Saturday, March 21, 2015

Eyes Wide Open

George MacDonald, Lilith:

Whose work is it but your own to open your eyes? But indeed the business of the universe is to make such a fool out of you that you will know yourself for one, and begin to be wise.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

A Teleological Notion

Communication over distances has advanced from writing letters, through the development of the telegraph and telephone, to now simply speaking a text message into the ubiquitous smartphone.

Entertainment once involved traveling to a theater for a play or a movie, still later traveling to the local video store, whereas now streaming video is available wherever one happens to be.

It seems that the inexorable end of this technological society is to do everything possible without requiring any movement.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Iron Law of Bureaucracy

Jerry Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy:
In any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people: those who work to further the actual goals of the organization, and those who work for the organization itself. In all cases, the second type of person will always gain control of the organization, and will always write the rules under which the organization functions.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

My Writing Process

I get in close, I spit and shine
   I agonize on every word
I never take that one step back
   To see I’m polishing a turd