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: Rush is My Jam Show #7 Rush fans were surprised today with the news that Geddy and Alex are going to go on a relatively short tour in 2026 as Rush, with an amazingly …
: A Great Way to Start a Book I often come across sentences that I really like. This is going to be a recurring post-theme moving forward. This first selection isn’t beautifully …
: Music that Motivates I came across this systematic review of how music impacts motivation via Arnold’s Pump Club newsletter. The gist of the review is that music very much …
: Ten Years Gone Back in the spring I pulled the trigger on an Airbnb in beautiful little Sisters, Oregon for the first weekend in October. My wife was going to be …
: 5 Recommendations Blankie An open source, native ambient sounds app for Mac that features high-quality audio for 14 carefully curated ambient sounds, ability to save …
: 31 Years Ago in Boston ⚡️ 31 years ago today I may have seen one of the last great Dead shows. This show was the fourth night of a six night run at the old Boston Garden. My …
: Beijing and other Ancient Cities I am fascinated by the great cities of the world. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some amazing metropolises. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been to …
: Current Stack I finished four books this month and am currently reading 7, plus the one high school Human Geography text. As I mentioned in a post last week, I …
: Three Ways I Use Notion For years, I used Evernote as my digital brain, but now I am a devoted Notion user. I use other tools like the Google Suite and Apple Notes, but my …
: It is How You Live Your Life The Jerry Garcia biography I am halfway through is enjoyable. Rather than a straight biography of Garcia, it’s really the story of Jerry and the times …
: Fall Book Reload A new season is upon us and I pulled the trigger on 8 new books to add to my TBR collection. This haul touches on many of my interests; football, …
: Traffic and the To Don't List Everyone has heard of a ‘to do list.’ An idea that has been floating around amongst productivity nerds for a while is the related notion of a ‘to …
: Rush is My Jam Show #6 I would have loved to see Rush open a show with Out of the Cradle! Lots of other great later Rush in that first set. Chemistry is another great tune …
: Quitting Time I finish the vast majority of books that I start. However, every once in a while I find myself reading 100 pages (or thereabouts) into a book that …
: What My Students are Grateful For Every Friday, after their weekly quiz, I have my students complete a Google Form that I call a ‘Self Assessment.’ I ask them how their week went and …
: Simple Red Lines A week ago I wrote about my love of college football. However, today I cancelled my YouTubeTV subscription, which means that starting next weekend, …
: The Experience of Time I didn’t finish this book by Jenny Odell, but I read enough to come across this arresting, beautifully conveyed idea about how we experience time. The …
: Tyranny of the Majority—and the Minority: Federalist No. 10 and the Fate of Liberty In my AP Government class we recently read Madison’s Federalist No. 10. Rereading it this year, I am reminded that it is something I wish more …
: Links to Two of my Favorite Poems I am not a huge poetry fan, but I do love Gary Snyder’s work. Snyder went to Reed College here in Portland and for many years taught at my alma mater …
: 5 Recommendations Kagi Small Web (via Hulry newsletter) This is interesting to me because I just started blogging and this is a way to see what other bloggers are …
: New Read: Here Beside the Rising Tide I recently started reading the new biography of Jerry Garcia by journalist and biographer Jim Newton. What first intrigued me about the book is that …
: Rush is My Jam Show #5 Rush Jam Show #5 has some heavy hitters. Best show yet? I always thought The Trees could be jammed out, and I think this first set combo would please …
: Hearing at the End I am reading a book now called The Gift of Aging. In a chapter about the dying process the authors make the statement you can see below, that hearing …
: Saturday Football I love college football. Growing up, I was mostly an NFL fan. Nowadays though, I watch football on Saturdays, not Sundays. I’m not sure I know why I …
: 5 Recommendations Dignify textiles I love me some color and these beautiful Kantha blankets deliver. They are a go to gift and we have many here at home. Blankets are …
: Portland, Oregon Tunes I live in Portland and love music. Here are some songs I like that mention the Rose City or the beautiful state of Oregon. Operator by Grateful Dead …
: The Apps I Use for My QS Tracking In order to fulfill my personal stat keeping, as a Quantitative Self aficionado, I use a collection of apps to do the heavy lifting. Exist and Dayone: …
: Moving Targets Sam Wineburg is one of the brains behind the amazing website Digital Inquiry Group (which used to be called the Stanford History Education Group). The …
