• Dandelion Regrowth

    A field of dandelions
    Photo by Kate Cullen on Unsplash

    The dandelions came back again.
    Hearty weeds; they refuse banishment.
    First I treated them with poison,
    Then with forceful rejection.
    Stubborn, they refused to stay away.

    Maybe they’re trying to tell me something.

  • Jammin’

    Photo by Roger Ce on Unsplash

    There’s an interesting article on Aeon about gamification and the encroachment of metrics into more and more places: More nothing now

    The gamification of leisure has turned into work everything that used to exist as its counterpoint.

    I couldn’t agree more. I don’t need or want to be reminded of how many days in a row I’ve read a book, or watched a show, or made an entry in a journal, or opened an app, or anydamnthing. You give me a metric to track, and sooner or later it becomes homework.

    When you’re doing Duolingo to maintain your streak, or when your place on the running app’s leaderboard replaces the reason you started running, that’s value capture. The metric ate the meaning.

    I don’t need the stress. Or, in the immortal words of the great philosopher Petty:

    Quit jammin’ me

  • So It Begins

    Welcome to Eddendum. I’m Ed. This will be a home for my musings, thoughts, occasional rants and raves. I hope you find it interesting.