July 5, 2020 With the birth of our daughter, my wife began scrutinizing the products she was buying, aiming for “natural,” “organic,” and of course, “free of sulfates, parabens, and pthalates,” in order to limit the baby’s exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. That scrutiny progressed to products for the rest of the family. After all, […]
June 28, 2020 As a teenager in rural Portugal, I felt disconnected from the mainstream. No internet. No ability to drive to a store to get newspapers. The major innovation at the time was satellite TV which opened my eyes to Spanish, French, Italian and German content. Today, my experience would be different. However, for […]
June 14, 2020 The recent successful SpaceX transport of 2 astronauts into the International Space Station, rekindled the hopes of more progress in Space exploration for years to come. This time, space exploration will be mostly enabled and financed by the private sector. This is possible because advances in technology, including the development of reusable […]
May 24, 2020 The ongoing pandemic is challenging business owners worldwide, particularly small and medium business owners (so-called Mom & Pop). Large businesses, particularly tech-enabled ones have adjusted well and some have even benefitted from the pandemic. It is tempting to put forward the thesis that the pandemic will lead to the inexorable march towards […]
April 12, 2020 When I was a kid, I used batteries for my best toys and for my portable AM/FM radio. They were expensive and my parents encouraged me to be very frugal in their use. Once a battery ran out, I usually had to wait for a few weeks to get a replacement. Since […]
April 5, 2020 After a few weeks of working from home, most of us are eager to return to “normal” life. Being able to socialize, enjoy nature walks, go to a show, enjoy a fitness or yoga class. Hopefully those days are not too far away. In the meantime we are grateful that we can […]
February 2, 2020 Growing up I watched Charlie Chaplin’s movies and one that captivated me both because of how funny it was, but also because of the amazing critique of the human costs of the ongoing Industrial Revolution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n9ESFJTnHs). While the emergence of the service economy through the 20th century led to a wider usage […]
January 27, 2020 When I was a teenager, the coolest device you could be seen with was a Sony Walkman. The cool kids would walk around and dance to the music. That trend eventually petered off and while some people would still enjoy music with portable devices, they were a minority. Recently though, public earwear […]
January 19, 2020 I came of age in a small village in Portugal where I lived from 10 to 17 years old. I was the son of the Doctor and everyone know who I was. Everywhere I went, everything I did could, and most times would, go back to my Dad as people recognized me […]
January 12, 2020 Growing up during the cold war, my biggest fear was a nuclear conflict. My daughters, now 10 and 12 years old, are vocally worried about climate change. Inspired by activists and school discussions, they believe my generation took the world to the brink of the point of no return regarding climate change. […]