I'm as interested as Gruber on the validity of this being a well-researched piece of journalism. This line from the original post that he also quotes is the one that I find most ludicrous.
Many companies, executive coaches and HR professionals are looking to erase the anxiety-inducing word from the corporate lexicon, and some are urging it be replaced by what they see as a gentler, more constructive word: “feedforward.”
With almost anything in history, the pendulum swings too far before it comes back to center.
My favorite moment in the video, that I can relate to comes as he describes using the steaming wand:
Lovely, glossy, silky milk. Pretty achievable with practice. I think this is a great wand to steam with. Very enjoyable, no complaints whatsoever, which for me feels like a rarity.
If I hit the lottery, a Manument might be the first thing I'd order as a gift to myself. Truly beautiful piece of machinery.
I received the linked article via the great Daily Stoic email newsletter.
Joseph Addison in wrote the following in 1712 about Cato:
We can’t guarantee success, we can do something better, we can deserve it.
Ryan Holiday adds:
The same goes for reputations. Nothing we do can ensure we get the reputation we deserve, but we can deserve a good one. We don’t know whether people will recognize our honesty or hard work or grace under pressure, so we shouldn’t worry about it.
Gruber and I are not far apart in age, and he nails the memory for when I spent time with Bob Barker (and Judge Wapner in the 10am – 11am ET slot right before):
If you’re of a certain age (mine), sick days home from school revolved around watching The Price Is Right at 11am.
The River Ranch program is laid out in a courtyard plan, which is formed by the main house, the guest wing, and the pool. The outer layer of the courtyard is made of 2’ thick rammed earth walls that appear to emerge from the land and form a protective shell for the interior of the building.
What a beautiful residence from Jobe Corral Architects. The pictures alone are an experience.
A lot of gems in this list, but two of my favorites are:
Don’t wait for the storm to pass; dance in the rain.
and
Productivity is often a distraction. Don’t aim for better ways to get through your tasks as quickly as possible, rather aim for better tasks that you never want to stop doing.
Kevin posted this list of 103 bits when he turned 70, but then curated a list of 450 in book form. The books is called Excellent Advice for Living and it’s on my to read list.
Of all the characters that people love to impersonate, Christopher Walken is in the top 3.
The entire read is great if you’re a Walken fan, but this gives me hope that I’ll have a memoir to read in the future:
Do you ever consider writing a memoir?
I do. I have yellow pads, stacks of them. One of these days I need somebody to help me get it organized. I was thinking of getting a court stenographer and just talking and having them write it down without any punctuation and seeing what would happen. I’ve always resented punctuation.
One of the first things I do when I’m in a foreign city is pull up the Maps app and search for local coffee shops. I like to think of it as my “coffee passport” of sorts. There’s a few key criteria that will influence my decision on which places to try during whatever time I’m in that location. If they’re also a roaster, that’s a plus. If they have only one or just a few locations, that’s a plus.
I’m in Washington, D.C. for the first time and have my eye on a shop called Dua DC Coffee. It checks all the boxes and is unique in that it offers several Indonesian coffee beans for sale as well.
Inevitably, there are times I have to settle for whatever I can get. This morning we were running behind after a late night, so I went downstairs to the Starbucks installation in the hotel and got a triple espresso to stop my neck itching.
My recommendation would be that whenever you travel, try to find some local joints for whatever your food or drink passion may be. It let’s you link the memory of that location and visit through both taste and smell. Most of the trips I’ve taken have some coffee shop memory associated with them.
EDIT: I made it to Dua DC Coffee this morning and it was everything I could hope it would be. I’ll be going again tomorrow morning.
I spent some time a few weeks back reworking the laptop and cable management setup under my sit/stand desk. Most of the components are the same, but a new desk mounted (vs. in-tray) power strip with built-in USB-C ports made things so much cleaner. My other favorite “trick” was to side-mount the under-desk 3D printed Thunderbolt dock holder to the cable management tray. I did this by using the metal folding “wing” style wall anchors to secure the mount in 3 places. If you have any questions on how this setup works, reach out.
