Folks, I’m not looking for them. People are throwing so many trees before Christmas, what am I supposed to do, act like they aren’t there? Am I supposed to accept that we chop down trees just to put them in our homes for a few days, not even connected to the holiday they aren’t connected to? Doesn’t this one look beautiful, wrapped in disgusting plastic? What a way to honor[…] Keep reading →

I guess people think we have too many trees, or maybe they have too much money. I’m not looking for trees people throw away before Christmas, but I can’t miss them. I figure they’re like roaches: if you see one, there are probably ten others you don’t see. I saw these four last night: Sorry for the blur in the second one below. It was dark and cold.

I was 40 years old when I did my first burpee in 2011. Today I’m 54 and haven’t missed a day. Now I do more than burpees in what I call “my twice daily burpee-based calisthenics.” Daily burpees helped me develop the sidcha concept, which I consider one of the most important developments of my life. I’ve come to see sidchas as the most effective way to reach one’s potential.[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: I Am Not Your Negro: directed by Raoul Peck, based on James Baldwin’s manuscript Remember This House: You can probably tell that Baldwin’s views resonate with me. How he describes the perspective from the bottom of a dominance hierarchy. He attributes it to color, which I see as a proxy for access to a resource with no alternative, but the view is the same. Partly it[…] Keep reading →

Today is the shortest day of the year, with the sun at its lowest angle at noon. Using only photovoltaic solar power, today I get the least potential for energy. It’s less cloudy than usual, so I’ll get some power, but a tall building a block south of mine blocks the sun for most of the morning. Actually, low buildings do too. Here’s a schematic illustration: Here’s a more detailed[…] Keep reading →

I can’t believe how little value people place on trees. Each year I ask myself if I want to bother taking all those pictures of trees people throw away. Am I going to change culture this way? I doubt it. Then again, I’m not hurting anyone and I’m going to post daily anyway. Then I see another Christmas Pagan tree being thrown out well before Christmas. This one appears denuded.[…] Keep reading →

I wrote a few months ago about my physics professor who met Albert Einstein. He also plays piano, at least once even at Carnegie Hall, though a private event hosted by Steinway not for an audience. You might notice a resemblance to Einstein: He played at a private recital this week. I don’t attend enough in-person music performances, all the more for living in New York City. He played last[…] Keep reading →

Readers who have followed my blog over a year know that for the past few years I’ve taken pictures of the trees people throw out on the street. Since history shows that the tradition that Americans associate with Christmas came from paganism, and I’m concerned people who complain about “wars” on Christmas or Christians, I call them Christmas Pagan trees. That way if someone quotes me about how we can[…] Keep reading →

I recently finished Hillsdale College’s course on Churchill, hosted by the school’s president, Dr. Larry Arnn. If you don’t know, the school is as conservative as schools get. Arnn is also on the board of the Heritage Foundation, also as conservative as they come. Both institutions support policies and activities that pollute and deplete. To my mind, activities that pollute and deplete deprive people of life, liberty, and property without[…] Keep reading →