Personal Archive

Will Our Love Last?

June 4, 2007 · Category: Intellectual, Personal, Reviews

I just posted this over at Desiree's place, in response to her request for feedback on the book Will Our Love Last? by Sam R. Hamburg. I've not read Will Our Love Last? but the general topic of what kinds of relationships remain happy, and which ones don't, is one that interests me a lot because of my own marriage. After more than seven years together, Kathy and I remain remarkably happy together -- and, to my regular amazement, it still gets better each year. I often find myself struggling to find adequate words to share the experience with friends. Sometimes it ...

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The Chapel Hill Mafia Returns from Peru

June 4, 2007 · Category: Personal, Photos

Joe Duarte is back from his two-week trip to Peru, and has posted some great notes from his trip. He begins: I've been back for a couple of days, and only now am I starting to feel normal and rested. The four-day trek up the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu was awesome. It was a full service guided trek, with porters, cooks, and all. The company provided the tents, sleeping pads, and all the meals. For an extra $15, they rented sleeping bags. They also provided a personal porter service, which I did not elect. Bad move. Almost everyone paid for ...

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My Personal Respect for Bruce Willis

May 1, 2007 · Category: Current Events, Personal

...Just keeps growing. In general, I admire couples who can still see one another's goodness, and treat one another with real respect, even after a divorce. I interpret it as an all-too-rare indication of maturity and self-responsibility -- even more rare, apparently, when it involves a Hollywood couple.

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Dell Sent Me to Hell. …Twice. Suggestions?

April 5, 2007 · Category: Personal, Reviews

I've had my current computer, a Dell Dimension 4700, for about two years now, which means it's time for me to renew my warranty coverage if I want to continue receiving technical support. Overall, their technical support -- the few times I've needed it, always right around the warranty expiration date -- has been passably good, and my current computer is working fine. At least, it's worked fine since I put the pieces back together (at my expense, since it was a rush) after my hard drive died last November. So I tried calling 877-896-5427, the phone number the technician had ...

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Monterey Virginia Bed and Breakfast

March 17, 2007 · Category: Personal, Web Development

Earlier this week, I created a web site for my mom's Monterey, Virginia bed and breakfast, called "Trimble House." Kathy and I often enjoy getting away to a bed & breakfast when we have time for a road trip. So last Christmas, it was fun to have a chance to stay at my mom's B&B during our family get-together for the holiday. My brother Ganon and sister Kelsey joined us as well. Below is a photo from our visit. Kathy, Kelsey, Katie, Joshua and Ganon at Trimble House B&B in Monterey Virginia Below are a couple other photos from the visit, that I used when ...

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Are You a Wine Lover?

December 18, 2006 · Category: Personal, Web Development

Happy holidays! One reason my why my blogging has been so sparse in recent months is that I've been working hard, together with my friend Marshall Sontag, to launch a new business in the wine industry. Our new company, which we've named WineQ, is a "meta" wine club ($4.95/mo) that lets you queue up wines like movies, read plenty of reviews from other consumers while choosing your wines, and receive FREE shipping on orders of $35 or more. Essentially, we allow people to create their own wine club: Instead of someone else choosing the wines you're sent, you get to choose. Instead of ...

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Photo with My Father, Circa 1978

September 17, 2006 · Category: Personal, Photos

Kathy came across this photo in a box yesterday. I'm simply captivated by it. My parents' divorce, when I was two, left me with a near-mystical appreciation for my father, a deep feeling of his indescribable value in my universe. This photo captures that connection between us pretty well.

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Reflections on “Growing Out” of Objectivism

August 11, 2006 · Category: Objectivism, Personal

Objectivist Former Objectivist Jay Allen has written an interesting post cataloging some of the ways in which Ayn Rand had a permanent influence on him. I found some of Jay's descriptions a bit rough (his humor ranges from side-splitting to simply bawdy, IMO), but there were some gems on the list. In general, I am always interested to observe what people keep, and what they discard, when they "move on" from Objectivism. Usually, I'm surprised by how much they keep -- and yet how much, at the same time, they come to dislike being thought of as "an Objectivist." This makes me think that ...

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Life Is Zen

August 3, 2006 · Category: Buddhism, Personal

I just received a very (very) kind letter from Bill Murphy, the gentleman behind the Life Is Zen web site. (He is also the owner of PurpleCrayon Direct and Notes from the Other Side. The latter site contains interviews with some ProgPower USA musicians I've never heard of.) His sites are well-designed. They show creativity, elegance, and discipline. Their motto at Life is Zen is "Mindful Marketing for Your Right Livelihood." Now how can you not like a slogan like that? It's the sort that makes you hope, inside, that they deserve the slogan. He came across Mudita Journal after doing a search ...

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What Is an Avatar Master?

July 21, 2006 · Category: Intellectual, Personal

Yesterday I had lunch with someone I met through a social networking web site, who bills himself as an "Avatar Master." Before meeting with him, I did a tiny bit of research on the net, saw that Avatar is some form of spiritual training, and didn't think much of it. The gentleman was pleasant to talk with, and we had a nice enough lunch. I quickly gleaned it is important to him that other people sign up for the same Avatar courses he has taken. I asked him if the Avatar organization was ever accused of being a cult, to which he replied, ...

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