Is there any better way to kill productivity at work than by having to go through a computer refresh? I don't even want a new laptop. The old one works perfectly fine. It probably says much about modern work that you feel completely paralyzed without a computer. On the plus side, I have managed to clean at least a geological age worth of dust off my desk and shelves while listening to two episodes of Make Me Smart. On the downside, my new computer will have Windows 10 which means my entire afternoon and probably all day tomorrow will be shot trying to make my computer functional again.
In the year of health, I am happy to report that I am down 7 pounds in the weight category as of last Friday. I think I'm sleeping better and feel like my body is trying to adjust to new sleep patterns. I am also happy to report that I don't really miss FB or IG one bit. I miss my friends at some level, but I don't' feel overwhelmed by all the other useless shit that cluttered my head for much of the day.
A global report on diets healthy for people and the planet came out last week. The report suggests that we need to shift diets to mostly plant-based protein instead of animals both for human health and also to mitigate climate change. As you might imagine, entrenched interests on both ends of the spectrum are very vocal about the report which creates quite the shitshow in social media. There is clearly a nutritional crisis in the world when 1 billion people are suffering from hunger, 2 billion suffering from malnutrition, and another 2 billion people suffering from obesity. Add to that mix that agriculture is the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and it is clear that we have to rethink how our global food system works. While I don't necessarily agree with all of the report, I think it is clear we need to shift what we produce and how we produce it so that we reduce the impact of ag on the planet while at the same time increase the nutrition of all people. I could do without the rock throwing, but hopefully the report will stimulate discussions that lead to solutions and not just more bickering.
I've been on a jazz kick lately. It usually happens in winter. John Coltrane and Thelonius Monk were geniuses. I am seriously thinking of getting myself a porkpie hate in honor of Monk. Why not?
Happy Wednesday. I'll be over here the rest of the afternoon yelling obscenities at Windows 10.
Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Julián Castro 2020
Whether we like it or not, the 2020 campaign is upon us. I told myself that I was going to wait to fall in love with a candidate this season - after all we're still 600+ days away from the election and a year before any primary votes are counted. But last week I saw clips from Elizabeth Warren's trip to Iowa and was really impressed with the ease of her interactions with the voters at one of her forums.
Yesterday, I happened to watch Julian Castro's campaign kickoff event live from San Antonio. WOW. The entire event was broadcast on C-SPAN (shout out to government supported programming!) and the rally was strong. I find his platform to be appealing from the progressive view - a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, universal pre-K and affordable college education, no PAC campaign contributions - without being open to the harshest of criticism from the center.
I listened again to his speech this morning and I am still wowed by what he said. Watching the video, I noticed that he has some of the mannerisms of President Obama, especially in some of his speech patterns and it makes me wonder if he has enlisted some of the Obama folks on his campaign. His speech writer is fantastic. I thought out loud if perhaps Castro was aiming to be Obama2.0 and SK commented that he was more ballsy than Obama on the policy proposal front, but delivers in a way that doesn't come off as threatening the way some folks felt about President Obama.
I don't have a candidate yet, but Castro is a strong front runner out of the gate.
See his full speech below.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Snowmageddon 2019
Currently outside there is at least a foot of snow. You will notice in the photo that my driveway is clear. I shoveled it 5 times over the last 24 hours.
I've always been a shoveler, well ever since I moved to the Midwest where it actually snows, unlike West Texas where there is not usually enough to shovel. I always shovel more than once during a snow storm unless it's one of those non-events that doesn't really warrant breaking out the shovel. I catch a lot of grief for my shoveling proclivity. Why are you shoveling while it is still snowing? Can't you wait until it's done? It's 10 p.m. why are you going out again?
I love to shovel. I have an ergonomic shovel with one of those S-curved handles. It's much easier on your back, especially when the snow is wet and heavy. From a practical standpoint, I shovel multiple times when there's a larger accumulation expected because it is easier on my back. It's much easier to move a couple of inches of snow at a time rather than a foot all at once.
The other reason I enjoy shoveling has little to do with practicality. I find shoveling to be a very relaxing activity, both physically and mentally. I find the repetition of going back and forth across the driveway very Zen-like, not unlike raking a Japanese garden in some sense. There's something very much about the pattern of creating a nicely groomed driveway that brings some sense of order and belonging. The best shoveling happens at night, the later the better. When it is snowing enough to keep everyone inside, there's a special kind of quiet that blankets the neighborhood. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of the snow. You can hear the occasional animal off in the distance. The repetitive sound of the shovel scraping on the pavement echos in the night that can create a very meditative trance-like state. At night, you can very much create a nice state of presence in the world, one that never fails to awaken that sense of wonder in me that the normal rush of life can suppress.
