Ryan's Wisdumb Inaugural 🥳

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Welcome! 

Foggy Fall day in New England

This blog is officially born on a blustery New England Autumn day in early October 2022, but you could say it has been gestating in my head for many years.  So why start it now?  I can't say for sure what is motivating me at this moment, but I suspect it has to do with "free" time.  Life circumstances are currently allowing me to work less hours at my day job (electrical engineer) and spend more time pursuing various other interests.  A side effect of this is deep thoughts on all sorts of subjects rattling around in my head that I'm certain the world needs to hear. [Note: As my blog title might indicate, I am an unapologetic devotee of sarcasm. But don't worry, I'm sure my brilliant and good-looking readers all have the sophisticated sense of humor necessary for ferreting out my true meaning.]

About Me



I plan to remain semi-anonymous for now.  Friends and family know who I am, but I'd rather not have the average Internet comment section psycho knowing who I am IRL.  That will, of course, become more difficult as this blog grows in popularity and I start getting asked to do The Late Show, The Daily Show and, my favorite, Armchair Expert  I'll re-evaluate my anonymity at that time.  


As mentioned above, I am an engineer.  That is not only by profession but by birth.  Other engineers know what I'm talking about.  For those not fortunate enough to be born with a caliper in their hand, I'll explain.  Engineers often have a different mindset and drive to understand how things work that I believe is inherent in our nature.  We are born with it.  Oddly, that drive to understand things doesn't extend to things like fashion and social interaction.  We're clueless there.  


Most bloggers would pause at this point to say, "Don't send angry letters about stereotyping, I'm just joking."  I needn't bother since any true engineer can't overcome their social anxiety enough to send that letter.


While "engineer" can explain a lot, that alone is insufficient to define me, so I'll provide some additional background.  I have lived in a number of different states throughout my life and been to all but three of them.  I live in Massachusetts now with my wife and two kids.  I like to fancy myself as a jack-of-all-trades and renaissance man and have a broad range of hobbies and interests, though I acknowledge there are many, many things I don't know.  Yet.  
One critical skill I am lacking, according to my high school English teacher, is an ability to write.  Thankfully that skill isn't necessary for blogging!  

I have no intention of making this a political blog, but in this day and age it seems everything gets politicized and it can't be avoided.  I am not affiliated with any political party and dislike the dogma and tribalism that comes along with them.  I believe every idea should be evaluated on its merits, not on a partisan basis.  I hope to focus on facts and data and use those to drive my opinions.  In good scientific method fashion, I am open to changing my mind about a topic based on new evidence.

Likes


Here's some stuff I'm into that will serve as fodder for many of my posts:
  • Cars: looking at them, fixing them, driving them
  • Cycling:  For fun and exercise.  Road and Mountain.  Gravel is a fad!
  • Birds / Birding
  • Photography
  • Astronomy / Astrophotography
  • Reading:  Broad interests.  Don't do as much as a I want to.
  • Computers
  • Science
  • Homebrewing
  • Building Stuff
  • Sailing
  • Backpacking:  escape the crowds
  • Investing:  how to get rich
  • Laughing: who doesn't like that?
  • Dreaming: in the daydreaming sense and the aspirational sense
  • Efficiency:  I'm always looking for the most efficient way to do things
  • Football: I always root for my home team.  Go Pats!

On with the show


I have no idea how this will go and find it exhilarating and worrying at the same time.  I plan to write up my first few posts before inviting anyone to the page so I can at least get familiar with the mechanics of publishing a blog and have some content available to get people interested.  Maybe I'll work out some sort of logo, too.  Comments, good or bad are appreciated, but I do ask that all commenting remain civil.  

Yours in Wisdumb,
Ryan
Location: Massachusetts, USA

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