Kids + Science + Nature = Good future for all of us.
For those of you in the Bay Area, check out NatureBridge Field Science Educator Amoreena Treff, from our Headlands Institute campus. Amoreena will be appearing on a special broadcast of KQED Radio's Forum program, on 4/22 9-11 AM. http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R201004221000
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Foiled by robot
Mint.com is like your bubbeleh; it constantly reminds you of what it feels is best for you.
With a bambina on the way and without my formerly phat W-2 from the Borg, I’ve grown a cozy relationship with Mint. Once a week, Mint and I sit down together for a Ben Levin ristretto and go over how we’ve been spending our coins of the realm. Over one such espresso, I encountered a debit transaction of $140.79 levied by the City of Seattle. It brought back a dreaded memory, that started off as a lovely experience.
In early March, Megumu and I were returning home to Wallingford. We had just gone in for our montly kibbitz with Heather, our amazing midwife. It was a mild spring afternoon, the kind that shows off all of the bloom against the PNW greenery we love so much. We were happy; buuteeq was starting to get its sea legs, Megumu’s Masters in Public Health was going great, and the pregnancy was healthy and strong.
And then disaster struck from high above . . . with cunning and clandestine cruelty!
A camera planted by the tax payers of our City caught us whizzing along at 43 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. Oy! As a dutiful first child, I paid the fine without protest. In exchange, the Department of Transportation of the State of Washington, agreed to avoid issuing Megumu and me a moving violation.
To my knowledge, I am the first member of my extended family to be gifted a speeding ticket by a robot. Ergo, I feel obliged to issue a gentle warning to all of you in the form of my most dear medium:
happiness of Spring
blooming flowers, and such
but then, robot foils
With a bambina on the way and without my formerly phat W-2 from the Borg, I’ve grown a cozy relationship with Mint. Once a week, Mint and I sit down together for a Ben Levin ristretto and go over how we’ve been spending our coins of the realm. Over one such espresso, I encountered a debit transaction of $140.79 levied by the City of Seattle. It brought back a dreaded memory, that started off as a lovely experience.
In early March, Megumu and I were returning home to Wallingford. We had just gone in for our montly kibbitz with Heather, our amazing midwife. It was a mild spring afternoon, the kind that shows off all of the bloom against the PNW greenery we love so much. We were happy; buuteeq was starting to get its sea legs, Megumu’s Masters in Public Health was going great, and the pregnancy was healthy and strong.
And then disaster struck from high above . . . with cunning and clandestine cruelty!
A camera planted by the tax payers of our City caught us whizzing along at 43 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. Oy! As a dutiful first child, I paid the fine without protest. In exchange, the Department of Transportation of the State of Washington, agreed to avoid issuing Megumu and me a moving violation.
To my knowledge, I am the first member of my extended family to be gifted a speeding ticket by a robot. Ergo, I feel obliged to issue a gentle warning to all of you in the form of my most dear medium:
happiness of Spring
blooming flowers, and such
but then, robot foils
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Entrepreneurial Haiku of the Week
By day we sell stuff
@ night we build stuff to sell
. . . and always pitching!
@ night we build stuff to sell
. . . and always pitching!
Re-posting on "Broken" by William Cope Moyers
"Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption" recounts the dark cycle of drug and alcohol dependency of William Cope Moyers. Co-authored with Katherine Ketcham, it is both gut-wrenching and uplifting. It is one of the most grounding experiences I have had since coming to terms with my brother's addiction.
Moyers, as the name would suggest, is the progeny of the famed journalist, Bill Moyers. Cope would grow up in a stable, loving and nurturing home, yet he would drift into the tumult of depency by his own accord. An accomplished journalist himself (when he last rellapsed, he was rising fast in CNN HQ), Moyers brings a kind of personal analysis to this work.
I was touched on so many levels, but this book. Here are a few of the many pearls of wisdom:
1. Alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases no different than cancer, yet the social stigm they carry is wholly different.
2. It is a disease without a cure, yet there is a well-proven treatment . . . the choice not to use . . . every day for the rest of Life.
3. The treatment does not happen on its own, nor does it happen via sheer will power. It happens from a dynamic approach of counseling, AA meetings, learning to be passionate about telling the truth and development of self esteem.
4. Treatment and recovery happen one day at a time.
Contrary to the title, "Broken" helped to heal me a little bit. I am grateful to those who lived to write it for us.
Moyers, as the name would suggest, is the progeny of the famed journalist, Bill Moyers. Cope would grow up in a stable, loving and nurturing home, yet he would drift into the tumult of depency by his own accord. An accomplished journalist himself (when he last rellapsed, he was rising fast in CNN HQ), Moyers brings a kind of personal analysis to this work.
I was touched on so many levels, but this book. Here are a few of the many pearls of wisdom:
1. Alcoholism and drug addiction are diseases no different than cancer, yet the social stigm they carry is wholly different.
2. It is a disease without a cure, yet there is a well-proven treatment . . . the choice not to use . . . every day for the rest of Life.
3. The treatment does not happen on its own, nor does it happen via sheer will power. It happens from a dynamic approach of counseling, AA meetings, learning to be passionate about telling the truth and development of self esteem.
4. Treatment and recovery happen one day at a time.
Contrary to the title, "Broken" helped to heal me a little bit. I am grateful to those who lived to write it for us.