For most of the last ten years, Katherine and I have participated in National Novel Writing Month, an organized effort to encourage people to write a fifty thousand word novel during the month of November. A number of the works … Continue reading →

Friends ask how I spend my time now that I’m retired. Or they hear that I’m running a non-profit as a volunteer, and ask how much time I spend on it. My standard answer is between fifteen and twenty hours … Continue reading →

It’s a rewarding feeling when I’ve been involved in a range of diverse activities, and then they all come together at once. This happened for me in the last week of October. But to explain, I have to start with … Continue reading →

Last night was PBDD’s first fundraiser, Laughing Matters, and it was a success on all fronts. Thank you to those who helped organize it and to everyone who came out to support us and the People’s Resource Center. Following is the … Continue reading →

Ever since starting PBDD, I’ve confronted new experiences: starting a non-profit, running board meetings, being my own boss, promoting our cause to strangers. And now, it’s time for another one: hosting a fund-raiser. To date, PBDD has been living within our means, … Continue reading →

In the fifteen months of PBDD’s existence, we have seen a tremendous amount of activity and movement. This blog post highlights some recent as well as anticipated changes. We started by sending queries to existing refurbishing agencies, and a few brave … Continue reading →

Last week, I joined hundreds of my colleagues from nonprofits, libraries, industry and the public sector at the Net Inclusion Summit 2016 to share and discuss issues related to digital inclusion. A full trip report will be coming, but I wanted to … Continue reading →

One of our Facebook readers asked for an explanation of what the recent FCC Lifeline ruling means. While I’m not an expert, I’ll do my best to provide a high-level summary. When the Lifeline program was launched, the FCC identified the telephone … Continue reading →

Sometimes, you’re walking along in life, and there’s an unexpected surprise. It could be finding a five dollar bill on an empty street, or a bakery on a street where you didn’t expect one, or a beautiful flower poking up … Continue reading →

One year ago today (February 11 2015), I filed articles of incorporation as a non-profit with the State of Illinois. By all measures I think that it has been a good year. With the anniversary, I find myself scheduling a second … Continue reading →