I think you know which one I had to get.
Category: travel
Blackest Food I’ve Ever Eaten: squid ink curry
When I saw this on the menu as one of two lunch options (the second being some pasta dish I can no longer recall the details of), I had to give it a try. I’m glad I did. Despite being a little salty, this dish was pleasantly unique with its palate-piquing combo of Japanese curry and squid-ink pasta sauce flavors. The calamari strips in it were tender with just enough chew. Just wish it had come with a little more rice to more fully tame the slightly high sodium content of this entree.
A Better World by Design 2014, the Real Payoff
Now I know for sure that attending A Better World by Design (AWBxD) this year was well worth it. When I talked with my students who were able to attend this design conference in Providence, Rhode Island, there was palpable excitement. All but two of my intro to environmental science students made it to ABWxD, and we had a blast sharing the things that really stood out to us during those 3 days of talks and workshopes on the Brown University and RISD campuses, like these…
Sarah Mann Carolyn Ciciarelli from Global Forest Watch showed us their interactive web platform for examining deforestation, forest fires and more—an amazing way to look at tree data all over the world. Global Forest Watch also makes APIs that allow people to utilize forest data for their own specific analyses. The blurry image here shows how their platform couples forest fire and wind data to provide insights on air quality—AWESOME!
Ellen Jorgensen told us about the DIY biology lab in New York Genspace and Continue reading
Should I Go To A Better World by Design 2014?
Early bird registration closes soon for one of my favorite conferences, A Better World by Design (ABWxD). To me, it tops even MIT Technology Review’s heady (swanky, even) EmTech experience of being within meters of tech revolutionaries at MIT’s Media Lab. Because ABWxD is an extremely engaging, active experience with interactive, well-facilitated problem-solving workshops and charismatic keynote speakers who have spoken passionately about the role of effective design in a variety of fields ranging from sustainability and health to urban development and education. It’s not just invigorating but also empowering. But do I really want to go once again to drink the design thinking Kool-Aid?
The first part of Decisive‘s WRAP framework is Widen Your Options, so the question shouldn’t be “whether or not to attend A Better World by Design”; to escape narrow framing, consider what am I or should I be comparing this amazing conference experience to? Well, for the $165 early bird registration cost for 3 days of ABWxD excitement, I could…
– get a Remee lucid dreaming sleep mask and up my commitment to my decades long interest in lucid dreaming;
– get a third of an iPad mini (but easily a whole iPad mini and then some after considering transportation and lodging costs);
– take a day or overnight trip to the White Mountains; Continue reading
My Faves in Portland, OR
The Hoyt Arboretum: an extensive network of trails through an impressive collection of tree specimens; the redwoods are spectacular (take a moment to feel the bark of giant sequoia).
The Portland Japanese Garden: a soothing, meticulously designed and maintained set of horticultural mini-landscapes.
Blue Star Donuts: delicious donuts served up in a crisply minimalist space of glass, metal and wood; it’s like the Apple Store of donut shops.
Chef Naoko Bento Cafe: palate-exhilarating Japanese cuisine prepared with organic ingredients. Continue reading
Random Anthropomorphism: Heron
Pachamama Coffee: a cozy cafe in Davis, CA
With warm, simple, snug atmosphere of window-facing wooden counters, friendly staff and delicious responsibly sourced coffee, Pachamama Coffee Cooperative Davis is a great place to relax with a mug of coffee.
If you like the offerings of Stumptown or Terroir, Pachamama‘s pour-over coffees are a real treat of fabulous flavors, with tasting notes nicely described for each of their menu items. And if you’d like to brew some at home, a bag of beans can be easily purchased. The only detractor I’ve found is that if you’re sitting at the counter facing First Street, it can be uncomfortably hot and bright in the afternoons when the sun is shining through the otherwise gorgeous, large front window.
If you’re in Davis, California and love freshly brewed coffee, I hope you get a chance to enjoy this cafe!
Fixing What We Broke: the 5th National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration
Or maybe it should be “healing what we’ve hurt”. The 5th National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration (NCER) just ended yesterday in Schaumburg, IL with
- David Doig, President of the Chicago Neighborhoods Initiative, talking about projects going on in Chicago, particularly their work on Pullman Park, and
- David Donnenfield and Kevin White of Full Frame Productions sharing their work and perspectives on the vital role of storytelling in ecological restoration (the trailer for their excellent film A Simple Question is below).
NCER5 has been an intense four days of presentations, panel discussions, plenary sessions, posters, networking and excellent food. While it’s been great hearing about the work happening in so many places, I’m reminded that there’s still much to be done: more places to work on, people to reach, money to be raised.
Although I am alternatingly skeptical and enthusiastic about bringing business approaches to traditionally non-business enterprises (e.g. education, public infrastructure, etc.), I left the conference thinking that we need to figure out how to make ecological restoration profitable, beyond firms getting contracts from the government for restoration projects. There just isn’t enough public funding to do the kind of work that is needed, and businesses need to step up and do their share, and if money can be fairly made in a way that supports the environment, community and economic growth, let’s go for it. Social enterprise could be a great way for the field of ecological restoration to head.
If you’re in Okayama City…
Drop by Cifa Cafe. This cafe + art gallery + design studio has delicious snacks, interesting artwork and friendly staff. Located close to the Okayama Prefectural Art Museum and just a short walk from the splendid Koraku-en garden (where the picture above was taken) and Okayama Castle, this cafe is a great place to hang out after checking out art exhibitions or strolling through a landscape of meticulously practiced Japanese horticulture. Continue reading
A Contemplative Compilation 