Tag: writing

A Couple of Feet in Either Direction

In February 2013, on the way home from my best friend's wedding in St. Lucia, a tractor hit our bus a couple of feet from the passenger cabin. The truck driver who caused it did not survive. Five years later, lightning hit our house while we were inside. Ten years later, I lost the friend whose wedding put me on that bus. This is an essay about the near misses we see, the far greater number we never hear about, and why surviving does not mean you were chosen, but does leave you with a choice.

Ohio Banned the Cameras That Catch You Speeding. It Kept the Ones That Watch Everyone.

Ohio spent a decade fighting traffic cameras. When its first restrictions were struck down by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2017, the legislature switched to the purse, deducting camera revenue from cities dollar for dollar and later banning county and township programs outright. In the same decade, automated license plate readers spread with almost no scrutiny, upheld by courts across the country. This essay gives the case for that distinction its full due, including real due process and revenue objections, then shows where it breaks: we banned the tool that observes guilt and kept the one that observes everyone. Featuring a Georgia ticket captured on a Flock camera, and a hard reconciliation with my own argument that cameras everywhere might save civilization.

I Have Lived Four Lives. My Forties Are All of Them at Once.

Family, then friends, then yourself, then a family of your own. Each decade of life has its own center of gravity, until the forties arrive and ask you to live all four at once. This essay argues those decades were never separate lives but an apprenticeship: belonging, chosen loyalty, self-knowledge, and responsibility, all called on in the same afternoon. It takes the honest objection seriously (maybe the pattern is just hindsight), then lands on what the forties ask of us, closing with a mantra my mom carved into a plaque for my thirtieth birthday.

Open Letter to PPA Pickleball. Pick a Lane: Real Medals or No Medals

The PPA dropped bronze medal matches while keeping Olympic branding, and there's a second problem hiding behind the first: on a tour where a handful of Slams decide next year's seeding, tying two semifinal losers on points isn't just an aesthetic choice.

An Open Letter to Major League Pickleball

Peaceful critiques of Major League Pickleball (MLP) for its governance issues amid recent successes in viewership and attendance. Emphasizing the need for a consistent set of rules, balanced schedules, and stable rosters. Forced turnover undermines fan loyalty. I propose several straightforward changes to enhance the league's credibility and fan engagement.

“That’s an Appeal to Authority!” No. It Isn’t.

Name a fallacy, win the argument. That is the ritual, and it is nonsense. This essay takes apart the most abused phrase in modern discourse: the reflexive charge of "appeal to authority." It traces what Locke actually meant by argumentum ad verecundiam, lays out the narrow and specific conditions under which the fallacy is real, and explains why citing Einstein on physics is not one of them. It also gives the skeptics their due, because institutional authority has earned suspicion. But the answer to unreliable experts is getting better at evaluating them, not declaring all expertise fallacious. Featuring the fallacy fallacy, Schopenhauer being characteristically ruthless, and a direct answer to the most common objection to "Not All Opinions Are Created Equal."

13 Things You Should Give Up If You Want To Be Successful, And What Each One Actually Costs You

Originally appearing on Medium.com, '13 Things You Should Give Up If You Want To Be Successful' by Zdravko Bato Cvijetic is a MUST READ and now it is proudly part of my #requiredreading list. Below is the pithy list but trust me, not only should you read the entire essay, you should soak it up and make it a part of who you are.

You Can’t Steal an Idea. So Why Can You Own One?

If I steal your car, you no longer have a car. If I steal your idea, you still have it, which means theft and copying were never the same act, no matter what patent law assumes. This essay traces that distinction into the price of medicine, gives the honest incentive argument for patents its full due, and shows where it stops holding up, using publicly funded research, generic drug pricing, and entire industries that already innovate just fine without any legal monopoly at all.

Compete Against Yourself Today. Tomorrow, You Will Defeat A Lesser Foe

Max Ehrmann warned us in 1927. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter. He was right. The only competition that has ever made sense is you versus yourself from yesterday.

We Don’t Talk About the Weather

Reflecting on a deep friendship with Chad, emphasizing that meaningful conversations focused on significant ideas and honesty overshadowed trivial topics like the weather. I try to highlight the importance of genuine connections that enhance personal growth and urge readers to prioritize substantial discussions over small talk, reinforcing that vital conversations require intentionality.