Burning Man

I'm going this year. Despite reservations about weather, time and generations, I need to experience the creation of a city where generosity and freedom of expression are paramount.  I don't have a theme, a costume or a cause in mind, but I am open to do whatever comes up to contribute to the positive vibe.

Here come the ukuleles

The ukulele above is an Oscar Schmidt OU5, a Concert size.  The ukulele shown below is a Kala Tenor made from Acacia wood.

A Uke-rvention?

My kids may think I need a "uke-rvention", but I'm all right, really..

I admit I suffer from UAS, Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome.  It became clear when my wife asked "How many more do you need"?  And I replied "Just one more".

I blame my friends Mary and Delores who extolled the virtues of playing ukuleles when we sat together at a wedding at Camp Winnarainbow.  I sat in with their group playing my upright bass, and soon enough I had a bass ukelele, and a concert and a tenor ukulele and playing with 3 groups and spending time practicing and watching YouTube videos of ukulele players.    

Bird's Eye View

My latest interest is in creating an indoor aviary to fill our house with the songs of finches and canaries. When our lovely Bernese Mountain Dog, Cassidy, died last year, it made the house too quiet when Suzanne is traveling. A flight cage of finches and another with canaries will liven the place up!!!

Meet MIG

This is Daniel Iacofano, the "I" in MIG. Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc., my workplace for the past 18 years, is an eclectic group of professionals who are committed to doing good in the world. Landscape architects, city planners, urban designers, graphic artists, organizational development specialists, environmental psychologists, web tools designers, programmers, accessibility experts, marketers, transportation planners, bike and pedestrian planners, and business support professionals make up a few of the 100+ folks who spend their days working together at MIG.

There are offices in Berkeley (HQ), Davis, Fullerton, and Pasadena California, and Eugene and Portland, Oregon.

One of My Favorite People

Meet Larry Brilliant!! Larry founded the Seva Foundation, is the former executive director of Google.org, is a TED prize recipient, and a hog farmer. Larry is accomplished in many areas, and is a terrific dad and friend. Thank you Larry for the incredible work you have done in the world.

Teaching English as a Second Language

I really enjoy spending time with people who LOVE TO LEARN. I have been teaching ESL at the Canal Alliance in San Rafael, and have been taking classes in ESL at the UCB Extension Certificate Program in Berkeley. It all stared by tutoring a couple, and then a family, and then a class room with 25 students.

It's challenging, and rewarding. I am a Spanish learner, and enjoy teaching English despite my own struggles with English grammar, language learning in general, and a general shyness in group settings. Oh well. Jump in. the water's fine.