I think it would benefit us all to just assume everyone we meet is an amazing person. Stop being cynical towards strangers. Stop assuming the worst and start assuming the best. Better yet, don’t just assume. Know that everyone has an amazing story to tell and an amazing purpose to fulfill. I don’t always see …
I was asked the other day what I like most about Christmas. After a bit of thinking, I realized it’s that brief moment of silence. There’s this gradual lead-up to Christmas, where life get’s more and more hectic. It’s filled with brighter lights, noisier sounds, and all around sensory overload. For an introvert like me …
I’ve been so busy with work lately that I guess I forgot that we were Wednesday yesterday, which is my day to write this micro-blog. Since I obviously don’t have much time, I dug up a poem I wrote a while back. After re-reading it, it was actually a nice reminder for me in these …
I usually write these blogs earlier in the day, but tonight I’m still at work finishing a large client website. If you didn’t know already, I’m a web developer. I design and code websites. My background is mostly in front-end development (HTML/CSS) but recently I’ve been expanding my skills into actual programming. So far I …
I moved out this year with my girlfriend, Ashley, and her friend and this will be our first Christmas in our first appartment. Being our first Christmas, I was faced with the task of, to be technical, “getting the apartment all Christmasy.” But when the subject of getting a Christmas tree came up, like most …
It seems like there’s a bit of a theme this week with writing poetry. I’m down with that. I think poetry is a great way to express yourself. And since this micro-blog is about getting to know the members of Valhalla, I think it’s a good idea to throw in some pretty prose poetry. Here’s …
Grass lawns are another one of those things we just take for granted. Everyone has them, so why should we do differently? Turns out, there’s very few reasons to use grass as a lawn. Grasses are great at feeding grazing animals. This was their primary cultivated use throughout history. Afterwards, they became more of an …
Today, I think I realized something pretty simple, but which has big implications for how I choose to act. Evil doesn’t exist:
If you witness evil in the world, don’t take it for granted, fix it. Assume everyone is good and that it’s your responsibility to fix the world around you if something isn’t quite right. Don’t complain, don’t assume the worst in others, because ultimately it’s your own world and it’s you and your children that’ll have to live in it. Therefore any evil is your responsibility, not something that “just is.”
First of all, props to Marty for this amazing idea of having a weekly update/micro-blog for each member of the Valhalla team. There’s an on-going theme in Valhalla where we compare ourselves to superheroes. We recognize the injustice in the world and go full-force at fighting to change it. It also takes a superhuman personality …
Removing Your Prejudice Anarchism. The word stirs up strong opinions in most people. Because it’s ridiculous, right? I mean, if there’s no one telling us what to do then all hell will break loose. Why should you even give it the time of day when we’ve clearly moved passed this primitive idea and have gone …
TED Talks Western countries throw out nearly half of their food, not because it’s inedible — but because it doesn’t look appealing. Tristram Stuart delves into the shocking data of wasted food, calling for a more responsible use of global resources.
The land in West Oakland where Eric Maundu is trying to farm is covered with freeways, roads, light rail and parking lots so there’s not much arable land and the soil is contaminated. So Maundu doesn’t use soil. Instead he’s growing plants using fish and circulating water.
Building a cobwood roundhouse over a six week course in six weeks, Spring2008 at Denmark Farm, near Lampeter, West Wales
It’s a question I get quite often when I tell someone that I like to garden. It’s a subject that excites me. Unfortunately, the reactions almost never return my enthusiasm. That simple statement evokes blank stares, curious grins, suspicious eyebrows, and chuckles of disbelief; but never the mutual excitement or interest for which I hope. …
