Blog

Cedar-Riverside, the most diverse neighborhood in Minneapolis, is a four minute walk from our home. One hundred years ago, Cedar-Riverside was home to Scandinavians, Germans, and Bohemians (today’s Czech Republic). During the last 30 years a large number of Somalis, escaping civil war and refugee camps, have moved here to what has been called Little… Continue reading Little Mogadishu

This week I bought our final Saturday evening ice cream treats from Izzy’s ice cream store just down the road from where we live. Covid-19, and the uncertainties it’s bringing, gate-crashed the business model; the store is closing. Izzy’s and our home are built on what was a polluted rail yard, a so-called brown field… Continue reading Izzy’s Ice Cream

Teardown Modules Next Steps Maybe I’ll fix some design defects. Or maybe I’ll just take this all apart, sort the parts into my airline service trolley, then think up a new challenge. Play is good.

An envelope, addressed by hand, was waiting for me in our mail box today. Judging by the return address, it contained Covid-19 antibody test results from a clinical lab affiliated with the University of Minnesota. I found myself wondering if I should even open the envelope. I try to be disciplined about this kind of… Continue reading Should I Open This Envelope?

In early May, I rode my bicycle past a scene that’s etched in my memory. At that time, George Floyd was alive, but Covid-19 was already disproportionately affecting the poor and people of color. The scene was something I had never seen before: a line of people carrying possessions, appropriately socially distanced, waiting outside a… Continue reading Out of Sight…

When we mapped out the floor plan for our apartment, we included a closet just off the den for hobby materials and practical stuff. Two rolling carts would sit against a wall: one cart would hold boxes of my LEGO Technics and Mindstorms parts, the other would hold my partner’s Architectural LEGO bricks. I investigated… Continue reading Using Airline Service Trolleys to Organize LEGO Parts

Stay-at-home orders have led to a boom in decluttering, closet organizing, and generally improving the home. We tend to get used to things being a little out of whack in our homes. With that thought in mind, I wandered around with a critical eye, trying to see things as if for the first time. I… Continue reading Naked Desks

The elderly white woman periodically topped up our wine glasses. When she decided we were sufficiently lubricated, she turned the conversation to race, specifically African Americans. “They need to get over it,” she announced, repeating with added vehemence, “Get over it.” That conversation has been reverberating in my head as I’ve been looking at street… Continue reading Minneapolis Protest Street Art