Garrick van Buren

Natural Forces

“Had I been responding to any of the number of alerts on my phone, I’d have missed the beauty around me for the digital existence that would, and will still be there for me when I’m ready to access it again.” – Lee-Ann Bigwood

Dobbie from Des Moines Kubb was in town tonight for the Minnesota Kubb Tuesday night friendlies. Jamie and I played a couple of very fun games with him while testing out the latest Planet Kubb Scoresheet. All told, 14 players were honing their wood tossing skills this evening. Despite the flesh wound, we all fared pretty well in this run up to the 2012 Nationals – even the scoresheet.

A Tachyon Walks into a Bar

or out. I can never tell which.

Knocking Wood 2012

The U.S. National Kubb Championship is this weekend. 260 people making that satisfying thwunk, thwunk sound together. Peace on earth. Can’t wait.

Finding The Best Water Skier in Luxembourg

“I’m interested in the small worlds, the small worlds that make life worth living.” – Keith Kahn-Harris

Brilliant project. Just brilliant.

“I will travel to a number of places to investigate experts and champions in small fields in small countries. As the title of the book suggests, I will start with a chapter on water skiing in Luxembourg. After which I aim to investigate:”

The Icelandic special forces

The top bassoonist in Finland

The most popular heavy metal band in Botswana

…

First Answer the Question for Yourself

“It was terribly frustrating because I remember I started with, ‘Who am I? Why am I here?’ and I never got back to that because there was never an opportunity for me to explain my life to people” – Admiral James Bond Stockdale

dumb phone

“The existing mobile ecosystems are either too dystopic or in turmoil for me to get involved in any of them.” – Henri Bergius

Unfinished

“but I was still hoping I had a little fire in the belly, and maybe a little gas left in the tank to make something more of myself, before I ended up with just a broken spirit and a comfortable life. and so here I am: still standing in the arena, in hand-to-hand combat with demons mostly of my own making, aiming to make a small dent in the universe. nowhere near a great success story, yet fighting the good fight and perhaps helping others to achieve greatness as I attempt a bit of my own.” – David McClure

Buy In / Sell Out

“Selling out is usually more a matter of buying in. Sell out, and you’re really buying into someone else’s system of values, rules and rewards.” – Bill Watterson