Jeffersonian Democracy

May 30, 2010

Thomas Jefferson wrote that farmers make “the best citizens”, but this claim is poorly understood. Cruising the Internet I found a page where someone had asked for an explanation. All the explanations offered were wrong. The one that got the most votes for being “helpful” stated that Jefferson meant to say that farmers [...]

First Pick-Up

May 23, 2010

I remember my first pick-up. She was a brunette of short stature who was hitch-hiking back home after a Grateful Dead concert in Denver back in 1969. I went a bit out of my way to drop her off at her parent’s house in one of the northern suburbs before continuing on to [...]

Smells Funny

May 16, 2010

So a couple of friends and I are pulling into a bar in Brown County, Indiana south of Indianapolis on Thursday night this week. It’s looking pretty typical and not necessarily like the best place to catch a bite to eat. It’s one of those strip-mall bars that shares space with a hardware [...]

Swag

May 9, 2010

On the road yet again last week, attending the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) meeting in Chicago. If you are not in this world (and I’m not) this is a very strange affair. 15,000 people come to the meeting. The cab driver who picks me up at Chicago Midway Airport asks me if I’m [...]

Gazebo Capers

May 2, 2010

I was on the road yet again this week, attending the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s 10th annual networking meeting for people working on a variety of food system issues at the Gila River Indian Community outside Phoenix. The focus of the meeting has shifted over the years. For one thing, WKKF grantmaking has moved [...]