Why Brexit is like Unplugging From an Operating System … Hard, and Probably Dumb
2016-07-06
On the world stage, empires are becoming operating systems. That’s why voting to leave the EU, in favor of someKeep Reading
Berkeley Salmon Drowns in Packaging, and Andronicos Doesn’t Care
2016-04-25
A quick interaction tonight convinced me that either Andronicos market doesn’t really care about the environment, they don’t give theirKeep Reading
Why I’m Buying Books
2015-02-24
I’ve been on a strange book-buying binge over the past few weeks. The paper kind. Almost 100 books and counting.Keep Reading
Why the Best Learning Tools for the Next Generation Should Be Free
2014-02-20
In the 1860s, Joseph Dixon invented a cost-effective way to mass produce graphite pencils, which previously had been costly andKeep Reading
The Power of Staying Power: Pete Seeger Never Stopped Teaching
2014-02-02
[The following is an email I sent out to my team a few days after Pete Seeger’s death on JanuaryKeep Reading
The Asteroid That Smashed the Newspaper Industry
2013-08-03
I woke up this weekend to the news The Times had finally sold off The Boston Globe to a localKeep Reading
CEO Weekend Project: How to Hang Swings in Your Office
2013-07-19
Let’s face it – you need a break from the firehose of decisions, meetings and stress that comes with beingKeep Reading
Will Electric Cars Swamp the California Grid?
2013-03-13
Update: I wrote this in 2013, right when I bought my Nissan Leaf, which is now almost a decade old.Keep Reading
My Brief Glimpse at (Maybe) the Last Big Private Wood Type Collection
2012-12-28
In December 2011 I got an email that a designer here in SF was selling a large wood type collection,Keep Reading
Bank of Really Old Post Office Boxes
2010-08-29
I bought this complete bank of fifty one 1880s nickel-plated post office lockboxes in the Sierras from a woman who’d ownedKeep Reading
I Saw a Monster Last Weekend
2009-12-11
Originally published on Collectorsweekly.com. Recently I read an interesting obit in the New York Times about a guy who spentKeep Reading
The Disappearing Art of Porcelain Signs
2009-01-19
Originally published on Collectorsweekly.com. In this interview, Michael Bruner talks about collecting vintage 20th Century porcelain advertising signs. I likedKeep Reading
An Interview with George Gruhn
2008-12-11
Originally published on Collectorsweekly.com. In this interview, George Gruhn talks about collecting vintage electric and acoustic guitars. DM: How didKeep Reading
Open the Floodgates to IT Immigration
2007-07-12
Below is the most controversial column I wrote for InfoWorld magazine in 2007 – plus two follow on columns –Keep Reading
Cook Quality Office Chair
2006-12-24
This amazing old swivel chair has the original cast iron hardware and is fully adjustable (seat, backrest and back post).Keep Reading
CIO Panel Discussions at the Churchill Club
2006-04-27
From 2002 to 2007 I moderated dozens of roundtable discussions with corporate CIOs (Chief Information Officers) and other executives onKeep Reading
My Brief Wig-Wag Love Affair
2006-02-12
In 2005 I bought and had a brief infatuation with a type of antique railroad signal called a ‘wig-wag’. With someKeep Reading
1905 Hamilton Manufacturing Co. Catalog
2006-01-14
This spectacular 190-page catalog has to be seen to be believed (download the 32MB pdf). If you’re into printing, graphicKeep Reading
Best Standing Desk Ever
2005-07-09
I got this six foot long standing desk in July 2005. Taking a break from a Microsoft conference in Minneapolis, IKeep Reading
Ice Carving Goes Digital
2004-01-01
This article was originally published in the New York Times in 2004, as part of a series I did for theirKeep Reading