The American People Are Angry

The middle class is rapidly collapsing, and the numbers are staggering. Today, the 400 wealthiest individuals together own more than the bottom 50% of our population combined. That’s 400 people vs. 150 million people. One American family – the heirs to the Walmart fortune – now owns more wealth than the bottom 30% of American families combined. That’s one family vs. 90 million Americans. And people wonder why Occupy Wall St. happened.

Bernie Sanders is amazing. Check out at least the first 10 minutes of this:

Grounded Theory

Birdhouse Hosting is proud to welcome Grounded Theory Review:

The Grounded Theory Review is an interdisciplinary, online academic journal for the advancement of classic grounded theory and scholarship. The Grounded Theory Review adheres to the highest standards of peer review and engages established and emerging scholars from anywhere in the world. While centered in social sciences and the health disciplines, the Grounded Theory Review is open and welcoming to contributions from any academic field.

Walking with my Son, East Bay Hills

Feel so blessed to have so many great hiking trails in our own back yard. Caught this one of Miles and I traipsing around near Schmidt Lane in El Cerrito recently at the golden hour, sun long in the sky, enjoying the heck out of each other’s company.

Miles and I on a sunset hike, long evening shadows. Frabjous day. 
Miles and I on a sunset hike, long evening shadows. Frabjous day.

Dad Recalls Life on Coast Guard Cutters Chautauqua and Taney

Growing up, my brother and I were sometimes treated to amazing stories from the time our Dad spent on Coast Guard Cutters Chautauqua and Taney in the 1950s (see also: His home movie of the hazing ritual young recruits went through upon their first crossing of the Internal Date Line: Pollywogs). Recently, he wrote down some of his memories of working in the boiler room on an original steam ship, the intensity of the seas they endured, and the life of an old salt. It’s an experience that’s largely gone from this modern world, and I wanted to share it here for posterity (with his permission).

Jim Hacker served in the US Coast Guard from 1955-1959. He was on the Taney in 1955 and the Chautauqua 1959, Cape St. Elias Lighthouse 1957 and various buoy tenders in-between.

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Real World “Like” Button

Note left on my bike by an anonymous admirer (OK, “Nick”) this evening. Apparently Facebook idioms have suffused our lives so thoroughly that we now need to get creative with post-its when Real Life is absent a “Like” button.

Like bamboo bike

Flying Minecraft Octopi

Is this a bug or a feature? Seems like every time an octopus gets cornered, it eventually finds its way out of water and into the air. Once airborne, you can give it a nudge and it will glide forever until it encounters an obstacle. We’ve tried, but it’s seemingly impossible to get it back into the water once it starts gliding. Not that I mind – they’re friggin’ awesome.

Odyssey, Angel Island

Spent an incredible day Sunday traipsing around Angel Island with family and friends, immersed in the We Players’ interpretation of Homer’s Odyssey. Not so much a retelling of the whole story (which would be impossible) as an impressionistic series of vignettes, acted out in the many strange and wonderful old buildings scattered around the island. The audience hikes between settings (five miles total), with the players acting out bits and pieces of the opus in and amongst the audience – performing soliloquies, celebrations, music and poetry culled from the amazing 1200-year-old story of a hero’s voyage.

Calypso
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