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Siskiyou Seeds

They are based in Oregon and specialize in open-pollinated and heirloom seeds. They recently did a collaboration with a co-op seed company based in Catalonia to introduce Catalan tomato varieties traditionally used for pa amb tomàquet (a.k.a. pan con tomate). I had been looking for these seeds for a while now and was delighted to see a US-based seed company working with a Catalan producer.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

It seems like so many people have read 1984 by George Orwell but not so much Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, who I recently learned taught George Orwell at Eton College. I decided to read Brave New World after seeing it mentioned in the forward of Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.” Terrifying.

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (1961)

A classic book about urban design and what makes a city or neighborhood flourish or decay. Reading this made me view my surroundings in a more systems-oriented way and notice the “sidewalk ballet” of everyday life, like how in the early mornings when I take my dog out, I see bakers leaving the local bakery from their nightshift and how that puts eyes on the street and keeps the neighborhood safe, and how my dog and I are also part of this ballet.

One Sec app for more intentional phone & app use

This app helps you develop better phone & app usage habits by interrupting your usage of social media apps, etc. For example, I have it set up so when I try to open Slack outside of work hours, it interrupts the app launch and makes me rotate my phone three times or take a few deep breaths. This makes me notice when I open Slack out of habit without even thinking about it. I have the same setup for Reddit and Instagram. Highly recommend.

Siskiyou Seeds

They are based in Oregon and specialize in open-pollinated and heirloom seeds. They recently did a collaboration with a co-op seed company based in Catalonia to introduce Catalan tomato varieties traditionally used for pa amb tomàquet (a.k.a. pan con tomate). I had been looking for these seeds for a while now and was delighted to see a US-based seed company working with a Catalan producer.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

It seems like so many people have read 1984 by George Orwell but not so much Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, who I recently learned taught George Orwell at Eton College. I decided to read Brave New World after seeing it mentioned in the forward of Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. “What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.” Terrifying.

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs (1961)

A classic book about urban design and what makes a city or neighborhood flourish or decay. Reading this made me view my surroundings in a more systems-oriented way and notice the “sidewalk ballet” of everyday life, like how in the early mornings when I take my dog out, I see bakers leaving the local bakery from their nightshift and how that puts eyes on the street and keeps the neighborhood safe, and how my dog and I are also part of this ballet.

One Sec app for more intentional phone & app use

This app helps you develop better phone & app usage habits by interrupting your usage of social media apps, etc. For example, I have it set up so when I try to open Slack outside of work hours, it interrupts the app launch and makes me rotate my phone three times or take a few deep breaths. This makes me notice when I open Slack out of habit without even thinking about it. I have the same setup for Reddit and Instagram. Highly recommend.