The title of this post is a phrase I have heard both brothers Green (Hank and John – or, as John probably prefers, John and Hank) say more than once. And it is true. Collectively, as a species, human beings don’t know most things. What is more, individually, we each only hold a fragment of …
It bugs me. I know it is nit-picky and pedantic, but it has become one of my pet peeves – because it is an absurd way to use a construction metaphor. You can build on a base. You can build from a base. But it does not make sense to go to the bother of …
I overthink a lot of things. After more than 4 decades of tightening and loosening nuts and bolts, I can still confuse myself about which way to pull the handle of the ratchet when it’s facing away from me. The mnemonic “lefty-loosy, righty-tighty” works great when you are looking directly at the fastener you’re about …
My mom wanted her ashes spread in the river at her favorite campsite. So after the memorial service, my family and some of her close friends made the trip south from Havre, into the foothills of the Bear’s Paw mountains. Actually, now that I think about it, I am not certain whether that particular campsite …
So I engaged in the annual ritual of apple tree pruning the other day. It is the second year in a row I have done it. That makes it annual. When I planted the trees, two summers ago, annual pruning was not a thing that was on my radar, but every time I would look …
I spent about 10 years living on a hobby farm. Living there taught me a lot of things: the difference between time and calendars, how to be carried by nature instead of getting run over trying to control it, what hard work looks like, what community looks like… and sooooo much home maintenance. Stuff wears …
Articles about guitarists inevitably take a turn toward describing their “rigs.” It’s usually in connection with discussion about their “tone.” When I was first learning to play guitar, I remember reading articles and feeling like I should understand what “tone” was – and knowing I didn’t. Not really. So I took the authors at their …
So I have been thinking about Matthew Crawford’s assertion that, in the work of a mechanic, the bullshit quotient is low, “unless you’re dealing with Harley owners”. The vehicle either runs or it doesn’t. Similarly a carpenter can appeal to clear and unambiguous criteria. Anyone who questions their work can simply be told, “it’s plumb …
That’s No Moon In next month’s issue of Icarus, a group of geological and astronomical scientists argue for moons and planets to be classified within the same category. Maybe that seems like the very definition of tedium, but I think it is actually a fascinating look into the fallacy of reification, the human capacity for …
A buddy once came to visit me when I lived in Bozeman, Montana. We were both at a point in life that airline tickets were a bit of a stretch financially. However, he knew somebody who worked for the airport in Minneapolis and arranged for him to hang out in the terminals for several hours …