🚲 It is officially “wear gloves when biking” weather. 🍁
🧦 On recommendation, I’ve tried Darn Tough socks a couple times, but they just don’t stay up. (Partially, I suspect, because their XL is still a little small for a 13, and their XXL isn’t available in most pairs.)
Back to Smart Wool.
Last year I met Les Stroud. Pretty cool event.
Let’s go #USMNT
It’s the ex-Chelsea coach era for US ⚽️
📚 Slow Productivity
Read: Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
Recommended
I appreciate that he looked for a positive and hopeful framing, rather than an anti-.
As the 4th Cal Newport book I’ve finished (and 5th I’ve started), it’s largely what I’d expect. That said, there are useful notes and references therein (captured below).
In knowledge work, and particularly software development, many of the recommended approaches are already encoded (in different terminology) in various agile methodologies.
Newport acknowledges how the techniques and strategies will not apply outside certain narrow situations, but hopes to spark a “revolution”.
See also:
- Digital Minimalism
- Productivity As an Incomplete Measure (this is addressed further in this book)
- Deep Work
- The Time Block Planner
My Reading Highlights and Notes
🕊️ Let no one say we didn’t know.
The horror must end. The United States must stop arming Israel.
🍄🟫 We’re now 3 for 3 in ordering mushroom toasts in New American restaurants and being blown away by how good they are.
📚 The Master and His Emissary by Iain McGilchrist
Recommended
These are more-accurate-than-normal descriptions of brain halves, though still insufficient:
- Context (R)
- Grasping (L)
I found the first half (brain) of the book better and less speculative than the second half (historical analysis).
📚 Supercommunicators
Read: Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
Recommended, with a caveat:
It’s not exactly what the title implies it will be, nor is it the same book at the end as it is at the start. In fact, the supposed mission of the book is truly only covered in an almost-footnote in the afterword (my final highlight captured at the bottom of this post). Nevertheless, it was full of useful information presented in useful ways.
My Reading Highlights and Notes
Spouse, reading a sign: “intrinsic property services”
Me: “I don’t see what you could do about that”
Spouse: chuckles conspiratorially
Furnace Fest 2024 End of an Era - Sunday #FF24
This was it, the final day of the event. The final show of…ever?
- Incendiary - solid, though a little simple and went too hard into southern rock for my taste. Liked that the singer was positive and cool about helping each other out in the pit.
- The Showdown - the singer did the thing where they were very demanding (almost upset?) about what the crowd does. I really dislike this from bands. If you feel like you have to be really pushy with your fans to get more energetic (or whatever) maybe the problem is your music or performance, not them. Do better.
- Eighteen Visions - not really my thing, but a good show.
- Boys Night Out - ok. Said this was their first show in 15 years, and singer had good stage chatter. Unfortunately, they cut into Extol’s time.
- Extol feat. Bruce Fitzhugh - once-in-a-lifetime thing. Bruce talked about how both bands (Extol and Living Sacrifice) had influenced each other. David Husvik (drums) talked about their 98 release of Burial and Cornerstone festival. Mentioned many of those bands were playing tonight (Norma Jean, Blindside, Underoath). This might be a little anachronistic, as even though that was the right era, I’m not sure all of them played that year (and Norma Jean was still Luti-Kriss). Ole Børud’s American English accent is probably better than mine, and I’m native. Bruce had to use notes, but can you blame him? He just subbed in to sing and did a great job with it, all things considered. (more, more, more)
- Norma Jean - they still got it! Josh Scogin joined for the last song and the place erupted. I’ll add links to my other posts about this.
- Blindside - did a great job for not being a “tour band”
- Underoath - great show, mostly tracks from 20th anniversary, but played a few others at the end. Spencer “leaked” that another album is ready and coming out soon. (more)
For later:
I’ll post show recording links here as I run across them. Feel free to send them my way.
Disembodied Driving
Disclaimers: I admit I don’t have the right words for this. Probably Matthew B. Crawford does. This is not supposed to be a “get off my lawn” post, but more about the nature of things.
I drove a rental vehicle last night.
It was an alienating experience.
The wheel turned at the slightest touch.
There were multiple lit screens and multiple audible alerts, constantly asking for attention. Following distance update. Lane update. Turn update. Engine update. The volume and timing of beeps was like being in a hospital emergency area. The screen reflections on other windows made it look like something was on the periphery, as well.
Alerts were also opinionated in unnecessary ways that don’t always hold true. Turning on a turn signal to signal intent resulted in hyper-flashing if somebody was in the lane. Crossing the center line on a what-could-otherwise-be-a-fun-and-efficient-curve-of-the-road when nobody is around resulted in warnings.
My overall sense of the drive was that I was missing the actual signals of driving because the design favored secondary signals over the more-direct ones. I can’t see how this doesn’t add to the problem of distracted driving instead of ameliorating it.
Granted, we usually keep our cars 10+ years, but it was shocking to me how poorly these systems are designed for actual humans. The only good thing I could say is some of the buttons were still at least tactile instead of touch screens.
Are most new cars like this?
📚 I’m reading Richard Powers - The Overstory and this Zen Pencils makes me think of it.
Slowly but surely
🎶 Underoath is about to close it out.
I haven’t seen them since Dallas Taylor and Octavio Fernandez were in the band. Those first three albums are still my faves, but they’ve had some good stuff here and there since then. #FF24
I think they plan to do mostly (only?) Chasing Safety stuff tonight.
🎶 Extol ran out of “trash can wristbands” (after Bruce was throwing them into the audience) but Christer Espevoll gave me his in the booth! 😲 #FF24
🎶 Extol’s Burial was one of the first real extreme metal tracks I ever heard & enjoyed and it’s still one of the best. #FF24
Thanks for making it all the way from Norway (and Arkansas, Bruce).
🎶 up next, the moment I’ve been waiting for:
Extol with special guest Bruce Fitzhugh of Living Sacrifice
This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime shows. #FF24
🕊️ People out there being like “man, I hate both-sides"ers about USA politics and then doing it themselves when it comes to brutal expansionist regimes & the people they are targeting.