A friend told me about a difficult situation for himself at work. The person he reports to suggested that he lacked assertiveness. He listened to being told the information calmly, but when he reflected afterward, he felt a lot of different things, including feeling “twisted up inside” and “frustration, anger, disappointment, feeling misunderstood.” I can’t say for sure if he would benefit from learning the skill of assertiveness or whatever[…] Keep reading →

I don’t use refined oils at home and try to avoid them elsewhere. I attended a catered event and ate a noodle dish with a lot of oil and nearly no vegetables. They served grilled vegetables that were also covered in oil. The noodle dish was very palatable, in that it gave me pleasure to swallow it down my throat. It didn’t actually taste that good. It just prompted me[…] Keep reading →

Americans waste about 40 percent of our food. I’ve written how I eat healthy parts of plants like citrus peels, mango peel, and banana peel. When I tell people I do, the same people who decry food waste ask why I eat them. They’re healthy food! The challenge is to combine them to taste good, or to acquire the taste. I recommend eating all the edible, healthy parts of a[…] Keep reading →

Can we top Jethro Jones? Almost five years ago, on his appearance on the podcast, he committed to riding his bike to work every day for a season. What’s so remarkable about that? He teaches in Fairbanks, Alaska and riding in the winter meant minus 40 degrees (where F equals C). If you haven’t listened to his episode, check it out. Evelyn biking in the snow The other day, Evelyn,[…] Keep reading →

Today about 1:30pm I ate my first food since Saturday noon: a bit over four days or 97.5 hours. Years ago I would have thought it impossible, but I’ve done a couple three-day fasts and a few two-day fasts, now several one-day fasts. With my six-day exercise cycle that I start on the first day of each month, for months with a number of days not divisible by six, I’ve[…] Keep reading →

I stretch every day after I meditate in the morning (neck and shoulders) and in my morning and evening calisthenics (quads, Achilles, hamstring, etc). At times I work other stretches in. Why do I stretch? The research I know says it doesn’t reduce injury, make me stronger, or enable me to do things otherwise. Yet I find value. It looks like I’m pulling on muscles, tendons, ligaments, or whatever gets[…] Keep reading →

Spring is around the corner. Time to sign up for a CSA. If you don’t know, CSA is an acronym for an unhelpful name Community Supported Agriculture. You pay a farm a fixed amount before the season starts. Then each week you pick up your weekly load of produce. The benefits are big: more delicious produce, lower costs, more variety, you can meet your farmer and other CSA members, more[…] Keep reading →