Learning out Loud in Milwaukee, WI
-
On trains, health care, and misfiring democracy
When we lived in Hungary we noticed a curious thing about their train network. Our city had about 68,000 people in it yet only had one train per day to the capital city, Budapest. If you couldn’t make the early morning direct train, to take a region train to the much smaller town of Dombovár…
-
Why I’m on the Medicare for All train
2017 has been the year of people visiting us in Colorado. It’s also been the year of health care. This year we’ve re-established primary care and have been hunting down a strange set of symptoms I’ve been experiencing. None of it is particularly concerning. I don’t have a terminal condition. It’s really just run of…
-
Switching back to WordPress
I’ve been writing this blog as a Jekyll for quite some time now. There’s a lot I really do love about the idea of static sites, but also a lot I’ve cooled on. One of those things was the writing experience. My first encounter with Jekyll was at CFPB and I briefly switched to Octopress…
-
Readability and academic writing
Last week I started teaching as an adjunct professor in DU’s Electrical Engineering program. I’m teaching a course called Entrepreneurship in Engineering. My approach is to introduce my students to concepts and ideas from Science and Technology Studies, and some high level concepts of human centered design like usability, content, and accessibility. The goal is…
-
A letter to the Colorado Congressional delegation regarding the Muslim immigration ban
Below is a letter sent by email to Colorado’s Senators Bennet and Gardner and Congresswoman DeGette on January 30, 2017. I’m writing today about President Trump’s executive action barring immigration from seven countries in the middle east, suspending the refugee admissions system, suspending the Syrian refugee program and lowering the total number of refugees the…
-
A letter to Senator Cory Gardner regarding Betsy DeVos: Nominee for Secretary of Education
Sen. Gardner, I’m writing today to share a few thoughts on the nomination of Betsy DeVos for the post of Secretary of Education. After watching segments of her nomination hearing and reading her responses on a variety of issues I am convinced she is uniquely unqualified to fill this position. While she demonstrated a general…
-
A letter to Senator Cory Gardner regarding conflicts of interest in the incoming White House
Senator Gardner, My name is Greg Boone, a resident of Northwest Denver and a proud public servant in our federal government since 2014. I’m writing you today because your voicemail has been full for several days and I got a busy signal when calling your local office here in Denver. It should go without saying…
-
What I learned not reading books by white dudes in 2016
In 2016, I didn’t read any books by white men. I already knew so many, that I decided to press pause on them for the year. I looked at the books I’d read in the last few years since grad school and ones I’d put on the ever-growing reading list, and realized that many were…
-
Riding slow, climbing high
I’ve been riding my bike more slowly lately. I used to race my bike. Leaving with just enough time to get where I was going, and hoping I hit every light green to make it on time. Not since November 9. I’ve been riding slowly lately. Feeling the road beneath my tires. The slip of…
-
Donald Trump, public service, and me
If you’ve read this blog or follow me on social media you might already know that I wasn’t a Trump supporter. I was raised to be suspicious of people who lied, cheated, and stole their way to the top. I was disgusted and terrified by the words he chose to use when talking about my…
-
Just a ten letter word
I recently attended my first show at Red Rocks and it was as good as everyone has hyped the venue to be. The scene is beautiful, with a huge stage and brilliant sound (suggesting they had some good engineers, and good luck with the weather). We were also seeing some of my favorite acts: Atmosphere…
-
The personal is always political
A best friend of mine recently came out as trans. I’ve known several trans people in my life but she is definitely the closest. It wasn’t my first reaction but as the news sat with me I was taken back to a recent trip to Colorado Springs. We were passing through on our way from…