I was lucky enough to catch The xx at Summerstage in Central Park last Sunday after being away for a tournament. And by “catch,” I mean I sat/stood outside of the gates in a clearing in the trees and barely was able to see a sliver of stage.

There is something about being outside in semi-nature, enjoying live music, that makes me very very happy. Maybe it is the combination of being in a green, grassy park with the sun shining and breeze blowing, and good aural stimulation that just relaxes the mind and body. It could also be that outdoor concerts are associated with summer, which is a generally happy time of the year. Yay for Vitamin D!

This reminds me of a few things I’ve read in the past few months. First, there were some studies that looked at how consumers spent their money. They split this into 2 categories: material purchases and “experiential” purchases. The researchers found that the happiness that consumers felt from material purchases did not last as long as the happiness that they got from experiential purchases. For example, buying a massage or doing something with friends gives a longer lasting happiness than shopping for clothes or splurging on things.

Considering I didn’t even have to purchase a ticket to The xx’s concert, I’m really glad that I went! It has been good for my mental health this week.

Another good article is this one in the NY Times. It talks about similar ideas and a specific story about a couple who took it upon themselves to get rid of most of their belongings. The woman was able to get it down to 100 personal items, and they were able to move into a smaller apartment and pay off their $30K debt. The couple was also happier with their jobs and life in general because they were able to do more of the things they liked, like being outdoors, volunteering, and spending time with family.

I’m not ready yet to winnow down my belongings that much, but I would like to try to get rid of the possessions that I don’t necessarily need anymore. It is a difficult thing to do, though, but I have managed to clean out some clothes at least once a year. I do, however, find it particularly satisfying to find a use for something that I had been saving for a long time. This might be a different type of happiness. Maybe a happiness from solving some kind of puzzle? A puzzle of how to use randomly sized boxes and containers?

What experiences make you happy?

[Update]
An interesting article on CNN about maximizing spending for happiness

I like wolves. As a child, I loved the book “Julie of the Wolves” and as an adult I enjoyed the anime “Wolf’s Rain.”

Wolves are some of the least understood of the predators that humans have pitted themselves against over the ages, others being sharks, bears, and large cats. One of the main reasons is that they compete with humans for resources. These predators won’t usually outright attack humans unless threatened, but humans will and have killed them in scores because of food and resources. This makes it extra difficult to make the case for their conservation in the face of endangerment and extinction.

I received this poster and bumper sticker in the mail yesterday from Defenders of Wildlife, along with a letter and fliers asking me to donate to the organization with the added incentive of receiving a wolf photo book and/or aluminum water bottle.

I have supported them with a donation in the past, but I am doubtful whether I will give again.

I have a few reasons for this. The main one being that this type of physical mail is so gimmicky and quite annoying, that I do not want to encourage them to send me more by responding to it. I’m hoping that by ignoring their waste of paper (even if it is recycled paper), they will eventually stop it. It would be nice if there were a way to opt out of physical mailings and in place of that receive emails, but as far as I can tell from their website, there is no such thing.

But still, I hope that the people who are reached by their campaigns truly consider conservation more seriously than the pamphlets suggest. The materials could be more informative, but I understand that the species-focus has been one of the most successful strategies.

This is where a more scientifically literate society would be very different. Conservation groups would not have to take the single species or simple issue angle in order to garner public support.

In areas of the world where most people live in and with the environment and accompanying wildlife, human culture has deeper understanding of the relationships of the ecosystems. We may not be able to return to that type of interaction with nature in this country, but perhaps with better incorporation of science into society we can achieve something similar.

This is what I hope to contribute to with my work!

With a slew of recent releases of gadgets that serve as ebook readers (Barnes and Noble Nook, iPad, and all the ones announced at the Consumer Electronics Show), I thought I would take some time to look back on the experience I’ve had with my Sony PRS-505 Reader and why I love it and e-ink technology. (Mine is dark blue, not like the one shown here!)

First of all, I got the Reader a little over 2 years ago in Fall of 2007. I bought it somewhat as an impulse buy, but I justified it as a long term investment. Since then, I read at least 4x more books than I would have otherwise. This is the biggest reason why I’m thankful that I decided to buy the Reader.

Here are the other main reasons why I bought it:

1. I don’t have space at home for all the books that I want to read, and I don’t do well with library books (see #3)
2. I don’t have the money to buy all the books I want to read (ebooks are usually cheaper, and many you might be able to find for free)
3. I’m allergic to old books and dust (I get itchy all over), so I won’t be able to enjoy re-reading any of the physical books, bringing their value down over time

Here are the reasons why I love my reader now:

1. It is way lighter and smaller to carry around than a book
2. I like being able to immediately start reading another book once I’ve finished one
3. The e-ink screen is nice on my eyes, as compared to a lit LCD screen (I get enough of that from staring at my laptop!)

I’m also happy that I chose the Sony Reader over the Amazon Kindle because any of the content that I buy from the Sony store is not locked to my device (i.e. anything bought for the Kindle only works on the Kindle, there are tons of stories if you Google “Kindle DRM”).

