The baseball regular season has come to an end. Honestly, I didn’t follow it that closely this year. My Cubs hired a new manager which looked like the beginning of big moves. While they had some good moves they didn’t finish the job and it was apparent this year was likely to be disappointing - and it was. Oh well, #AlwaysNextYear.
I’ve forcing myself to get back into the writing habit. I find that it clarifies my thinking and helps me separate items that feel urgent from items that are truly important. It’s surprising how few items are in both buckets. This is uniquely important for me right now because I’m in the United States so we are closing in on election season. The crazy has begun.
Personal
I am on my phone way too much. I use it for work, I use it for home, and I use it for fun. It is useful but the time I spend on it is out of whack with the value it offers. The amount o time I spend on any activity should directly correlate to the value I receive from it - whether work or fun. But with my phone that isn’t the case. I exchange lots of time for little value. So, I need to get that time back in balance.
I’m not talking about playing music or replying to email. I’m talking about mindlessly scrolling instead of talking with my wife. Or reading endless news stories I don’t care about instead of reading my bible or writing. Not to mention the internet is a perpetual outrage machine. Particularly during election season. I don’t need that.
It takes away time from my wife and son, from reading, writing, thinking, playing games, throwing a frisbee, hiking, and exercising. I’m not going to stop using it, but I want to get my time/value back in balance.
Where you spend your time is what you value. By that statement you could say I highly value my phone - but I that’s not quite right. I feel like that time was lost. Scrolling doesn’t relax me or make me happy. And I’m not alone in that.
“As with many other addictive behaviors, doomscrolling activates the release of dopamine in the brain,” says Dr. Batt. “So even though it often leads to negative feelings such as depression and anxiety, endlessly scrolling also offers the positive feelings associated with dopamine. The more you scroll, the more dopamine is released to reinforce and reward the behavior.”
So, I’m starting. It won’t be easy because it has become a habit. But now is the best time to start anything. Please comment with any tips or tricks!
What I wrote
I published my first piece in a long time: Fostering Engagement: The Power of Movement in Sales Presentations. I plan for this to be a series that was born out of a recent presentation I gave. Technical presenters often lean too heavily on content. While that is important, I find technical presentations often have minimal engagement. Over my years as a Solution Consultant I’ve developed strategies that help me break the ice and generate audience engagement. I’m sharing what I’ve learned.
What I read
Reading
[f] Where there was Fire by John Manual Arias
[NF] Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor
Early chapters: Interesting overview about human bodies evolved over time based on changes. Specifically, James talks about mouth breathing which many people do. I had no idea that mouth breathing can cause facial shapes to change as well as significant reduction in athletic performance, which, as a proxy, indicates impaired general health.
Mouthbreathing can lead to snoring and sleep apnea which can lead to:
Bed wetting
ADHD
Diabetes
High blood pressure
Cancer
Make you dumber by reducing brain cells
And children specifically have been shown that even light snoring “could suffer mood disorders, blood pressure derangements, learning disabilities, and more”.
In a single breath, more molecules of air will pass through your nose than all of the grains of sand on all of the work;d’s beaches - trillions and trillions of them. As they make their way toward you, they’ll twist and spool like the stars in a van Gough sky, and the’ll keep twisting and spooling and scrolling as they pass into you, traveling at a clip of about five miles per hour.
Finished:
Montana Man Sentenced for Federal Wildlife Trafficking Charges as Part of Yearslong Effort to Create Giant Hybrid Sheep for Captive Hunting - I don’t know much what to say. Considering the weight of the charges the fines seem pretty minimal. Via MR
Held Hostage Overseas? The IRS Wants Your Back Taxes - 80,000 new agents need something to do. Via MR
The 'Biggest Man-Made Disaster' Ever? - Kayla’s Newsletter is always excellent. In this is an overview of what the US East Coast port strike is about. What the longshoremen union is asking for and what USMX (the port operator) has offered.
Here Come the Vacant Homes: New Listings Jump when they Normally Drop in September, Active Listings Pile up, Listing Prices Drop below 2 Years Ago. Buyers on Strike, Prices too High - Wolf always offers an interesting counterpoint to the “up only” narrative of the last decade. Via WolfStreet
Listened To
Areas of study
Home Wind Turbine: Generating electricity for myself and for sales. I’ve often thought one of the most interesting business opportunities is to generate electricity. In terms of risk management for my family I’d like to have one vehicle that operates on petrol and one that operates on electricity. Not because I’m pro one or the other but it reduces our risk profile. Additionally, there are several ways to generate electricity at home. Solar is the obvious but I’ve recently come across a home wind turbine that also produces electricity. Apparently, it was originally designed - or inspired - by Ancient Greek philosopher Archimedes.
Archimedes Wind Turbines. Credit: https://archimedesgreenenergys.com
There are several companies that make them. They claim to be safe for wildlife, silent, and efficient and low wind speeds. But I’m not sure how they would look in a suburban neighborhood. To some degree they seem too good to be true, but it’s a reminder of how advanced the Ancient Greek philosophers were.