My wife and I have spent the past several days in western Alberta, tucked high in the Canadian Rockies. Every few years, we join her family for a group vacation. In the past, we’ve visited Alaska, San Francisco, London, and New York. This year we chose Banff (population 7600), the highest city in Canada (at …
In my ideal world, you’d now be reading an article about the freelancing or entrepreneurship or extreme couponing or one of the half dozen other topics I’ve started to write about. In my ideal world, I’d go to the gym this morning, and then to Spanish lessons this afternoon. In my ideal world, Kris and …
Courtesy of the local Fred Meyer produce department, here’s the world’s most hilarious “serving suggestion”: a serving suggestion for bananas. There you have it. In case you weren’t aware of it before, you can use bananas in a fruit salad. Or — believe it or not — you can “simply eat fresh for a natural …
I was standing on the tarmac last night, waiting for my backpack to be brought from the small commuter plane I’d just taken from Seattle, when my good friend Chris Guillebeau appeared at my side. “Hey man, how’s it going?” he said, shaking my hand. “Holy cats!” I said. “What are you doing here? I …
It’s 17:01 and I’m waiting for the bus. I’ve spent the past eight hours making my way from a conference in Colorado Springs to a friend’s home in Seattle. For much of that eight hours, I’ve been waiting. I’m on the last leg of my journey now — waiting for the bus to take me …
Earlier tonight at Awesome People, I shared the six videos that make up The Sagan Series, one man’s attempt to create the PR campaign that NASA should have produced for itself. These videos make me ache to see humans in space. As a boy, I dreamed of living in space, of journeying to other planets …
I’ve lived my entire life within a 25-mile radius of my hometown, Canby, Oregon. When I left for college, I didn’t go far: I spent six years in Salem before returning to Canby. I now live closer to Portland, but I’m still only 20 miles from the place where I was raised. The trailer where …
It seems that over the past few years, it’s become fashionable for Portlanders to complain that it always rains on the fourth of July. In fact, this whining has become something of an epidemic. Nobody wants to make plans outside for Independence Day because of the possibility of rain. But is it true? Does it …
Eighteen months ago today, I started a weight-loss journey. On 01 January 2010, I weighed 213 pounds. I was heavier than I’d ever been in my life. For the first three months, I struggled to find a fitness regimen that worked for me. Eventually I discovered Crossfit. Meanwhile, I learned to eat more healthfully. (I …