Christopher T. Miller ⁽³¹⁾

I'm reading The Shallows by Nick Carr, and the research he cites about the neuroplasticity of the brain has me thinking. What is digital media (social media, video games, bingewatching) teaching our brains to do? Is that learning in our personal or even societal best interests? Who are we allowing to program our brains, and to what end? How can we make sure the changes are positive? How do we make these changes the best for our personal growth? How do we sustain these changes in the face of ever more advanced and convenient technological rewards? How do we…

I’ve filled my 2020 bingo card. I spent a few hours in the ER last night. Story begins on Wednesday when I noticed a bit of ear pain. Probably a low level infection, I thought, and contacted my doctor. Was told to use a sinus spray and see how it goes. Thursday was worse. There was a lot more pain, but I started loading up on pain pills and figured I’d tough it out. Turns out that was the wrong move. By nightfall I was in excruciating pain. But by then no urgent care was open. I doped myself…

Every morning, I check to see where my packages are; Christmas presents, the result of retail therapy, whatever. I'm pretty sure the UPS, USPS, FedEx, Lasership, and DHL delivery folks know my address by heart at this point. Checking the statuses of these packages, I can see the strain on the system. The place I see it is on their tracking APis/portals. Statuses are behind on updates, sometimes the systems are offline temporarily. I know how nerve-wracking a rush season can be from a technical standpoint, and believe me, these systems and people are approaching a level stress they've…

The chorus of Ben Howard's 2014 song "Small Things" has been haunting me this year. Has the world gone mad Or is it me? All these small things they gather round me Gather round me Is it all so very bad? I can't see All these small things they gather round me Gather round me