Rest in peace, my dear old friend David MacKay

David MacKay, 1944–2023. David was already retired from IU by the time I started grad school there, but he and his wonderful wife Carole hosted grad students at their house weekly for discussion & dessert. Quick-witted, opinionated, kind-hearted, and erudite, David had a profound influence on me. Even though I wound up leaving academe, I still recognize David’s influence on my life & my faith. And when I walk through my woods, I think of the times he took me on trips around his own woods in his side-by-side, driving like a maniac, with a look of maniacal delight on his face.

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Currently reading: The This by Adam Roberts 📚

Finished reading: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.

Rather sobering to have finished it on Father’s Day. But, like all of Austen, full of wisdom: a reflection on good judgment. 📚

I just love these essays that so confidently tell me what my own brain is doing to me.

Undoubtedly this is a headline issue more than a content issue—I’ve read and learned from Mastroianni’s work in the past—but I don’t plan on finding out, in this case. 🧠

My friend Rick recently helped design a book of poems about Parkinson’s disease.

The book is written by John Foley and illustrated by the great Mary GrandPré of Harry Potter fame.

Download a copy for free here. Hope you find it encouraging! 📚

R.I.P., Astrud Gilberto—one of the most ethereal & beautiful of all singers, IMO. 🎶

There are some compelling resonances between Tara Isabella Burton’s New Atlantis essay “Rational Magic” and Luke Burgis’s essay for Wired, “The Three-City Problem”.

For starters, both identify how a Silicon Valley culture that thinks of itself as highly rationale is undergirded by a stranger ethos.

Currently reading: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen 📚

Well, gotta say I’m glad I forgot my Loons had a US Open Cup match tonight… Houston 4-0 MNUFC. 😳⚽️

NB, publishers: describing an author as a “Forbes 30 Under 30 scientist” makes me want to read their book much, much less. 📚