Welcome to the Internet
I think I watch this about three or four times per year. It’s humorous and tragic and defines exactly why the modern internet is so awful.
Why is there a big rock in the woods?
A Lesson in 220 Power
My family was traveling and I was home with the dog for a few days. On one of those nights, I experienced a power issue, which I wrote up in a root cause analysis.
Symptoms: I woke up early in the morning around 430a to a house that felt warmer and quieter than it should. I figured it was a power outage which is unfortunately not rare in my area. I got up to evaluate and as I walked down the hall, I heard some of the kid’s fans running.
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
I had been feeling underwater with some big projects and shifts in strategy at work. I felt it was time to give Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism another read.
I find the advice in this book to be consistent with many others I have read. I benefit from the repetition of hearing the priority message. Do less, but better. It has challenged me to reduce the number of things I have going on at once and to ask the right questions at work to ensure we are using our time wisely.
Indiana Jones in Black & White
This video explores what makes Spielberg a good filmmaker via Raiders of the Lost Ark.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItbCLh4Auoo
Kitchen Finish Project
As we are nearing the end of the Kitchen Refresh Program, much of what is left to do is fit and finish.
Wallpaper behind the coffee station: Wallpaper and new textured glass on cabinet: Painted the kitchen (and adjoining family room) walls: Replaced electrical sockets and switches from almond to white/black: The only thing left to do is sort out the overhead lighting situation and then patch+paint the ceiling.
My Relationship with Running
My relationship with running started in June of 2020.
I had always hated the idea of running. Everyone who runs seems pretty unhappy while they are doing it. Odds are if you wave at a runner, they will not wave back. This was a big scary thing I had intended to never do. Then things changed, and then I changed. The first change was the pandemic and I was stuck having to get to know myself.
Organizing My Projects
Inspired by the book, Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman, I have used the idea of keeping a list of active and inactive projects. In the book, he suggests no more than ten active projects. For me, five works better. I even try to keep a project in each category of my life to be well-rounded.
Health goals Professional goals Self-Improvement goals Relationship goals Household goals I am also a big believer in “strategic underachievement” and for me, that is being bad at email, slack, and text messaging.
The Dichotomy of Career Advice
Much of the career advice you hear is in the “work smarter, not harder” category. Career advice is best given by those who have had a career for a couple of decades. Nobody wants to listen to a recent graduate’s opinion on how to be successful at work. The problem though is that for those giving out advice, they are in an entirely different phase of their careers. A phase where their experience should be helping shape focus and priority.
The Man From the Future by Ananyo Bhattacharya
When I was in high school, some of the few books I read were biographies of scientists around the Manhattan Project. I was unnecessarily obsessed with the topic. John Von Neumann was the stand-out. He was not only absurdly brilliant but also a hero of mine. I had aspirations of becoming a Mathematician. This book is centered more around the major works of Von Neumann and is a good reminder of his influence and how his influence had ripple effects on so many others.