Hi ho — another cool, damp weekend in the Triangle and I am loving it.
The last letter went rather long, so I hope to be quicker about it this week. Let’s crack on, shall we?
Images this issue, unless otherwise noted, come from the Public Domain Review’s collection of photos from the 1917 book Physical Training for Business Men. We all need to move more.
Diary
Honestly, not a lot happening over here! I cleaned the pollen off the back porch so it’s habitable now, we continue to work Mon-Fri, and Bull City Commons Cohousing remains a top-of-mind project.
I’m not dressing as if for work, anymore, though; I have a nice shirt on for the Skype or Zoom calls, but then it’s shorts and house shoes out of camera range. Comfort rules.
One interesting note: we’ve both noticed that we’re losing weight, slowly but measurably. No doubt a side effect of more at-home meals, fewer restaurant meals, and near-daily neighborhood walks in the afternoon.
My Lenten Challenge of not listening to podcasts turned out well. I listened to some audiobooks and have reduced the amount of intellectual “snack food” I was consuming. It’s quieted my mind and distractions quite a lot. I’m choosier now about what I listen to.
Liz’s jigsaw puzzle on April 12
The puzzle on April 23
Hogsheads and Firkins
Liz is doing British cryptic crosswords on her iPhone. As opposed to American crosswords, British cryptics can be fiendishly difficult as each clue is its own word puzzle. The Wikipedia article above describes at least 12 different types of cryptic clues.
The other hurdle to British cryptics is British culture itself. There are phrases, place names, people, and food or drink products that are total mysteries to us.
But, we can learn. Thanks to the British cryptics, Liz learned what a hogshead was (by way of a synonym for cask) and found the following very helpful diagrams on British wine cask units and Oak Barrel Morphology.
Never go to bed without asking yourself, “What new thing have I learned today?”
Liz remembered this Beatles lyric from “For The Benefit of Mr. Kite”: “Lastly through a hogshead of real fire…”
Classic technical illustration at work.
Kill Sticky bookmarklet
A bookmarklet that always finds its way to all of my browser toolbars is Alisdair McDiarmid’s Kill sticky headers bookmarklet. For web sites that have header or footer elements that obscure part of what I’m trying to read, clicking this bookmarklet instantly clears the page display. And if you ever need those elements back — for a menu item, say — then just refresh the page.
If you’ve never used bookmarklets before, don’t worry — they’re easy to install and use. But do check your browser’s View menu to ensure the bookmarks bar is in view.
Empty streets
Liz sent me this WUNC-FM page from April 1 of photos around Durham and the Triangle area; images of empty places that are usually bustling with people. The shots of an empty RDU Airport are especially desolate, like those photos of abandoned shopping malls (but not as eerie, thank goodness). Compare those empty RDU shots to this video from June 2019 of travelers lined around the perimeter of Terminal 2. Images of The World Before and The World After.
World 2.0
This Marginal Revolution blog post has an interesting compare/contrast between World 1.0 and World 2.0. I don’t agree with them all, but the following differences resonated:
World 1.0 - Full employment.
World 2.0 - 30% unemployment.
World 1.0 - Physical.
World 2.0 - Digital.
World 1.0 - Office for work.
World 2.0 - Office for connection, community, ecosystem, makerspaces.
World 1.0 - Lots of little problems.
World 2.0 - One big problem.
World 1.0 - Just-in-time.
World 2.0 - Stockpile.
World 1.0 - Stasis.
World 2.0 - Change.
Coming Up
I am doing another four weeks of accountability coach training; my goal for the period is to create a blog post, video, or audio file within a daily 20-minute window, and then publish it. Creating something quickly and getting it out there feels important right now. I’ll publish links to a few of those items in the next issue.
I also got an inkling for an online group I may want to form. Letting it gel some more before I make an announcement.
The BCC Plenary is next week and I start the monthly BCC newsletter compile and drafting.
Be well. And move more!
Signoff
And, as ever, the signoff from Warren Ellis’s Sunday newsletter, because I really can’t do any better:
And that's it from me. Remember to be kind to yourself this week, because you do actually deserve it and you need to quit arguing with yourself about that. The days are still passing, you're still moving forward, and the good times are ahead. Hold on tight. Be well.
I’m Michael E. Brown. One of my goals with my website and this letter is to keep in touch with friends and correspondents.
Learning As I Go is published on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, occasionally before sundown but let’s not count on it.