Greetings!

Happy 11th. Thanks to my friend James Island for the lamps up above which he has been making for a couple of years. He sent me one the other day and I'm so pleased with the beautiful light that it creates. Why all the talk about light? Well, when light is great we either love it or don't notice it. But when it's too bright it can be oppressive. Well, my work ridding the world of leaf blowers continues; and the trees - oh, the trees... that's going to be an ongoing effort. In the meantime, I'm sure you have noticed all the new LED lights coming into our world.
Yes, Ukraine. Yes, climate change. There are some mighty big problems in our world these days. But for years I've been recognizing and writing about how powerful and effective we can all be making changes on the local level. Here's an example: fewer leaf blowers in my neighborhood has led to the lovely experience of hearing more birds singing. I kid you not. Keeping some trees from being cut down has given us a little more shade and oxygen on one neighborhood corner. OK, time to shed some light on the light issue :)

I've always been light-sensitive. At co-counseling workshops, I started bringing a baseball cap to shield me from the naked light bulbs that are often how camps light spaces. About 5 years ago the City of Portland started changing out streetlights with new LED bulbs (lamps). Being the innovative and forward-thinking place we are of course we dove in early. Sadly, that also meant we went for the first available lamps which are too bright and glaring. When I (and others) approached the City about this they said it was too late and there was nothing they could do. Instead of correcting the mistake as it was recognized they went ahead and replaced all of the lamps in the City with harsh lighting.

Well, now the problem is growing - homeowners are installing harsh bright lights and pointing them out into the street. Schools and other buildings are getting on the bandwagon, too - in the name of "safety" and saving money, they're making walking around at night a minefield of brightness. If you'd like to learn a lot more about this issue the Dark Sky Initiative is something to check out.

My version of taking this on is probably going to look somewhat similar to my past efforts, but I'm going to try doing it without social media altogether. I might find someone who wants to add to the effort with those tools, but mostly I'm going to use my email marketing skills to start with. If you'd like to learn more about this issue and be kept in the loop - click here - this will automatically add you to a new list which I'll write to from time to time with action steps you can take. Light pollution is an interesting topic. It affects everyone differently. But fixing this will make nighttime walking better and I'm sure the critters we share this planet with will also enjoy the change.
Who is the cutest cat? That would be Louie. Louie's been with us for a while now and continues to be a source of love and fluffiness.

There's a lot more I'd like to say. Here are a few things in short form that I'm working on/thinking about.

  1. lessening the amount of time I spend on Facebook. I took Instagram off my phone the other day after reading Cal Norton's book - Deep Work. That's also led to me rethinking how much time I spend on social media and wanting to reduce it - except for the work I do in FB groups which still feels important
  2. I seem to be planning for some festivals this Summer - OCF, String Summit, The World Domination Summit, Summer Solstice at Breitenbush, Singing Alive - everything seems to be coming up like Spring daffodils. I'm still coming out of the pandemic like everyone so I'm wondering just how much I'm going to be wanting to socialize in groups, but I have so missed live music that I think and I hope this is all going to go well and that we are indeed coming out of the woods.
  3. For a while, Albertideation has been transitioning towards more of a consultancy type of business. I think that's the direction I'm headed. Perhaps more on that as I get clearer how my business is shifting.

Well, that's probably enough for this Eleven! I hope life is treating you well. If the world has you down, I highly recommend reading the great writing and guidance of Robert Hubbell's Today's Edition. Heather Cox Richardson also does an incredible job and also has a newsletter that I receive daily.

I've been watching Ken Burn's Jazz series, lately. It's been so interesting to see what life was like in the US 100 years ago. I feel like we're missing something from that time - especially musically. To be continued!

Lots of love and Spring goodness to you.

Love,

Albert

Here's a pic from the way-back machine. I've been sending my photos to my cousin Dan and he's scanned them. This is my brother, mother, and me on Hurricane Ridge in WA State in the late 90s!