Monthly Archives: June 2019

Holistic Mangement

Posted on June 30, 2019 by JohnMatel

Need to manage complexity in a holistic way. Need to change how we practice agriculture to restore soil and sequester more carbon in them. Create policies holistically and revolution in institutions. Addressing complexity is hard. Need to recognize difference between … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Comments Off on Holistic Mangement

California water

Posted on June 29, 2019 by JohnMatel

A lot of detail and some good history, but I didn’t like it. The tone bothered me. The story is told as a narrative of loss. In that it is like many such books and that is certainly a perspective … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation & Environment | Comments Off on California water

Map of Knowledge

Posted on June 28, 2019 by JohnMatel

fancied myself a classical scholar for a few years. I spent many hours in libraries. During my grad school years, I literally spent many more time at Memorial Library than I did at home. The idea of finding and preserving … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Comments Off on Map of Knowledge

Forest visit #2 June

Posted on June 26, 2019 by JohnMatel

Alex & I went down to the farms. Unfortunately, my cutter did not work. I tried all the mechanical skills at my disposal, i.e. I made sure there was gas and that nothing was obviously loose, and failed, so we … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation & Environment | Comments Off on Forest visit #2 June

June forest visits

Posted on June 24, 2019 by JohnMatel

Fire encourages flowers in the fields. I notice that our Freeman place has fewer flowers than it did the season after the fire. We have plenty of wildflowers, as you can see in my pictures, but some of the patches … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservation & Environment | Comments Off on June forest visits

“Working” by Robert Caro

Posted on June 21, 2019 by JohnMatel

Robert Caro has been criticized for writing this book, not for anything in or about the book itself, but rather because critics don’t want him to divert his time and energy from finishing his series on Lyndon Johnson. His final … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Comments Off on “Working” by Robert Caro

My strangest year

Posted on June 20, 2019 by JohnMatel

My craziest year – Story Worth for this week. My strangest year was the academic year 1978-9. It was a kind of transition zone for me. My longtime girl friend dumped me. I was becoming disenchanted with studying ancient history. … Continue reading →

Posted in My life | Comments Off on My strangest year

Walkable Cities

Posted on June 17, 2019 by JohnMatel

Walkable cities are more pleasant even for those who do not walk much. These cities are cleaner, safer and more sustainable than others, since the factors that make it walkable are very often just good. Why don’t we have these … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Comments Off on Walkable Cities

Dirt to Soil

Posted on June 15, 2019 by JohnMatel

Soil is a living community, not just a pile of dirt. The best insight from this book is that plants and fungi are developing in the soils, and it is useful to think of the microbes as livestock. They have … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | Comments Off on Dirt to Soil

Pete Buttigieg

Posted on June 14, 2019 by JohnMatel

Met Pete Buttigieg today. I read his book and was impressed by his intellect. I am not impressed when politicians present detailed plans. Everybody should know that the detailed plans will always fail, as the conditions presidents face will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Society | Comments Off on Pete Buttigieg