Our culture promotes the wrong idea that buying things brings happiness. More like addiction. Stores yesterday were busy fake marking up prices to fake mark them back down. They aren’t doing you any favors. Did you know that many manufacturers make lower quality items specifically for this time of year. They break down sooner, costing you more, filling landfills more. But they really hit the poorest this way, which is[…] Keep reading →

Someone suggested I learn about a writer named Pico Iyer. In an interview I listened to he talked about the musician Leonard Cohen, who apparently spent time living as a monk. Cohen’s practice, according to Iyer, included scrubbing the floor. The practice doesn’t sound glamorous. You can hire someone to do it. Why bother if you can afford not to? The movie Amazing Grace, about William Wilberforce, showed John Newton[…] Keep reading →

Saturday and Sunday I rode over 100 miles from New York to Philadelphia, sleeping overnight in Princeton as a fundraiser for an organization creating a bike route from Maine to Florida called the East Coast Greenway. Technically we started in Jersey City, just across the Hudson River. I took the subway instead of swimming. Saturday we rode about 65 to 70 miles, Sunday 40. I rode an extra 10 or[…] Keep reading →

Cassiano Rodrigues Laureano is a MMA fighter from Brazil living in Singapore. He set the world record for most burpees in an hour, certified by Guinness at 951. In his words: Nothing comes without sacrifice, lots of it! The real grinding is done when no one is watching. Hold yourself to high standards, discover what you are good at and explore it as much as you can, be confident on[…] Keep reading →

I finished six marathons and my exercise habit began by joining the cross country team in high school in 1986. Ultimate had a lot of running in it. Practice led me to love running. I didn’t at first, when I struggled. I’ve had my share of running injuries. Last year I started running barefoot, inspired by podcast guest Nir Eyal. Over the winter I tend to row inside on the[…] Keep reading →

With the recent civilian billionaires heading to space, Rob and Andrew invited me as a guest on their show After Dark on America Out Loud to speak about space, humans going there, and my helping build satellites with NASA and ESA (the European Space Agency). I haven’t gotten to nerd out on my rocket-based work in years, even decades. I don’t remember the hard equations since I’m out of practice,[…] Keep reading →

I spoke to my father in the months leading to last November’s election. He lives in Pennsylvania, a state that could have gone either way. He was concerned about the outcome. I suggested speaking to people who might vote differently than him to influence them. He wouldn’t. He would only speak to people who were voting his way. It’s easier not to face conflict, let alone resolve it, at least[…] Keep reading →