Author: Jason
What Motivates Us to Run?
Why do we run?
It’s a question runners are asked regularly, especially ultrarunners. In a sedentary society where the average person will circle a parking lot eighteen times to park 15 feet closer to the store, running seems like an unnecessary burden.
Yet millions of us spend hours and hours per week running.
What propels us to do this often-times difficult activity?
I’ve always been fascinated with human motivation. It hits at the fundamental Read More...
Building Better Schools: What is the Answer?
Over the last few months, I’ve explored the idea of going back into teaching. This has caused me to reflect on my previous 12 years in the classroom- specifically what lessons I learned about effective teaching. When I left the profession in 2011, I was burned out. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were doing more harm than good. I spent most of my last year reading about education reform from the likes of Gotto, Dewey, and Read More...
Dead Tree Printed Edition of the Squirrel Wipe Book is Available!
Apparently not everyone enjoys ebooks. Some people just like holding paper. It’s cool. I get it.
For those folks, I made a printed edition which is currently only available via Amazon. Here’s the link:
Wondering if the book is for you? Check out Chase Williams’ review of the earlier, shorter version:
http://chaserwilliamsisrunningaway.blogspot.com/2013/03/never-wipe-your-ass-with-squirrel-book.html
Trail Running and Ultramarathon Book is Finished!
I finished up the expanded and edited version of “Never Wipe Your Ass with a Squirrel: A trail running, ultramarathon, and wilderness survival guide for weird folks.“I’ve accomplished my goal of producing the least-serious-but-still-exceedingly-useful trail and ultra book in existence!
I added significantly more content than the original version, and my editing team did a wonderful job of eliminating the grammar and other errors. New table of contents can be found at the bottom of this post.
Eliminating the Cell Phone Bill and Using a Smartphone Without a Data Plan: Suck It, Verizon!
In an attempt to save money, Shelly and I decided to eliminate our crazy-expensive cell phone plan through Verizon. We were paying $190/ month for two smartphones with unlimited calls, text, and data. I decided to see if I could completely eliminate my plan while still maintaining some usability with my old phone. In essence, could I have smartphone capability for free?
Note- please don’t spam the comments section with your favorite cell phone plans. I will Read More...
Sticking to Your Guns Versus Chasing the Existential High
A few days ago, Dave, a frequent commenter, left a thought-provoking comment where he discussed a dichotomy of sorts between “sticking to your guns” versus “chasing an existential high” (paraphrased.) He was talking about my tendency to jump from one area of interest to another. This comment reminded me why I love blogging- the interactions with others leads to introspection, which ultimately leads to growth.
Dave’s comment specifically made me question how I felt about that Read More...
Merrell Trail Glove 2 Review
If you’ve been running for more than a year, there’s a good chance you’ve experienced this phenomenon:
You find the perfect running shoe.
The manufacturer “updates” the model by radically changing the design.
The shoe no longer works for you, which forces you to find another shoe.
It’s among the most common complains I hear as a shoe reviewer. Most of us have been there. It leads to all kinds of bizarre behaviors like hoarding bargain racks Read More...
Where Have All the Barefoot Bloggers Gone?
In response to my last post, Dave, a Canadian friend, noted most of the barefoot/minimalist bloggers seem to have disappeared. He mentioned Pete Larson’s most recent post discussing the secret to success as a running blogger. Pete makes a lot of great points that helps explain why so many barefoot bloggers, many of which are close friends, have seemingly disappeared.
Pete’s most relevant point hit the nail on the head- bloggers need passion.
Writing post Read More...
