Conspicuous consumption

Our excessive consumer habits are headed for a change of pace, so you might as well get on board now.  Increasing scarcity of oil and water are going to cause a price spike in both, which is going to seriously affect the production and distribution of goods.  To put it simply, “stuff” is going to…

Read more

Back to myself

Do you ever find yourself living a life that isn’t the one you intended, and you aren’t quite sure how you got there?  When I was living in Sarasota, I was getting to the heart of reducing my carbon footprint.  I had a small house (950 sq ft) with a super efficient envelope, a backyard…

Read more

Getting rid of dead weight

I have spent a good deal of time over the last 4 years removing things from my life.  There are various reasons for these banishments, but they have all served me well.  Simplifying your life is not just about removing objects or possessions from your life.  It’s also about removing people, forms of diversion, thought…

Read more

Faith and community

I have several times extolled the greatness of St. Petersburg, Florida, and I found yet another reason to love this little city.  I am a big fan of composting.  I don’t believe in throwing vegetable scraps filled with nutrients in the garbage to end up in a landfill.  For one thing, they would contribute to…

Read more

Birthday ink

I’ve been thinking for several years about getting another tattoo.  I had visited several tattoo shops, but it seemed no matter what I told them I wanted, they always produced the same thing: the double line text with the waves and wisps.  Something very typical.  I kept leaving disappointed, and then I would not think…

Read more

The burden of being hot

Your level of hotness, much like the attractiveness of artwork, is completely subjective to the viewer.  Some guys like lots of make-up and fashion on a woman, others prefer a more natural look, and some want the geekiest of geek girls.  And there are some women who, not being so painfully hot as to make…

Read more

Our daily decisions

I recently had the good fortune of stumbling upon the list of eleven vows that Gandhi strove to adhere to.  The list resonated strongly with me and reflected aspirations that I already had about how to live my life.  One of the items listed is “Avoidance of Bad Taste”, by which he meant to only…

Read more

Taking back my time

I am taking back my time by putting myself on a Facebook diet.  This is especially difficult in my current situation: snowed in in the middle of the woods of Vermont.  It’s lonely here in the woods, and the friends I have in Vermont live miles and miles away.  There is no coffee shop or…

Read more

You don’t have to go to Europe: American cities

You would think by my posts last month that Europe is the only cool place in the world to experience city life, but that is just not so.  The United States has some really wonderful pedestrian-friendly, people-powered cities.  One of those happens to be St. Petersburg, Florida.  If you have two feet and a bicycle,…

Read more

How I spent election day

There is nothing like the feeling of being part of something that is bigger than yourself.  That is how I feel when I participate in the campaigning and election process for the position of President of the United States of America (or as it has affectionately been dubbed: POTUS).  Four years ago on election day,…

Read more

Back in the woods

So… it’s been almost a month since I returned from Europe.  It still feels like only yesterday that I was strolling the streets of Paris.  Funny, before the trip, I did not have much affinity for Paris despite having visited there in 2009.  Perhaps it was the fact that I sprained my ankle as I…

Read more

Daily life in Paris

The last few days have been less touristy than usual.  Jim’s conference has gotten underway, and he is preoccupied with that.  Also, the weather has been rainy and chilly – not the best for wandering around gardens and monuments.  On Tuesday morning, I was feeling a little rough around the edges, so we got a…

Read more

Last stop… Paris

I’m feeling a little dogged right now, but I’m going to power out this blog entry regardless!  On Saturday, we caught a City Night Line train from Prague to Cologne, Germany.  We had the bad fortune to end up in a sleeper cabin right next to a kitchen from which clanking beer bottles were regularly…

Read more

The smells of Europe

Before I delve into the smells of Europe, let me describe our last day in Prague.  As our train was not leaving until around 6:30 p.m. (or 18:30 in Europe-speak, in which I am now fluent), we had asked about leaving our bags at the apartment until later in the afternoon and were told this…

Read more

Recurring themes in Prague

I have noticed several recurring themes in Prague that repeat themselves daily.  First, brides.  There are a ton of brides roaming around various parts of the city, followed by an entourage of photographers and videographers.  Their dress dragging across the dirty cobblestone.  We think that perhaps we are not seeing them on their wedding day but…

Read more