technologie domine

Spent much of today upgrading to a new cell phone. The LG enV2 to be exact. Lots of bells and whistles. Very fancy, very sleek. Have decided to ditch my land line.

Spent much of the last week staring at computer screens, playing with spreadsheets and Word documents and sophisticated business accounting and budgeting software. (And watching the Daily Show on hulu.com during the occasional break.)

Recently bought a new stereo featuring an iPod dock and missing a tape deck or record player.

Blogs and facebook and renewable energy.

Semi-disposable owner-assembled Swedish furniture.

China's lunar program. Pakistan's nukes.

Hybrid vehicles.

Somewhere, a dog barked.

I'm noticing technology's steady forward march and glowing expansion into every corner of our lives, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it. I think it's on balance a good thing? I'm relatively young but have already seen a lot of technological change in my lifetime, and it seems to be accelerating. The modern conveniences and tools and systems can be quite useful, sometimes even breathtaking (when they're not outright frustrating or terribly worrisome). But they also seem to be encouraging a gradual creep away from the older and simpler things: pen and paper, board games, dusty photo albums, newspapers, hands dirty from digging, face-to-face conversations with strangers, a walk in the park without earbuds or Blackberries.

I suppose it's an evolution of sorts, but am still trying to figure out to what end. Expanded comfort and convenience, greater knowledge, enhanced communication capacity. A brave new world. Leaving our former selves (the good and the bad) behind. Does the soul evolve as well?

This Christmas, I got two watches: one for business and "dressy" occasions; one for sports and outdoor use. The sports watch is digital with various stopwatch features, alarms, indiglo, velcro band, etc. (and inexpensive, having been mass produced in China). The business one is a very simple Swiss Army classic design... just a round face, rotating hr/min/sec hands, and a date (today's says simply "31"). It has a mechanical crown for making adjustments. It seems pretty sturdy. It's a watch, and it tells me what time it is.

I like them both, but I'm increasingly drawn to the Swiss watch. On a very strange, subtle, subconscious level, I feel like it's reminding me to stay grounded, and remember where I came from.

adolescent

(song 1 on the album Otherwise Bleak eXistence):

i didn't understand the rules
the teachers taught me that i was a fool
they couldn't make me understand
what it means to be a man

now i'm all grown up and i can't complain
really got it made but i'm not quite sane
this rite of passage has made me strong
but it took my sense of right and wrong

well i wanted to know
how a river could form from the cold white snow
and i tried to believe
that there's a god above who's smiling down on me

what is real
and what are all these feelings i feel
what is true
and which are the lies they're telling me and you

when i go to a party i'm the freak in the corner
standing alone like he's something other
and in my silence i can hear the chatter
filling the room but somehow leaving it flatter

see i tried hard to be
the magnet in the center of that gravity
but now i'm pulling away
to a faraway place where i can dream all day

what is pain
and what are all these thoughts in my brain
what is love
could there be a hell below and heaven above
what is now
is it just a place and everyone around
where to go
i guess i'm still a little child who just don't know

brother can you spare some change?

The Inauguration is upon us, and all is abuzz in Washington DC. Hope springs forth from the frozen and brittle ground, and all eyes look earnestly to Barack Obama to wave his magic wand and lift us from the depths of despair.

Such lofty expectations. I will be the first to tell you that Barack is a great man, and exactly the leader the United States needs at this challenging time in our history. I've read his books, studied his policy ideas, been wowed by his speeches, given time and money to his campaign, and watched with admiration as he first won the presidency and then navigated the transition period with unparalleled brilliance, strength, and grace. Everything I know and feel about him makes me believe he will be a first-rate president; perhaps one of the best we've ever had.

Yet at the end of the day, even with all his political power and personal ability, Obama is only one of 300 million Americans (and one of 6.7 billion people) currently gracing this troubled planet. While he will be able to do much good, so much more will depend on the masses doing all that we can -- together and individually -- to improve our collective lot in life.

