Five links that I found interesting for one reason or another
- Ten Years Of Using Pocket Notebooks - This just feeds into my love of pocket notebooks (not necessarily Field Notes) and writing things down.
- Slow Productivity:The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout - Scroll down about halfway down the linked page for the piece on this book. I don’t have much more to say other than I appreciate this counter to hustle culture that has been so prevalent for years, that one should slow down and accomplish without burnout. There’s also a YouTube video on the topic. Noting this here for myself because I want to look into this concept more.
- Just Ride - “The only riders who benefit from clipless pedals are racers, and only because their pedals are so small and slippery. If you don’t ride tiny, slippery pedals, you don’t need stiff, cleated shoes. The benefits of pedaling free far outweigh any real or imagined benefits of being locked in. They are as follows:Your muscles last longer. Moving your foot about the pedal shifts the load, even if slightly, to different muscles, and spreads the load around. Sprint up the hills on the balls of your feet and, on long-seated climbs, push with the pedal centered almost under your arch. It’s not a turbocharged, magic sweet spot, but it feels better and more natural, and you can’t do it if you’re locked in.You reduce the chance of a repetitive stress injury, because your feet naturally move around more, changing your biomechanics.You get off and on easier at stoplights; there’s no twisting to get out of your pedals, no fussing to
get back in.You can walk in stores without walking on your heels. You can run! You aren’t handicapped by expensive and weird-looking shoes.” This speaks to me, personally. I do not have all that gear; I have a helmet and gloves and I do love to ride, but though I am not anti-clipless pedals, I’m also not pro-clipless pedals. My old Chucks work just fine.
- 2023 Booooooom Photo Awards Winner: Wilhelm Philipp - I was struck by the portraits displayed here, not the least of which is of a young man who suffered what appears to be a very serious head injury only to make a full recovery. Be warned, the images are striking, but also inspiring as to what the human body can do to heal.
- The Judgment Of Magneto - Be ready for a far deeper discussion than what you might assume based on the title. This is a thought-provoking essay on the Jewish concept of “never again” using the character of Magneto, from the Marvel X-Men comics, as both a starting point and an analogy. It’s worth the read. Kudos to my friend Saga, who passed this along.
- {No Title; On The Now Ephemeral Nature of Pop Culture} - I agree with Ellis’s point here, and by proxy those of Jay Springett through his quotes. I confess, Shalee and I did bring Baby Reindeer, but we made the opposite choice with Fallout. We did not want to binge it and forget it, so we’ve been watching no more than one episode a week to slowly digest the show. Perhaps we should have done that with the former. It’s a good enough story that we definitely would have come back week to week. There is something to be said for savoring a show and letting the audience think about what they’ve seen for a week before releasing another episode. I know I appreciated The Mandalorian and Ahsoka much more because of that. But really, what’s wrong with just taking your time? I guess people could self-regulate and NOT binge an entire series, which clearly we failed at doing for Baby Reindeer, but we
could have, you know, if we wanted to.
High Five is a regular feature of this blog with an irregular schedule; just five links to things I found to be interesting.
Enjoy! © 2024 Michael A. Diaz