Today: Jay Gustafson, who over two seasons paddled all of Minnesota's 34 state water trails to draw attention to water quality. Gustafson, aka Waterway Jay, completed his Paddle for Progress, covering more than 4,500 miles, in 2018.
Reading
I geek out on foreign policy and military affairs. I'm a sucker for the national security section in the Washington Post and Defense One by Atlantic Media. I find the response of the State Department and Pentagon to rapid and constant technological changes fascinating. I also enjoy reading P.W. Singer, who writes extensively on this topic with books such as "Ghost Fleet" and "LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media." As with water, technology has become essential to everyday life and brings with it a whole host of challenges and threats.
And because I work at Northstar Canoes and have spent the last three years paddling full time, I am continuing my journey through the book, "Canoes: A Natural History in North America" that I received as a Christmas present this year.
Following
I tweet very little, but heavily leverage Twitter for the trove of water-related content that exists. I really enjoy following @WaterBar_Mpls and @thewatermain. They both focus on the culture of water, your interaction with it, how it impacts you. It's a really great way for people to think of water as more than something that is there every time you turn on the faucet. It's an opportunity to have constant reminders about the importance that water plays in our lives. As we continue to learn more about the negative and often unintended consequences our personal and collective actions, I find that seeing water portrayed in multiple ways can be motivating and refreshing.
Watching
I've been splitting my time between "The Americans," "The Office" and old "David Letterman" shows on YouTube. Seems a 2:1 ratio of hilarity to skulduggery is the right balance for me.