Jan 01

Happy New Year to Thee in 2023

by Chris Billows in Business Beller, Mental Mischief 1 comments tags: Awareness / Understanding, Blogging, Business Development
2023 is a new year of contrasts for me. While I am feeling positive about my own personal life, I am also very disturbed by the war in Ukraine, the oppression and murder of people in Iran and China. The general state of geopolitics is very concerning and I believe we are heading towards years of cold and hot conflict between the West and the illiberal order. This make me thankful for my good fortune and also sensitive to those less fortunate. Looking back at 2022, I updated my passion project at Heropath by releasing a couple of small incremental demos. I also refocused my attention by closing down some projects and by doing so have made some progress on some ideas that have been percolating with me for decades. I will be slowing down my posts to Journals of Doc Surge to every 3-4 months as I get busy with those projects. Which brings me to some news of what I’ve been working on the past few months and will continue to work on in 2023. These two projects, about Music and Sport respectively. are related in an obvious and a personal way for me, Both are forms of […]
Jan 08

Talent, Engineering, Art, and Culture

by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings, Mental Mischief, Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Components of Human Nature, Comprehensive Analysis, Defining Life
I’ve made a resolution to start learning how to code. I’m only a few hours into it and must say it is enjoyable. There is something magical about making things work on the screen based on your code. Learning how to code is definately a skill that will take time to develop. I’d never say that I have a natural talent to code though I find some of the concepts fascinating which creates enthusiasm and drive to learn more. This got me thinking about where talent is different from skill and where skill relates to art and engineering. With me being the kind of person who loves working with conceptual models, I’ve create a speculative Talent-to-Culture model to illustrate how skills, talent, art, and culture all are related:   Talent derives from natural ability or drive, and Talent may lead to skill, and Skill requires tool usage, and Tool usage comes from engineering, and Engineering comes from knowledge or science, and Knowledge comes from concepts, and Concepts comes from culture, and Culture comes from society   This model can be inverted, but because I’m focusing on skill development for myself, I started at the skill (top) end of the model. […]
Jul 28

Media Filter Idea

by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Self Analysis
I was playing with my Mindmap app and came up with a tree of medias that I engage with. Essentially the branches of the tree are separated by their verb (i.e. reading books, browsing websites, playing games, etc.) and then further separated by the method/place (i.e. bedside books, iTunes music). Sharing for hopeful utility.

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Jul 14

A List of Superhero Origins

by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Comics, Superheroes
Years ago I was an avid comic reader of various DC/Marvel characters. I loved origin stories and found that there was a theme among some of the origins, becoming the basis of an archetype, not unlike character classes you find in most RPGs. Here is my list of Superhero Origins:   – Accidental origin: A single or combination of events that culminate in the non-chosen attainment of superpowers. Examples: Flash, Spiderman, Hulk, Fantastic Four. – Alien origin: Essentially a hero not of human origin that possesses super powers. Examples: Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Namor the Submariner. – Bestowed origin: Essentially a human who is given super powers by a higher, more powerful force. Examples: Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, Captain Marvel, Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch, Starman. – Creation origin: Essentially those sentient beings either intentionally exposed to superpowers or created. Examples: Captain America, Vision. – Demigod origin: Essentially a minor god who becomes active in human affairs. Examples: Thor, Hercules. – Disciplined origin: Essentially those humans who train their bodies to become exceptional in the martial arts. Examples: Batman, Nightwing,Green Arrow, Wildcat and many of the heroes of the JSA, Black Panther,Daredevil, Hawkeye. – Gadgeteer origin: Essentially […]

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Jun 30

Top Links from Paul Graham

by Chris Billows in Business Beller, Mental Mischief 0 comments tags: Business Development, Comprehensive Analysis, Human Condition, Summarizing a Business Organization
Paul Graham is not only a successful entrepreneur he is a analytical master who has written extensively on business, economics, and culture. I greatly appreciate how he deconstructs complex topics and makes it accessible. Below is some of my favorite articles by him: Nerd Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/nerds.html Hacker Culture http://www.paulgraham.com/gba.html Wealth and Inequality http://www.paulgraham.com/gap.html Wealth, Technology, and Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/wealth.html American Culture, Craftsmanship, and Design http://www.paulgraham.com/usa.html Graduating from High School http://www.paulgraham.com/hs.html Finding What You Love To Do http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html Building a Startup http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html Startup Lessons http://www.paulgraham.com/startuplessons.html Startup Mistakes http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html About What Good Art Is http://www.paulgraham.com/goodart.html Intelligence vs Wisdom http://www.paulgraham.com/wisdom.html Thinking about Equity Valuations http://www.paulgraham.com/equity.html About Philosophy http://www.paulgraham.com/philosophy.html Principles to a New Product Launch http://www.paulgraham.com/newthings.html Types of Disagreement http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html 5 Regrets to Avoid http://www.paulgraham.com/todo.html The Counter Intuition of Startup Investing http://www.paulgraham.com/swan.html How Startups are Different from other Businesses http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html How to Find Ideas for Startups http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html Convincing Investors http://www.paulgraham.com/convince.html  
Apr 23

Cyberg Applications

by Chris Billows in Mental Mischief, Republic of Bloggers 0 comments tags: Blogging, Human Condition, Virtuous Discourse
An open letter to Chris Bateman responding to his blog-letter Top Ten Cybergs at Only A Game as part of the Republic of Bloggers. Feel welcome to provide your own input via the Comments!   Dear Chris, What an great concept. It makes so much sense to link human networks with its inherent technology. The term Cyberg emphasizes the linked aspect of humanity, technology, and networks. It got me thinking about some additional Cyberg applications that were not included in your list, but I’m not sure where would these fit in your hierarchy of top Cybergs. I think that a few of them may warrant some attention.   1) Literacy Literacy is a tool and technology to symbol understanding. I think it might be the very first connection system, being one of the fundamental pillars that supports civilization. While this technology is not cyber based it is definitely a network that communicates ideas and thoughts.   2) Toys Toys, like Literacy appears to be older than any of the other cybergs as it is so fundamental to human and animal development. While it is not a  network, I think the the fact that it is shared cross-species, it is as if […]
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