How to Get a Free River Birch Tree in Washington DC

I’ve always wanted a tree in my back yard. While my neighbourhood, Petworth, has beautiful old trees, all I have is a tree stump in my garden. The previous owners of my house cut down the tree that was in my yard, and now my west-facing back yard gets hot! in the summer.

A tree in my yard would provide shade, visual interest, a place for birds, and be one small contribution to cooling the District of Columbia, replacing its tree cover, and reducing rain runoff. That last reason, runoff, is where the District Department of Environment comes in.

Petworth, like much of old Washington, DC, is on a single sewer line system, which means that when it rains, the rain water goes into the sewer system and overwhelms the Blue Plains water treatment plant. In the past, they just dumped raw sewage into the Potomac. Now the city is trying to stop this practice at its source – the hundreds of thousands of downspouts across DC.

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4 Reasons Why RunKeeper is the Best iPhone App for Runners

I’m a runner. I love to run. And I run around the world. But I really dislike most of the run tracking tools.

Then I found RunKeeper, by the way that its been most influential on my running – a Facebook post. I saw a cool run map on Justin Thorp’s profile and clicked through to what is an amazing iPhone application. Here’s the 4 reasons why Runkeeper has bettered my runs:

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Intel Atom Processor: Disruptive Innovation in Energy-Efficient Computing

Power. That’s the real problem for information and communication technologies (ICT) in the developing world. Specifically, electrical power, and the lack there of. All the coolest ICT tools, from radio to computers, the very Internet itself, require electricity, and usually vast amounts of it.

Yet in the developing world, electricity is very rare and expensive. National electrical grids don’t extend past the national capitol or major trading city. Outside of population centers, electricity is generated by local, even personal generators.

Often noisy, polluting, diesel or petrol generators that need constant repair, or very expensive and delicate solar panels that break or disappear overnight. Either way, electrical infrastructure costs usually exceeded the ICT investment, often by 2-3 times.

These two opposing forces collided during the 2000’s, as the international development industry, local governments, and communities themselves tried to bring ICT to rural and underserved areas, with disastrous results. Untold millions of dollars, man-hours, and even computers were lost in these ICT for development (ICT4D) projects when energy sucking computers starved themselves and their hosts, as they gorged on rare, expensive electrons.

We would still be wasting silicon and staff today, if it were not for one, very small invention that has literally revolutionized an industry: the Intel Atom processor.

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Segundo: The Best 37th Birthday Present Ever

I turned 37 years old today, which means its only 3 short more years till I’m 40. Or mid-life. Halfway from birth to death. And I couldn’t be happier.

Just three years ago, I was a whole different person on my birthday. No wife, no kid, no house, and no dog. I was young and free, sporting a fine Puerto Rico tan. But I was all alone.

Today, I am much different person. I’m blessed with a wonderful, loving wife, an angle child, our own (affordable) home, and the amazing Snow Dog Taxi. Today, I am so much happier than 3 years ago.

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Snowpocolypse 2010: A Taxi Dog Delight

What happens when you mix 30+ inches of snow and one Taxi Dog? You get happiness that can only be expressed with a yelp of delight. That’s how “Snow Dog” Taxi greeted the great Snowpocolypse 2010 in Washington DC.

First out the door as the snowflakes started, Snow Dog Taxi is in love with the white fluffy stuff from above. She knows it means extended exploration of the neighbourhood as her owner shovels the sidewalk. She can also cross streets without care, as cars are rare, and when present, slowing to a crawl to keep control.

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