Then I asked 'efficient in what? productive in what?' and they just looked at me like I was from Mars.

One of the most distressing class discussions I had this term, in a semester filled with distressing class discussions, was one in which we talked about what it means to be 'modern' and the class coalesced around an definition that centered 'efficiency' and 'productivity,' which surprised me.

Which is not to say that poetry does not produce value, because it does. "But we let 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would.'"

Can't blame people for having the opinion expressed above. It is a rational response to society that has utterly abased every human activity that does not 'produce value.'

pannier for the bike is a good rec. i was gonna say a slick looking backpack or headphones. coffee grinder, shawl collar cardigan, pendelton blanket. these are the most 30-something straight guy (non-toxic category) recs I can think of.

Maokong gondola from the Taipei Zoo to Maokong
SF ferry to the ballpark
Tren Ligero lightrail to Xochimilco

Favorite comment I ever got on a course eval “This was a great class, but so depressing.”

Well, in this case the Vice Chancellor is an American who was provost at Princeton until 2 years ago, so they were ahead of the curve.

Which is to say, it could be worse!