My name is David Campbell, and this is my personal blog, RandomDave.net.
The blog went online June 17, 2024 and features a new essay each Monday. The American elections of November 2024 have concluded, but reasoned political discussion is an ongoing need in a democratic society. I will continue to write about topics like global warming, racial justice, and immigration, which affect our national policies.
In addition to personal topics like growing one’s food, and random incidents that have larger significance, I plan to post guest blogs. If you have been following RandomDave.net for awhile, and have something to say, please send a summary of your thoughts to <[email protected]> . My criteria for accepting your work are arbitrary, but I will edit it only for things like spelling and grammar. The sequence of ideas and word choice will be entirely yours, and you will have final approval before your writing is posted.
My first guest blogger will be my nephew, Dr. Toby Campbell, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin. He is a lung cancer oncologist and a palliative care (pain management) specialist. He also conducts research on high-stakes conversations and serves as a consultant to other physicians.
Dr. Campbell says, “Every day I walk into a room and give my patients and their families the worst news of their lives. Their cancer is not curable. They have months to live. The air in these rooms is thick with emotion– love, sorrow, regret, fear, anger, often denial and bargaining. At the center of these conversations is a universal, fragile humanity.”
These essays are important but difficult. You may want to avoid them for now, but print and save them for future reading. We have three essays, whose titles are
“When Minutes Matter”
“The Dying Backpack”
“Learning To Carry the Load”
They are scheduled for the first Monday of January, February, and March. Each will be preceded with a warning about potentially disturbing content. Despite the caveat, I recommend them highly.
I’m trying to encourage long term, independent thinking. Start with your own life experience, and build your opinions based on factual information. We each have different viewpoints, and our minds follow unique pathways. By reasoning together we reach more robust conclusions than we could by ourselves.
I welcome comments that contribute to a constructive exchange of ideas. Please focus on a particular post. To save space I will edit comments before publishing them on the site. Write in either English or French. Feel free to disagree agreeably. Each of us is entitled to her/his own opinion, but not his/her own facts.
My model for this blog is the French essayist Montaigne. He lived outside Bordeaux in the 1500’s, and after an active working life, retired to the top of a little tower where he wrote about whatever interested him. He thought of his writing as conversations with a friend.
I was born American, to loving parents of European ancestry, in 1947– I’m humbled when I contemplate my good fortune in the birth lottery. I studied engineering and liberal arts in public universities. I taught English conversation in Rouen, France, and physics in high school. I have worked for oil companies in New Orleans, and technology companies in Austin.
The essay that motivated me to produce this blog is titled, “Do What You Can.” Its intent is to encourage you to make a little effort in support of the common good, and to help you to feel better for doing so. To get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
If you like what you read here, please tell other people.
Most people consider me a decent writer, but I have no talent for website design. Everything published is on the Posts page, with the newest essay at the top. The page is divided into Newer and Older posts. The list of posts is getting rather long. From time to time I take down some of the non-serious ones. I will continue to publish fun posts occasionally, but not leave them up very long.
The ideas in this blog are free for the taking, but if you want to take credit for them elsewhere, please express them in your own words. The actual text is protected by copyright.
I have scheduled posts to be published every week through April, so please stay engaged. I have enjoyed working on RandomDave.net, and still have lots to say, but there are now new demands and goals that take precedence over the blog. In the coming months I plan to shut it down.