Writing Design and Travel
‘Much’ in India
Ahmedabad, India
Gujurat is not on anyone’s tourist itinerary, which is why it is such an amazing place. Every inch of India seems to be worth a lifetime of exploration, but I prefer having the little know Adelaj Step Well in the country outside of Ahmedabad all to myself over sharing a renowned site with hundreds. The dawn light barely made it down the four flights of steps to the well…
Designing for Seniors
From Year spent as Embedded Design Researcher at Elder Care Facility
Every year the staff of Tockwotton, a Long Term Care Facility in Providence, Rhode Island, do a Secret Santa with the residents. As design researchers for the BIF Nursing Home Project we have become embedded in the community of Tockwotton professionally but felt the personal gesture of participation in the gift giving would be a chance to give something back and to show the staff how gratefully we are for their support…
Surfing New England in Autumn
So County, RI
A little known fact outside the surfing community is that in New England the off season is the season. Autumn swells and storms make for the best surf of the year-that said the fall I picked to learn surfing might be the flattest one in eons. I have been two days short of really nailing it since June, but then the gap between catching waves widens a few days and I move back a few paces. But in a way I think that is part of the beauty of New England surfing…
Hiking New Hampshire’s 4,000 Footers
Somewhere, New Hampshire
When my dad told us in his usual ‘oh by the way,’ fashion that he was hiking all the 4,000 footers in NH, we received the news in the same tone it was delivered. None of us knew how many there were, what this entailed, or where exactly they were. And, he hikes through the summer to train for ski season, which for most in our family is how a year is judged, timed and remembered…
Iona, in the Shortest Days of the Year
Iona, Scotland
I suppose that the question, “how the hell did I get here,” is a common enough one. But, barring abduction, it is generally offered up as a silent oath at a predicament not a geographical location. In my case it seemed to be a bit of both.
I was sitting on a lovely leather couch staring out the window into the impermeable darkness of a Scottish December night. And more to the point, I was alone. Completely alone.
Joe Murphy’s Island
Republic of the Marshall Islands, Micronesia
I came out to Joe Murphy’s island for a weekend of peace and health. Joe Murphy’s is an island named, like so many Americanized things here, after the ribelle husband of a local Rimajel woman. Ribelle is the Marshallese word for a white man, literally translated as “one who wears clothes.” After a few months as a volunteer teacher in the congested capital city of Majuro I am badly in need of time on a rural outer island, some serious peace and quiet
Designing for NASA
Designing for NASA
Written for Discovery Channel – Next Generation
I never expected to find myself working on a project with NASA, mainly because I wasn’t particularly gifted in math or science. The most I remember from high school chemistry class was the teacher shouting, “That was spontaneous!” every time he caught us rolling wooden molecules across the linoleum floor.