Jacob Grier

When I was in college I spent all my time throwing frisbees and hanging out in coffee shops, believing that afterwards I would happily move to Washington, DC and work in a think tank. After graduation I did come to DC but realized very quickly that I was happier in coffee shops. I dropped out of the policy world and spent three years in the coffee-obsessed barista sub-culture. Now, three years later, I’m once again working in a think tank. I’ve committed to a year of this suit-and-tie, 9-5 lifestyle, after which I may very likely switch back to something less conventional — though only in DC could working at a high-profile think tank be considered conventional. In addition to think tanking I work as a part-time bartender, occasional writer, and aspiring close-up magician.

If the key to having a successful weblog is focusing on a specific field of expertise, this site is doomed to failure. Eternal Recurrence is unapologetically eclectic. That said, a few of the topics I often discuss here are coffee, wine, libertarianism, economics, magic, useful internet and computing tools, and weird sea creatures. Topics less often discussed include the ongoing battle between the Queso Crusader and his arch-nemesis Taco Boy, the joys of aloe vera juice, the puzzling largeness of bull testicles, and the mysterious miracle fruit. Try finding a target demographic for that.

I launched the first version of the site in May of 2003, back before blogs became popular and before I even knew what a weblog was. At the time blogging seemed terribly narcissistic, so I came up with three editorial rules for the site. Blogging is a lot more common now, but I still think they hold up pretty well:

Guide to Good Blogging

Rule #1: Be meaningful.

Rule #2: If meaning is elusive, be amusing.

Rule #3: If meaning and amusement are both out of reach, be brief.

So check the blog every now and then, and I’ll aspire to be occasionally meaningful, more frequently amusing, and mercifully brief the rest of the time.