Category Archives: Paying Attention

North Carolina. First and Last in Flight

Posted on April 11, 2017 by hessd

I was an early fan of the saying, “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste.” When I was young, my mother thought that I mostly wasted mine and I wouldn’t want to argue that she was wrong. On the … Continue reading →

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Even the faintest breeze

Posted on October 31, 2016 by hessd

I want to share, today, some of the amazing people I see here at Holladay Park Plaza—the retirement center where Bette and I have wound up. But I don’t want to start there. I want to start with some dogs … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Paying Attention | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

New Life, New Categories

Posted on September 28, 2016 by hessd

The time it takes me to go from “having an experience” to “having “a kind of experience” has gotten perilously short. I don’t think I have put anyone in danger yet, but the transition from the one to the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Getting Old, Living My Life, Paying Attention | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Memorial Day Reflections

Posted on June 1, 2016 by hessd

What does it cost to use a U. S. citizen in the U. S armed forces? That’s the question I want to ask. I know it cannot be answered in the form I have first asked it, but I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Paying Attention, Politics, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Unitasking. Really.

Posted on December 26, 2015 by hessd

Studies of efficiency by multitaskers have been nearly unanimous and almost entirely dismal. The more tasks being attempted at once, the lower the efficiency of each task performance. But what if we did it the other way around? Work is … Continue reading →

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When I lie to myself, I don’t believe me

Posted on November 19, 2015 by hessd

The title I have chosen is the good scenario. There are scenarios that are not as good and the next several essays will be about those. What are those other, worse, scenarios? The first and most basic has to do … Continue reading →

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Two Professors in Narnia

Posted on November 14, 2015 by hessd

There are two. In the seven volumes of the Chronicles of Narnia, there are two professors.  They are both good guys. [1]  They appear in the first two books about Narnia, C. S. Lewis’s “Middle Earth,” and then not again … Continue reading →

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Seveneves

Posted on June 14, 2015 by hessd

Neal Stephenson has done it again.  The key word in this essay is going to be “it,” apparently.  There is a cluster of notions swirling around and I am counting on “it” to hold still so I can capture a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Paying Attention | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Beginning Place

Posted on November 23, 2014 by hessd

I have a few favorite books, not very many, and I read them over and over.  You cannot imagine the grief I take for that.  Nearly all my friends read broadly and with enjoyment and comprehension.  And I’m married to … Continue reading →

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President Obama Doesn’t Get It

Posted on November 8, 2014 by hessd

This essay is going to wander into some disreputable places, so let me start with the easy stuff.  First, I’ve been blogging for several years now and I have learned that “President Obama Doesn’t Get It” is a better headline … Continue reading →

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