California

Romance vs. Reality in Cycle Commuting

July 19, 2012 Alternative Transportation

When we lived in California and I was working a few miles from home in Berkeley (in the gorgeous Strawberry Creek Design Center), I was able to realize one of my persistent romantic fantasies — a bicycle commute! I’d hitch up the Burley bike trailer to my mountain bike, get Callum snugly settled inside, and [...]

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The New Twitter Nest

June 21, 2012 California

I’ve long been a huge fan of botanically-themed design, perhaps because it celebrates and elevates the beauty of the natural world around us. Perhaps you’ve noticed that here and there on this site. In our own home, we’ve incorporated an oak leaf motif on our fireplace screen, Japanese-style wave paintings in the master bath, and, [...]

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Lemon Buds

May 22, 2012 Austin

At our house in California, we had a Meyer Lemon tree in the back yard that was so prolific we were overwhelmed with fruit. Here in Texas, it freezes occasionally, meaning citrus has to be planted in pots and brought inside when freezing temperatures loom. Despite the challenges, I’ve been wanting to bring Meyer Lemons [...]

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Shipping Container Living

November 29, 2011 Alternative Living Spaces

Fascinating story about a woman who’s leading a drastically simplified life — in a modified shipping container house that she’s customized herself — so she can spend more time with her daughter. Gets you thinking about what’s important in life, and what isn’t.

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Ranging Free Fridays

August 26, 2011 California

I was inspired to start this site in part because of all of the beautiful and thought-provoking content created by others. The Internet, for all its flaws, has certainly spawned a revolution of self-expression, and I think our lives are richer for it. I am lucky that my job brings me into contact with some [...]

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I think it’s supposed to be a chupacabra

August 19, 2011 Austin

This picture was taken along my walk to work every morning the past few mornings. The air was thick with fog. I needed a light jacket. And notice, I walked to work… nearly a mile, and I didn’t collapse from heat exhaustion or dust inhalation. Along the way, I saw flowers, lush green vegetation and [...]

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Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2011 Austin

Earlier this week, my son came home from kindergarten and asked if we could start recycling. I almost laughed. We live in an area where there’s no curbside recycling. I even asked our private trash collection company, and they said that, though they offered the service, it’s not available in our area. There’s not even [...]

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Financial Crisis for Dummies

September 26, 2008 California

What Happened In Stick Figure Simplicit View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. This is awesome (and truly awful) all at the same time. We applied for (and got) a mortgage in California in 2005, and can attest to the mortgage broker’s modus operandi. The guy we worked with didn’t even present a “normal” 30-year [...]

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Going Camping

August 15, 2007 California

In preparation for a camping trip this weekend, I rummaged through the garage this afternoon and dragged out a stuff sack full of gear that I’ve had since around 1994. (Yes, I’m getting old.) I remember buying most of the stuff for a trip to Belize I took with two guy friends. Their plan, which [...]

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I spent $8 for a carton of eggs

July 11, 2007 California

And they are amazing. Sort of creamy, and deep yellow/orange, and uneven in size and color. Some were brown, others white. The chickens, instead of eating corn, eat insects and Isn’t it fascinating how the imperfect-appearing foodstuffs — with uneven sizes and flawed skins — yield the most fully-realized flavors.

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