My Blind Experience

G. H Hardy wrote in his A Mathematician's Apology "Real mathematics must be justified as an art if it can be justified at all." Hardy looked down at the practical application of math. He considered physics and engineering beneath him - he wrote (paraphrased, because I can't find the quote on Google and don't want to read A Mathematician's Apology again, ever), "People who practice math to help them understand solving problems are inferior to people who practice solving problems to help them understand math." My degree is in pure mathematics, not applied mathematics. It's the kind of math Hardy approved of. But my heart is firmly on the other side of Hardy's argument. Math as an art is an act of selfishness, and although Hardy was brilliant, he was a jackass. Math can be justified in the lives it saves through modern engineering. Math can be justified by the satellites it puts in orbit. Math can be justified in the operating system of the co...

Life isn't about what you CAN do, it's about what you actually do. Can doesn't matter if the ability isn't put to use. If you CAN read but haven't sat down with a book in years, you're not any more literate than someone who can't read at all. If you CAN get the job done but don't because you're not motivated you're not any more helpful than someone who doesn't have a clue. If you CAN but you don't your end result is the same as if you couldn't. "I can't do that, I'm blind!" We each have to choose if our blindness is a road block or a speed bump. Life is more challenging for blind people, but if we're determined to keep living we'll find a way. After all, everyone you'll ever meet is handicapped, some just more visibly than others. * * * Here's a story I've never told anyone before - Years ago I went to a Halloween party with some friends from work. A girl I knew was doing free Tarot card readings....

Hey there, Little Dude! Happy birthday! Today is your first day on Earth. You've got a lot of hair. Your mom was bald as a cue ball when Grandma had her. But you've got her toes. I counted your toes when I held you at the hospital. I've done it with all our babies and grandbabies. "One... Two... Three... Four..." (then a long pause, watching the anticipation on your little faces)... "Five!" When your cousin Larissa was small she took off her shoes and socks and presented her toes every time she saw me. Your cousin Charlotte did the exact opposite, hiding her feet from me while giggling. When your Aunt Christine read last week's blog about the mountain top and the valley she texted me to say "Well I'm sorry it didn't work out for you." I replied "Thanks, but you supplied 20 new baby toes for me to count, so my career in mathematical precision still goes on." But I'm not writing this just to tell you you inherited your m...

Um, NASA? Um, hi. This is Layne. Hi. I've got this idea, yeah. It will do two things for ya, it will get teenage boys interested in outer space again and it will solve all your budget problems. You're gonna like this! Ready? So instead of sending astronauts into space next time send a couple porn stars. They can get it on in zero gee and you guys can live stream it at $19.99 a minute - Hello? Still there? Hello?  Hello, is this Marvel Studios? Cool! Are you guys still lookin' for evil mutants? 'Cause I got this genetic mutation that made me go blind! For real! Um, superpowers? Um, uhh... Hey Babe. I got through to the casting agent at Marvel but they wouldn't go for it. Said the casting call was for tough and ruthless, not rough and toothless. Jerks! Thanks, Hon. That's nice to hear. Love you too. See ya tonight! Bye bye! Hello, this is Layne. Yes, this is he. You found it where? Man, that resume is like three years old! No, I'm blind. Yeah, blind. Really. A...

First, a shoutout to Rumster for telling me about Dark Reader, a browser extension that inverts all the white computer screen backgrounds to black and all the black text to white. My computer is misbehaving so I had to use my wife's laptop for a moment. That glaring, harsh reminder of what the internet experience was like before Dark Reader makes me appreciate it and not just take it for granted. Thanks, Rummy! There was a time, not too long ago, when my wife did almost all the cooking and I worked all the crazy hours. But since I went blind she's the one working sunup to sundown and I'm the one doing at least half the cooking . I think I've gotten pretty good at it. Cooking is an art to me, not a science. I never measure anything when I cook, I just add ingredients until I feel the balance is right. A few more onion slices, a pinch more salt, maybe a little hint of lemon pepper, a couple drops of salsa, and voila! Not measuring anything means I never cook the same dis...

Would anybody mind if I indulge in a little humblebrag today? Last summer was possibly the peak of my professional career. I had worked at the Union Pacific Railroad for a couple years, inspecting intermodal chassis and shipping containers. I was good at it. My numbers were twice that of my coworkers - not just because I worked twice as hard, but because I worked twice as smart. My job was to do annual inspections. If something was out of compliance I either fixed it myself or red tagged it and had it towed to the mechanic's bay. I could fix electrical problems and small issues but anything bigger than that needed the mechanic's bay because my service truck wasn't equipped with the tools to do heavy work. Electrical work only took a few minutes but gave high metrics. Changing four light bulbs and pigtails scored as high as welding a chassis, but took an eighth of the time. I worked at a fast pace. That's just my work ethic. But the biggest reason my numbers were so good...

Two of the men I most admire happen to be my father and Ben, my oldest son. Dad, me, Ben, and Josh, Tennessee, 2022. First born son of the first born son of the first born son of the first born son They live about 1500 miles from each other and don't get to spend much time together but we all got together this week at my son's home in Tennessee. Our boat was in the shop so we didn't get to water ski but we spent a few days hiking through the forest, roasting marshmallows over the fire, skinny dipping in the river, and dancing to old Buddy Holly music. At one point we packed up the fishing poles and carried the coolers and the folding chairs to the truck to head back to Ben's house. We were almost done when I looked down to the river bank and saw Ben and Dad so deep in conversation they hadn't even noticed us packing up our fishing camp around them. I'm not sure why that made me so happy but it did. It's like introducing a friend to a favorite piece of music ...