Musings

• Midstream Musings – we scale ourselves and return Sisyphus …

  • Multi-tasking – formula for thriving or folk tale?
    If the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland (the 1951 Disney film) used a smartphone, would his passing by a curious Alice have been less panicky? Are you a multi-tasker? Over the years, real-time task juggling has been praised. Multi-tasking on our digital devices has become the model for all […]
  • Owl & rabbit – a 21st century fable
    [Draft 3-21-2025 – teaser] Owl & rabbit – a 21st century fable (a matter of fidelity) Part 1 For a village with little complaint, the night was sprinkled with screams. Those nights. These were not timbres of terror. These were shouts at someone, shrieks about one’s situation. The unrest reached […]
  • The attention age – secular sirens & salvation
    [Draft 3-24-2025] Pay attention! You’re at a cocktail party … or maybe in a social setting with your family … your attention is selective – like moving a spotlight around a stage, or tuning between foreground & background channels. Did you notice the person dressed in a gorilla costume walk […]
  • When is enough enough – any way small is beautiful?
    I was reminded recently of the book Small Is Beautiful. Does its economic philosophy still pertain to today’s world? I still have the original 1973 paperback (book cover photos). Evidently the book is not available in digital (Kindle) format on Amazon. • Wiki > Small Is Beautiful: A Study of […]
  • Fox and the ants – a 21st century fable
    Fox & the ants (interdependency) It was a lean season in the valley. Even an abandoned scarecrow had been stripped of its straw, ripped to rags moving in a dry breeze. Faceless. A solitary, scrawny fox had slowly descended into the plain. Hunger gnawed at Jasper, but also the pain […]
  • Comment on The attention age – secular sirens & salvation by jph
    Re Figure-1's thread of "Hijacked Work Ethic + Techno Optimism" (sacralization of work & 'progress'), this article (below) describes: A high-profile network of investors and founders in Silicon Valley [who] are promoting a new moral vision for the tech industry, in which job choices and other decisions are guided not […]
  • Comment on The attention age – secular sirens & salvation by jph
    Re Figure-1's thread of "Run gov't like a business" and Margaret O'Mara's book on Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, this article (below) explores current efforts by the Executive Branch to privatize government functions and assets. Aside from the marginal fiscal benefits, my general concern is the crude & […]
  • Comment on The attention age – secular sirens & salvation by jph
    The attention age is all about immediacy & accessibility. Something similar played out in 17th century Puritan life. Puritans (at least in doctrine) believed that God was always watching and judging them, weighing every action, perhaps even their thoughts. Once their imagination & attention were captured, they were persuaded of […]
  • Comment on The attention age – secular sirens & salvation by jph
    Influencers are masters of monetizing attention. Appealing, relatable storytellers – "real" voices saying whatever is on their minds – who may have started sharing a personal passion. The Guitar Guy, the Football Guy, etc. Later, with a fan base & connections & sponsors, they shifted to more primal engagement. [excerpt […]
  • Comment on The attention age – secular sirens & salvation by jph
    Re Figure-1's thread of Techno Optimism and my references to Margaret O'Mara's book The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, this article (below) explores the notion that: "If Elon Musk is America's CEO, DOGE is the Silicon Valley executive branch." A remarkable interplay of Private sector connections (SpaceX, […]