For those keeping track, I unplugged my fridge on November 22—not to save power, though it did. Listen to my podcast episode Why Unplug? to learn my motivation, but briefly, it’s to practice resilience and reduce my entitlement and dependence. I’m reporting after receiving my latest electric bill. My results Here’s my power use over the past year. Last winter I unplugged my fridge in late December, so this winter[…] Keep reading →

I last emptied my trash on December 26, 2019 so today marks one year for this load. I made a video about the milestone in the style of my first time crossing one year, More than a year since I emptied my garbage, June 2018. Recall, I minimize waste to live by my values, as a matter of integrity, curiosity, and personal growth. I’m happy if people use me as[…] Keep reading →

Today begins my tenth year of daily burpees, not one day missed. My spreadsheet says I’ve done over 163,000 of them. I have yet to spend one penny doing them. Since I consider them something I do instead of TV, I’ve saved time doing them too. The activity continues to evolve in its meaning and value to me, always increasing, but mostly I think of them, along with the rest[…] Keep reading →

[EDIT: I recorded a podcast episode on why I unplugged my fridge Now back to the original post] Last year, sometime in late December, after reading about some cultures preserve food more through fermentation, drying, and other methods than refrigeration, I unplugged my fridge to see how long I could go without a fridge. I also noted how cool my windowsill was, providing some natural refrigeration so I could keep[…] Keep reading →

Someone asked about getting rid of stuff. What’s the point? Why not just avoid getting attached to it? I responded. . . Avoiding acquiring things in the first place is the point for me in Things I already possess I may keep using until they wear out or get rid of. Deciding what to get rid of forces me to consider and act on my values, which improves my life.[…] 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 happened to check: today is my 1,300th consecutive day picking up at least one piece of litter per day. It’s my dirty sidcha. I do it to develop leadership experience and skills to hasten the day when we view single-use packaging how we now view asbestos and leaded gasoline. Yes, you too will cringe at takeout and to go, now matter how much you relish it today. One day[…] Keep reading →