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What’s ahead for 2009? James Kuntsler…kind of a Paul Erlich for the new millenium…has made his predictions for the year ahead. Bottom line–we’re in for a nasty economic contraction, perhaps combined with stunning inflation as the government throws dollars (in the wrong directions) at the problem. Kuntsler predicts that the ratcheting down will be unpredictable…
A pretty full year. Over the span of the last 365 I managed to: Start a diet in which I was supposed to lose 20 lbs. of fat in 30 days…with no exercise. Well, I lost 30 lbs. but it took 365 days and a fair amount of exercise. Buy an energy-efficient refrigerator…then had to…
I weigh myself every morning. Our digital scale is reasonably accurate, or I should say consistent. Sometimes if it’s placed a certain way on the bathroom floor it will give a reading that is out of range. But mostly you can step on it ten times and it will give the same results. My goal…
Every now and then something in the Cosmos slips and reveals that the universe is not as neatly ordered a system as we like to believe. Consider this: I wake up every morning at 5 AM. Sometimes I’d like to sleep longer but our cocker spaniel has adapted to my pattern and cries to be…
While I’m working on giving up the black stuff Treehugger reports that plans are in the works for making biodiesel from old coffee grounds. Who knew that being a barrista would turn out to be a green collar job? There are a couple of problems with the coffee grounds-to-biofuel plan that I can see. The…
I stopped drinking coffee this weekend. This wasn’t cold turkey…I’ve been tapering down over two weeks, and drinking black tea instead. Even still, I spent the weekend in an adenosine-laced torpor. I had plenty of big ideas, but without the will to live I spent the two days in bed in the fetal position.
Yesterday I floated a question about “green” jobs. Seems to me there are several ways to approach the problem: 1. Work for a “green” organization, ie. conservation or alternative energy development 2. Work as a Corporate Social Responsibility representative in a “non-green” organization 3. Work as an activist to affect change within your current organization …
When I first laid eyes on the Last Whole Earth Catalog back in the mid-1970s I became aware of the notion of sustainability (back in the day this was called “ecology“.) Ecology-thinking drove me to give up dirt-biking, believing that gasoline powered transport was a bad idea for a hobby. Ironically it was thinking green…
One of the things I harp on is that high school kids should make an effort to read through the Bible. If you’re going to profess Christianity, you ought to know what the book says. To get a little motivation and put my money where my mouth is (I haven’t read the Good Book from…
Here’s what I want to do, develop some Business Process Management diagrams for the Content Management System at the Day Job from Hell. This is because I want to keep my place in Hell–assuming there are far worse Hells than this. So what I need is a BPM modeler that runs on OS X and…
I work in the retail sector, for a company that has typically done pretty well in tough times. I’m a knowledge worker, and while I’m not non-expendable the company would get a pretty big hit of brain-drain if I left. I’ve worked out a niche for myself and could happily churn along for years to…
More pics of Blake’s amazing get-off. This pic from Scott Leighty shows the trajectory. Cluster of people at the top of the page is where Blake went over. After a few grunts it dawned on us that Blake’s ride would make it up the hill easier if we put the transmission in neutral. And then…
If you look carefully at the upper third of this picture, just to the left of the green bush, you can see what a BMW 1200 GS Adventure looks like after a rider tries to get this motorcycle airborne. This happened on a sandy stretch of the Santa Clara Truck Trail during the VCARS Exploring the…
Lost socks are one of the great torments of my life. No more, thanks to Sock Cops. These little doo-hickeys grab socks tight and keep them together through wash and dry. Leave them on until you’re ready to wear your socks. These would work great for gloves, anything else you want to keep together. The…
On a recent kayak junket I had the opportunity to follow Lifehacker’s advice on waterproofing electronic gear. I bought three condoms, and after the first two ripped I left the third in the men’s room for someone who was feeling lucky. Of course there must be some tougher rubbers than the ones I was using.…
