Look Mom! I Wrote a Blog!

It's so deep it's meaningless
-- "So Hard Done By", Tragically Hip

When I set off for Afghanistan, a few people mentioned to me that I should start a blog.  I resisted.  First of all, I thought that cyberspace is already full of the mundane ramblings of self-important pontificators who have deluded themselves into believing that anyone gives a hoot what they have to say.  Secondly, given my (a) lack of military training, and (b) big mouth, I was worried about inadvertently revealing sensitive information.   You know, things like "Little do the Taliban know..."

But then it occurred to me that they were clearly asking because my ramblings must be so much more scintillating and insightful than everyone else's.  And, with a blog, I relieve acquaintances from having to engage in tedious social interaction with me, like writing emails consisting of "Hey Adam, How's it going in Afghanistan?" and hoping to God I don't write back and force them into meaningful dialogue.  This way, they can just feign interest in my blog and go on with their merry lives.  It's really for those folks that I'm writing this.

If this is like any other venture I've undertaken in my life, it should last about two weeks--three max.  Then there'll be a few posts spaced further and futher apart with promises to write more, or redesign the site.  Then a quiet last gasp somewhere in the lower catacombs of cyberspace and we can all just forget about it and not mention it in future polite conversation. I'm good with that.

The name of the blog is Mindfingers.  It has no significance, it's just that all the good names were taken and this is the best that I could come up with that wasn't just a random assortment of ASCII characters.  Sounds profound though, doesn't it?  And really, that's the important part--sounding deep. Kind of like Tea Party lyrics.  Fantastic band, don't get me wrong.  Just don't listen too closely to what buddy is singing, or you'll be, like, Huh?

My interests include the epistemology of science, non-equilbrium thermodynamics and 80s hair bands (Cinderella, by the way).  You're laughing right now, but the sad thing is that I'm not joking.  I'm also, in order of profitability, a  chemical engineer, musician, writer, poet, cave explorer, husband and father.  I normally work for Canada's federal environment department, Environment Canada, however I'm presently on a one-year sabbatical working for the NATO International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan as an Environmental Specialist here.  An odd career choice for a reformed anarchist, but there you have it.

Shameless Plug:  My latest sci-fi short story "How Many Humans Does It Take to Change a Light Bulb" is in the latest edition of Cosmic Crime Stories.  Basically a detective story, and a rumination on the nature of artificial intelligence with a tip of the hat to Poe's "Murders in the Rue Morgue."

But enough about me.  What do you think about me?  Feel free to post a comment or Like me.