India's 50 Million New Trees

Trees are a valuable tool in the fight against climate change. It's the ultimate in carbon-capture technology — but all natural, and without the licensing fees.

On July 11th, volunteers in India took this old-school climate-fighting tool to a whole new level by planting a record number of trees in a single day, beating Pakistan’s previous record of planting 847,275 trees in 2013.

It took 800,000 volunteers to plant just under 50 million tree saplings along India's roads, rail lines, and on public lands. This is all a part of India's commitment to reforest 12 percent of its land — a commitment made at the Paris climate talks last year.

Source: Grist.

What does this have to do with Richardson, you might be thinking.

Review: Sapiens

Amazon

From Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari:

Seventy thousand years ago, homo sapiens was still an insignificant animal minding its own business in a corner of Africa. In the following millennia it transformed itself into the master of the entire planet and the terror of the ecosystem. Today it stands on the verge of becoming a god, poised to acquire not only eternal youth, but also the divine abilities of creation and destruction. Unfortunately, the Sapiens regime on earth has so far produced little that we can be proud of."

"Sapiens" is another of Bill Gates's book recommendations for this summer. The paragraph above encapsulates the book's thesis, including the bias that, in the end, caused me not to like it as much as Bill Gates did.

After the jump, my review.

A War (2015)

IMDB

A War (2015): Danish soldiers in Afghanistan. War is hell. Then you're court-martialed for a no-win situation. Important for civilians. B+

Northwestern in Summer

From 2016 06 26 Northwestern

Northwestern University is not only a great university, it's a beautiful university. Set on the lakeshore of Lake Michigan in Evanston, Illinois, the view is stunning. To the south, down the shoreline, is the Chicago skyline. To the east, stretching to the horizon, is the lake. There's no better campus to stroll on a sunny day in summer (OK, there is one, but Northwestern is in the top two, honest).

All photos from our afternoon at Northwestern University can be seen on Google Photos.

POTD: Hanging Out

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jodhpur, India. Just three ladies hanging out on the steps. Colorful. Comfortable. Commanding.

Request for More Parking in Richardson

It's not just downtown Dallas towers that are adding parking. The owners of a Telecom Corridor office building plan to construct a four-level parking garage to add more appeal to the project. The three-story Campbell Commons office campus in Richardson was built in 1998 at 1201 E. Campbell Road.

Source: Dallas Morning News.

I saw that and scratched my head. Why does that old office building need more parking? Why would today's tenant need more parking than the tenant who occupied the building twenty years ago? I can think of only one reason. Employers today are cramming more workers into less space than employers did in the past. And that can be for one of two reasons.

POTD: Easy Riders

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Today's photo-of-the-day is from Jodhpur, India. People feel joy the same way all over the world. That is all we need to know for today.

Trumbo (2015)

IMDB

Trumbo (2015): Heavy-handed treatment of 1950s Hollywood blacklist. IOW, just like the true history. So-so drama, but important history. B-

POTD: World's Top Hotel

From 2016 02 11 Jodhpur

Where would you guess the world's top hotel is located? New York? London? Tokyo? Not even close. Greece? Vietnam? Cambodia? Believe it or not, you're warmer. Those are in the top five. Would you ever have guessed Jodhpur, India? Today's photo-of-the-day is of the Umaid Bhawan Palace Hotel, voted the top hotel in the world in TripAdvisor's 2016 Travelers' Choice awards. We didn't stay in this hotel, but we can dream. The photo was taken from Mehrangarh Fort, four miles from the hotel. Top hotels stand out.

Poverty, Inc. (2014)

IMDB

Poverty, Inc. (2014): Eye-opening. Poor countries don't need world's surplus food and clothes. They need jobs and access to markets. A-