I used to waste three or four hours a day browsing social media sites, generally Reddit at the time, but others too, in particular after telling myself not to spend that much time on sites. I found some useful guidelines to reduce wasting time on screens. Not all time on screens is wasted, so I wanted to reduce wasted time but maintain productive time. Existing rules that have served me[…] Keep reading →

I finished this week: Carmaggeddon, by Daniel Knowles: I bought a cheap used car after getting my first license at 15 years old. The experience led me to never own a car again. I knew that choice would force many later life decisions The summer after high school, when I was 16, a friend and I rode our bikes from Philadelphia to Bar Harbor, Maine and back. A couple years[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Life, by Keith Richards: I’d meant to read this book since seeing it on shelves a few years ago. Bruce Springsteen’s memoir prompted me. As with Springsteen, Richards’ experience after connecting with the guitar resonated with me most—discovering the art, the craft, self-expression, awareness, connecting with other musicians listening to their recordings, meeting other musicians in person, and so on. I don’t think I’m flattering myself[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Born to Run, by Bruce Springsteen: Growing up in Philadelphia, across the river from New Jersey, Bruce was always big. I loved this book, which I listened to, Bruce himself reading it. The first third recounted his doing what it took. He struggled to buy his first guitar for $18. He slept on floors, figured out how to play. He played what gigs he could. He[…] Keep reading →

I wanted to follow up yesterday’s post. It missed some of the more important experiences and lessons of spending so many years as a minority, or at least not in the majority. Since starting college at Columbia and mostly living in Manhattan, I’ve spent a lot of time with well-educated liberals. I’ve found them full of preconceptions about me, generally based on my skin color and sex. People who know[…] Keep reading →

This week I couldn’t use the computer much so read more than usual, including two long books and one hard-to-read one. I finished: The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein: I confess I recorded my podcast episode with Richard before reading the book, initially motivated by my mom’s sharing (on her and my podcast episodes) about growing up in a mostly[…] Keep reading →

This week was overcast and rainy nearly every day. I barely caught rays so had to ration electric power, meaning a lot of reading and listening to books on my phone, which uses less power. I’m writing this post fast since it’s raining again and barely have power left. I finished this week: Superabundance by Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley for the Cato Institute: I knew the premise of the[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Social Life of Forests, by Ferris Jabr, about Suzanne Simard: This six-thousand-word New York Times article asks: “Trees appear to communicate and cooperate through subterranean networks of fungi. What are they sharing with one another?” and profiles a scientist at the forefront of studying forests. I came to it following up reading The Overstory, since one of its characters is based on Simard. Here’s an[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Take the Lead, by Sasha DiGiulian: The author is one of the premier climbers today. The book describes her journey from childhood to winning too many competitions to count and being the first to climb many faces around the world, along with the fame that comes with it. My nephew loves climbing and she went to college where I did (Columbia), so when her team sent[…] Keep reading →