So thank you, Gia, for bringing the chance to stop, relax, and be present in a quiet, snowy wonderland this weekend.
Sunday, January 06, 2019
Podcasts
I have become a big fan of podcasts over the last few years. A couple of years ago when I started my daily workout routine during lunch, I would always listen to a podcast. The 40-50 minute length was perfect for the time I was spending on the elliptical and it allowed me to learn more about things I was interested in, but also new things.
A little over a year ago, I was a guest on a climate adaptation podcast - America Adapts. It was a blast being on even though I was worried I might be walking into a trap. The conversation lasted more than an hour and I think we created an episode that make people think about agriculture and climate change.
Here are a few of my favorite podcasts:
1. On Being. I am not normally a fan of podcasts that are just repeats of a normal radio or tv show with nothing new added. However, I have always been a fan of On Being, or "NPR Church" as I like to call it and having the show as a podcast allowed me to listen when I couldn't be close to the radio on a Sunday morning. Hostess Krista Tippett covers a wide range of topics related to spirituality and I often find that listening to the show helps ground me in a more mindful way for the week.
2. Zigzag. First things first. Let's just get it out of the way now - Manoush Zomorodi is my podcrush <3 I first became familiar with her as the hostess of the podcast Note to Self, a podcast about the role of technology in our lives. It was a really thoughtful way to make you consider the impact of the technology in our lives these days. She also wrote a book from the experience - Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self. I highly recommend it as it has steps to help you put down the phone and open your brain spaces. Manoush and her producer Jen Poyant left WNYC to start their own media company based on blockchain technology as a way to try to bring more transparency and honesty to journalism while at the same time empowering women. You will learn about blockchain, you will learn how bots manipulate social media, and you will follow the ups and downs of these two kickass women. I love them and make sure I have the new episode ready for my commute the morning after it drops.
3. Make Me Smart. Every evening on the commute home, I almost always listen to the day's economic recap on Marketplace via NPR. Host Kai Ryssdal makes it all sound so simple (THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY). In this podcast, Kai and fellow Marketplace personality Molly Wood talk about topics at the intersection of economics, technology, and culture. As the motto of the show says, "none of us is as smart as all of us," and I always learn something cool on this podcast. It is my secret desire to actually be on this podcast someday as a guest.
4. Bagman. This is a single season podcast from the best journalist working today, Rachel Maddow. The podcast covers the story of former Vice President Spiro Agnew and his downfall in only 7 episodes. I was in elementary school during Watergate and I knew that Agnew resigned but I had no idea why. This podcast goes in depth to show the level of corruption of Agnew and the criminal activity behind trying to stop the investigation into his taking bribes in the White House. For the first time, we learn that Nixon and Agnew recruited George H. W. Bush to try to shut down the investigation into Agnew by pressuring a Republican Senator from Maryland whose brother was one of the federal prosecutors investigating Agnew. This was uncovered in a small university library in Maryland. There are tapes of Nixon and Agnew talking in the Oval Office about getting Bush to try to shut this down. Just imagine if this tidbit were known when HW Bush was running for office in the 80s. I doubt he would have become Vice President, much less President. Fascinating stuff here.
5. The Uncertain Hour. This another from our friends at Marketplace. I got into this one at Season One during my former workout period. Season One deals with welfare reform under the Clinton Administration (a disastrous policy as covered in the wonderful book by Peter Edelman - Searching for America's Heart: RFK and the Renewal of Hope). The pod deals with controversial topics around the economy in our society. Season 2 is a look at regulations, where they come from and how they impact our lives. Hosted by Krissy Clark from the Wealth and Poverty beat at Marketplace. This one will probably change your mind about things that you thought you knew.
6. Slow Radio. Last but not least for now a new podcast I just stumbled upon, Slow Radio from the BBC. This delightful little nugget is 20-30 minutes of everyday sounds in the world. You are encouraged to "step back, let go, immerse yourself: it’s time to go slow." I am looking forward to listening to the series of episodes recorded in a monastery - Monks chanting, etc. One episode covered life on a river in Tennessee. The old lady talking reminded me of the stories that my grandparents used to tell me about life during the Depression down in East Texas. I think this podcast might be a great way to start off a day in mindfulness, or perhaps unwind at the end of the day.