I don’t buy books very often, but when I do it is in a format that is more useful and open (usually ePub). The Kindle uses its own proprietary format. Also, I’m not so interested in the wireless download function of the Kindle so that does not bother me.

There was also that incident where Amazon deleted George Orwell books from all Kindles. That type of control is not something I am a fan of. Even though it was for valid reasons and they said they were changing their practices so it wouldn’t happen again, the fact that they have the ability to go into each device and perform that function irks me.

So, while I did have to shell out $280 for my Sony PRS-505, I’ve read enough books to make it worth it and I’m sure that I will be using my Reader for at least 4-5 more years.

Do you have a reader? Would you consider buying a reading device like this? I hope my comments have been helpful!

Image credit: Flickr user cloudsoup

Last night, on the eve of what might be the most exciting Apple announcement this year, I wondered what a Mac slate or tablet could mean for scientists, researchers, and people in the field. Now with the iPad announced and the details of it released, here are some of my thoughts.

The increased mobility of a small device designed to be used with specialized apps and software could boost overall productivity. Functionality, combined with mobility can be incredibly useful for scientists.

For example, Wired has this list of 22 iPhone apps for science geeks that include a genetic decoder, anatomy flash cards, food information database, and a scientific calculator. These could be useful on the iPad too, since the iPad can run any apps in the store.

Increased mobile connectedness to the web can be super powerful. We are already seeing mobile technology being helpful for relief efforts in Haiti and a larger, more powerful, yet still portable, device could enhance what can be done and create new possibilities for these purposes and others.

As for ideas of specific uses of the iPad, I can imagine that a scientist could take this device into their study areas to help record data, look at maps, read reference books, and plot trails and data.

This could possibly help scientists forgo the hours and hours usually spent on data entry!!! Especially since Numbers has a function that creates a form for data entry!

I’ve also read about iPod Touches being used in classrooms to supplement math, science, language and other lessons, so the iPad might eventually make it’s way into the classroom too (but that might take a while because of cost!).

It is cool to see something like this come into being. While the iPad might not end up doing a ton for scientists, I’m still excited to see what will happen with the functionality this new tool!

When you train your dog to bring you the morning paper, that is a neat trick. When you train your computer to bring you news you want to read, that is an RSS feed.

I never fully appreciated RSS feeds for what they can do until I started reading the book We the Media by Dan Gillmor. The underlying idea is that you don’t need to search the Internet for the things that interest you but that they come to you through your RSS subscriptions and preferences.

This is useful for you when you want to be kept up to date on certain topics. Anytime there is an article, your RSS feed is updated to show it. I currently use Google Reader to keep track of blogs, job postings, and news.

Gillmor discusses another way to use RSS, which is to follow what is being said about yourself. This is a good way for popular bloggers and organizations to know what is going on in their realm and connects with their readers on a different level.

Honestly, I haven’t used RSS feeds enough in the past but I’m starting to really appreciate what they do. It could particularly be very helpful for my current job search!

A friend recently messaged me with a link to this lecture by Richard B. Alley of Penn State.

This lecture was part of the American Geophysical Union that took place in December 2009.

Aiming to explain the long story of how carbon dioxide might have fit into climate and changes in temperature, Alley explains a lot of the science and techniques that are allowing scientists to plot and model raw data. This produces what seems to be a lot of compelling evidence that none of the changes in global temperature can be explained without taking into account the effects of carbon dioxide. This is not to say that everything is a shut case, but I think we can say that carbon dioxide, anthropogenic and not, is a factor for changing climate and temperatures.

Here is a shorter video of Alley talking about these topics:

It was nice to see some of the science that geologists are doing because I am not often exposed to it, and I’m sure many other people are not either. In the aftermath of the Copenhagen talks, it is a nice change from political speech to scientific!

The buzz on Google Wave has slowed down considerably, considering that Google had big news that was announced 2 days ago. I’m not sure how the Google Phone will compare with Google Wave, but I hope we can say that the impact of both still are or will be quite interesting.

Image Credit: Flickr user niallkennedy
During the holiday season, Google gave out thousands of invites to users who already had Wave so that they may invite friends to use the service. How many do I still have left? 18! I’m not sure if there just isn’t enough interest or people simply don’t care to find out what exactly Google Wave is, at least not enough to seek out an invite from a friend (i.e. that everyone who would want it or would be open to trying it already does have it).

So far, I’ve used Google Wave with friends and family to:

1. Participated in a poll on how many people think Rain (the Korean hip hop star in the movie Ninja Assassin) is cool
2. Load copies of my statement of purpose for my friend to proofread and give suggestions on
3. Post pictures for my sister to access and use for her painting project
4. Say hello, all at once, to the people in the academic department I was in for graduate school
5. Play Sudoku with others
6. Invite others to Google Wave

Number 2 on that list was particularly better than using email because I ended up making several edits between the time I posted it and the time when he was free to read it. I would simply go back and delete the old copy and post the new one. I could have waited until he had time to read it to send an email, but I like this way of doing things. Later, I would post other things for him to read and I have peace of mind knowing that they are waiting for him in the Wave whenever he would like to find them. Same thing with number 3.



