by phil | Oct 4, 2026 | thoughts
Rain water is better for plants than tap water. When I was first told this I assumed it had something to do with the chlorine that is often used to disinfect municipal water supplies. Nope. It’s actually because the pH is better (slightly acidic to balance out...
by phil | Sep 10, 2026 | thoughts
This is me taking a big breath and then emptying my lungs to blow off all the dust on this blog. I’ve deleted facebook, tiktok, and twitter (long gone!!!) from my phone. I still have Instagram, but my time there is brief. I will usually post something or check...
by phil | Jan 11, 2026 | thoughts
Twenty twenty four felt like a car careening around a bend with two wheels in the air. That’s how I started last year’s post. Nothing’s changed! Maybe the car is on fire now? It was another year of bricolage except now we’ve lost the...
by phil | Jul 29, 2025 | thoughts
and a bird person My wife Bintou banned me from skateboarding a couple of years ago and I am probably one injury away from losing pickup basketball. Of course, none of this is really on Bintou. It’s more about me coming to terms with my aging body. Birding and...
by phil | May 16, 2025 | Music, thoughts
Here’s what’s been happening lately. I finished my update to the Bradt Guide to Senegal. It was far more work than I bargained for. I may have actually earned a negative wage in the end. But never mind that. I’m proud of the work and it feels good to...
by phil | Feb 12, 2025 | thoughts
I wanted to briefly share what it was like to work with USAID some years ago, when a Malian woman and I teamed up on a project called SOS Democracy. To be very clear, the project was 100% Coumba’s idea. She wanted to mobilize people to vote – and to vote...
