Clay Shirky turned me on to “The Collapse of Complex Societies” by Joseph Tainter. I’ve been reading it for a number of weeks, whenever I feel in the mood to mentally tackle the subject matter.
In a nutshell, the book’s thesis is basically this: In order to solve problems, societies must add complexity. Complexity is a valid method for solving problems, but increasing complexity comes with increasing energy needs.
Once a society is no longer able to sustain the energy costs of its level of complexity (i.e. when it reaches the unsustainable …

I’m a big advocate for summer projects. It’s fun to have things to work on every weekend and feel like you’re making forward progress. Beyond the work, at the end of the summer you’ve got something you made yourself, which is awesome and so much better than that “store-bought” feeling. This summer I made a queen-size platform bed. (Don’t worry, it’s not all text. Scroll down for pictures.)
I haven’t done much woodworking, though I’m familiar with the general concepts and the tools. My old man is a carpenter, so he …

It’s been awhile since I released any new fiction and I mean to remedy that today with this short story.
perpetual autumn is about a married couple who learn a way to transition into Space-time 6, a reality that overlays our own (space-time four) with two more dimensions of time. After the transition they exist in all places and times at once. And yet…there is despair.
At its heart, perpetual autumn is a metaphysical romance. It was inspired by the video game, The Dig. If you’ve never played The Dig – go …