Rant

Mama always said, if you can't be a good influence, you just have to be a horrible warning.

The best of my many original (de)Motivation Posters and possibly my all-time favorite platitude.  As far as I'm concerned, you either wake up every morning of your life and work like a dog to meet the world's expectations, or else you get on with the business of unabashedly enjoying your life without shame.  Nothing in between has ever made any sense to me.

78.) There's a difference between a rut and a groove, and it's all in your attitude.

A nugget of wisdom from my father, in honor of Father's Day.  This in response to being accused of being in a rut after ordering the same pizza from the same restaurant on the same night of the week for three years in a row.  Evidently, a rut leaves you feeling tired and old, but a groove is what it's called when you're having a good time.

How Moneyball Rules Apply to Real Life

Michael Lewis Tells Princeton Graduates How Moneyball Rules Apply to Real Life

"Don't be deceived by life's outcomes."

61.) Screw waiting. Good things come to those who work every day of their lives and never give up.

48.) Listening too long to someone you agree with is the most dangerous thing in the world.

Seek out new ideas and fresh perspectives.  If what you believe is true, not only will opposition not sway you, it will hone your reasoning and strengthen your argument.  See confirmation bias.

47.) The quality of a person's argument will often tell you far more about their trustworthiness than the actual facts of their argument.

Learn more about How to Disagree intelligently from Paul Graham.

46.) If you are really interested in the truth, don't settle for refuting arguments, correct your opposition's arguments.

45.) Secret dreams have a way of staying secret.

It's the people brave enough to speak their dreams out loud who end up achieving them, even if they end up feeling like complete schmucks every step of the way.

42.) Disconnection is the new counterculture.

Source: "Exodus" by Nicholas Carr, April 8, 2010.

31.) Be wary of consistency.  It's the surest sign of a lie.  Even if it's a lie you're telling yourself.

26.) Own books - good books, and lots of them.

They're friends even in the worst of times, and they say a lot more about you than a shelf of videos.

21.) Whenever a heated debate erupts over a question of "either / or," the answer is almost always "both / and."

Creation or evolution?  Did anyone ever stop to consider how insipid it would be for an omnipotent and omniscient being to create a static and unchanging race to inhabit an ever-changing world?

I personally like to think of this as the "brunch principal."

20.) Set aside one day a year to do something that makes you feel like a little kid.

Halloween is a particularly good choice, but pretty much any day will do.

17.) Adventure begins with trouble.

Adventure can't be scheduled and it isn't the product of a well-laid plan executed as expected. Adventure happens when you get lost, when you have no idea what you're doing, when you're forced to rely on complete strangers to save yor ass, when all your plans are ruined, when you get caught in the rain, and when you end up in deep shit. And adventure in the spice of life, so go out and get yourself into trouble and often as possible. That's how all the best memories get made.

7.) Take a break from all your electronic connections to the world once in a while. You'll be amazed at how life slows down.

4.) Though it is utterly counter-intuitive, working towards something often feels better than actually achieving it.  Try to keep that in mind when the urge to rush grips you.

3.) Learn something new every single day, even if it's of absolutely no practical use.

2.) The second principal of the geek creed is equally simple.  Be curious.

Don't ever be embarrassed to be curious.  The people who ask the most questions are usually the ones who end up having answers when it actually matters.

1.) The first and most important tenant of any geek culture is simply this: Be passionate.

It doesn't even matter what it is you're passionate about.  Though "geek" is a term inextricably linked with computing, geeks come in more varieties than can be counted.  Artist or engineer, film aficionado or programmer, the common thread among geeks is a passion for something.  That might seem to be an almost all-encompassing parameter for defining a culture, until you take a moment to look around and realize - passion is in short supply these days.