If you don't do podcasts, I encourage your to step out there and give them a shot. There are literally thousands of them covering every topic imaginable. You can find them on Apple's iTunes, or Stitcher. Many shows also have their own websites where you can listen to episodes.
A little over a year ago, I was a guest on a climate adaptation podcast - America Adapts. It was a blast being on even though I was worried I might be walking into a trap. The conversation lasted more than an hour and I think we created an episode that make people think about agriculture and climate change.
Here are a few of my favorite podcasts:
1. On Being. I am not normally a fan of podcasts that are just repeats of a normal radio or tv show with nothing new added. However, I have always been a fan of On Being, or "NPR Church" as I like to call it and having the show as a podcast allowed me to listen when I couldn't be close to the radio on a Sunday morning. Hostess Krista Tippett covers a wide range of topics related to spirituality and I often find that listening to the show helps ground me in a more mindful way for the week.
2. Zigzag. First things first. Let's just get it out of the way now - Manoush Zomorodi is my podcrush <3 I first became familiar with her as the hostess of the podcast Note to Self, a podcast about the role of technology in our lives. It was a really thoughtful way to make you consider the impact of the technology in our lives these days. She also wrote a book from the experience - Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self. I highly recommend it as it has steps to help you put down the phone and open your brain spaces. Manoush and her producer Jen Poyant left WNYC to start their own media company based on blockchain technology as a way to try to bring more transparency and honesty to journalism while at the same time empowering women. You will learn about blockchain, you will learn how bots manipulate social media, and you will follow the ups and downs of these two kickass women. I love them and make sure I have the new episode ready for my commute the morning after it drops.
3. Make Me Smart. Every evening on the commute home, I almost always listen to the day's economic recap on Marketplace via NPR. Host Kai Ryssdal makes it all sound so simple (THE STOCK MARKET IS NOT THE ECONOMY). In this podcast, Kai and fellow Marketplace personality Molly Wood talk about topics at the intersection of economics, technology, and culture. As the motto of the show says, "none of us is as smart as all of us," and I always learn something cool on this podcast. It is my secret desire to actually be on this podcast someday as a guest.
4. Bagman. This is a single season podcast from the best journalist working today, Rachel Maddow. The podcast covers the story of former Vice President Spiro Agnew and his downfall in only 7 episodes. I was in elementary school during Watergate and I knew that Agnew resigned but I had no idea why. This podcast goes in depth to show the level of corruption of Agnew and the criminal activity behind trying to stop the investigation into his taking bribes in the White House. For the first time, we learn that Nixon and Agnew recruited George H. W. Bush to try to shut down the investigation into Agnew by pressuring a Republican Senator from Maryland whose brother was one of the federal prosecutors investigating Agnew. This was uncovered in a small university library in Maryland. There are tapes of Nixon and Agnew talking in the Oval Office about getting Bush to try to shut this down. Just imagine if this tidbit were known when HW Bush was running for office in the 80s. I doubt he would have become Vice President, much less President. Fascinating stuff here.
5. The Uncertain Hour. This another from our friends at Marketplace. I got into this one at Season One during my former workout period. Season One deals with welfare reform under the Clinton Administration (a disastrous policy as covered in the wonderful book by Peter Edelman - Searching for America's Heart: RFK and the Renewal of Hope). The pod deals with controversial topics around the economy in our society. Season 2 is a look at regulations, where they come from and how they impact our lives. Hosted by Krissy Clark from the Wealth and Poverty beat at Marketplace. This one will probably change your mind about things that you thought you knew.
6. Slow Radio. Last but not least for now a new podcast I just stumbled upon, Slow Radio from the BBC. This delightful little nugget is 20-30 minutes of everyday sounds in the world. You are encouraged to "step back, let go, immerse yourself: it’s time to go slow." I am looking forward to listening to the series of episodes recorded in a monastery - Monks chanting, etc. One episode covered life on a river in Tennessee. The old lady talking reminded me of the stories that my grandparents used to tell me about life during the Depression down in East Texas. I think this podcast might be a great way to start off a day in mindfulness, or perhaps unwind at the end of the day.
If you don't do podcasts, I encourage your to step out there and give them a shot. There are literally thousands of them covering every topic imaginable. You can find them on Apple's iTunes, or Stitcher. Many shows also have their own websites where you can listen to episodes.
Friday, January 04, 2019
Entropy Friday - Facebook free edition
Greetings! Entropy is the tendency toward randomness and on my old blog I used to create entries of random things and call them Entropy (day of the week). So, here's to old habits...
A little context for my first post in a long while...
