Why am I writing so much about white males? Partly because I am one but live in a society that denigrates and silences the group. When I read about people in other groups exploring their accidents of birth—their skin color, sex, sexual preference, geographic origin—society seems to celebrate them. My city hosts parades for many groups. Does anyone wonder how much it would accept a white male parade? I expect[…] Keep reading →

Pairing hot with cold Cold showers are hard to start, even in the middle of the summer, though rewarding, so I you want the benefit of taking them. Getting sweaty from running, rowing, or other vigorous exercise feels good in some sense, but who wants to stay sweaty? When you’re hot you want to cool off, even in the middle of winter. Pairing getting hot and sweaty with a cold[…] Keep reading →

Yesterday’s post answered the best time to exercise in the morning. What if you exercise in the evening too or instead? The beginning of that post—why exercise, listing the benefits, and so on—apply here. No need to repeat everything up to “First things first.” Alternative 1: Just before bed The latest option is to exercise last before going to bed. Many ask if getting your heart rate up might keep[…] Keep reading →

Say you exercise in the morning. When is the best time for it? First, what’s the point of morning exercises? Fitness? Yes, you can’t leave fitness out, and if you don’t impose on yourself a healthy daily challenging activity, you might expect the point of the specific activity to be the main goal. It’s not—not in the long term. The goals of daily morning exercise include in the long term[…] Keep reading →

People keep asking if eating vegetables is expensive. They rarely believe the opposite, which I find. Farmers markets rock When I only knew how to shop in supermarkets, I didn’t know how affordable and accessible fresh fruits and vegetables were, even if you live in a food desert. Some people will never get past their blinders to keep acting as if they know better, as if it’s only possible for[…] Keep reading →

Salt I wrote about my salt experiment of going a month adding no salt to any food. As I expected, though was still surprised at the result, when I added salt after that month, my normal amount tasted horribly over-salted. Adding maybe twenty percent made things taste as salty as before. Besides reducing my salt without using as much, I also became more sensitive to all the other flavors of[…] Keep reading →

When I talk about avoiding packaging and having little to throw away, people consistently ask me about toothbrushes and toothpaste. If they wanted to decrease their packaging waste quickly and easily, they’d do better decreasing obvious big things like bottled water and take-out. Instead they go with toothbrushes and toothpaste, things where a year’s supply adds up to less than one load of take-out packaging. Five years into avoiding packaging,[…] Keep reading →

Division I basketball coach Ido Singer hosted me on his podcast, One Last Thought, which features guests sharing their one last thought. That is, if you could share one thought from what you’ve learned from life for future generations, what would you share? He pairs each person’s thought with another, so each episode features two guests. My episode is about 5 minutes. Click here for more episodes or below to[…] Keep reading →

Thrive Global featured me and my plogging habit in the subheading. I recommend trying it. My picking up trash has led others to start doing it too, and to find they enjoy it. One even claimed she was dirt-phobic before doing it. 17 Creative Weekend Routines For a Happier, More Successful Week Stargazing, “plogging,” rom-com marathons –– which of these activities will put gas in your tank this weekend? Here’s[…] Keep reading →