Friday Donuts

Dear Members and Constituents, A recent study suggests creative people have a greater propensity towards dishonesty. Having been accused of clever musings, I can’t help but wonder whether my legacy will now be forever tainted. Should we now start taking offense when folks praise our originality or commend our ingenuity? The next time the boss says you’re clever, should it be your first impulse to deny everything? At least there are no four letter synonyms or monosyllabic substitutes, which bodes well for the reputation of this concept. If it takes too long to say something, folks are less likely to use a word as an insult. And this does not account for people in uncreative professions who become crooks (then again, perhaps that's why they call it creative accounting). I guess the bottom line is many factors determining our character and allowing a natural propensity for bad behavior to flourish is easier if you have the creativity to hide it. In other words bad liars get caught a

Dear Members and Constituents, When you take a photo of a fast moving object, the amount of motion blur depends on the exposure settings. The shorter the period of time light is allowed to enter the camera, the crisper the image. Still, even the shortest exposure is not instantaneous (the mechanical process of opening and closing the shutter takes a few fractions of a second). But what If you could stop time altogether to capture an image of things perfectly still. What would such an image look like? Once you get past the mechanics (e.g. if light is not moving, how can you see anything?) and any pre-conceived notions that come from being a temporal creature (e.g. the bias towards thinking such an image should be ultra-crisp), you’re ready to explore the question. If things are made of atoms –and atoms are mostly void—then, absent the motion blur of billions of electrons creating the illusion of mass you’d end-up with… well, not a lot. Our snapshot should have well over 99% of the “stu

Dear members and constituents, How about a calorie exchange? If companies can have the permission to pollute so long as they pay others to offset their bad habits, why not apply the same principle to food? If the federal government were to impose a dietary cap-and-trade program, how would that work? First off it would have to have a clever name. Something like the MORPH Act (Morbid Obesity Reduction Promoting Health) or the FIT Law (Food Ingestion Trade) or even the THIN Plan (Transform Hefty Individual Nutrition). Enforcement, of course, would have to be overseen by the FFA (Fatties Funding Anorexics). Whatever the name, caloric intake would be capped at a pre-set limit (something like 2,000 calories) and those with more robust appetites could purchase calorie credits from more Spartan eaters. This could come especially handy on days like today where 4-20 observers might get the munchies later on (increasing the People's Republic of Boulder’s trade deficit). As with any governmen

Dear Members and Constituents, Happy Friday the 13th! It seems our culture is becoming less superstitious. These days airlines have 13th rows and many buildings have 13th floors. I'm not superstitious myself –if I were, its Tuesday the 13th that's the unlucky day in Ecuador. Still, just because you don't believe in something doesn't mean it's not real. Take, for example, the fact that Ed Stocker has to send this email out for me today because my hard drive has crashed. I don't believe the date or Gremlins had anything to do with it, but still, a little eerie. Perhaps a little bit of a stretch, but I also forgot my lunch at home today. Then again, there are four dozen donuts at my desk, courtesy of Mack Greene (donut boy). He wanted to get something off the beaten path but didn't have any luck. Instead, we get LaMar's donuts. Even if you're not superstitious, come have a donut to ward off bad luck. After all, a donut with a bite out of it is remini

Dear Members and Constituents, I love springtime in Colorado. Driving to work on a clear frozen morning, windows up, convertible top down and heat on high. I let my mind wander as the crisp, cold wind mixes with the hot air wafting through my feet. I turn the radio off and let the soundtrack in my head blast, as I play with words and arrange thoughts to write you this note. The occasional bird song or sweet smell distracts my attention this way or that. I notice the skeletal trees have undergone a sudden metamorphosis, now dressed in pink, white or salmon –an image plucked from a Dr. Seuss book. The breeze deposits fallen petals, adorning green blades of grass with faux snow. The moon I had seen rise in beautiful silver last night has undergone some form of alchemy and now sets golden over the mountains. The sunrise follows shortly behind, tinting the thin clouds on the horizon bright shades of pink, fuchsia, orange and mustard. I envision myself embarking on an expedition to the unkn