I was reading something a little while ago that was talking about how humans have been genetically programmed for both hunting and gathering, and while that's not an uncommon statement, it made me think about a few things...

My first thought was that there are some things I've done in my life that just 'felt natural,' like hunting for mushrooms or looking for ripe tomatoes where it's almost like you drop down into some automatic subroutine that feels really easy, and requires very little thought, but requires very concentrated awareness. In those situations, I usually also have a strong sense that 'I'm good at this' even though I may never have done it before.

My second thought was then to draw analogies from that type of visceral experience to other similar experiences in the more virtual spaces, like channel surfing looking for something good to watch, looking everywhere for something you've lost, or most pertinently, surfing the web and your favorite blogs looking for those things that most interest and entertain you.

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It's official - I'm growing my beard. Every year, I like to wear a beard from October through March, then go clean-shaven April through September. I have a little fun when I start shaving again, because I go through a transition phase where I usually have a goatee now, but I've had years where I've experimented with lambchop sideburns, jazz beards, etc. It lasts only a few days at most, depending on the response I get.

I stopped shaving last Friday, and people are starting to notice.

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On a (slightly) related note, I see that Schick has come out with (I refuse to use the term 'invented') a 4-blade razor, called the Quattro™ (go figure) and that Gillette is suing them (go figure).

posted by Chris at 12:05 AM Permalink |