I’ve mentioned that my latest field of inquiry is the quantum world, or what is called the “Standard Model of Particle Physics.” I still dabble in archeology, paleontology, geology, and astrophysics. It was astrophysics which was the “gateway drug” back into particle physics in the spring of this year. Again, my MO for this pursuit…

I saw the film tonight and it was excellent! So much so, as a movie buff, I am sure the movie will be nominated at the Academy Awards for the best picture, the best screenplay, the best director, best original screenplay, and best cinematography. On top of that, I’m confident that Irish actor, Cillian Murphy,…

I have a collection of short, disconnected thoughts that I wanted to post as a meditative potpourri. The Grand Enigma is the fact that we exist. This raises complex questions, for which ALL answers end up being implausible at some point. But I want to look at the first-tier philosophical questions and possible answers. These…

Today was a milestone in cottage building, the last wall finished and erected.

Maybe most people didn’t notice, but a couple of weeks ago I said I was starting a (written) series on magical thinking vs thinking magically. I assume that most people who still come here are not interested in my ponderings, but started coming here when I was in a health crisis four years ago and…

We (and I must say “we”) just finished one of the most terrifyingparts of building this cottage, raising the most difficult, north gable wall. This wall raising was complicated by the fact there was a 10 foot drop-off right outside the wall, a hill sloping down to a wooded ditch. Therefore, there was no easy…

Sorry about so many posts. But I had positive things to share. I awaken at 2 AM this morning. I checked my phone and there was an automatically generated text message that my cancer labs were in. With hesitation, I got up to check them. With so much at stake, it can be nerve racking…

I am home from Iceland, in body at least. The last forty-eight hours were intense. First a 150 mile drive through Iceland’s western fjords, dogging a plethora of raindrops and sheep (who roam freely along the busy, zooming highways), but enjoying the emerald hills, waterfalls, and mountains. Then turning in my Land Rover Defender (driving…

Sadness is gripping my heart this morning. But it is an ordinary sadness that all readers will be familiar. For today, the second chunk of my family departs this intriguing land of water, fire, and ice, heading back across the Atlantic to our homes in the Pacific northwest, another land of ice, water, and fire.…

I am writing this from Reykjavik. If I had found a way to be successful as a writer, (financially) I would do all my writing here. There is something magical about the Icelandic culture that inspires the imagination. There is something very unpretentious about its people. We are renting a movie director’s house, I think…