Matthew's Blog
MY Black Swan Writing Totem
Every once in a while I break out my Swarovski crystal Back Swan totem ( I don’t think they make it anymore, but they do make a Black Swan Necklace) and I place it front and center on my desk, just behind my keyboard. It’s to remind me of the role of randomness in...
Why I’m Reading Untimely Meditations (Nietzsche)
One book I am currently reading is Nietzsche’s Untimely Meditations. I consider this a deep read—one I do with pencil in hand, with extensive highlights and notes in the margin. I have read a fair amount of Nietzsche in piecemeal fashion over the past 30 years, but...
My Degree Wall Needs to Change
My office wall, which I face every day while I am writing on my iMac, has a bunch of my degrees and certifications hanging on it. All are well framed, and all have some level of significance for me. Yet lately it bothers me to look at them. Why? I feel like I am...
My Favorite Blog Post I Wrote in April 2022
My favorite blog post that I wrote in April was An Unexpected Benefit of a Hip Replacement. It discussed how my hip surgery forced an deep awareness about my body—one I haven't had since my mountain-climbing days over a decade ago—and I can safely report that 5 weeks...
The Benefit to Writers of Elon Musk’s Purchase of Twitter
What’s the benefit of Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter for writers? It's that it’s a stark reminder that you do not control the content on Twitter that you create; you never did, and you never will. It's presentation, it's distribution, and even it's very presence was...
Morning Pages: A Creative Habit Worth Keeping
In an effort to improve my creative output I've taken it upon myself to review my creative habits in the context of simplicity. I especially want to focus on my daily creative habits and ask the question of "why?" If I can’t clearly articulate a why, then these habits...
Language And Limits
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”Wittgenstein If you don’t understand what bosons and fermions are, you can’t understand quantum physics. If you don’t understand what a Lorentzian manifold is, you are going to have a difficult time understanding...
My Three Elements of Writing Mastery
To master the craft of writing, I need to master three separate elements. The first element is consistency. I feel I am well on the way to achieving this. I have blogged every day for roughly the past 500 days, and because of this I'm going to give myself a solid A....
My Website and the Simplicity Payoff
My decision earlier this year to simplify my website has finally paid off! With the recent PHP server-side software upgrade my website speed has dramatically increased. Specifically, page and blog post loading is now nearly instantaneous. I can now carefully add...