I congratulate Barack Obama on a remarkable victory and wish him all the best for a successful presidency. I commend all my fellow humans to, in the words of Gandhi, be the change we wish to see.

infinity and all that's in between

So I've been reading a book that delves into some pretty heady stuff: the infinitesimal smallness of protons and the infinite vastness of the universe, for example. (In case you're interested, here's a link -- it's called A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.) Haven't gotten too far in yet, but enough so to get me thinking about things like eternity and consciousness and the meaning of life, and the relative triviality of my problems and opinions and best-laid plans for world domination.

I find strange comfort in this, in being just a laughably minute piece of an impossibly large puzzle. I suppose it could be seen as depressing... "here we are, completely powerless little pissants marooned on this tiny little speck of a planet"; or it could be a bit troubling... "hey, no matter what I do, it doesn't really matter, so I am free of all responsibility". But it can also bring a certain perspective and humility, so that I realize a) however bad I screw up, I probably won't irreparably break the universe or the planet; b) my sufferings really aren't that big of a deal; and c) I am part of something miraculous and wonderful, and absolutely privileged to have the chance to experience and contribute to it.

I also suspect that the first law of thermodynamics applies to the human form as well. The energy that is me was here long before me and will be here long after I am gone. This is nice. Comforting. Poetic even. I can only imagine what forms I must've been before my current lifespan, or what forms I will take after I am dead and gone. A lot of dissipation and attraction and chance involved, to be sure, but what a fascinating and utterly exquisite arrangement to contemplate in any case.

So as I sign off for now and get back to the mundane stuff of daily life, I remain:

a piece of eternity,
with my faith in an impossibly awesome universe
intact,
a pulse of energy,
filled with gratitude for the opportunity to say
I am.

nothing (and everything) changes...

The new year is already 3 days old, and vacation time is quickly winding down. I've enjoyed the break, a much-needed 2-week respite from the daily grind, and am not ready for it to end. But end it must, and now a busy and intense (but hopefully fulfilling) 2009 looms. While the excitement of a fresh start lingers, and I daydream of a thousand possibilities in every single moment, I suspect that for the most part it'll be back to business as usual -- to quote The Godfathers: birth, school, work, death.

More specifically, from my little outpost, these are approximately the things I have to look forward to:

1. My J-O-B
The bulk of my time and energy will be spent on program management activities for an intrepid nonprofit environmental organization, supporting a group of about three dozen climate change warriors/brainiacs on everything from project budgets to grant reports to funding proposals to document edits to office space and staffing issues to etcetera. While often superbusy and stressful, it's not a bad gig and potential growth opportunities are always out there. It also does provide some decent measure of "meaningfulness" and I am privileged to work with a great and dedicated group of people. In any case, this is what pays the bills for now.

2. Edjumacation
I am in the final stages of completing a Master's degree, which will allegedly make me better-equipped to handle the various duties and tasks noted in item #1 above. It will also add weight to my resume as I continue climbing the ladder in that chronic quest for wealth, power, and prestige which afflicts most upwardly-mobile Americans. It is also covered by my employer, so who am I not to pursue such a valuable piece of paper? Anticipated graduation date: August 2009.

3. Music for the Masses
With the 2008 release of Anti-Social Club's debut album Otherwise Bleak eXistence now complete, the band is feeling primed and ready to get back to the studio again. A wealth of new material is under development, and we hope to begin recording in the months ahead. In the meantime I've been pumping out new lyrics at a healthy clip, and am hopeful for a follow-up to OBX in the not-too-distant future. Stay tuned, o worthy fans!

4. Family Matters
As ever, my wife, kids, extended family, and good friends keep me fully engaged, often elated, sometimes perplexed, occasionally frustrated, and frequently worried, but always grateful for their presence and support. All of the above (and below) happens within, around, beyond, through, with, for, despite, and because of them.

5. Other Stuff
Besides and betwixt all of these items, I'll be working my arse off to climb out of debt, maintain the house, get in shape, keep the cars running, tend the lawn, do the laundry, wash the dishes, vacuum the carpets, sweep the floors, check the mail, walk the dog, and try to squeeze in a few good books, blogs, eats, games, breaks, and naps along the way.

I also intend to thoroughly enjoy the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th U.S. president. If ever there was a time for political change, this is it...