Tim Ferriss (of 4 Hour Work Week fame) is turning 35.  His birthday wish is to raise $50,000 from the followers of his blog to help fund aspiring teachers.  If we are able to raise $50,000, he will match that with another $50,000 donation!  As of this writing, we have raised $27,181.

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It is a happy coincidence that I got the invite to write something to you all in my favorite week of the year. It is the week prior to a festival I help organize: FarmFest. Let me tell you why I love this festival so much.

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Hi Listservians! This is a shorter version of something I wrote in April, which can be found if you search the title.

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I know it’s a very hot summer in places right now but these muffins are completely worth it.
(Sorry for mixing unit types here, but these are from my notes and what I know works for me)

375g AP flour
265g Brown sugar (I prefer dark)
2.5tsp Baking powder (from a can opened <6mo ago)
0.5tsp Baking soda
0.25tsp cinnamon (ground fresh ceylon)
0.25tsp nutmeg (ground fresh)
0.25tsp salt
1.0 egg
1.25cup buttermilk
0.5cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2.0tsp vanilla extract
1.0cup raspberries
1.0cup rhubarb, choppped

Preheat oven to 400F

Topping:
0.5cup chopped pecans
0.33cup brown sugar, packed
0.25tsp cinnamon
1.0Tbsp cold butter

Combine ingredients in food processor, pulse until they resemble coarse crumbs

Muffins
Whisk together flour, baking {powder,soda}, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt
In a separate bowl combine sugar, buttermilk, butter, egg, and vanilla
Combine the two mixtures, mixing until roughly combined
Add in fruit, stir three times to distribute
Pour into muffin liners in a muffin tin (makes 12-18)
Sprinkle topping onto batter
Bake @400F for 20-25min

Notes on muffins:
Fresh ground spices are THE BEST. Get a microplane for ~$10 and you’ll be set.
Nothing in the world smells as good as fresh ground cinnamon and nutmeg.

Having fresh baking powder is important. It reacts with air and loses potentcy.
Muffins are chemically levened by the reaction between the acidic buttermilk
and tartaric acid in baking powder and the basic baking soda.

Muffins get their texture from being roughly mixed. You only need to mix until
all the flour is wet; any more and you risk developing gluten strands and
making your muffins chewy, with a cake-like crumb.

Enjoy!

This is a story about music. It is also a call to arms for anyone interested in recording. Forward it to anyone it might help.

A lot is said about DIY music, and plenty more about mainstream artists. But this is a story about the rung beneath all that; a rarely mentioned rite of passage for anyone who has performed a note of music in their life.

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When I ask questions, I am genuinely curious to hear the answers. How are you today? Don’t say fine. Tell me what you were anticipating to be stressful at work today, or what you are looking forward to doing this evening. My favourite question to ask is “What are you passionate about?”

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Happiness is to achieve your dreams and enjoy the road. These words are dedicated to a dream that begun 7 years ago, during my first days in university. There, one day, Maria and I decided to embark in the adventure of crossing the United States through Route 66.

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When I was young I was angry.

So much seemed to be wrong in so many parts of the world – I didn’t know what to do, I just knew I wanted to do *something*.

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I’m a professor at MIT; I study how people share information online and am optimistic about better communication helping to create a better world.  But paradoxically, as ever more novel communication technologies are emerging, there are serious breakdowns in meaningful communication.

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These days, life changes faster than people could possibly imagine. Think back to the start of 2011. between then and now, were you expecting half of what happened? A quarter? I certainly didn’t.

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