Overall, I think I could really enjoy using Google Wave, but the limiting factor still seems to be that not enough people are using it, or even know how they can use it to make their life easier. I have a feeling that a large majority of people who have it still ignore it or possibly never even tried using it.


Bottom line, I think Google Wave is a great tool. It may not replace email, but it could easily supplement and work with it. Also, I want to get more people on Wave, but I’m not sure who wants these invites that I have.


If you want one or know of someone who does, post a comment and I can send it!

I’m currently in the middle of an application for StartingBloc, which is an organization that holds a fellowship on Social Innovation. Part of the application process is a series of essays. One of which asks how I “live” social innovation.

So now I have to figure out, what is social innovation? And how do I live it?

Perhaps it is taking new ideas to solve increasingly complex and intertwined problems. As I’ve learned more and read more books, I’m starting to think about things in new ways and to try to combine ideas in new and innovative ways that I think will be important new ways to see things.

The ideas that I’ll be thinking mostly about will be mass collaboration (like what I read about in Wikinomics) and how that has changed with access to the Internet, and the shift towards creating value in knowledge.

Something that I love about the Internet that it is the best tool we have to connect and communicate with other people. The potential for great work to be done is so huge that it gives me such great hope for the future. I like the idea that I can achieve more just by being able to reach out to other people who know more than I do and who may be willing to help in my quests.

I am aware, though, that my blog is in danger of just becoming a stagnant place for me to present my thoughts and projects. That is cool and I hope I can continue to write about topics that interest people, but I hope that this blog may become more of a hub for other thinkers to gather and contribute to a conversation. That said, please keep reading my blog, post comments, and email me about being a guest contributor!!

Tea season has come around sooner for me this year with this chilly September. Most of the tea that I drink is probably made in China. I like to drink jasmine tea mostly, but sometimes I’ll have green tea. And I drink A LOT of tea in the winter, so it got me thinking about what kind of impact that has.


First of all, importing the tea will increase the environmental impact. Most likely, the tea is getting shipped over from China in a large shipping container on a big ship. Tea doesn’t weigh very much, but it still does weigh something and takes up space, so both factors would have to be taken into account.

Then, the materials of the packaging should be considered. Sometimes tea gets shipped in large barrels, so they can be sold by weight. That is the most efficient way to ship the tea by using the least amount of packaging.

NUMI Organic Tea is one company that uses good practices for packaging. From their website:

“our tea boxes are made with 85% post-consumer waste, annually conserving more than 5,202 trees and reducing landfill by 334,560 pounds. We do not cello-wrap our boxes, our tea bags are 100% biodegradable, and we choose to use bamboo for all of our gift packaging, a leading renewable resource.”

On a more commercial side, Lipton apparently is only going to use leaves from sustainable, ethical sources for their tea. Check out this Treehugger post.

Here is another good article about food mileage of tea and coffee that offers the advice that we should drink tea that is “sustainably produced, fair trade tea. Buy it loose and in bulk if you can, or in unbleached tea bags, at least.” The author makes the point that in the big scheme of things tea and coffee production are often important sources of income for poor third world villages and that the shipping by boat is about one-eightieth the carbon footprint of shipping by air.

So I guess that means I can still drink tea this winter, but I will have to try to buy lots of leaves at once from the right vendor (though I’m not sure where I can get fair trade jasmine tea in the city).


Image credit: Flickr user serhio

I started this blog in April 2009. That was about 5 and half months ago! So on the eve of my half-year anniversary, I would like to make this shout out for guest contributions.

This isn’t a very high profile blog, just something I started for fun, but I would like to start expanding and gaining some momentum, so I thought, what would be better than asking some friends to help out. For this reason, I am accepting submissions from readers to be guest writers for my blog.

Poke around on my blog to see what types of posts I like to write. Post some comments if you feel like you have something interesting to say. If you would like to participate, email me back at chewbear@beforebreakfast.net



Please email me the following things by 10/12. If selected, your first piece will be due for editing on 10/19 and published on 10/21, or staggered after this date if I accept multiple pieces.


Please provide a short writing sample (200 words is fine) and a list of 4 or more potential blog entry topics. For the topics, please be descriptive. For example, do not just say “organic coffee.”


If things work out, commitment after the first piece would be minimal. You can contribute as often as you would like. I know how busy everyone is, but maybe this would be a nice way to take an occasional break from life to write something for fun.

Unfortunately, I can’t give you anything in return for your work, unless you like hugs and drinks. But, this would be a pretty cool way to see your work published on the web and show it to friends and family. You could put this on your resume or CV if you would like to link to a published writing sample to show people who you are applying to work with.


If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment or shoot me an email!


Image credit: Flickr user ecstaticist