consensus(kənˈsensəs), as a country?

one, from our many?

By Henry H. Walker

Quakers(ˈkwākər) strive(strīv) for consensus,
to make a decision that all are comfortable with,
and that’s way harder than voting,
just over a half is a step in the right direction,
but then just under half can feel their ideas and selves(selvz) are denied(dəˈnī),

in the United States a few tens of thousands of votes
tipped the Electoral(əˈlekt(ə)rəl) College into electing Donald Trump,
though the popular vote more substantially favored(ˈfāvərd) Hilary(ˈhilərē) Clinton,
and our country is fractured(ˈfrakCHərd),

if current polls are to be believed,
about 40% of the electorate(əˈlekt(ə)rət) still want Trump to be president(ˈprez(ə)dənt),
despite how disastrous(dəˈzastrəs) he has been
in the struggle to transcend(tran(t)ˈsend) the tribal(ˈtrībəl)
and build a blessed(blest) community out of all of us,

it is important to deny(dəˈnī) the emperor(ˈemp(ə)rər) with no clothes
even more years to splinter(ˈsplin(t)ər) us and to splinter hope even more,

yet somehow we need to find a way
to welcome those who have followed him
back into a union(ˈyo͞onyən) composed of many,
to somehow do better than Reconstruction did,
for his supporters to know
they are a valued part of a larger whole,
despite the roiling(roil) hate(hāt) that drives us to fear.

https://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2020/07/consensus-as-country.html

Ass-Kicking(asˈkikiNG) Frames

By Steve Pavlina

Here’s a really simple idea that can be useful for self-motivation(ˌmōdəˈvāSH(ə)n).

Sometimes our frames are too flabby(ˈflabē), giving us lots of leeway(ˈlēˌwā) to drop the ball and slack(slak) off. In such cases it may be useful to adopt(əˈdäpt) harsher(härSH) frames, at least temporarily(ˈtempəˌrerəlē), to demand more from ourselves.

Here are some of these ass-kicking frames to consider:

Worrying = dumb(dəm)
Quitting(kwit) = dishonorable(disˈänərəb(ə)l)
Sleeping past 5am = loser
Not asking for the date = spineless(ˈspīnləs)
Clinging(ˈkliNGiNG) to a partial(ˈpärSHəl) match(maCH) = creepy(ˈkrēpē)
Tolerating(ˈtäləˌrāt) Trump supporters = suffering fools

I think such frames are best when linked closely to actions and behaviors, not to more complex results like income. They can be helpful when facing quick do or don’t decisions, like: Get up now, or sleep in late.

Imagine your alarm(əˈlärm) going off in the morning, and you’re tempted to sleep in. Then an inner voice kicks(kik) in and exclaims(ikˈsklām): Sleeping in is for losers! Get your ass up now!

Or suppose you catch yourself worrying about something you can’t control, and you remind yourself: Worrying is a stupid waste(wāst) of energy!

While I’m not suggesting that you beat yourself up here, I do think there’s room for using such frames judiciously(jo͞oˈdiSHəslē) without risking damage to your self-esteem(əˈstēm).

Challenging yourself in this way can actually be fun and motivating. I know it’s not for everyone, but for some people it helps. It’s a tool – use it if you like it. Try it if you think it has promise(ˈpräməs).

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/08/ass-kicking-frames/

The Basecamp Guide to Internal Communication

The how, where, why, and when we communicate. Long form asynchronous(āˈsiNGkrənəs)? Real-time chat? In-person? Video? Verbal(ˈvərbəl)? Written(ˈritn)? Via(ˈvīə) email? In Basecamp? How do we keep everyone in the loop without everyone getting tangled(ˈtaNGɡ(ə)ld) in everyone else’s business? It’s all in here.

Rules of thumb(THəm), and general philosophy(fəˈläsəfē)

Below you’ll find a collection of general principles we try to keep in mind at Basecamp when communicating with teammates(ˈtē(m)ˌmāt), within departments, across the company, and with the public. They aren’t requirements, but they serve to create boundaries and shared practices to draw(drô) upon when we do the one thing that affects everything else we do: communicate.

