Helicopter(ˈheləˌkäptər) Mom vs.(ˈvərsəs) Jimmy(ˈjimē) Buffett(ˈbəfət) Dad

Comedian(kəˈmēdēən) Michelle Buteau thought the hard part was over when she and her husband welcomed twins after struggling with infertility(ˌinfərˈtilədē). Little did she know.

By Michelle Buteau

…

These differences in our backgrounds have created an interesting push-and-pull. And by “interesting,” I mean annoying(əˈnoiiNG). To my husband, I’m not just a helicopter mom. I’m a drone(drōn)-on-top-of-a-snowplow(ˈsnōˌplou) mom. To me, my husband is too casual(ˈkaZHo͞oəl) and relaxed. Toddler(ˈtädlər) time is not a Jimmy Buffett concert!

I’m constantly thinking, “OK, which pens, coins or sharp items on the floor can they put in their mouths?” “Where are the fragile(ˈfrajəl) objects they could grab and possibly break on each other’s heads like The Three Stooges(sto͞oj)?” “Are all the electrical(əˈlektrək(ə)l) outlets plugged in or covered?” In the meantime(ˈmēnˌtīm), my husband is letting them climb(klīm) a bookcase. And when they can’t get down, he says, “Figure it out” in Dutch(dəCH). Figure what out, exactly(iɡˈzak(t)lē)? How many stitches(stiCH) they will need?

One day at the park, I felt like I was the only one watching the kids while he sat on the bench(ben(t)SH) looking on. When I asked him to help me, he said, “They’re fine, just let them be.” Let. Them. Be? Let these emotional rotisserie(rōˈtisərē) chickens just run around by themselves? With strange kids? And new objects? What if they eat sand? Why aren’t you worried? Don’t you care? He hit me with, “Worry and anxiety aren’t how I show affection.” I would have argued, but I was too busy making sure the twins weren’t dipping their pacifiers(ˈpasəˌfī(ə)r) in the sandbox.

I guess the point is, who is right here? Am I overly anxious? Is he too casual? Does every couple experience this?

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/parenting/michelle-buteau-twins.html

In the Air Tonight

By Phil Collins

I can feel it coming ing the air tonight Oh Lord
I have been waiting for this moment all my life Oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord Oh Lord
Well if you told me you were drowning(droun) i would not lend a hand
I have seen your face before my friend
But i don’t know if you know who i am
Well I was there and i saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe(wīp) offf the grin(ɡrin) I know where you’ve been
It’s all been a pack of lies
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord
I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life Oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord Oh Lord
And I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life Oh Lord Oh Lord
Well I remember I remember don’t worry
How could i ever forget it’s the first time the last time we ever met
But i know the reason why you keep your silence up no you don’t fool(fo͞ol) me
The hurt doesn’t show but the pain still grows
It’s no stranger to you or me
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord
I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life Oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord Oh Lord
And I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life Oh Lord
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord
I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life Oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord Oh Lord
And I’ve been waiting for this moment all my life Oh Lord Oh Lord
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight Oh Lord Oh Lord

https://y.qq.com/n/yqq/song/004QWmYr0Imegc.html

3 Visitors Banned From Yellowstone After Cooking Chickens in Hot Spring

It is illegal(i(l)ˈlēɡəl) to touch or throw objects into hot springs or other hydrothermal(ˌhīdrōˈTHərməl) features at the park, officials said.

By Johnny Diaz and Concepción de León

It was supposed to be a fun family summer trip to Yellowstone National Park. Two cousins(ˈkəz(ə)n), a neighbor and their families packed two chickens, canoed(kəˈno͞o) about eight hours and hiked(hīk) to the Shoshone(SHōˈSHōnē) Geyser(ˈɡīzər) Basin(ˈbās(ə)n), where they decided to cook their chickens in a hot spring.

But dinner didn’t go quite as planned. In fact, it led to three of them pleading(ˈplēdiNG) guilty(ˈɡiltē) to petty offenses(əˈfens). They were sentenced(ˈsen(t)əns) to two years’ probation(prōˈbāSH(ə)n), banned from the park for that period(ˈpirēəd) and fined between $500 and $1,200, according to court(kôrt) documents.

