I live now in Henderson, Nevada, with occasional travel to Pittsburgh and the rest of the world. In the past couple years I’ve visited northern Virginia, Mexico City, Zion National Park, West Virginia, Baja California, Chicago, Portland, Madrid, El Escorial, Lisbon, Porto, and the Camino de Santiago from Vigo. I decided at the last moment not to travel to Dallas in April for the total solar eclipse, and more recently missed the Northern Lights visible in many parts of the US. However, I hope to view totality during one of the upcoming eclipses in Spain, Iceland, or Egypt, and may see the aurora borealis in Sweden this fall.

At home, I occasionally enjoy the spectacles available in Vegas. Interesting shows from the past half year include Beckett’s “Happy Days”, Mac King, Piff the Magic Dragon, and Sleater-Kinney. I enjoy the familiarity and coziness of Pittsburgh, even though I must more diligently “redd up”.

Every day I learn Spanish, make or find a satisfying meal, read, reflect, and write. Every week I go for swims or take long walks. Every month I organize household, financial, and family affairs. I continue to research issues around communication with potential extraterrestrial intelligence. Although I have been writing this blog nearly exclusively in Spanish, soon I would like to begin a project involving translation to English, with several possibilities in mind.

Overall, I live a marvelous, upside-down version of the academic calendar, working only summers since leaving Carnegie Mellon in autumn 2022. Last year I taught writing with Thrive Scholars at the University of Chicago, and this year will rejoin L&T (Language & Thinking) at Bard College, a sort of homecoming because I first taught there three decades ago. While my current situation is wonderful, I would work full-time for the right opportunity.

Last update: 2024-07-02 Tue 11:42 EDT