You can not not communicate. Not discussing the elephant in the room is communicating. Few things are as important to study, practice, and perfect as clear communication.
Real-time sometimes, asynchronous most of the time.
Internal communication based on long-form writing, rather than a verbal tradition(trəˈdiSH(ə)n) of meetings, speaking, and chatting, leads to a welcomed reduction(rəˈdəkSH(ə)n) in meetings, video conferences(ˈkänf(ə)rəns), calls, or other real-time opportunities to interrupt(ˌin(t)əˈrəpt) and be interrupted.
Give meaningful discussions a meaningful amount of time to develop and unfold(ˌənˈfōld). Rushing to judgement, or demanding immediate(iˈmēdēət) responses, only serves to increase the odds(ädz) of poor(po͝or) decision making.
Meetings are the last resort(rəˈzôrt), not the first option.
Writing solidifies(səˈlidəˌfī), chat dissolves(dəˈzälv). Substantial(səbˈstan(t)SHəl) decisions start and end with an exchange of complete thoughts, not one-line-at-a-time jousts(joust). If it’s important, critical(ˈkridək(ə)l), or fundamental, write it up, don’t chat it down.

…
https://basecamp.com/guides/how-we-communicate

Move Over, Sustainable(səˈstānəb(ə)l) Travel. Regenerative(rəˈjen(ə)rədiv) Travel Has Arrived.

Can a post-vaccine(vakˈsēn) return to travel be smarter and greener than it was before March 2020? Some in the tourism(ˈto͝orˌizəm) industry are betting(ˈbediNG) on it.

By Elaine Glusac

Tourism, which grew faster than the global gross(ɡrōs) domestic(dəˈmestik) product for the past nine years, has been decimated(ˈdesəˌmāt) by the pandemic. Once accounting for 10 percent of employment worldwide, the sector(ˈsektər) is poised(poizd) to shed(SHed) 121 million jobs, with losses(lôs, läs) projected at a minimum of $3.4 trillion, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council(ˈkounsəl).

But in the lull(ləl), some in the tourism industry are planning for a post-vaccine(vakˈsēn) return to travel that’s better than it was before March 2020 — greener, smarter and less crowded. If sustainable tourism, which aims to counterbalance the social and environmental impacts associated with travel, was the aspirational(ˌaspəˈrāSHənl) outer limit of ecotourism before the pandemic, the new frontier(ˌfrənˈtir) is “regenerative travel,” or leaving a place better than you found it.

“Sustainable tourism is sort of a low bar. At the end of the day, it’s just not making a mess of the place,” said Jonathon Day, an associate professor focused on sustainable tourism at Purdue University. “Regenerative tourism says, let’s make it better for future generations.”

Defining(dəˈfīn) regeneration

Regenerative travel has its roots in regenerative development and design, which includes buildings that meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED standards. The concept has applications across many fields, including regenerative agriculture(ˈaɡrəˌkəlCHər), which aims to restore soils and sequester(səˈkwestər) carbon.

“Generally, sustainability, as practiced today, is about slowing down the degradation(ˌdeɡrəˈdāSH(ə)n),” said Bill Reed, an architect(ˈärkəˌtekt) and principal of Regenesis(ˈrējənə) Group, a design firm based in Massachusetts(ˌmasəˈCHo͞osəts) and New Mexico(ˈmeksəkō, ˈmāhēkō) that has been practicing regenerative design, including tourism projects, since 1995. He described efforts like fuel(ˈfyo͞o(ə)l) efficiency(əˈfiSHənsē) and reduced energy use as “a slower way to die.”

“Regeneration is about restoring and then regenerating the capability to live in a new relationship in an ongoing way,” he added.

