LATEST BLOG POSTS

This week I finished: The Constitution Today: Timeless Lessons for the Issues of our Ira, by Akhil Reed Amar: I have been studying the Constitution like never before. The path to it was realizing sustainability meant changing culture, which forced me to ask if it was possible, which pointed me to abolitionism, which pointed me to Lincoln and abolitionists, which led me to the Thirteenth Amendment, which led me to[…] Keep reading →

This morning’s calisthenics involved four sets of burpees. I noticed a funny thought as I started the third set. I had barely done a tenth of a burpee in that third set when I thought, “Only one set left.” That’s an odd thought. Since I had barely started the third set, I had closer to two sets left. Why did I think I had one set left when I actually[…] Keep reading →

People worry about properties that lose value if we move toward sustainability. For example, if demand for fossil fuels drops then things whose value depend on the price of fossil fuels like factories, refineries, and companies will lose value. If their values drop more than they’re worth to use, they become worthless. Finance people call them stranded assets. If enough people stop flying and driving, the stuff in this image[…] Keep reading →

Why are some people homeless? Why does the problem persist throughout time and across cultures? Learning about dominance hierarchies as systems helps see patterns beyond just what the eye sees. Take, for example, the observation that some cities in the US have greater homeless populations than others. People are quick to assign causality to correlation. To understand helplessness and homelessness, it helps to understand freedom. If freedom is ability to[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been saying these words lately. Do the reps, you get the results. Don’t do the reps, you don’t get the results. I’ve said them to myself, my teammates, and my coaching clients. As regular readers know from my sidchas and standard procedures, I live them. When I search the web for them as a quote, I don’t find them, so maybe I created the quote. They ring true, particularly[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been reading an anti-colonialist pro-indigenous book. The author is very critical of colonists and those who do not honor the lands of indigenous people. The book doesn’t mention the recent movement to consider animals, plants, and rivers people. I first considered it crazy, but we treat corporations as legal persons. If we do, does their being people mean the first people in an area are colonists, not indigenous? I[…] Keep reading →

When people talk about industries sowing doubt to avoid being scrutinized or regulated, people often say that those industries are using the tactics of big tobacco. It happens a lot with businesses the pollute and deplete a lot. I think they’re mostly relying on the book Merchants of Doubt, which wrote about how the tobacco industry created uncertainty and other tactics, not to defend themselves so much as to deflect[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Common Sense, by Thomas Paine: I read this book because the more I read about it, the more my book seemed to be following its legacy, though I want to be careful about flattering myself, given its sales and influence. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of this book made common sense though the language was hard to understand. I didn’t realize a book had[…] Keep reading →

I’ve written about Where to buy the best food around New York City and praised the system of CSAs and the incredible flavor, value, and convenience of the one I participate in from Stoneledge Farm. Every year they host a lunch and invite all subscribers. I think I’ve gone every year since I started, though they may have skipped a couple years during the pandemic. I forget. I don’t take[…] Keep reading →