Thanksgiving means eating, often to excess, even if not with family during the pandemic. How about a post on food? I stumbled on a site with the Average Household Cost of Food, categorizing purchases, citing the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2013. Out of 30 categories, I buy from only 4! Here’s the average American budget. I put mine below. Before looking at mine, can you tell which 4[…] Keep reading →

I’m pleased enough with the side effect of regularly meditating that I can sit in a full lotus position for an extended time that I don’t mind posting possibly the most boring video on the internet. After first meditating at a Vipassana retreat in 2007, starting with a ten-day no reading, writing, phone, etc experiment, I practiced irregularly but deeply, doing more 10-day, 5-day, 3-day, and 1-day retreats slightly less[…] Keep reading →

I can’t believe how much today’s ride tired me out. I’ll only post the high-level details before going to sleep. I recently got a new used bike—a touring bike designed to carry enough to go bike camping. The summer between high school and college, a friend and I rode from Philadelphia to Bar Harbor, Maine and back—about 1,500 miles. For years I used bikes as my main commuting vehicles, until[…] Keep reading →

I saw her speak at West Point about a year and a half ago. In a room including colonels, generals, and cadets, she riveted the audience with humor, stories, wit, and insight. My favorite insight was her sharing her friendship with Scalia. Their nearly opposite politics didn’t stop them from things like he would secretly pass her notes while hearing cases to try to make her laugh. Her sharing contributed[…] Keep reading →

You’ve heard of my famous no-packaging vegetable stews and that I take over a year to fill a load of trash. Read the reviews. Now see how to do it online! Plant Powered Metro New York is hosting this free online event. October 1, 2020, 6pm-7pm Eastern Click here to register. I’ve cooked for over fifty people with nothing to throw away or recycle after. I led a cooking demonstration[…] Keep reading →

Call me vain or unprofessional if you want, but I’m sharing the results of my recent decision to reach a fitness goal I’ve meant to work on for years, maybe decades. Call me self-obsessed if you want for how many words follow, but the journey has been for more enlightening, satisfying, and delicious than I expected. For context, as a child I felt ashamed enough from being teased for excess[…] Keep reading →

Following rowing on my roof, since my tomato plants weren’t pollinating in my bee- and bug-free apartment, I put them on my roof. Since I avoid taking the elevator, watering them means walking up 11 flights every day until tomatoes form or the season ends. I share some of the story. Sorry for the sound but I wore a mask and was behind the camera. Here are the plants Here[…] Keep reading →