The men, said park officials, had violated(ˈvīəˌlāt) laws governing(ˈɡəvərniNG) the use of the national park.

It is illegal to go off the boardwalk(ˈbôrdwôk) or designated(ˈdeziɡˌnāt) trails(trāl) and to touch or throw objects into hot springs or other hydrothermal features at the park, said Linda Veress, a park spokeswoman. It’s also dangerous, she added. The water in the park’s hydrothermal systems can exceed(ikˈsēd) 400 degrees Fahrenheit(ˈferənˌhīt) and can cause “severe(səˈvir) or fatal(ˈfādl) burns,” she said.

The three, Eric Romriell, 49, and Eric Roberts, 51, both of Idaho(ˈīdəˌhō), and Dallas(ˈdaləs) Roberts, 41, of Utah(ˈyo͞oˌtô, ˈyo͞oˌtä), were among a group that a park ranger found after receiving reports of people hiking with “cooking pots” toward the basin(ˈbās(ə)n) on Aug. 7, Ms. Veress said.

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/10/us/yellowstone-chickens.html

Redefining Your Problems

By Steve Pavlina

By looking at a problem from multiple angles(ˈaNGɡəl), you may spot a creative solution you hadn’t considered before. But another approach is to reframe(rēˈfrām) the way you define the problem to begin with.

For example, suppose you define your problem as how to get a new job during COVID times. Within that problem definition(ˌdefəˈniSH(ə)n), you can consider many ways to solve the problem. You could work on your resume(rəˈzo͞om), look through job postings(ˈpōstiNG), fill out applications, ask around to discover unadvertised(ˌənˈadvərˌtīzd) jobs, and take plenty of other actions. But all the while you’re sticking with the original problem definition that you need to get a job. The issue with that framing is that you don’t actually need a job.

Here are some other ways to redefine the problem instead of needing a job:

You need a benefactor(ˈbenəˌfaktər).
You need a grant.
You need to start a business.
You need to learn better marketing skills.
You need a new degree.
You need to reduce expenses.
You need to declare bankruptcy(ˈbaNGkˌrəp(t)sē).
You need to start earning royalties(ˈroiəltē).
You need more confidence(ˈkänfədəns).
You need $10 million.
You need to become a monk(məNGk).
You need a better relationship partner.
You need a mastermind group.
You need a better wand(wänd).
You need to learn how to survive(sərˈvīv) and thrive(THrīv) permanently(ˈpərmənəntlē) without a job.
You need a more effective spiritual(ˈspiriCH(o͞o)əl) framework.
You need to win the lottery(ˈlädərē).
You need a mentor(ˈmenˌtôr).
You need a better relationship with reality.
You need a more creative and disciplined(ˈdisəˌplind) character.
You need to become a minimalist(ˈminəmələst).
You need to switch countries.
You need to master your emotions.

…

What is the actual problem? You get to decide.

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/10/redefining-your-problems/

The Ability(əˈbilədē) to Cry

If I shed(SHed) one tear(ter), I might become Alice, swimming in an ocean of my tears.

By Yiyun Li

I’ve been ghosted(ɡōst), I told a friend on a Friday afternoon, when I hadn’t been able to reach Julia for days. The following week, I would be out of town, and Julia—I have changed her name—was scheduled to take care of our dog and our younger son in the hours before my husband got home from work, but she had not replied to my messages for confirmation(ˌkänfərˈmāSH(ə)n). It was unlike her. The previous two summers when we’d travelled, she had sent multiple photos and video clips, from our home in New Jersey(ˈjərzē), to let us know that the dog was happy and the garden was prospering(ˈpräspər). On the days that I was away, she picked up our son from school and had dinner with him. She transcribed(tran(t)ˈskrīb) their conversations, about history and politics(ˈpäləˌtiks), physics and feminism(ˈfeməˌnizəm), Internet memes(mēm) and Tokyo’s rush hours, and sent them to me, accompanied by emojis(ēˈmōjē).

