The Consequences of Being Too Paperless

A few years ago we decided we would eliminate as much paper as possible. Eliminating paper has been a satisfying but imperfect journey. Our records are available to us when we travel, we no longer have a filing cabinet. 100% of our tax records, including receipts, are electronic and meet Internal Revenue Service standards. However, along the… Continue reading The Consequences of Being Too Paperless

Framing the Future

Today I came across some of my deceased aunt’s papers: degree certificates and an insurance policy. The policy covered two fur coats and a mink stole, total declared value UK£270 in 1965, circa UK£4,700 (US$6,000) in 2017. She saved the papers for my safekeeping, presumably in perpetuity. I’ll scan, catalog, then shred them. Money. A… Continue reading Framing the Future

Destination Medicine

The Plummer Library at the Mayo Clinic. This is not a museum: staff and students study here. A couple days ago I took the light rail to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. I walked past destination boards, trying to avert my eyes from the Tokyo/Haneda departure. My destination, Rochester Minnesota, was not on those airport boards.… Continue reading Destination Medicine

Eat and Plan

Cycled to a Nordeast Minneapolis hip spot where we met friends from Portland, Oregon, and planned to get together, down-under, in January.

Planning with Paper Maps

Dug out actual paper maps (as opposed to digital maps) to plan a trip. We bought the maps in 2006.

Categorized as Plan

How I Tunneled through the Great Firewall of China

For political and commercial reasons, China blocks Internet sites. Services I use daily, like Google, Blogger, Twitter, and the New York Times, simply do not exist on China’s Internet, thanks to the Great Firewall of China. Before my trip to Shanghai in April 2017 I made sure I would have access to all the Internet… Continue reading How I Tunneled through the Great Firewall of China