Category: post
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Traveler Tips
Kevin Kelley is amazing. His curiosity is infectious, and he’s lived his life in a way that overlaps with much of what I enjoy, and what I believe in. As such, every new listicle like this that he comes up with is gold → https://kk.org/thetechnium/50-years-of-travel-tips/ There are so many gems in this list, and all…
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HumAIn Evolution
We’re all inundated with stories, articles, podcasts, posts (like this one!) about AI. All seem to promise big future impacts, but few seem to get specific with what this actually means to we humans. This super interesting post does just that, in a very, very specific way: How AI might influence what human personality traits…
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Finally, Productive
I definitely pushed the limits of this holiday break. Sure, I can blame this year’s calendar, and the amazing snowstorm we just had, but it was really just me being lazy. So it was great to finally have a productive day today — the initial DrinkEatWalk.com draft website is now live. There are only three…
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Weekly Learning
Yearend is always hard for me to not turn this blog in to a linkblog for all the fantastic “## Things I Learned in 2024” type posts that come out. But I couldn’t resist linking to this one, as it’s so well done with its breadth of topics & source links:
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Retail Profits
The major US retail stores make the majority of their profits from their credit cards, not their merch sales → https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/07/u-s-a-retail-fact-of-the-day.html This is nuts, and you’ll want to read all the comments to get more details on it, and how it’s been this way for awhile. No wonder they push the cards so hard when…
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Book Sales
Only 28 books out of the 300,000 titles sold in 2022 sold more than 500,000 copies → https://x.com/JasonColavito/status/1620151389363245057 And even worse news comes in his second post in the thread: “Past the top 100 books, the numbers are dire. The average book sells 200 copies. An average “bestseller” sells about 2,000 copies. Almost all significant…
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Fast Food
A map showing the most popular fast food restaurant in each US state → https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/1dnig19/a_cool_guide_to_the_most_popular_fast_food_in/#lightbox You see this and think “Wow, Chick-fil-A really does dominate in the South & they’re spreading out!” or “Geeze, why is McDonald’s so popular in northern states?”. Whereas I see this and think “Hooray, three chains I’ve never heard of…
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Orange History
A history of the word Orange → https://x.com/culturaltutor/status/1780394314616422657 Years ago I went to an improv show in New Zealand, and the cast asked for the crowd to yell out words to rhyme-riff on. My shout of “orange” rose above the other voices, drawing Kiwi glares from the stage. Follow the X account for other history…
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Kevin Kelly
Polyglot Kevin Kelley drops another of his yearly advice lists → https://kk.org/thetechnium/101-additional-advices/ I posted about a previous one over at Snack Pantry (RIP…for now…). And he now also has a whole book of this type of advice.
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Geography Terms
Fantastic visual that shows you what each geographical term means → https://x.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1790418213261431203 Pretty sure we’ve all heard every one of these terms. And, in the moment, you thought you knew what it meant. But, if you’re like me, you probably didn’t 100% know it. Here’s our chance to get to that 100%.
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Historical Words
An educational Twitter thread that gives the history & historical context of twelve English words/phrases we use all the time → https://twitter.com/culturaltutor/status/1789714370173215196 This was written by The Cultural Tutor, a great account to follow
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Water Pressure Pressures
I learned a lot about shower heads this week. If your shower water pressure sucks, turns out you don’t need to buy a new shower head soon after moving in, nor another one two frustrating years later (based upon an article recommendation). All you need to do is remove the stupid, cheap, plastic water restrictor…
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Style Lessons
A fashion guy gives style lessons using George Costanza for his examples → https://twitter.com/dieworkwear/status/1776110738295415190 I don’t care much about fashion at all, but Derek Guy writes in such a interesting, engaging way that I can’t help but read all his posts, especially his threads. He’s so good at them, using lots of pics, historical narratives,…
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DYDit is a Tool, Not a Destination
“Did You Do it Today?” is a tool, not a destination. Yes, you make better progress toward building your Habit when you engage with it each day, but the app is absolutely not about long engagement. Ideally, you spend about 7 seconds a day with it: • 1 second → See the Daily Check-in text/email…
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Why DYDit isn’t Free
Software costs $ to build & maintain, and this is mostly paid for in one of three ways: 1- Advertising 2- Your personal info & data 3- Your direct support I will never fund “Did You Do it Today?” via 1 or 2, so that leaves #3: Subscriptions. But, for $5 month, you get simple…
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SpaceX Launches
Animated video of all the SpaceX launches from Cape Canaveral since 2010 → https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1777386291258183708 Since today is Eclipse day here in the US, figured it was a good day for some other space content. I had no idea that there were so many SpaceX launches happening. Seems like we hear about some of them from…
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Show Maps
Heat maps for different TV show viewership around the US → https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1bu6laf/where_tv_shows_are_more_popular_in_the_us/ Pretty cool what this shows about the demographics of both the shows AND the regions. It also seems to show that the US has geographic memory, much as in other parts of the world.
