Human beings are terrible at imagining other alternatives. Tons of food reviews on Yelp talk about how perfect the food was, but the truth is that there were a thousand other items that would've made them just as happy (evidenced by a huge majority of reviews in the 3.5 to 5 star range). A 2 dollar fish taco makes me just as happy as an expensive Chinese dinner, and saves money for future dinners...

Interviews are such a terrible way to know if someone is competent or not. If you can't answer their first 3 questions, you get written off as stupid. I had an interview in 2005 with Day 1 Studios, but I didn't make a good early impression and by the time we went to lunch, they all but ignored me.

I respect the working poor, especially if they are able somehow to genuinely smile even through difficulty, but I like to see them move on to greener pastures more.

Imaginary peeps

I always found it hilarious that the argument against solipsism (the idea that everything and everyone in the world are creations of your mind) is that it is impolite to others to assume they are figments of your imagination. LOL.

Whenever I start to think that love doesn't really exist, remember Rob Hall on Everest, begging base camp to let him moisten his mouth first so he can do well in his last conversation with his wife.

Sometimes I'll sit down and fiddle with my ipod and imagine that someone is watching me because I'm a character in a movie, and they're amazed at the futuristic device I'm playing with.

Hiking miscellany

When I'm training for backpacking, I'm much more comfortable carrying a load in running shoes, since my $175 hiking boots bruise my toes on downhill slopes. But I switch to hiking boots on a trip purely as insurance against wrecking a great time with a rolled ankle.

Also, on the last trip to Mount Langley, it seems like my ear holes expanded as I hiked, so that my headphones kept falling out. I'm going to replace the rubber caps with larger ones and hope they stay in my head.