For the past few years, in lieu of New Year's resolutions, I've chosen a "word for the year" to highlight a focus for me and provide context for the coming year. This year, the word is HEALTH. I intend to focus on all aspects, physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, spiritual. Outside of being somewhat overweight, I'm not doing terrible, but there are things I can improve.
One of the first things I have done is to give up on Facebook and all its platforms (Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp). The tipping point for me was their latest privacy issues - giving access to private messages to companies like Netflix and Spotify. The level of control we are willingly giving over to corporations astounds me and it isn't clear to me that we understand all of the implications. On top of that, I found myself spending too much of my time scrolling there looking for God knows what and clearly not finding it. So, that is the first unhealthy behavior to go.
After a few days, I can honestly say I don't really miss it. On a few occasions I have caught myself wondering what someone is up to, but realized that it was just as likely as FB wouldn't really answer that question for me. One thing that freeing up that space in my head has allowed me to do is think more about where the direction of my work might go in the coming year or so. After almost 2 years of leaving the research space, I am now completely immersed in the climate change field and all of the controversy that entails. I will expound on that in the near future, but does it ever move fast and is interesting every day,
Last night, KJ told me that next year for his science credit, he was thinking of taking the AP Environmental Science course. The teacher had come around to tell them about it and his thought was "my dad would love this class." As he's contemplated college and careers, I've told him that anything he could do to tie his interests to climate change would be a good way to stay employable because climate change is going to impact his entire life. We'll see if he follows through, but it was heartening to hear him thinking about it.
Reading less FB has freed up more time to read other things. I picked up several books over the holidays and have started reading The Way of Paradox: Spiritual Life as Taught by Meister Eckhart. I found out about this book reading a recent book on one of my favorite poets, John O'Donohue. I've heard references to Eckhart mostly from the On Being podcast and hopefully this is a good introduction.
On the physical health side, my cousin Alex and I are having a weight loss contest - the closest to 160 by June 1 is the winner - reward TBD. I have not started off the year so well in the exercise dept, but plan to get going next week. This has been an slow easing back into the work routine after a couple of weeks off.
McK is back to college this weekend. So good to have the kid back home but so excited to see her future unfolding in front of us. Off to enjoy the last couple of days with her for a while.
A little context for my first post in a long while...
For the past few years, in lieu of New Year's resolutions, I've chosen a "word for the year" to highlight a focus for me and provide context for the coming year. This year, the word is HEALTH. I intend to focus on all aspects, physical, mental, emotional, intellectual, spiritual. Outside of being somewhat overweight, I'm not doing terrible, but there are things I can improve.
One of the first things I have done is to give up on Facebook and all its platforms (Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp). The tipping point for me was their latest privacy issues - giving access to private messages to companies like Netflix and Spotify. The level of control we are willingly giving over to corporations astounds me and it isn't clear to me that we understand all of the implications. On top of that, I found myself spending too much of my time scrolling there looking for God knows what and clearly not finding it. So, that is the first unhealthy behavior to go.
After a few days, I can honestly say I don't really miss it. On a few occasions I have caught myself wondering what someone is up to, but realized that it was just as likely as FB wouldn't really answer that question for me. One thing that freeing up that space in my head has allowed me to do is think more about where the direction of my work might go in the coming year or so. After almost 2 years of leaving the research space, I am now completely immersed in the climate change field and all of the controversy that entails. I will expound on that in the near future, but does it ever move fast and is interesting every day,
Last night, KJ told me that next year for his science credit, he was thinking of taking the AP Environmental Science course. The teacher had come around to tell them about it and his thought was "my dad would love this class." As he's contemplated college and careers, I've told him that anything he could do to tie his interests to climate change would be a good way to stay employable because climate change is going to impact his entire life. We'll see if he follows through, but it was heartening to hear him thinking about it.
Reading less FB has freed up more time to read other things. I picked up several books over the holidays and have started reading The Way of Paradox: Spiritual Life as Taught by Meister Eckhart. I found out about this book reading a recent book on one of my favorite poets, John O'Donohue. I've heard references to Eckhart mostly from the On Being podcast and hopefully this is a good introduction.
On the physical health side, my cousin Alex and I are having a weight loss contest - the closest to 160 by June 1 is the winner - reward TBD. I have not started off the year so well in the exercise dept, but plan to get going next week. This has been an slow easing back into the work routine after a couple of weeks off.
McK is back to college this weekend. So good to have the kid back home but so excited to see her future unfolding in front of us. Off to enjoy the last couple of days with her for a while.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)