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World Sport
A map showing the most popular sport in each country → https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/18u3if8/most_popular_sport_in_the_world/ Not too many surprises here (though, “archery”?) It’s clear that if you’re going to invent a new sport, I’d suggest it contain the word “football”.
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Leap Day
An animation that clearly explains the need for Leap Day → https://twitter.com/physicsJ/status/1225386964049788928 There are always lots of Leap Year explainers around the end of Feb but, wow, there are tons when it’s actually a Leap Year. I think I’ve read them all, and have two clear takeaways: 1- The above animation is all you need…
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Unexpectedly Eponymous
Things that you had no idea were named after people → https://notes.rolandcrosby.com/posts/unexpectedly-eponymous Part of why I like this is that it’s just a 2020 blog post from some random guy on the internet. Sounds familiar. Also, he didn’t really try to make it look great, but it’s very functional: Sparse with words, but rich with…
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Hidden Features
People post answers to the question “What common product has a feature you’re not sure everyone is aware of?” → https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/195ydoi/what_common_product_has_a_feature_youre_not_sure/ This list is endless, and endlessly fascinating. You WILL learn something new.
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Birth Death
Falling birth rates everywhere are bad → https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/01/shrinking-populations-will-limit-convergence.html It looks like it’s becoming economics week here on the recommendation portion of this blog. It also looks like the US is part of this birth rate problem. And I’m very much aware that I’m part of this US part of the problem 🤷🏻♂️
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Daily Fact
Get one good fact served up daily from Britannica → https://www.britannica.com/one-good-fact Doing things every day, trying to make it into a habit, is the best way to establish behaviors that will last a lifetime. This includes learning & info consumption, and this site does it in fun way.
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Eel Meals
Eating eel is quintessentially American → https://www.themarginalian.org/2022/11/20/eel-squanto-thanksgiving/ I think I’ve eaten everything but eels in the past week, but perhaps, as a good American, I should have.
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3-D Constellations
A three-dimensional view of Orion & the Big Dipper → https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/xbyi1f/the_big_dipper_and_orion_in_3d_visualizing_the/ Nothing in space is what it seems, it seems
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Search Year
Google gives the lists for its Year in Search 2023 → https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2023/US/ I love all these year-end summaries we now get. It used to be “Best Movies” or “Best Books” (still great & needed), but now we get “Spotify Wrapped” and lists like Google’s. It’s interesting AND gives you a good indication of how in-touch/out-of-touch…
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Graffiti Rocks
Those stacks of rocks (cairns) that you see on beaches & hiking trails are considered graffiti, and you shouldn’t build them, nor touch them → https://hasanjasim.online/why-shouldnt-you-stack-rocks-on-hikes-and-what-should-you-do-if-you-see-them/ This one is kind of hard to swallow. I mean, those stacks usually look great, and many of them are super helpful to keep you on the trail, eg.…
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Rock History
Infographic on the “history” of Rock-Paper-Scissors → https://twitter.com/simongerman600/status/1733086550957674870 Some people call it rochambeau; some people call it RPS; some people call it Paper-Rock-Scissors. Whatever it’s called, it’s the perfect deciderer. Make sure you also read the comments on this post, as they show why the internet is so great when we’re all being a little…
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Human Killers
A post & graphic that shows the critters that kill the most humans every year → https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/ote7l3/oc_animals_that_kill_the_most_humans_per_year/ Man’s best friend is also one of man’s top killers‽ The biggest surprise, though, if you didn’t already know the factoid, is that mosquitos are at the top. We all like to think that violence is the thing…
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Designer Fun
Designers were tasked with creating the most annoying software volume controls, and the results are hilarious → https://twitter.com/0xDesigner/status/1642554817590566915 Most folks don’t spend much time thinking about the tools we use within the sites we visit, and the apps we use, each day. And they shouldn’t — well designed ones just let you get the job…
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Microwave Power
Microwave power settings don’t work like you think they do → https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/15aikko/til_that_microwave_power_settings_dont_actually/ Something to ponder as you’re standing there waiting for your leftovers to warm up today & through the weekend. And with that, Food Week concludes.
