Category: Blog
-
Three lakes and a view
A short and beautiful loop from Col de la Croix. Just over 12 kilometers with about 400m of elevation gain. Beautiful fields, lots of cows, three lakes and plenty of hikers out to enjoy the last days of summer. Autumn is almost upon us. Mid-way there was Lac de Chavanne, a crisp mountain lake at […]
-
The stories of a humanitarian
Bobby Waddell shares a story from Haiti, some years ago: It was in Port-au-Prince that he and a couple of colleagues were held up by two youths with guns demanding the keys of their car as they left the Holiday Inn Hotel. When Waddell threw the keys to the ground, one of the gunmen fired […]
-
How Pfizer makes its vaccine
The New York Times explains. It involves bacteria producing loops of DNA, transcription into strands of mRNA, quality control at every stage. A year ago Iād have expected to read this in a science fiction novel. Today, in The NY Times. Fascinating. Also important, because until all are safe. No one is.
-
Opt-Out of Op-Ed
The New York Times will no longer be using the term Op-Ed the Opinion articles it publishes. The term, introduced 50 years ago, basically described the location of such articles. They were literally published opposite the editorial. But when most readers have moved online, the term has simply lost its meaning: In the digital world, […]
-
Education, online and changing
What is the difference between getting an education and learning? Seth Godin has some ideas on that and on how online learning is changing education so much we might even speak of a revolution. He should know after running successive online courses for half a decade.
-
The end, a beginning
In the town of Chancy, in the canton of Geneva, you are close to the border between Switzerland and France. This is a boundary between two countries, the westernmost point of the country I live in. Have you ever wondered what a border is? Is it an end, a beginning of country? Where does a […]
-
Brevity ā clarity
“The first rule of good communication is understanding that brevity, while useful, is not the same as clarity,” writes Harriet Minter in her new book WFH (Working from Home) which I’ve enjoyed reading. She goes on to add a definition of clarity in communication: “Clear communication is the right information given at the right time, in […]
-
Visualizing impact
A Helsinki newspaper has made a font to visualize the impact of climate change. Download for free and use it to communicate urgency. What a smart idea this is. I canāt wait to see what smart people all over the world come up with and hope the creators will gather and share these samples.
-
Winter has been
Winter is a hike in the mountains on a day when the snow is fading. You take the path marked for snowshoes, but leave them on your backpack because there is no need. Instead you need sunscreen because the sun is indeed shining. It is warm and reminds you that spring is close and when […]
-
A ministry of walking around
On her third day in a new job Rear Adm. Margaret Grun Kibben offered ministry in crisis to colleagues in the US Capitol. She had just started working as the chaplain in the House of Representatives.
-
A shared idea, a stolen blog post
Some people hesitate to share an idea because theyāre worried it will be stolen. In general, these people are afraid of success, not failure. An idea unspoken is a safe one, which not only canāt be stolen, but it canāt be tested, criticized, improved or used in the real world. Seth Godin Thatās it. Thatās […]
-
2020 in photos
An exceptional year in stunning photos.