Our little cockapoo(ˈkäkəˌpo͞o) was attacked by a pit bull(bo͝ol) when he was a puppy(ˈpəpē), and subsequently(ˈsəbsəkwəntlē) lost his courage, like the lion in “The Wizard(ˈwizərd) of Oz.” Our younger son is a reticent(ˈredəsənt) boy, and the person closest to him—his older brother—died by suicide(ˈso͞oəˌsīd) shortly after we met Julia. She had befriended both the boy and the dog as no other adult had.

The calls I made to Julia went straight to her voice mail, which was full. Increasingly agitated(ˈajiˌtādəd), I Googled, and found a two-sentence obituary(ōˈbiCHəˌwerē). Death, in the past sixteen months, had not been a stranger, having taken my elder son, my mother-in-law, and my father. I had not cried the day that Vincent died, or later when first my mother-in-law and then my father died. But, seeing Julia’s obituary, I broke into uncontrollable(ˌənkənˈtrōləb(ə)l) sobs(säb). A friend listened to me cry on the phone and told me that I was crying for the others, too. Another friend wrote to me that night and said that she, too, belonged to the “delayed crying club—and those tears do collect interest.”

…
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/09/14/scientists-find-possible-signs-of-life-in-the-clouds-of-venus

Contradiction(ˌkäntrəˈdikSH(ə)n)

By Jonah Hall

Be safe
Though not afraid
Sanitize(ˈsanəˌtīz)
But do not stay
Inside forever

One day
At a time
We push forward
Until one day
Someone will look back
And see how far
We’ve all come

There are one thousand
Forms of protest
Each important
Though what
Becomes visible
Makes the news

In a window
On a lawn(lôn)
On a car
On a body
Through words
Through images
Through sound
We send messages
Everyday
To the wider(wīd) world

Silence may
Bring internal(inˈtərnl) peace
But white silence
Enables violence

The most
Vital(ˈvīdl) message
Of possibility
Of awareness
The fight
Against numbness(ˈnəmnəs)
And distraction(dəˈstrakSH(ə)n)

Attention(əˈten(t)SH(ə)n)
Is now currency
Do not give
All of yours away.

A Guide to Being in Action （下）

By Leo Babauta

…

Create Daily Structure

Once you’re connected and committed to that possibility, it’s important to have some structure. Some examples:

A schedule with blocks for your meaningful tasks
Accountability(əˌkoun(t)əˈbilədē) with a group of people
A session at 10am every day where you write for an hour
A video call every day at 8am with an accountability partner, where you do 2 hours of focused work on the call together
A commitment to check in with a coach, and a consequence for not doing your commitment

What structure will help you be in action? Create it for yourself, and then train.

Train Your Action Muscle

This is the important part: you can connect to possibility and be committed, create a structure … but then you have to actually put it into action. Nothing else matters but this.

So train yourself for a week, and each day be in action. Be doing stuff. Get shit done.

Take on the hard tasks, in small chunks. Check things off your list, while feeling the meaning and possibility you’re creating.

Be in action, over and over, and you’ll train the action muscle.

After a week, review: how did it go? What needs to be adjusted? What did you learn? How can you keep the training going?

So with this in mind: what would you like to commit to today?

https://zenhabits.net/action-hero/

Azure(ˈaZHər) Space – cloud-powered innovation(ˌinəˈvāSH(ə)n) on and off the planet(ˈplanət)

By Tom Keane

Today, Microsoft is taking the next giant(ˈjīənt) leap(lēp) in cloud computing – to space. I am excited to share the work we are doing to make Azure the platform and ecosystem of choice for the mission needs of the space community with Azure Space. The space community is growing rapidly(ˈrapədlē) and innovation is lowering the barriers(ˈberēər) of access for public- and private-sector organizations. With Azure Space we have ambition(amˈbiSH(ə)n) to make space connectivity(käˌnekˈtivədē) and compute increasingly(inˈkrēsiNGlē) attainable(əˈtānəb(ə)l) across industries including agriculture(ˈaɡrəˌkəlCHər), energy, telecommunications, and government.

