COMPACT” today. It fit just fine. It also made me realize that the “regular” spaces were enormous, and designed for the small land-cargo-ships that more and more of us feel inclined to use for motoring about.

It’s happening all around us. A house that would have been practically a mansion 100 years ago is now considered modest. Cars the size of estate tourers are now compact. Buildings, serving sizes, processor speeds, distance of travel, seats on the train, television screens… So much more. All of them continue to expand almost as fast as the universe.

I’ve decided I don’t need that so much. Small, practical, and useful are winning me over. Less truly is more… And if you think about it, being okay with that is the only way to stay happy without a perpetual race to bigger and more.

2012.365.056

N=R*•fp•ne•fl•fi•fc•L

The drake equation. I’ve posted about it before, but it’s essentially a very loose and guesstimation-style way of calculating the probable number of planets with intelligent life in the galaxy. The values of most of the parameters are so uncertain that one can argue reasonably for a result of anywhere from 0 to 100,000,000 or more.

Either way, when you multiply that by the 125 billion or so galaxies in the universe I think there’s probably a few others out there. Why haven’t we heard from them? That part is the real mystery. Maybe that’s just how space works. The distances are just too big, and even advanced intelligent life can’t figure out a way to get past that. Maybe we’re just not worth anybody’s time just yet. Maybe we have been studied several times and we just don’t realize it. Maybe we’ve even been communicated with, but we don’t have the capacity to understand that the message even exists… Like a person talking to a bunch of ants.

Who knows?

No matter the reason, I hope we survive long enough to make real contact. I think it will instantly change human perspective for the better. We would all seem not so different after all when compared to an alien species. We would suddenly (finally) become an us! Gender, faith, sex, orientation, race, whatever… We would be “we the humans”. We would all be from earth. We would all share the same DNA, and same home.

Too bad we can’t figure out a way to do that on our own. We need learn to dial down the thermostat on global tension.

2012.365.055

¡Margaritas!

They may be the perfect mixed drink ever conceived. I often dabble with others, but I always come back to the delicious salty sweet limeyness of a margarita. Pair it with some tasty nachos and some friends and I’m in cielo.

Just in case you ever want to make me one, (okay, fine… or yourself) here’s my favorite recipe:

Add the following to a shaker:

A cup of ice (small cubes).

One and one half ounces of Patron Silver (or the quality tequila of your choice).

Three fourths of an ounce of Cointreau.

Three fourths of an ounce of Grand Marnier.

One half ounce of fresh lime juice.

Two ounces of sour mix.

Shake vigorously and pour into a sea salt-rimmed margarita glass with ice. Garnish with a slice of lime.

Enjoy!

2012.365.054

Bear market.

This is a bear. With a calculator.

If bears start using calculators, I’m pretty sure the human species can start numbering it’s days.

Although maybe we should be anyway. In general, the American economy and thus the stock market can be said to have been in a “bear market” state for a couple of years or so now. I’m lucky to have some good stocks. But either way, owning them is not something that I’m generally comfortable with. I’m not much of a gamble, and when I do gamble I usually lose.

So many people pass moral judgement on the gamblers of the world, but it’s all just perspective. Many of those same people passing judgement have 401K retirement plans, or are hoping for Social Security benefits, or they have other investments of some kind. But guess what? Those are gambles too.

In a world of failing banks, failing economies, and failing governments nobody knows what we’ll have left a few decades from now. It seems to me that the best plan is to not count on anything… To plan on the failure of the investments you’ve made so that you will have a backup, and can survive no matter what. Ultimately that probably depends more on your varied skills, perspective, independence, and self-reliance than the plans you’ve made.

I guess in the end if you have paid attention to cultivating those attributes and invested in yourself, and if you’ve calculated the risks, then even if life is a bear, you can chose to make it a grizzly or a teddy.

2012.365.055

Water.

It covers two-thirds of the planet, and makes up about two-thirds of you and me. But it’s still somehow mysterious and magical. We’ve explored the bottom of the ocean less than we have the moon above us.

There are still secrets there. Things that we barely dare to believe in. Sea monsters and aliens both giant and tiny. Undiscovered worlds.

I hope that I will always live just a quick trip away from the water. It reminds us of where we came from, that we’re only here briefly, and that we don’t - and will probably never - know everything.

Beautiful as the water is in the winter, it is cold and unforgiving for us blubberless mammals, and I’m not one for a polar bear plunge.

I’m looking forward to the warm beaches that will soon be rolling in.

2012.365.053

On the road.

No matter what the weather or the time of day I love a good road trip. It’s always good to get out of your town and out of your routine. Sometimes it great to go reconnect - visit your friends and family, or sometimes it’s great just to go on an adventure and explore the world… Discover somewhere new.

Either way, I love to get out and go… To take a good long drive. I’m glad we live in the age of the automobile… It might be in a state of decline, or maybe just transition but I hope something similar replaces it. Otherwise I’m going to have to hoard a gazillion gallons of fuel or take over a refinery Mad Max style. I love to drive that much.

I know it’s not a luxury that everybody has. I live in a city where cars can be more nuisance than good, but that just makes me appreciate a good drive that much more.

So, if you have the means, why not take one today? Collect some friends, or go it alone, but take a trip to someplace beyond the realm of your daily commute.

There’s lots of road out there to choose from.

2012.365.052

Lights out! Oh no!

Imagine a world unplugged. It’s really hard to do. So much would change. No Internet. No computers. No phones. No radio. No music unless it’s live or on vinyl. No light at night unless it’s fire. No refrigeration. No heat unless it’s fire. Whoa. Our world would be utterly different.

But would it be worse, or would it actually somehow be better?

I think a little of both. The lack of access to information and the inability for long-term communication would be bad.

The refocus on the simple things, and the re-prioritizing of of our lives wouldn’t be so bad. We’d stop worrying about whether that Gucci bag is real, or if our smart phone is the latest and greatest, and we’ll start thinking about how to feed everybody and keep them healthy.

We’d learn to talk to each other again without a device in between. We’d start caring about the people around us more than the television or celebrity of the moment.

Let’s start practicing now just in case.

2012.356.051

Press button, receive bacon.

I’m not sure if designers out there really ever look at the work they do and ask themselves, does this make sense, or does it just look like everything else that ‘s out there.

Don’t follow convention. It’s the big thinkers and the question askers that really bring home the bacon.