I read food labels, but try to avoid foods which have labels. I’m struck by how the same ingredients show up over and over again in different products. I looked up five McCormick spice mixes online for comparison: The mixes contain ingredients we already have in the kitchen, apart from outliers like Yellow #5 and… Continue reading Minimizing Duplicate Pantry Ingredients
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The Impossible Takes a Little Longer
Now that we have our indoor gardens on wheels fully operational it was time to think of technical refinements. Maintaining a log of actual water usage suddenly seemed like a good idea. I could think of several benefits of measuring water usage, including: Learn how much water is optimal for each plant so we can… Continue reading The Impossible Takes a Little Longer
A Shout-Out for Japan Rail Passes
This coming week a FedEx envelope will arrive containing two vouchers I’ll exchange for Japan Rail (JR) Passes. In October we’ll fly into Matsuyama MYJ on the island of Shikoku, Japan, at the end of a series of flights from Minneapolis MSP. At Matsuyama’s main train station, we’ll exchange the vouchers for JR passes valid… Continue reading A Shout-Out for Japan Rail Passes
A Medication Vacation
I like to travel at least two months each winter. Part of that time my partner, Dwight, travels with me. The rest of the time he’s back at work while I continue the adventure on my own. Next week, Dwight arrives at the end of his career, and hops on the “Life Phase 3 train.”… Continue reading A Medication Vacation
Using a Smartphone to Bypass Lines in Spain
April 2018. Hundreds of people were lined up in heavy rain to buy tickets for Spain’s national art museum, the Prado. Some fiddled with their smartphones to alleviate their boredom as they shuffled slowly towards the entrance. They seemed unaware they could use their expensive devices to simplify their lives. I found a sheltered spot… Continue reading Using a Smartphone to Bypass Lines in Spain
Hennepin Island Hydroelectric Generating Station
The Mdewakanton Dakota, who first lived in the area that is now Minneapolis, called the Mississippi, Hahawakpa, “River of the Falls.” Minneapolis owes its origins to the Mississippi and the St. Anthony Falls. Starting in the 1850’s, logs were floated down the river to be processed in sawmills powered by the falls. Later, flour mills… Continue reading Hennepin Island Hydroelectric Generating Station
Less is More
“Less is more” is famously the motto of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969). The idea is to reduce design to its necessary elements. Less famously, Mies picked up the phrase from his teacher, architect Peter Behrens, in Berlin around 1910. Behrens is considered to be the first industrial designer. In the 1930’s Mies… Continue reading Less is More
Blue Tarps in a Park
The homeless at [Tokyo’s] Ueno Park were up early Monday, with hundreds of the park dwellers quietly disassembling their tents and packing their belongings onto carts soon after dawn. Pushing carts laden with their possessions, they plodded toward a small empty plot hidden by bushes and trees. Around 9:40 a.m., about two hours after completing… Continue reading Blue Tarps in a Park
Travel Gear: Compact Trekking Pole
I’ve upgraded my hiking gear with a Leki trekking pole which collapses to 15 inches. It easily fits inside my 30-liter backpack. My pack is the same size as some daypacks, but it carries everything I need for an arbitrarily long trip. Even when I took it apart, my previous trekking pole stuck out of… Continue reading Travel Gear: Compact Trekking Pole
An All-Expense-Spared Trip to Chicago
On Sunday I submitted my 2018 tax return. I’m eagerly awaiting a $2 refund from the Feds. The tax refund got me into a parsimonious frame of mind. I decided to assemble an inexpensive trip. Incentives for a cheap trip The stars were in alignment: An email from Hyatt Hotels warned me that a bunch… Continue reading An All-Expense-Spared Trip to Chicago