Hiking Adventures in the San Francisco Peninsula and Beyond
As some know, I teach a Comparative Privacy Law course at a local law school. Before my Monday night class, I was able to attend the tail end of a program on the invasion of Ukraine and why it matters. The student audience was engaged and the discussion robust. I spent the first few minutes of class … Continue reading Kyiv
Kiev I was born in Ukraine, Kiev to be precise. It is still Kiev to me, not Kyiv. I left when I was five, in 1979, turning six in Italy, en route to the United States. We, ten of us, arrived in San Francisco on November 30, 1979. I celebrate that day, usually in my … Continue reading Ukraine
Some stats, notes and observations: Duration: 5 hours (including a few stops for water, snacks, etc.; and driving time from Hike #1 to Hike #2)Distance: 11 miles (10.1 per All Trails)Elevation Gain: 1,361 feet (both trails)Weather: 50° F at 9am; 70° F at 1pmStarting Location – Hike #1: Drakes Head Trail Parking Lot (38.08154, -122.91403)Starting Location – … Continue reading Point Reyes
NYC Skyline, from Hoboken, NJ I remember 9/11 vividly, the first, fifth, tenth, and fifteen anniversaries, not so much, if at all. My 9/11 story is, thankfully, unremarkable, in the big scheme of things, but instructive nonetheless. I was living in Burlingame, about twenty miles south of San Francisco. Most likely, I had set my radio alarm … Continue reading 9/11/21
Let’s start with the “science.” Professional negotiators know about (and how to create and execute) negotiations plans (opens, fallbacks, accepts, walks positions), BATNAS (best alternative to a negotiated agreement), etc. They know what is and is not negotiable. They know the relevant market. They understand timing. They know how to listen, actively. You cannot learn … Continue reading The Art and Science of Negotiations
If you want to see the future, visit Japan. Pepper, a semi-humanoid robot from Softbank Robotics, greeted us in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Shinjuku in October 2016. On it was mounted a tablet (iPad?), displaying information in an interactive manner. Unfortunately, we could not discern any other capability. About a week later, on our last full … Continue reading Future-Proofing Work
One of the few (if only) bright spots of the last ten months has been that the morning hike has replaced the morning commute. More thoughts on the virtues of hiking are available here: https://johnpavolotsky.com/2021/01/09/take-a-hike/ Pulgas Ridge Preserve Today’s hike started at 7:15am, in the Pulgas Ridge Preserve (Redwood City, California) parking lot, en route to … Continue reading Early to Bed, Early to Rise
The LBJ Master Biography (Volumes I-IV) - Caro From time to time, I am asked to suggest business and/or law books. For some reason, law books are less interesting. My favorite remains The Firm (Grisham). The Pelican Brief is not bad either. I have enjoyed some of the more specialized books, arguably not for the … Continue reading Top Business Books
It is a tough time to be a travel writer. As a baker needs flour, so does a travel writer need fresh sights, smells, sounds, experiences, inspiration. Of course, writing about past adventures is an option. For example, I could tell you about a brilliant day last autumn, cool morning, warm afternoon, mild evening, starting … Continue reading Spanish Steps
Montecatini Alto, part of a 3-day visit to Tuscany last October, could not be farther from the current reality of 24-hour catastrophe TV, coronavirus memes, no live sports, shelter-in-place (house arrest), new (home-based) co-workers, distance learning (Zoom videoconferences and Google Hangouts Chat), social distancing (isolation), deep cleaning (usually reserved for unpleasant dental visits), hyper-local (neighborhood-based) … Continue reading Montecatini Alto
The Peninsula Hiking Club 