Robin Happy New Year. I’m pleased 2024 is finally over. It was my annus horribilis. Between taking a tumble down a hill and experiencing an unscheduled rapid disassembly (aka a break) of two bones in my ankle, while simultaneously working into a new career, keeping up with personal writing here on polyvalent took the back seat. … Read more
Our yard has been an ongoing project. We are replacing traditional lawn turfgrass with native plant species. The process has involved experimentation with different plants, seeing which ones appear to do well in various parts of the yard under different conditions — sun and soil being two key variables. My wife, JoLynne, started this project … Read more
In my role as General Counsel for a hotel company, I’m spending more time understanding the hospitality industry. One segment we’ve taken a closer look at is extended-stay hotels. While the hotel industry took a hit in the face of the economic upheaval wrought by the covid pandemic, the extended-stay hotel segment has proven its … Read more
My recent extracurricular reading has focused on understanding more about the luxury industry. That includes the history and sociology of how we, as human beings, interact with and develop desires for luxury goods and experiences, and how large corporations like LVMH have fueled and monetized that desire through marketing, particularly to larger middle-class audiences in … Read more
Lately my deep learning focus has been on understanding artificial intelligence — not just how it works in terms of training data, random forests, etc., but its legal, ethics, and policy implications. Hence, I’m not terribly surprised a lawsuit’s been launched related to the use of artists’ work in training AI algorithms. In short, a … Read more
Over the past year I’ve been thinking more about artificial intelligence (AI) and the impact it is having on our society. AI has the potential to revolutionize many industries. There are significant implications for not only in the tech sector, but across our economy. All its potential ramifications are too much to cover in a … Read more
Sunday October 16, 2022 Yesterday I received the covid-19 bivalent vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has approved two updated bivalent boosters — the Pfizer and Moderna variants. Bivalent boosters are supposed to shield against the original covid-19 virus as well as the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants. I thought … Read more
September 26, 2022 At my law firm, we generally keep a close eye on commercial real estate markets because working with investors and developers represents a significant portion of our activities. When covid-19 hit, I saw it as accelerating the trend towards distributed workforces and remote work. Particularly in larger urban areas subject to high … Read more
September 25, 2022 Today’s NY Times included a good article on the demise of the “starter home” in the United States. Whatever Happened to the Starter Home? – The New York Times (nytimes.com) This article struck a chord with me because of my work on affordable housing – which is harder to find and has … Read more
03/12/2021 Lately I’ve been having a lot of discussions with colleagues about various pathways to net zero carbon as we undertake the arduous task of preparing the US’s nationally-determined contributions to greenhouse gas emission reductions under the Paris Agreement. One topic which keeps bubbling to the surface is the role of nuclear energy. There is … Read more