Saturday 21 Oct I went to an iftar in Austin; the dinner breaking the day's fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan. Later the same day there was a Divali celebration for the Hindu Festival of Lights; I didn't make it to that one. What's this got to do with worldchanging? Society isn't people; it's communication, and the more communication the less likely people are to be at odds with each other for no reason. Worldchanging isn't just nifty new technology or applications; it's getting people to use them, and to change the way they use other things. It's easy for us worldchanging types to talk about technology and systems, and to forget that one of the prime motivators of many people is religion, and that the one issue that cuts across almost all religious boundaries is that religious people want more care of the environment. Austin is an easy place to establish communications across such boundaries, having as it does more than a few of just about everybody.

-jsq