: Links and Chains Perhaps this landed hard for me because I am not a scientist. When I came across this quote in Rolf Dobelli’s excellent book The Art of the Good Life …
: Start Today: What Ryan Holiday Reminds Us About Time As a teacher, I hear students lament the frustrations of procrastination all the time. Just last week I asked some of my classes during a whip around …
: Michael Easter's Idea of Misogi A misogi is a Japanese idea that has roots in Shinto purification practices. The idea is to ritually purify oneself by bathing in rivers, waterfalls, …
: 5 Recommendations NYT Sunday Routine feature I love this weekly feature in the New York Times. It spotlights a random New Yorker and lets them walk the reader through …
: Rush is My Jam Show #4 Show #4 contains the first repeats of this infinite fantasy tour. I’m pretty sure Rush never played Out of the Cradle live, …
: As I embark on my 28th year of being a high school social studies teacher, and in our current political context, I have enjoyed looking through my …
: Effective, not Efficient Brian Johnson is an amazing resource for those who want to learn about self improvement. I discovered him years ago because he produced what he called …
: 5 Recommendations Napkin AI This is AI software that helps make interesting and creative graphics based on your inputs. I have found it simple to use and helpful from …
: Alternatives to GDP The novel I am currently reading is Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry of the Future. (It is worth noting that Robinson lives in the awesome college …
: End of August 2025 Reading Pile There are a lot ways people can spend their leisure time. I have friends who spend a lot of time in the gym, and others that like go bird watching. My …
: On Seth Godin's Reminder About Systems Seth Godin is one of the world’s great bloggers because he publishes a thoughtful take every single day, and has done so for nearly 17 years. His …
: Introducing Exist: The Newest Tool in My Quantified Self Routine I use several tools to keep track of things. Like many people with smartwatches and phones, I rely on Apple’s built-in apps for steps and exercise. I …
: Rush is My Jam Show #3 Show #3 of the infinite fantasy Rush tour that never happened. Lots of relative deep cuts tonight, no repeats from the first two nights (of course), …
: Six Dharma Tunes It is not a revelation to say that we filter the lyrics of our favorite songs through the lens of our own experience and worldview. Indeed, we are …
: Some Great Grateful Dead Covers I have my younger brother to thank for being a Deadhead. He discovered the band when a lot of folks did, during the mid-to-late 1980s after Touch of …
: Avoiding the Ego Default We all know the pull of wanting to be right, especially in the always online world many of us inhabit. It can be intoxicating. In a heated …
: 5 Recommendations Hulry email newsletter. I discovered this email newsletter last year and it rarely fails to share something I find interesting. It is also relatively …
: Getting Through the Gate The quote below struck me because I see this dynamic with my students all the time. Getting young people to quiet down and focus on a primary source …
: On the Quiet Life The quote below, which I read on Substack, resonated for a few reasons. For me, it gets at the idea of contentment. I am an admitted productivity …
: Rush is my Jam Show #2 A lot of heavy weights in show #2 that folks would have been hoping for on night #1. Also, two instrumentals in the first set. …
: Run a Personal Experiment An idea that I have come across several times of late is the one shared by Brad Stulberg in his book Master of Change. Indeed, Ness Labs founder …
: Power and Friendship This quote from Edward Luce’s recent biography Zbig (about foreign policy guru Zbigniew Brzezinkski) strikes me because it humanizes the pope, a …
: 5 Recommendations I always enjoy seeing what other folks find interesting. In the spirit of sharing, this is the first of many short posts sharing 5 things I enjoyed or …
: Benefits of WEIRD Marriage Dr. Joseph Henrich is an anthropologist who teaches at Harvard. I am reading a book of his about WEIRD people; that is Western, Educated, …
: Rush is my Jam Before I became a devoted Deadhead, I was a huge fan of Rush. Many of my Deadhead friends are also huge Rush fanatics. Certainly the two bands cover …
: New Goose Album Chain Yer Dragon I’ve been really into music most of my life. In high school, it was heavy metal and hard rock; bands like Rush, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and Judas …
: What I Remember from High School Is Not My GPA One issue nearly all high school teachers face is students who are excessively worried about their grades. To be sure, the student that doesn’t care …
: Greetings! Hello folks! I have been wanting to have a blog for a very long time and I am finally getting started. Whoop, whoop! I believe I’ll have a lot to say …