Category: Uncategorized

Anyone who thinks that Southern California doesn’t have seasons either hasn’t spent enough time here or just isn’t paying attention. The difference in the fall air is palpable. It feels thinner, crisper. The morning after a rain, Los Angeles shines in dazzling technicolor. But these days even subtle, routine climate changes carry dangerous implications. Last…

I’m always fascinated by the ways in which people tell stories, especially when they use an art form to connect with their audience. A few months back I was lucky enough to meet Dan Bennett, the Antipreneur. Dan’s background is in engineering (!) and video production, and he is a master at helping people translate…

How exactly do we become us? “Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs. Watch your beliefs, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character.” – Vince Lombardi We don’t do it alone. Other people give us models, ideas,…

This is a description of last week in the life of two teachers. The second teacher is the one to remember. The first teacher is me Last week I accepted Ash Kaluarachchi‘s kind annual invitation to serve as a “shark” for startup founders at EdTech Week in New York City. It’s always great to see…

The clerk at the 7-11 on Pacific Coast Highway smiled as I brought the coffee to the counter. “Where are you going at three o’ clock in the morning?” To my very first triathlon. I signed up for the Malibu Triathlon (1.5k ocean swim, 40k bike ride, and 10k run) as my first training event…

An average guy is having an average — no, make it a mediocre, even crappy day. He comes home and his mother gives him a little cake and tea. The experience blows his mind. In his words: “One day in winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me some…

Open-Source Learning represents a significant change in education. Gone are the syllabi. Gone are the textbooks. Gone are the days when teachers had to act like all-knowing content experts and sergeants-at-arms. Heraclitus, I believe, says that all things pass and nothing stays, and comparing existing things to the flow of a river, he says you…

You’ve probably heard the old saying: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” That idea was popularized by Harry S. Truman, who may have gotten it from a general or a judge. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect a president, general, or judge to say. It’s a challenge. A dare…

Last Tuesday, like most Tuesdays, I wrote my “Taste of Tuesday” email newsletter. I mentioned the attack on Salman Rushdie, whose book The Satanic Verses was published during my senior year of high school. Reading Rushdie’s work over the years made an impression on me. The attack made an even bigger impression. I don’t like…

Recently a teenager told me that he wanted to skip college and work as a journeyman electrician. His reason: “I just want to live my life and not have to answer to anyone.” I get it. But at some point he’ll realize, as Bob Dylan put it, that “You gotta serve somebody.” Or maybe he’ll…