We have brought together a team of renowned(rəˈnound) space industry veterans(ˈvedərən) to work alongside(əˌlôNGˈsīd) our world-class product engineers and scientists to build cloud capabilities(ˌkāpəˈbilədē) that meet the unique needs of space. Our innovation areas include simulating(ˈsimyəˌlāt) space missions, discovering insights(ˈinˌsīt) from satellite(ˈsadlˌīt) data, and fueling(ˈfyo͞o(ə)l) innovation both on the ground and in orbit(ˈôrbət).

By partnering with leaders in the space community, we will extend the utility(yo͞oˈtilədē) of our Azure capabilities with worldwide satellite connectivity, unblock cloud computing in more scenarios(səˈnerēˌō), and empower our partners and customers to achieve more.

…
https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2020/10/20/azure-space-cloud-powered-innovation-on-and-off-the-planet/

Imagining lots of tedious(ˈtēdēəs) steps? Or one fun step?

By Derek Sivers

If we hate doing something, we think of it as hard. We picture it having many annoying(əˈnoiiNG) steps.

If we love doing something, it seems simple. We think of it as one fun step.

If you ask someone who hates running how to do it, they’ll say, “Ugh… First you put on running clothes. Then you have to stretch(streCH). Then you put on your shoes. Then you go outside. Then you get all sweaty(ˈswedē). Then you have to cool down. Then you have to shower. Then you have to change. Who has the time?”

If you ask someone who loves running how to do it, they’ll say, “Easy! You just put on your shoes and go!”

Once you realize this difference, it’s helpful to notice how you think of a project.

Even if you say you want to do something, if you catch yourself thinking of it in many tedious steps, maybe you don’t really want to do it. Why would you? It sounds awful(ˈôfəl).

People often ask me about starting my company. “It must have been so difficult! That’s a huge undertaking! How did you manage all of that?” But I just answer honestly, “There was really nothing to it. I just made this little website, and people liked it. That’s it.” I barely even remember the details. In my head it was just one fun step.

Now I have to pay attention to that, with each new project I start. How many steps am I picturing?

https://sive.rs/steps

I’m Not Yet Ready to Abandon the Possibility of America

I wrote my book for young people—as an invitation(ˌinvəˈtāSH(ə)n) to bring about, through hard work, determination(dəˌtərməˈnāSH(ə)n), and a big dose(dōs) of imagination, an America that finally aligns(əˈlīn) with all that is best in us.

At the end of my presidency(ˈprez(ə)dənsē), Michelle and I boarded(ˈbôrdəd) Air Force One for the last time and traveled west for a long-deferred(dəˈfər) break. The mood on the plane was bittersweet(ˈbidərˌswēt). Both of us were drained, physically and emotionally, not only by the labors(ˈlābər) of the previous eight years but by the unexpected results of an election in which someone diametrically(ˌdīəˈmetrək(ə)lē) opposed(əˈpōzd) to everything we stood for had been chosen as my successor(səkˈsesər). Still, having run our leg of the race(rās) to completion, we took satisfaction(ˌsadəsˈfakSH(ə)n) in knowing that we’d done our very best—and that however much I’d fallen short as president, whatever projects I’d hoped but failed to accomplish, the country was in better shape than it had been when I’d started.

For a month, Michelle and I slept late, ate(āt) leisurely(ˈlēZHərlē) dinners, went for long walks, swam(swam) in the ocean, took stock, replenished(rəˈpleniSH) our friendship, rediscovered our love, and planned for a less eventful but hopefully no less satisfying second act. For me, that included writing my presidential(ˌprezəˈden(t)SH(ə)l) memoirs(ˈmemˌwär). And by the time I sat down with a pen and yellow pad (I still like writing things out in longhand, finding that a computer gives even my roughest(rəf) drafts too smooth a gloss(ɡläs) and lends half-baked(bākt) thoughts the mask of tidiness(ˈtīdēnəs)), I had a clear outline of a book in my head.

…
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/barack-obama-i-still-believe-america/617073/