…
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/travel/travel-future-coronavirus-sustainable.html

Work Less

By Leo Babauta

When it comes to work, I’ve found that most of us fall in one of two camps:

We work way too hard, constantly churning(CHərn), never feeling like we got enough done; or
We put off work, going to distractions, feeling guilty about how little we’re getting done.

Either camp results in long working hours. And it drains(drān) us. It leaves us feeling depleted(dəˈplēt), not alive.

There’s no simple solution to this, of course, but I’d like to propose(prəˈpōz) something here, to both camps:

Work less.

Do fewer things.

Be more fully in those fewer things.

Recognize your victories(ˈvikt(ə)rē).

Rest more. Play more. Connect more.

Let’s look at this from the perspective of each camp.

And please note: I know that not everyone falls into these camps, and not everyone can change the number of hours they work. Take from this post what might be useful to you, toss(tôs) out the rest.

…
https://zenhabits.net/work-less/

Is the Brain a Useful Model for Artificial(ˌärdəˈfiSHəl) Intelligence(inˈteləjəns)?

Thinking machines think just like us—but only up to a point.

By Kelly Clancy

In the summer of 2009, the Israeli(izˈrālē) neuroscientist(ˈn(y)o͝orōˌsīəntəst) Henry Markram strode(strōd) onto the TED stage in Oxford(ˈäksfərd), England, and made an immodest(i(m)ˈmädəst) proposal(prəˈpōzəl): Within a decade, he said, he and his colleagues would build a complete simulation(ˌsimyəˈlāSH(ə)n) of the human brain inside a supercomputer. They’d already spent years mapping the cells in the neocortex(ˌnēōˈkôrteks), the supposed seat(sēt) of thought and perception(pərˈsepSH(ə)n). “It’s a bit like going and cataloging(ˈkadlˌôɡ) a piece of the rain forest,” Markram explained. “How many trees does it have? What shapes are the trees?” Now his team would create a virtual rain forest in silicon, from which they hoped artificial intelligence would organically(ôrˈɡanək(ə)lē) emerge(əˈmərj). If all went well, he quipped(kwip), perhaps the simulated brain would give a follow-up TED talk, beamed(bēm) in by hologram(ˈhäləˌɡram).

Markram’s idea—that we might grasp the nature of biological intelligence by mimicking(ˈmimik) its forms—was rooted in a long tradition, dating back to the work of the Spanish anatomist(əˈnadəməst) and Nobel(nōˈbel) laureate(ˈlôrēət) Santiago(ˌsan(t)ēˈäɡō) Ramón y Cajal(kə’). In the late 19th century, Cajal undertook a microscopic(ˌmīkrəˈskäpik) study of the brain, which he compared to a forest so dense(dens) that “the trunks, branches, and leaves touch everywhere.” By sketching thousands of neurons(ˈn(y)o͝orän) in exquisite(ekˈskwizət) detail, Cajal was able to infer an astonishing(əˈstänəSHiNG) amount about how they worked. He saw that they were effectively one-way input-output devices: They received electrochemical(əˌlektrōˈkeməkəl) messages in treelike structures called dendrites(ˈdendrīt) and passed them along through slender(ˈslendər) tubes(t(y)o͞ob) called axons(ˈakˌsän), much like “the junctions of electric conductors(kənˈdəktər).”

Cajal’s way of looking at neurons became the lens through which scientists studied brain function. It also inspired major technological(ˌteknəˈläjək(ə)l) advances.

…
https://www.wired.com/story/brain-model-artificial-intelligence/

Flip it in your favor(ˈfāvər).

By Derek Sivers

The old saying, “It’s all who you know,” used to feel so defeating(dəˈfēt).

I wanted to be a famous musician, but I didn’t know any famous people. I didn’t grow up in Hollywood(ˈhälēˌwo͝od). None of my friends were successful. Fame(fām) was a secret insider’s group.

So when I heard, “It’s all who you know,” it felt like the rest of that sentence was, “and you don’t know anyone. So forget it.”

