The Belly of the Beast

It was made official just before Christmas–my employer would be moving to new offices, located in Sewickley, effective sometime in February. This was not a surprise, as intentions had been announced months before, but there was doubt that it would actually happen. This meant my 8 mile commute would suddenly become nearly 21 miles, one […]

Small Is Beautiful

ISI Books has just published Joseph Pearce’s Small Is Still Beautiful, an examination of E.F. Schumacher’s Small Is Beautiful and its relevance for the 21st century. ISI has also started a group blog to discuss the ideas in the book.

Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Lo, how a rose e’er blooming From tender stem hath sprung! Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as Those of old have sung It came, a floweret right, Amid the cold of winter, When half spent was the night, Isaiah twice foretold it, The Rose I have in mind; And so then we behold it, The virgin […]

Bicycles

Behold, the Rando-dale. This is an early-to-mid 1990s frame, with mostly original components (mid-level Shimano MTB gruppo). I finally manage to find a used Selle Turbo saddle and, yes, it is white, but it is also quite comfy, and works well with the Carradice saddlebag. The bars are currently flipped True North clones. I can’t […]

Catching Up

Macht has several posts that deserve a few comments… First, he examines the difference between technology and a technological way of thinking. This distinction is quite important in the work of Jacques Ellul–Technique is not simply computers or televisions or radios; it is a way of looking at the world that sees the progression of […]

Anarchy Amid the Chaos

Neille Ilel, writing in Reason, explains how decentralized, grassroots organizations (religious and non) have far outdone both the State and the Red Cross in helping the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Ivan Illich would be proud of people like this: Common Ground?s initial incarnation was a medical clinic in an Algiers mosque. Algiers is a decidedly […]

Bike Advocacy

Local councilman Bill Peduto last week proposed an initiative to traffic cameras at the busiest, most dangerous intersections in the city to automatically ticket drivers who do not obey the traffic signals. According to plan, the revenue raised by the tickets ($100 each) would go directly to improvements for alternative transportation, namely cyclists and pedestrians […]

This Is the End

Eight hours later. We’ve been battered with rain and, now, howling wind. The fast moving gray clouds have filled the late afternoon sky, and there is just a hint of orange on the horizon, a sign that somewhere up there, the sun is shining. The temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees. I swing my […]

This Is the End

It’s 8:30AM, 1 December 2006, and I’m standing outside of our house, bike on my shoulder, wearing shorts and t-shirt, and I’m not cold. Not even chilly, really. I didn’t bother to look at the weather forecast, so I guess that it’s close to 70 degrees. It isn’t sunny, but there is a sliver of […]