What’s the single best thing you can do about climate change?
Recently on Mastodon, Todd Medema writes: Here’s what I wrote in reply:
Solarpunk New Haven
I realized a few months ago that several of my interests turn out to be united under the banner of “solarpunk”: Essentially, solarpunk is about working toward a positive future where humanity and nature are supported by sustainable technology — check out The Solarpunk Manifesto (it’s about a 3-minute read). Since I live in New Haven, […]
What would you still try, if you knew you would fail?
Despite having no plans to write a novel, I love reading advice for authors—maybe because it helps me understand what I love about my favorite books. Recently I was recommended Story Genius by Lisa Cron, which walks you through the stages of building a compelling novel around a compelling character arc, and I got to […]
What do you want to start noticing?
Like many people at the start of a new year, I think about what habits I want to build, but I also like to spend some time thinking about habits in general and how I might structure them differently. I’ve written before about the three kinds of habit framework: Over the past decade, many of […]
Moving to Connecticut!
Things have been a little slow here on the blog lately, with fewer and shorter posts than usual — the reason, I’m happy to announce, is that I’m finishing up my time as a visitor here in Minnesota and this summer we’re moving to Connecticut! I’m starting a tenure-track position at Southern Connecticut State University. I’m thrilled […]
Brokenness is inaccurate emergence
One of the weirder tech issues I’ve had is that my laptop refuses to connect to wifi while its backup hard-drive is plugged in — it took me a while to figure out that’s what was even going on! I want my things to “just work,” and it’s so frustrating when they don’t. But it got me […]
Memorize with Acronyms, not Alliteration
To memorize a collection of words or concepts, it can help to form a familiar word out of the first letters, making an acronym like HOMES for the five Great Lakes of North America: Huron Ontario Michigan Erie Superior For another example, I still remember the order of the four stages of mitosis from high […]
Every vicious cycle is also a virtuous cycle
What I have to share today is a simple idea that I’ve found really motivating. When I feel like I’m stuck in a loop of choices I regret, each leading to the next in a vicious cycle, I remind myself that every vicious cycle can also be a virtuous cycle. For example, if I don’t […]
My Favorite Books from 2021
I’m ending this year with another roundup of some books I read this year. I like to give out awards to my favorites, sometimes in made-up categories (see my distinction between “hard” and “tender” sci fi below). So without further ado:
Three Good Decisions
I have a hard time remembering things that went well. It’s much easier for me to call to mind mistakes I’ve made: times I dropped the ball, or tried and failed to do something that matters to me. This is definitely a phenomenon many people experience (negativity bias), but at least in my case there’s […]