One day in college we had a guest speaker who was a top executive(iɡˈzekyədiv) at BMI.

On his way into class I overheard him say he was hungry. He had come straight(strāt) to our school without lunch, so when the teacher told him it was a two-hour class, he groaned(ɡrōn).

Because everyone was still getting seated(sēt), I quickly ran out to the hall, called the local pizza(ˈpētsə) shop, and ordered a few pizzas to be sent to our classroom.

After they arrived, he laughed and said, “Good move. I owe you one.” He gave me his card after class, and suggested I keep in touch.

For the next two years, he took my calls and gave me all kinds of advice about the music business. When I graduated(ˈɡrajo͞oˌādəd) college, he got me a great job at Warner/Chappell Music Publishing in New York City. He heard they were hiring(ˈhī(ə)r), called them to say their search was done, and that was that. I started work that week.

A year later, I realized “It’s all who you know,” doesn’t have to be depressing. I just never considered it could work in my favor.

Then I realized the profound(prəˈfound) conclusion(kənˈklo͞oZHən). Everything that seems depressing can be flipped to work in my favor.

Every deal that’s bad for someone is good for someone else. So instead of moaning(mōn) about the bad side, you can take the good side.

If you think corporate(ˈkôrp(ə)rət) radio(ˈrādēō) is keeping your music from being heard, start a radio station! Look at the history of SomaFM.com(ˈsōmə) for an example.

If you think banks have an unfair(ˌənˈfer) advantage, you can start a bank! Look at simple.com for an example.

In 1997, I thought distribution for musicians sucked. So I started CD Baby. Now distribution doesn’t suck anymore.

If you live in a democracy(dəˈmäkrəsē) and don’t like the law, you can even change the law!

You can flip anything in your favor. It’s easier than ever for you to replace a broken system, and never feel helpless again.

https://sive.rs/flipstick

Why does Over the Rainbow(ˈrānˌbō) get to me every time?

By James Wood

I’m not prone(prōn) to bouts(bout) of sentimentality(ˌsen(t)əmənˈtalədē). In my family, anything reaching in that direction was denounced(dəˈnouns) as sentimental(ˌsen(t)əˈmen(t)l), the word said with a sour(ˈsou(ə)r) turn of lip. The epithet(ˈepəˌTHet) was used whenever spotted(ˈspädəd). Even a field(fēld) of yellow chamomile(ˈkaməˌmēl) on a humid(ˈ(h)yo͞oməd) summer morning, rendered in oil(oil) pastel(paˈstel) by my mother’s own mother, was derided(dəˈrīd).

This was my family’s way of speaking truth about saccharine(ˈsak(ə)rən) simplifications(ˌsimpləfəˈkāSH(ə)n). Life wasn’t simple, art wasn’t simple. Art was supposed to say profound(prəˈfound) things. In a song, on a page or framed, it showed or otherwise expressed experience viscerally(ˈvis(ə)rəl). Fine art was never simple – it could never smack(smak) of anything “twee(twē).” There was always a thorn(THôrn) on the rose(rōz), a snake(snāk) in the grass somewhere. Maybe you needed to know how to look at it, but depth(depTH) was always there. As students in art school, we debated(dəˈbāt) what qualifies as art, and now I hear my own students carry on the same debate.

I’ve been learning to play piano lately, and while working through a book of lessons and music for adult beginners, I bumped(bəmp) up against Over the Rainbow by Harold(ˈherəld) Arlen and E.Y. Harburg(ˌbərɡ), made famous by Judy Garland(ˈɡärlənd) in the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard(ˈwizərd) of Oz(äz).

The song begins with “Some – where …” Do you need to read any more than the first word to hear the swelling(ˈsweliNG) music in your head? To imagine the singer with a far-off look in her eye, feel a sympathetic(ˌsimpəˈTHedik) lightness in your heart?

I slumped(sləmp) on my piano bench(ben(t)SH) and sneered(snir) to myself, “What’s this sentimental syrup(ˈsirəp) doing here?”

