Pic of the Week
Another beautiful view from a hike. This is actually the start of this hike. It winds up into the mountains, crisscrossing a charming little stream, to the opening of an abandoned gold mine. The city you see in the picture is Altadena, just north of Pasadena.
What's going on?
Happy Valentine's Day! Whether the love of your life is a person, or a dessert, I hope you find a reason to celebrate love today.
What an exciting week around these parts. I finished and framed a puzzle, potted some baby spider plants, bought some produce at the farmer's market, got lectured by my 22-yr-old roommate via text about how and why to be a good roommate (yes, I later let her know that I didn't need to be lectured about such things), and booked myself a few days away in Morro Bay for next weekend. Just a thrill a minute.
At the beginning of the year I signed up for a running/walking challenge. 500 miles during 2021. So far I'm already up to about 150, so I think I'll be reaching that goal this year. Yesterday's hike alone was nearly 9 miles.
Along those lines, I took a couple of nice long bike rides this week. I think I've written before about the bike path near my apartment that goes down to the beach. I did a little reading and learned that while riding my bike like I normally do, I burn about 10 calories a minute. So a 90-min bike ride burns 900 calories! I did that twice this week, but the second time happened to be on a windy day. I didn't realize how windy it was until I turned around to come home. I was biking directly into the wind for at least a good half hour. Killed me. But then I ate a bunch of delicious things because I could. 😂
Another week of pandemic life down, hopefully not too many of these left.
What I'm watching
A sobering look at the history of voting rights in America. Highly recommended. It even has 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
What I'm reading
This book is great. It basically shows how the world we're living in - while still beset with plenty of problems to solve - has vastly improved in nearly every measurable way (crime, education, infant mortality, poverty, etc.) since we started paying attention to such things. The author makes a point of saying that this isn't a reason to stop improving things, but perhaps it is a reason to take a breath and realize that things have been improving and will continue to do so, so we can keep working on those problems with a brighter outlook.
What I'm listening to
A Thoughtful Faith, Episode 354: The Spiritual Practice of Earth Care. A conversation about how taking care of the Earth is something we should care about as Christians, along with a few practical suggestions about how to do that better. This is something I have long felt, and I am often confused when Christians are not only indifferent about, but sometimes actively against environmentalism/conservation/etc.
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