How Do You Structure Your Life?

A mannequin's mechanical parts exposed. Seen at La Musée Des Automates, La Rochelle, France.

Man's Mechanics Exposed

How does life become complicated? Why does it happen? How do we fix it?

These questions occur to me once and a while. I’m not always lucid enough to remember just how complex life is — or perhaps I’m blithely unaware of it.

In either case, I think I prefer those times when it does occur to me, because it also highlights my own problematic patterns. And when a problematic pattern is highlighted, you can address it. Its visibility is its weakness, as you can change or slay that which you see.

In this case, there are a couple of patterns that come to mind. First, I have a great desire to learn things. Not quite everything, but certainly a substantial list of things. I’m constantly frustrated by my lack of knowledge of history, or the limits to my scientific understanding. Lumped in with this is the desire to explore those great works of fiction and philosophy that inform our society. Not knowing those means a break in the universe, a separation between the foundations of how the world is and the understanding of how it came to be.

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TWS105: *foop* pumpkin

Show Notes for TWS105: *foop* pumpkin

On the show this week:

  • Severed Limbs
  • Costumes
  • The Thin, Red Love Line
  • Playing With Your Mind
  • Splayed Innards (EXTRA)

This week’s Challenge Question:
Will we ever see actual supervillians?
Leave your answer in the comments, send your email to weirdshow[[at]]gmail.com, record your message via the MobaTalk client on the right hand side of Encaffeinated!, leave an answer on Facebook or call in at 206-203-2292.

Direct Links:

  • Download the MP3
  • Play the show directly: [audio:http://media.farpointmedia.net/weirdshow//TWS105-2008-11-01.mp3]
  • Subscribe with most podcatchers: XML
  • Subscribe with iTunes

Full links to all stories covered and many more after the jump!

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TWS101: Uberstocked Inventionory

Show Notes for TWS101: Uberstocked Inventionory

On the show this week:

  • Throwing Everything In, Including The Carbon Sink
  • I Betcha It’s Nature’s Fault
  • Whoosh! Headlines! (ALMOST EXTRA)
  • Crime Never Really Happens That Way
  • Fly, Ptery, Fly! (EXTRA)
  • Marginaliens (EXTRA)

This week’s Challenge Question:
Do we spend too much time just amusing ourselves? Beyond work, should we do something “useful”?
Leave your answer in the comments, send your email to weirdshow[[at]]gmail.com, record your message via the MobaTalk client on the right hand side of Encaffeinated!, leave an answer on Facebook or call in at 206-203-2292.

Direct Links:

  • Download the MP3
  • Play the show directly: [audio:http://media.farpointmedia.net/weirdshow//TWS101-2008-10-04.mp3]
  • Subscribe with most podcatchers: XML
  • Subscribe with iTunes

Full links to all stories covered and many more after the jump!

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TWS088: A Mental Vacation

Show Notes for TWS088: On A Mental Vacation

On the show this week:

  • Get Away From It All
  • Mind Control
  • Lost Baggage (EXTRA)

This week’s Challenge Question:
When we can simply “upload” to our brains, what will be the best/worst use of this? What unexpected problems or benefits might arise?
Leave your answer in the comments, send your email to weirdshow[[at]]gmail.com, record your message via the MobaTalk client on the right hand side of Encaffeinated!, leave an answer on Facebook or call in at 206-203-2292.

Direct Links:

  • Download the MP3
  • Play the show directly: [audio:http://m.podshow.com/media/836/episodes/114889/theweirdshow-114889-06-07-2008.mp3]
  • Subscribe with most podcatchers: XML
  • Subscribe with iTunes

Full links to all stories covered and many more after the jump!

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Show Notes for TWS084: The New Model is 4 Years Old

Show Notes for TWS084: The New Model is 4 Years Old

On the show this week:

  • Feedback
  • B.R.U.C.E. (the other Bruce!) decided I needed maintenance, and took over..
  • Before there was TWS, there was EXPRESSO! Here’s an old show from 2004-05-08.

This week’s Challenge Question:
Are digital memories really our selves? Are we nothing more than the sum of our memories? Is a soul destroyed when you reprogram someone’s memories?
Leave your answer in the comments, send your email to weirdshow[[at]]gmail.com, record your message via the MobaTalk client on the right hand side of Encaffeinated!, leave an answer on Facebook or call in at 206-203-2292.

Direct Links: