Backing Away from “Social Media”
I spent a lot of time blogging 10-15 years ago. For example, here’s a post from 2005: 2400 words, 10 photos — how did I find the time?
These days, right now — spring, 2019 — my relationships with blogging and especially Instagram, are weakening. Instagram, a brilliant idea, is now being run by Zuckerberg and Sheryl. Does anyone trust these two? The ads are increasingly frequent and intrusive. The book Zucked by Roger McNamee is good. How “…a noted tech venture capitalist, an early mentor to Mark Zuckerberg and investor in his company, woke up to the serious damage Facebook was doing to our society…”
You know the expression, “The old is new again?” Well, I think it’s more that the old is being reexamined in light of a couple of decades of digitalia. Email newsletters? Well, yeah. I’m back into doing them. I promise not to overdo it, maximum once a month.
You can sign up for email delivery of the Gimme Shelter newsletter here:
Handmade: The Half-Acre Homestead
I’m rolling along with layout. The book really feels good. Looking back at what we’ve done on this piece of land over the last 45+ years, digging up photos, and getting a fresh perspective on it all. Working with hands.
The book varies from the aesthetics: flowers, quilts, landscaping, to the practical: housebuilding, gardening, raising chickens, to delight: butterflies, spiderwebs, visiting foxes.
The chicken coop
In 1971, our land was $6500, the building permit $200. I was my own architect and engineer. No mortgage, no rent — ever — what a difference that has made in our lives.
Could you do anything like this now? Stay tuned.
A Day in Santa Cruz
I was a Santa Cruz beach lifeguard in the ’50s, so visiting there is like going home again. I did a slide show on Driftwood Shacks at Bookshop Santa Cruz, visited friends, watched surfers, shot photos:
Mia Mickey and her 4×4 diesel bus/home. She’s a registered nurse, works three months, then takes six months off to travel. She’ll be featured in our forthcoming book, Hit the Road, Jack: Adventure Vehicles. Contact us if you know of any cool homes on wheels.
Alan Quinn AKA “The Mighty Quinn” and his rolling home. The license plate at top, center, says “MAKE MY DAY.”
The ultimate Baja bug
Starting to Run Again
After a 10-year layoff, I’m starting to run, encouraged by Jeff Galloway’s run-walk-run methodology. Rediscovering Mt. Tamalpais, a holy mountain even though only 2500 feet tall. Hundreds of miles of trails, streams, creeks, waterfalls, meadows, hand-crafted and rustic steps and bridges, manzanita bushes and mushrooms, deer and bobcats.
If the book you want isn’t here, then you’re in the:
Support your local bookstores!
Over and out on a sunny day after rain and rain. It’s gonna be a spectacular Spring!
Glad to see you are ditching Zuckerberg, He, Google and Amazon are Big Brother here and now.
I’m excited for the new book and the email list. I like hearing your musings on technology, life, and philosophy. Thanks for putting so much effort into sharing over the years. It is appreciated by many silent observers.
Cannot wait for The Half Acre Homestead!!!
Thank you for your writings, musings and sharing of your life…love reading it all.
All so inspiring! Someday…I hope to be in a position to take a big leap.
Lloyd, I just want you to focus on whatever YOU want to do. I’m so anxious for the Homestead book! I’m biased, I love all your books and I want you to spend ALL your time creating books! But I also want people to discover you! I just wish you health and energy and happiness so you can go on creating, and enrich us all.
Great to hear you’re heading back out on those amazing running trails! Can’t imagine how you stayed away from running on them for 10 years – unless you were injured of course. I’m recovering from a partially torn Achilles tendon and had to drop out of the Miwok 100K registration this year. Time’s entropic effects may erode our bodies but not our will.