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April 2018. Hundreds of people were lined up in heavy rain to buy tickets for Spain’s national art museum, the Prado. Some fiddled with their smartphones to alleviate their boredom as they shuffled slowly towards the entrance. They seemed unaware they could use their expensive devices to simplify their lives. I found a sheltered spot… Continue reading Using a Smartphone to Bypass Lines in Spain

I needed to share my love of backpacking and walking with my two young nephews (aged 10 and 11). My partner, the two nephews, their parents, and I have been backpacking in Andalucia, Southern Spain. With a couple exceptions, we traveled using public transport and our legs. The exceptions were a ride on the tram… Continue reading Traveling by Numbers

My partner and I are backpacking in Andalucía, southern Spain, with our nephews (10 and 11) and their parents. We flew into Malaga from the States, then immediately started traveling by train, inter-city bus, and foot. We hope to complete the trip without ever taking a taxi. The map at the top of this post… Continue reading Backpacking with Kids in Andalucía: Snapshots of Nerja

We’re up, up, and away on a Delta flight from New York’s JFK Airport to Malaga AGP, Spain. In less than eight hours we’ll be on a Mediterranean beach. My 11-year-old nephew and my partner sit beside me. The other nephew (aged 10), and his parents sit across the aisle We’re oblivious to the Atlantic… Continue reading TWA Flight Center: Building Excitement

I usually travel with a lighweight daypack. It’s under three ounces, holds 18 liters, and can hide in a hiking boot in my backpack. Of course I could use my 30-liter backpack as a daypack: it’s just a little larger than a typical 20-liter daypack. However, the lightweight daypack comes in handy: Later this month… Continue reading Travel Gear: Lightweight Daypack

Many of the ideas on Pinterest to organize paperwork would not look terribly out of place 100 years ago. Pinterest often seems dedicated to buying stuff and filling space. This makes me anxious: I’ve come to appreciate the calmness of empty space, absence of stuff, ma, the space between. This is how we organize paper:… Continue reading Living Without Paper Documents

The Mdewakanton Dakota, who first lived in the area that is now Minneapolis, called the Mississippi, Hahawakpa, “River of the Falls.” Minneapolis owes its origins to the Mississippi and the St. Anthony Falls. Starting in the 1850’s, logs were floated down the river to be processed in sawmills powered by the falls. Later, flour mills… Continue reading Hennepin Island Hydroelectric Generating Station

“Less is more” is famously the motto of architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969). The idea is to reduce design to its necessary elements. Less famously, Mies picked up the phrase from his teacher, architect Peter Behrens, in Berlin around 1910. Behrens is considered to be the first industrial designer. In the 1930’s Mies… Continue reading Less is More