I think I can safely describe myself as a power user of portable solar panels. I: Carrying and using wears out anything, new technology even more. I chanced into EcoFlow when I bought a used power station of theirs from someone on Craigslist. I wasn’t looking to become a tester or influencer. I didn’t even know if I could use their equipment, let alone rely on it for all the[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, by Carlo Rovelli: I didn’t know when I borrowed this book that it was an international bestseller with over 13,000 online reviews. I only knew it was short and on a topic I loved. I was indulging in an old passion I haven’t indulged in for decades. The early stuff about relativity and quantum I had studied. Some later theoretical stuff[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished Apocalypse Never, by Michael Shellenberger: He seems sincere in his beliefs, but I kept thinking, “he’s close, but keeps not getting the issue.” For most of the book, I made mental notes of what to write about here that he missed, but I lost track after too many of them. Sorry, I’m not a professional book reviewer, so I’m not going to cover how much this[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: The Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker: A friend I considered insightful recommended this book over a decade ago. At last I got a copy from the library. Reading it made me glad to have the PhD in physics. Otherwise, I’d feel stupid. It read to me like a salad of hard words strung together, maybe more like spaghetti. It seems like Freud created a bunch[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, by Adam Alter: Another fascinating, intriguing book on how much we are creating a culture of addiction and isolation, and tolerating it. Alter discusses chemical addiction, but focuses on behavioral addiction, which he clarifies is not like addiction. Behavioral addiction is addiction. Industry is learning ever more effective ways to manipulate our motivational[…] Keep reading →

A lot of solar companies are competing for the home solar market. I once read an estimate of fifty million homes for $30,000 per home on average, meaning a $1.5 trillion market. Since most people can’t spare $30,000 for an investment that could take decades to pay itself back, if ever, these companies are marketing higher end homeowners. They are positioning themselves like BMW or Lexus. My only source of[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Repo Man: I remember watching this movie in the 1980s, loving it, and feeling like it was an underground movie. I rewatched it again for the first time in decades and enjoyed it as much as ever. It was different than most movies. It took chances. It has many quotable lines. The life of a repo man is always intense. I don’t remember why I chose[…] Keep reading →