Organic

But then I realized a larger, unsettling truth: Much of the food grown in this country isn’t the medicine it should—or used—to be. We’re collectively getting sicker, not healthier. And for others to have the same healing I was privileged to experience; we must start with the soil.

As a man named J.I. Rodale once said:

“Healthy Soil = Healthy Food = Healthy People.”

~ Jeff Tkach from, https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/our-healing-begins-in-the-soil/

When you’re growing up, you don’t really notice where you are doing it. Your parents, (or legal guardian(s) or perhaps even the State,) chose where you were planted. Bereshith, you’re planted in a very tiny space, then gradually moved to progressively larger spaces with fewer physical boundaries. Until one day you realize there’s basically no one left telling you what to do nor where to do it. If you never really thought about it, and nothing forced you to move, you’re probably still close to that original very tiny space, and probably still close to the progressively larger spaces too.

Then one day—I really do hope—you start to wonder what’s happened before, in the wherever you are now. I’ve a litany of, “woa, that’s cool!” historical bits and pieces found in my surrounds. But that the idea of “organic”—all of it, the word, the principles, everything—originated with one guy, within walking distance of my home, that’s sort of amazing. Rodale, (the family members, and the eponymous companies,) have done a lot—some good, some bad—but I find it unsurprising they did it here, in the Lehigh Valley. There’s a lot this area has going for it.

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So Proud

LU_death_star_costThe Interwebs are a-buzz with the news that our current administration has formally responded to the petition about building a Death Star. (“This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For” …well played, sir!) It’s a nice response touting NASA and current space exploration. But, uh, I wasn’t expecting the petition response to start off by linking over to a Lehigh article, “So You Want to Build the Death Star?” as a reference.

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An open letter to network and systems administrators around the Lehigh Valley

The Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas are a wonderful place to live and work. Because of the density of people, tech companies and professional opportunities, I think there is a real opportunity for a community of network and systems administrators to develop.

In hindsight, I see that I’ve now spent over 18 years doing network and systems administration. Along the way, I’ve mostly had no idea what I was doing; I simply had a desire to build things and the will to figure things out. I’ve worked with fantastic people, have accomplished much, and had an insane amount of fun along the way.

This open letter is not trumpeting a grand vision.
This is not a rallying cry.
This is not a call to organize into any sort of formal structure.

I think it would be amazing for like-minded individuals to get together, to share knowledge and experiences, to create inroads to employment for those just starting out, to create opportunities for internship and mentoring, and much more.

Interested?

Update May 2014

After more than a year of talking to people – and I mean a lot of people – I was unable to find a single person who was interested in helping me organize the group. So the only way it was going to happen was if I did all the work of finding a location, finding sponsors, coordinating meetings and speakers, etc.

…and that’s just too much for me to do alone. :^( But definitely reach out to me if you’re interested in starting something. I’m still interested.

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Atmos

My father and his father were both members of the International Union of Elevator Constructors. From 1940 thru 2001 they worked on literally every elevator and escalator in and around the Lehigh Valley.

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