17 October 06
hipsterPDA
I’m in the midst of moving offices at work—just across the hall, but this is to finally get a window after six years in a windowless cave. I’m seeing this as a good opportunity to fashion a new organized self and have been discarding recycling barrels full of paper these past few days.
As Pica related, last week we discovered the hipsterPDA and the Getting Things Done (GTD) system for productivity. It’s too early to say if the hipsterPDA is a personal reform that will be long lasting, but all signs are good. There are three reasons why I think this is working for me. The first is that it is small and very easy to carry. Any binder-based organizer however compact gets bulky quickly—it’s not something you’ll bring to the ballpark or many other places. The second is that the system is analog. I’ve done enough time with a Handspring Visor PDA to realized that there is a lot of overhead with digital organizers. Finally, the GTD system makes a lot of sense to me. Pica has worked with Franklin Planners on and off for many years and I just can’t see using one. There is too much emphasis on priority setting within a daily calendar. The GTD system is by contrast bottom up—you track projects and next actions, and the calendar is reserved for actual appointments. I’m having fun with all this, which is very promising.
16 October 06
Malthus' Ghost
Tonight, at some point, the 300 millionth “American” will be born.
The population of the United States hit 100 million in 1915; 200 million in 1967. It wouldn’t matter so much, really, if we didn’t consume at the frenzied rate we do. Our footprint is out of proportion to our size, geographically and in terms of population. By the time the 400 millionth person is born here, water will be as precious a resource as oil now is.
Who are the breeders these days? Republicans, natch. We childless progressives are painting ourselves into a corner. But this in itself does not constitute a good reason to have children, people. We can rant and rave and shake our fists but the future and what a mess we’re making of the planet will have to depend on the children and grandchildren of those who insist global warming’s a figment of Gore’s imagination…
16 October 06
There And Back Again
Yesterday evening I went to my 25th high school reunion, which was held at a Livermore Valley winery owned by one of my old classmates, not that I knew the lad—it was a high school class of around 400. I have never been to one of my class reunions, but 25 is a good number, and I currently live in reasonable hailing distance.
(There is definitely a geographical bias to who attends these things).
I was quite glad I went—it’s just fun to see all these familiar names and faces again, and to know that this bunch at least is okay. The neatest aspect of the event was seeing folks I knew not just in high school, but in elementary school too. Third grade is a long time ago.
13 October 06
Calendrical Ponderings
We went this evening to the sixth annual Davis community iftar, which has by now grown to be the largest such interfaith community iftar in California, with well over seven hundred people there today. The keynote speaker gave an introduction to Ramadan, and one thing she noted is that the month of Ramadan shifts throughout the solar year, it cycling through the seasons on a 33-year basis, since the Islamic calendar is strictly a lunar calendar, and the lunar year is about 11 days short of the solar year.
This year the start of Ramadan coincided with Rosh Hashanah, which is not that unlikely an occurrence since both events are keyed to the new moon, Rosh Hashanah occurring on the first of the month of Tishri. But the Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar—every couple of years they stick in an extra month into the calendar, presumably so the holidays don’t migrate throughout the solar year (leading to problems like the harvest festival Sukkot being celebrated in the dead of winter). So I wonder how often does the start of Ramadan coincide with Rosh Hashanah? It does next year as well. My guess is that it usually occurs twice each 33-year cycle, but sometimes only once, and rarely three times.
All these mysteries and many more can be revealed through study of this Gregorian-Julian-Islamic-Persian-Hebrew-Mayan calendar converter.
9 October 06
Digital to Analog
Not finding such a thing as the perfect calendar/planner system to buy, I may be closer to designing my own: while perusing a fountain pen forum, Numenius found a site where you can put together your own paper PDA. The most interesting idea, I think, is a stack of index cards you carry around with a binder clip, called a Hipster PDA . Watercolor paper, calendar, cards for projects: what more do you need? Plus you can choose what kind of paper to write on rather than having it chosen for you.
29 September 06
Tango Evening
There were no tickets. There were no tickets WEEKS ago. But I showed up at 7:55, and, lo and behold, there was a woman whose friend had been unable to make it.
Estampas Porteñas was riveting, sexy, rigid, flowing, stop-start-stop like all good tango should be. But what was so much more fabulous than I’d thought was the four-piece band (piano, double-bass, accordion, fiddle). They were given music-only slots where they each shone. What a treat.
What a treat. I tried to sketch in the dark. It was pretty pitiful but I’ll try and post a sketch tomorrow.
27 September 06
Birthday Party
He was having his friends over—six of them—to participate in a contest on his birthday: make the best presented/sweetest/spiciest etc. dish with the ingredients available. He arranged to have a panel of independent judges present. He greeted his guests with enthusiasm and excitement.
They set about the basil and grape leaves and chiles and ice cream with abandon. His effort was a log-cabin masterpiece of dolmas and chiles…
He has, ladies and gentlemen, just turned six. And he’s my nephew. (Photos of Simon making pizza dough with me two years ago can be found here.)
21 September 06
The Best Meal of Our Lives
Or certainly a top candidate: Tim and Carolina’s wedding, at El Convento in Boadilla del Monte.
Part of this is always, inevitably, context. But I think we arrived in Spain at a time when the cuisine, previously safe, predictable, heavy on the pork to an extreme degree, has been experimenting with copious fresh produce, an interested and interesting clientele, and just plain panache.
The wedding menu featured meats, salad, seafood in novel and interesting combinations (smoked duck and asparagus in an intriguing-looking soup, for instance). But we were offered, and accepted, a “real” vegetarian menu. Watermelon gazpacho; saffron-flavored tagliatelle. Shaved cepes with an exquisite sauce. A chocolate-hazelnut mousse drizzled with tiramisu “soup.”
Was it because, at 10 pm, we were starving? Hardly. The appetizers served outside would ordinarily have fed us on an evening, not counting the meat ones. No. Food in Spain is now Interesting.
(For a fulsome and very elaborate account of a different kind of Spanish meal, see Ethan’s Barcelona Extravaganza.)
14 September 06
Ribena and Friends
As a remedy for my cold I was introduced to what was basically a Swedish version of Ribena. Not that I knew about Ribena before, but mixing this black current syrup in a cupful of hot water makes for a beverage that is very therapeutic, especially before bedtime. I looked for an equivalent yesterday in the Davis food coop, and came up with black cherry concentrate. It too is a success as a hot beverage!
13 September 06
Back on a Bike
We got back late last night, jetlagged and disoriented. There are many sketches to upload, still.
We somehow made it to work and we both rode our bikes. We were impressed with how many cyclists there were in London, not just the courier professionals but ordinary commuters.
My favorite? The Museum of Garden History, an oddball gem tucked in behind Lambeth Palace. I’ve never seen a dodo’s head before, for instance.
My own garden is in need of serious attention, but not tonight—if I were a cartoon my eyes would be x’s.