How do we order our adjectives when speaking English?. Remarkably, when we describe a noun, we almost always unconsciously arrange adjectives in this order: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, and purpose.

Second cousins once removed. Even when you’ve figured out how family relations work, families, in just a few generations, can get surprisingly complex. I won’t pretend this one doesn’t require a little study.

Looking Back in Time.The farther you look, the farther back in time you see. So, as you look up in the sky, it's also like looking at a map of different times. Crazy.

There are several theories for how they form but in general strong winds of cold dry air from one side likely interact with warmer humid air on the other. Look out for them next time you're in the mountains.

Banner cloud. Banner clouds can form on the side of a high or exposed peak and seem to stick to the mountain face like a banner, even on an otherwise cloudless day.

"I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.".— John Muir. Is there some "out" that you can make your "in" this week?

Many people may be interested in and share their opinions on a project or decision. But only some will be responsible for delivering the project and directly accountable for its success. Everyone may be interested in a bet, but only some players have money to lose.

Also known as the bacon and eggs principle, it's from the old joke (sometimes told as a short story), "In a bacon and eggs breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.".

Chickens and pigs is a metaphor for who's got skin in the game. Or to leave metaphors behind, who's involved in a project vs who is fully committed.

Another favourite half word.

The reality is that most actions have benefits and costs. A halfpinion is a handy term for when someone is ignoring one half of a topic. When you only consider one side of an issue, often just the benefits, you don't have a full opinion, you just have a halfpinion.

The good news is that at a noisy party, even if you can't quite make out whether someone is offering you a bellini or a blini, the safe answer is always yes.

A bellini is a refreshing cocktail made with peach nectar and prosecco. A blini is typically a bite-size pancake often served with smoked salmon or caviar due to its Russian origins. Both are delicious in very different ways and yet sound almost exactly the same.

While both are excellent starts to an evening, it's easy to mix up a bellini with a blini, if only because you might mishear one for the other. What's the difference between a bellini and a blini?

A new piano track out on all platforms. Listen: . The cover artwork is from the first camp on our climb of Volcán Tajumulco, Guatemala, from 2009. One of the more spectacular views I've had the pleasure of enjoying. Hope you enjoy it!

From congested equilibrium comes the maxim in travel planning circles: "You can't build your way out of congestion.". I learned about this and the trials and challenges of travel planners in the book Good to go? Decarbonising Travel After the Pandemic by Professor David Metz.

See, for example, "Children who walked to and from school through busy main roads were exposed to 33% higher levels of air pollution than those who travelled through back streets.".

Pollution is highly localised: take the back streets

Pollution is highly localised: take the back streets

Michael Caine, in his book Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: And Other Lessons in Life, said:."When you're doing your preparation right, it sometimes looks so good that people watching you make the mistake of assuming it's all natural and effortless. In my experience, it never is."

Think cradle to cradle. From Michael Braungart and William McDonough’s groundbreaking book Cradle to Cradle (you should buy it just to feel the book itself). Production and use need not be a straight line. It has to be a loop. Known often as the circular economy.