The Daily: 22 April 2024

Earth Day Earth Day was created in 1970 as a direct political challenge. Wisconsin's Senator Gaylord Nelson wanted the US government to do what government is supposed to do — protect its people and lands from rapacious business. He created Earth Day and organized the first demonstrations across the country to force the hand of… Continue reading The Daily: 22 April 2024

The Daily: 19 April 2024

I was talking about things that underpin our worldview yesterday. Naturally, there were responses. In reading and thinking about those responses, I discovered that I didn't make a few things more explicit. These are the frames on my own worldview, so I don't talk about them as much as I should. To be honest, that… Continue reading The Daily: 19 April 2024

The Daily: 18 April 2024

Spoiler alert: I am talking about books in this essay. One is non-fiction and I don't think that revealing its contents will ruin the reading experience for anyone else. The other book, however, is a novel; surprise is essential to the narrative experience. I tried to talk about the main lesson in this story without… Continue reading The Daily: 18 April 2024

The Daily: 15 April 2024

Tax Day April 15th is Tax Day for the United States. In most years taxes are due on this date, though exceptions are made for weekends and recently COVID seems to have added on extra days now and then. I don't know anyone who puts it off that late because the penalties for missing the… Continue reading The Daily: 15 April 2024

The Daily: 9 April 2024

When we learn of spinning galaxies filled with billions of stars, how can we believe that one country is more important than another? Why do we even have countries at all? We are riding a living planet through space, and we are all on the same ride together. — Akiva Silver, Trees of Power (2019,… Continue reading The Daily: 9 April 2024

The Daily: 8 April 2024

A Miraculous Weather Update After weeks of darkness, the skies are absolutely clear today! Praise be! There will be eclipse viewing in Vermont! 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (NASA/Carla Thomas) It's finally here! The last full solar eclipse to pass over my part of the world in my lifetime, maybe in the lifetime of anybody currently… Continue reading The Daily: 8 April 2024

The Daily: 7 April 2024

So let me tell you about my week... Ok, maybe not. Suffice it to say that two feet of spring snow derailed all carefully laid eclipse-viewing plans, another tree in the jungle has toppled into a rather unsafe position requiring immediate and probably expensive attention, there have been too many hours without power and frozen… Continue reading The Daily: 7 April 2024

The Daily: 5 April 2024

National Dandelion Day When the dandelions bloom,time to plant potatoes. — Old Farmer's Almanac The Old Farmer’s Almanac claims that April 5th is Dandelion Day. I’m fairly certain this is not a thing, but it should be. Dandelions are pleasurable in so many ways. Just imagine an early summer lawn dotted with bee-covered smiling suns! And when… Continue reading The Daily: 5 April 2024