Bo and I are having an argument about the lawn. He wants more of it and I, less. We stand on a freshly mowed patch of grass at our cabin in the San Juan islands, the place we bought to get away from it all, to relax. The place, I now realize, many people go to do many things, but not to relax. << MORE >>

Step Two: Stare at Your Navel. What was it Alanis Morriset said about gratitude? "Thank you, thank you, thank you... India... blah, blah." As a Canadian she probably knows a thing or two about crappy weather. Introspection is a decent short term solution to gray. Doesn't Morriset thank gray too? Maybe it was kudos to terra cotta - no matter. Nasty weather gives us a good reason to stay inside and really dwell on ourselves, to dwell in the inner dwelling of our souls. << MORE >>

I've tried all of the typical approaches to fight global warming: the lightbulbs, the bus, the calls to my lawmakers. But the news continues to worsen, and I get the feeling that we are in it for the long haul. As the economy tanks and the polar caps melt, I think it's time to get creative. It's time for mustaches against global warming. << MORE >>

Walking my dog tonight I passed a curious object: a little foil pie pan containing a pair of reading glasses and a note saying "Are these yours?" Only in Seattle. I've passed these glasses for weeks. Some neighbor's walked past this little tin on her way home from work, wondering if today would be the day that these five dollar spectacles would be reunited with their long lost, surely angst ridden owner. Some neighbor dedicated her time and energy to finding a home for this tiny bit of plastic and glass. I ask you Seattle: Are These Yours?<< MORE >>

Maybe if I tell you what I do for a living it will explain why I'm impersonating Elvis this Saturday. << MORE >>

Today I got kicked out of a pet store and locked out of my house. Then things got interesting. << MORE >>

A guy flew past me on his snowboard as I hiked up the hill in the snow. It was one o'clock in the morning, and the snow was falling heavily, but visibility was still good enough for me to turn and follow the snowboarder's descent. He worked the powder on his way down, switching left then right along the narrow run, keeping an eye out for other skiers, sledders, and the occasional Ford Taurus. << MORE >>

Hating snow is like hating puppies. A blanket of white can make it tough to get where you want to go, and a puppy may not want to walk your direction, but in the end both take you places worth going. After a week of snow, ice and cold, Seattlites are beginning to run a cabin fever, but I say Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow. << MORE >>

Years ago a yoga instructor told me: "If you don't have time for God, then you don't have time." At that moment I was probably standing on one foot or maybe my head - I can't remember, but I've recalled her pithy advice ever since. The class was small and she was making that mistake, one I've made before, of complaining about the people who don't show up to the people who do show up. By referencing God, she was speaking metaphorically about yoga, making the connection that if you don't make time for important stuff like yoga, or God, then you have misplaced priorities, that you don't even know what time is. << MORE >>

In two months we raised a hundred and eighty grand for the United Way. I'm not going to say it was easy. We definitely put work into it. But there were no heroics, no working weekends, no shouting matches, no tears. This was a corporate endeavor, a small motivated team leveraging a mature, captive workplace for maximum benefit and minimum effort. Corporate Gods: teach me your lessons so that I might apply them to my non-profits. << MORE >>