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Do Something
Motivation doesn’t come first, Action does → https://x.com/IAmMarkManson/status/1724830873457979843 Earlier this year I was, ironically, struggling to work on Did You Do it Today each day. I couldn’t get motivated. I waited for it to hit each day, but it never seemed to. I then established a daily schedule and forced myself to stick to it.…
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Heart Lights
The red lights in the stoplights in Akureyri, Iceland’s second largest city, are hearts → https://www.northiceland.is/en/place/hearts-of-akureyri Iceland is in the news these days, which reminded of this charming little thing they do in Akureyri. And I have proof of it from my visit: I took the pic above when I was there earlier this year.
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Sample Breakdown
Fascinating quick exploration of how the sample was sourced & implemented in the song “One More Time” by Daft Punk → https://twitter.com/dancingastro/status/1724111284201726079 Oh, boy. I think of one specific moment in time whenever I hear this song: The island of Ios, Greece in June of 2001. I never knew that was a sample in the…
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Unpoisoned Candy
There was never any poisoned candy → https://nowiknow.com/where-did-the-fear-of-poisoned-halloween-candy-come-from/ Debunkings nourish my soul, but it probably won’t matter, and most folks will continue to believe what they’re fed. Oh well — Now I Know would still be a great newsletter for them to subscribe to for more good explainers/debunkers like this.
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Screen Printing
A mesmerizing video that shows you how t-shirts are screen printed and explains, without words, why it’s called that → https://twitter.com/HowThingsWork_/status/1712071005139546288 Seriously, I’ve never known why it’s called “screen” printing. Even worse, I’ve never been curious enough to question why it was called that. How many other examples like this am I ignorantly spewing each…
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Life Rules
Another one those amazing lists of random tips & tricks to maybe help improve your life → https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/7hFeMWC6Y5eaSixbD/100-tips-for-a-better-life I’m a sucker for these lists, and no matter who you are, or what you’re into, there’s something in here for you. No idea who wrote it, or how I found it, but it doesn’t matter.
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Geographical Memory
A fascinating, map-based, Twitter* thread the details how the geography & politics of pre-WW1 Poland is still impacting the regional demography, infrastructure, economy, and culture today → https://twitter.com/sheemawn/status/1714181402424738055 Maps are the best, especially when they can be used as the canvas to describe why history unfolded the way it did. Tough to fact-check all the…
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Coin Flip Odds
Coin flip odds are not 50/50, as the results are impacted by the initial position of the coin → https://www.iflscience.com/coin-tosses-are-not-5050-scientists-toss-350757-coins-and-prove-old-theory-71047 I love “things are not as you think” articles & findings like this. It’s proof that the scientific method works AND can be super interesting. Please note: If I ever toss a coin with you,…
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North vs. South America
Since we’re on the topic of South American geographical things I don’t know if I knew → I mean it’s obviously true, but doesn’t align with how I see it, and how it feels, in my head.
eyeintim 