Food started my path to finding that acting on my environmental values improves my life. Before trying, I expected stewardship to feel like a burden or chore. Eating from scratch relieved me of that misperception. Food is delicious so great place to start your journey. A new book came out in the Without the Hot Air Series that began with David J.C. MacKay’s Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air, available[…] Keep reading →

I’ve meant to post one of my favorite posts, Introversion is not the opposite of extroversion, part 1, to my column at Psychology Today. At last I did. I love the post and what it brings people. I posted it here in 2013, the better part of a decade ago. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it at Psychology Today or on this blog. I’ll post part 2 there[…] Keep reading →

For years I had to wear orthotics when running in regular running shoes and still felt back pain to where I gave up running. Switching to minimal running shoes returned me to pain-free running. Interviewing podcast guest Nir Eyal, he talked about barefoot running. Most people mean ‘minimal shoe’ when they say ‘barefoot,’ but Nir meant barefoot. I decided to experiment running barefoot. Switching to minimal shoe running, where I[…] Keep reading →

If you haven’t seen the pictures recently published by Charles Custer, who drove America’s route 66 with his wife in 1950-51, you’re in for a treat—and, for some of you, a challenge to preconceived notions about progress. They show in wonderful detail, composition, and style, an America now gone, replaced by uniformity, efficiency, and overpopulation. I’ll take the liberty of posting one, but there are 148 of them here, and[…] Keep reading →

I found this bookmark at my mom’s house. She and my stepfather don’t remember buying it so my mom figures someone gave it to them. Here’s the front. Don’t the flowers look pretty? When I was a kid we’d sometimes pick flowers or leaves and press them between pages of books, so making a bookmark of them makes sense. They aren’t flowers, though. They’re pictures of flowers, printed onto paper,[…] Keep reading →

A little over a month ago, I wrote in How long can I keep my fridge unplugged? how learning about fermentation and uses of electric power led me to see how long I could last in the winter with my refrigerator unplugged. Deciding to start First, I want to reiterate my process to decide to start the challenge. First the idea to try it came. Then I wondered if it[…] Keep reading →

People call for diversity and equality but where is the call for more men on the covers of Vogue or Elle? I don’t see one. Am I missing the call for equality? I hear it for representation on corporate boards, university departments, and STEM fields, but with these covers the ratio is 100:0. Vanity Fair looks egalitarian with a few token men. Are we not worth picturing? You could say[…] Keep reading →