…
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-why-does-over-the-rainbow-get-to-me-every-time/

Working life has entered a new era(ˈirə, ˈerə)

Farewell(ˌferˈwel) BC (before coronavirus). Welcome AD (after domestication(dəˌmestəˈkāSH(ə)n))

On March 16th Bartleby(bardəlbē) left the offices of The Economist(əˈkänəməst) to head home. That was the last day when all editorial(ˌedəˈtôrēəl) staff assembled in our London redoubt(rəˈdout). And, at the time of writing, no date for a return to the office is in sight.

It is remarkable how quickly we have adapted(əˈdapt). The newspaper has been written, edited and produced from couches(kouCH,ˈko͞oCH ˌɡras) and kitchen(ˈkiCH(ə)n) tables. January(ˈjanyəˌwerē) and February seem like an ancient(ˈān(t)SHənt) era—the bc (before coronavirus) to the new ad (after domestication). The shift may rival(ˈrīvəl) great workplace transformations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Twitter has already said that all its employees will be allowed to work from home permanently(ˈpərmənəntlē) and Facebook expects half its staff to do so within a decade.

It has been a much more sudden transition than occurred with factories. Steam power meant they were designed around one great power system, complete(kəmˈplēt) with belts(belt) and pulleys(ˈpo͝olē) that snaked(snāk) through the building. A failure at some point in the system meant the whole thing might grind(ɡrīnd) to a halt. Then electrification(əˌlektrəfəˈkāSH(ə)n) allowed individual machines to have their own power source. But it took half a century from the introduction of electricity in the 1880s before factories were reconfigured(ˌrēkənˈfiɡyər) to take advantage of the new power source.

The current, rapid(ˈrapəd) shift to ad was enabled by preconditions. First, broadband(ˈbrôdˌband) services are today quick enough to allow for document downloads and videoconferencing(ˈvidiōˌkänf(ə)rənsiNG). Second, advanced economies(əˈkänəmē) revolve around services, not manufacturing. Back in the 1970s, when Britain(ˈbritn) adopted a three-day week (to combat(ˈkämˌbat) a miners’ strike), there were power cuts and tv stations had to close down early. In other words, home life was severely(səˈvirlē) affected as well. The pandemic has not turned the lights off.

…
https://www.economist.com/business/2020/05/30/working-life-has-entered-a-new-era

Fragile(ˈfrajəl) Habits

By Steve Pavlina

Some habits are more fragile than others.

Once established, some habits are very delicate(ˈdelikət). If you miss a day or try to alter them, it’s easy to knock them out of place completely and see them fade out.

Other habits are more resilient(rəˈzilyənt). You can push and prod(präd) them, change them in different ways, and they still stick(stik) pretty well. At the extreme(ikˈstrēm) they act like borderline addictions(əˈdikSH(ə)n) – it’s harder to stop doing them than to keep doing them.

For me early rising is a relatively fragile habit. I need to be strict with it to keep it in place. I can let myself sleep in a little later very infrequently, like a few times per quarter for an extra hour or two if I really want, but otherwise it’s an always-on habit seven days a week. If I start permitting exceptions even once a week, there’s too much chance of falling out of the habit. Knowing how fragile it is makes it easier for me to accept its fragility(frəˈjilədē) and thereby maintain the habit.

Daily exercise is a more resilient habit overall, but some aspects(ˈaspekt) of it are more fragile, so I still have to be careful with it. The timing is sensitive; it usually works best if I do it first thing in the morning. The format is less sensitive, but I’m most consistent with running outside. The duration is very flexible since I can maintain this habit just as well whether I do 30 or 60 minutes or more. The frequency(ˈfrēkwənsē) is semi(ˈsemī)-fragile. If I do 5-6 days per week, I’m good – I don’t need to do this every day to maintain it.

How do you know how fragile certain habits are and to what extent? You test, and you keep track of what you learned from testing.

…
https://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2020/08/fragile-habits/