The Mind of My Jake

There are a lot of benefits to marrying a geek. Prominent among them are that he can fix virtually anything and that he can build incredible gadgets that make life more convenient. (He once built us our very own DVR from scratch, but that's another story for another day.)

But one of the things that I love most about my geek husband is that his brain never turns off. He is a thinker who never tires of learning, which is something that struck me at first as a little bit OCD, but which I now find incredibly admirable and hope eventually will rub off on me. Nothing is too big or too mundane for him to tackle in his constant pursuit of information. His mental science and technology database is staggering, but his interests venture far beyond that. He carries with him a baffling knowledge of Greek mythology, thanks to a one-time childhood obsession, and can also give you a brief history of the advent of the hamburger. (The meat patty was apparently invented by Genghis Khan. Who knew?) His vast knowledge base makes him a terrifying opponent in Trivial Pursuit and once prompted a friend to say that if Jake confessed to being an android, he actually wouldn't be surprised.

My point here being: Jake's brain is a fascinating place. That's why I'm recommending his blog, chlorine.tumblr.com, which is less online diary and more stream-of-consciousness snapshot album. He usually updates multiple times a day, and his almost wordless posts offer links to scientific breakthroughs and other quirky and interesting tidbits, scriptural passages, and images he likes ranging from Renaissance art to modern architecture to Rita Hayworth.

One running feature is his slashaikus, which are haikus created from the text of slashdot (a premier science and technology blog) articles. Jake recently wrote a computer program as an experiment that constantly combs the site for five-syllable-seven-syllable-five-syllable word combinations. It automatically compiles the results, and Jake sorts through them and posts his favorites, which are equal parts hilarious and profound — but all weird.

So anyway, check it out. You'll feel smarter. I always do.



JEM