Homo Sum:
humani nil a me alienum puto

There’s a race of men that don’t fit in, A race that can’t stay still; So they break the hearts of kith and kin, And they roam the world at will. They range the field and they rove the flood, And they climb the mountain’s crest; Theirs is the curse of the gypsy blood, And [...]

So I spent some time today–when I probably should have been doing something else–reading some of the Travels Of Marco Polo. Oddly, I don’t have a print copy of this in my library–an omission I shall have to correct at some point–but that wasn’t a problem since Project Gutenberg has a decent translation. I wasn’t [...]

I’ve been away from the Internet, and this blog specifically, a bit lately, and so I thought I’d give you a little photographic taste of what I’ve been up to. (Click on through if you’re interested.)

One of my favourite possessions is my Tilley. Yes, I know that most people who wear them are at least a generation older than I am. Yes, I know they’re hardly fashionable. I could care less–I am quite fond of my khaki/olive T5. Here’s the thing: it fits–no small thing for a man who was [...]

OK, so… April. Yeah, that wasn’t a party. First there were the two weeks in a four week period that I was on the road for work–that’s more being away from home than I like. Then there was the massive and literally stunning workload–I don’t want to go into detail about my job here, but [...]

I had almost 12 hours in the car yesterday, and for most of that time I listening to various things on my iPod. Obviously there was some music–you can’t road trip without music–but these days I spend a lot more time on non-music content. I finished listening to a kids’ book I had been listening [...]

For no special reason, here’s a photo of my second favourite vista on the “backwoods Maine” segment of my drive to Boston: Check out that sky. Oh, and the favourite vista on Route 9? There’s not really a safe place to stop and take a picture. Besides, I kind of like it being this ephemeral [...]

In theory I’m driving down to Boston tomorrow. My route will look something like this: The tiny eight ball there indicates roughly where I expect to be at around 2PM local time. Why 2PM? Hold that thought. Normally I take the southern route, going through Saint John, and crossing into Maine much closer to the [...]

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night. —Edgar Allen Poe Reading furnishes the mind only with material for knowledge; it is thinking that makes what we read ours. —John Locke, Of Reading Why shouldn’t things be largely absurd, futile, and transitory? They are so, [...]

I know you’re already seen this, but it’s just too good to let go by. My favourite bit references the hobo signs stuff we were looking at earlier this month: And they devised a secret language of signs and scrawls used to alert their passing brethren to danger or opportunity. A crucifix chalked on the [...]

I passed a lovely bit of time today reading The American Hobo by Colin Beesley, a British academic paper about a quintessentially American phenomenon1. I’ve always found the romantic aspects of the hobo story fascinating (something that Utah Phillips has only encouraged), although I suspect I’m too soft to have lived that life even had [...]

…NEVER say that I got left behind. I have not been here, because I have been driving ridiculous distances around North America to visit friends and to see the Oysterband live (third time!) I think I had an idiot grin on my face for about six hours after the show. I will be discussing this [...]

Sunday: 3 hours of packing. 1 hour of back-and-forth. 11 hours of driving (5 hours of music, 6 hours of radio plays.) 3 hours of reading. Monday: 9 hours actually in the office. 7.5 hours of meetings.1 I predict another two or three hours of reading Santayana now. Predictions for tomorrow: 8.5 hours of meetings [...]