One of the more common line of questions people ask me when they learn I disconnected my apartment from the electric grid is what I do for light. Before I share what I share with them, if you’re curious, you can find out easily: don’t turn your lights on this evening. If you do the simple task of not dying, you’ll find an answer. I’m no do-it-yourselfer. If you just[…] Keep reading →

I thought of how to improve the subtitle, from The definitive guide to understanding and solving all (yes, all) our environmental problems to The definitive guide to understanding and solving all (yes, all) our environmental symptoms The problem is our behavior, which results from our culture. What we see in the environment is just the physical manifestation of our culture. I’ve shared the idea with a few friends and they[…] Keep reading →

Alan is a friend and podcast guest. Regular readers know I comment on how people degrade our environment, including public spaces like our parks. Alan is a counterexample, a breath of fresh air. Alan brings fun, life, community, and joy to the park. Between his music and my New York Times article, we’re in a friendly competition to see who can improve the park more. I often describe him thusly:[…] Keep reading →

The paperback has been up about a day, and the reviews are coming in. It’s not Malcolm Gladwell level numbers yet, but a couple dozen reviews and all 5 stars so far. Making the book available feels great, as do the reviews so far. I wrote this book to help my mission, which is big, so putting the book up for sale is just the start. As much time and[…] Keep reading →

This week’s first two works were masterpieces whose relevance to our world taught me about us and our times: A Short History of Reconstruction [Updated Edition], by Eric Foner: I remember classmates talking about Professor Foner’s class as being one of the great classes when I was in college and he taught at Columbia. I watched and posted a bunch of his videos in Diving into Eric Foner Talks. I[…] Keep reading →

I don’t usually just talk about what I did, but sometimes things work out enough and I feel great about how major life choices I’ve made work out. Last Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were great times. I’ll share Monday first since it’s not visual so might get lost following the other two. Monday: Einstein and Nobel Prize winners Monday I met with a physics professor who mentored me in college[…] Keep reading →

The MTA Arts & Design department released a book Contemporary Art Underground, about art they install. I felt honored that they invited me to the launch the other evening, especially because they gave name tags to everyone and specified “Artist” for those of us who created art for their program. They didn’t make the designation big and showy, though during the talk, they asked all the artists to raise their[…] Keep reading →

I recently finished Bruce Springsteen’s memoir Born to Run. Below is what resonated with me and motivated me most: Bruce Springsteen wrote in his memoir Born to Run about discovering the guitar growing up in a working-class New Jersey neighborhood. The day after seeing Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show, “I convinced my mom to take me to Diehl’s Music on South Street in Freehold. There, with no money to[…] Keep reading →

Sunday was the first sunny and warm day of the year, reaching nearly 70 degrees (21C). That’s unseasonably warm for the beginning of March, but only compared to the past. Compared to future Marches, it’s cool. I spent the morning on the roof, charging the battery. I knew I wanted to head to the park, but feared what I knew I’d see: piles of garbage. People don’t just go to[…] Keep reading →