7gen Bloc

One thing you can always say about Nature… She’s never lacks for curveballs. Here’s a fresh handful of mystery (one of my favorite things) to keep our sense of wonder alive as we say so long to summer. First up, the wake-up call of all time. I simply cannot fathom the size of the mug of coffee I’d need if this were me. Question: if you did snooze that long, would you have nightmares like this this? Finally, there’s nothing like a big scary space hole to get one’s holiday weekend off to a rip roaring start. Happy Labor Day, kids…

Last night the CBS Evening News ran a piece on Kris Carr, director of the documentary Crazy Sexy Cancer and author of an accompanying book on cancer tips. Kris was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable cancer and since then has been defying the odds by not only surviving but flourishing. Hers is a genuine profile in true courage, and she’s a real inspiration on every level.

A couple of random media notes of possible interest…

‘It’s a challenge for our society to address environmental quality, as everyone has an impact. The public has been tremendously supportive of our farm, the dairy industry and the environment…’

An interesting post from Peter Madden over at Gristmill has been making the rounds here via interoffice e-mail. It suggests that we might be paying too much attention to the issue of global warming. That there’s a danger we’re putting all the environmental concern we have to spare in that one proverbial basket at the expense of other issues like biodiversity, toxics, etc.

WR - I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was at this farm! It's also so great that I have the kind of job that allows me to check this stuff out and keep us in the loop with what's going on around us! I took a ton of pictures (sorry, I know you wanted a video, but my camera is messed up at the moment) and got the tour, and met some interesting folks. This is an amazing technology, and I was consumed by the fact that it solves a couple of problems on many levels. You take tons of shit and turn it into electricity and bedding/compost! It takes methane out of the atmosphere to boot!

And now as public service of the Inspired Protagonist, we bring you yesterday’s news today. Because, well… I’m so completely behind the curve that from where I sit the curve appears on the very distant horizon only as the faintest suggestion of something not flat. And really, from here, even that could be an atmospheric trick. The reason for my lateness, as everyone who knows me knows, is a recent relocation to a new abode that has reduced my home office to rubble and triggered a week’s worth of connectivity problems that have left me wandering alone in the terrifying e-darkness.

Spent some time with Jeffrey this summer out on Long Island. Not a lot of good surf days. We went to Montauk, waves were up, and he surfed. Here is some footage. WR

Every once in awhile an idea comes down the pike that has the potential to revolutionize the world. This one from Jim Rogers, the chairman and chief executive of Duke Energy, is just such a stroke of genius. Rogers suggests replacing the current electric regulatory system, which encourages electric utilities to generate more energy usage, with one that rewards power companies for increasing their customers' energy efficiency. This is exactly the kind of leadership we need from the business community.

I always am amazed at the origins of words. I wonder if the ‘hands’ of a clock came from this ancient way of telling approximate time of day. This works particularly well around the Autumnal and Vernal equinoxes. This is when the Sun casts a more even glow on our part of the world.