David B. Himself

I used to be cool. Now, I stare into the void and scream into the abyss. And write. Also, I write.

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part seven)

Mars, at last?

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part six)

Pigs? Yes! Pigs.

Thoughts

The Kanji for "Cedar" in Japanese

It's usually pronounced 'sugi', and I will explain how this character came to be. The left part, also known as the 'radical', is the kanji for 'tree': 木. But what about the part on the right? Well, it's pretty simple.

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part five)

In which, we learn that not everything is rosy on the trip to the red planet. Being stuck in a tin can for months is starting to take its toll on the crew and passengers.

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part four)

The journey to Mars has reached its halfway point. How does the crew spend the time?

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part three)

The trip to Mars makes a detour via Venus? Well, it's not really a detour, it's physics.

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part two)

In which the trip to Mars is underway.

Fiction

Is There Life On Mars? (part one)

Preliminary note: I wrote this story in 2024, and I'm (re)publishing it here now. Since it is about 11,000 words long, I am posting it in several episodes. However, the entire story is available as an e-book if you would prefer to read it all at

Thoughts

Valentine's Day in Japan?

No, I'm not going to write a cliché and trite post like you can find by the dozens online, what would be the point? I'm going to tell you how Valentine's Day takes place in my household in Japan. Step one Me, some date

Thoughts

David Bowie

It’s funny how when people ask me who my favorite singer or band is, I almost never say David Bowie. I usually say Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, or Explosions in the Sky, depending on who I’m talking to. Yet a day rarely goes by without my listening to

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Thoughts

The Age of Trillionaires

The first trillionaire in US dollars could arrive in 2026! It's a sum so vast that our brains have trouble understand it. Well, I may have an easy way to help you understand what it entails.

Future Pasts

The Big Picture

(Note: this text was originally published in Metastructure, where you can find my fictions and a little more) “Dad, what was that ‘big picture’ you were talking about earlier?” “The one that many people missed just before everything fell apart.” “Could you be more precise?” “Are you recording now?” “Yes.

Thoughts

Spending Christmas Alone

It’s already nighttime on Christmas Eve in my part of the world. The kids are in bed, and we’re waiting for them to be fully asleep so that we can put the presents near the Christmas tree. And I just remembered a thing I wrote a couple of

Thoughts

Cultural Stagnation

Disclaimer One: I've lived in Japan for 14 years. So, even though I'm observing the whole thing online and from a distance, I'm not always totally up to date on some cultural trends in the West. Disclaimer Two: I am now 52 years old.

Thoughts

Is the Fermi Paradox that paradoxical?

The Fermi Paradox has been a topic of conversation for decades, but... Is it really that much of a paradox?

Thoughts

Nick Cave, Wokism, and I...

A few thoughts about Nick Cave and "wokism."

Thoughts

Our future with AI

"Why are all tech companies trying to force AI so desperately on us?" I may not just be a question of money, and could be much darker than that.

Thoughts

The Speed of Time

Why does time feels that it's getting faster as we age?

Thoughts

Get some rest, they said.

"Take it easy," they said. And I said, "of course, I'm not running a marathon when I'm healthy, don't expect me to leave my room when I'm sick." However, what I always overlook is that mental activity can

Thoughts

Fevered thing

Today was the day I was going to start posting things here, and hopefully interesting things, but it turns out I either have the flu or Covid, and I feel like shit. I really hope it's the former. I've been Covid-free since the beginning and my

Thoughts

Blank Page Anxiety

I don't usually have blank page anxiety. There is one exception: when I start a blog. I want the first post to be memorable or something, and well... here comes blank page anxiety. So that first post will be a patchwork of whatever comes to mind and fits

Ready to go?

Well, not just yet.

Thoughts

Hello there

Why is it that every time I have a new idea, I feel like I need to create a new site? I thought I was done with that and had finally managed to reduce my number of sites/blogs to just four (or is it five?) The worst part? This