TikTok doctor explains why sneakers filled with human feet keep washing up on beaches in the Pacific Northwest

OK… is this the most clickbait headline ever? The crazy thing is, once you think about it clearly – OF COURSE sneakers with human feet keep washing up on beaches in the Pacific Northwest.

Walking correctly takes work—here’s how to improve every step

Experts explain how to make the most of your daily strolls.

Help Lee run NYC Marathon with Gladney!

Big D Is a Big Deal

Dallas–Fort Worth is becoming the de facto capital of America’s Heartland.

11 Self-Sabotaging Phrases to Drop From Your Vocabulary

We can avoid saying things that unwittingly hold us back.

The Zen rule for becoming happier: Change one thing

Start Small

Here’s How Much to Ride a Week to Keep Your Brain 9 Years Younger

Cycling definitely helps keep you in great physical shape, but that’s not the only benefit your favorite activity has on your body. According to new research out of Durham, North Carolina, aerobic exercise has some serious perks for your brain, too-like helping to reverse its age by almost nine years.

The concept of schizophrenia is coming to an end – here’s why

Arguments that schizophrenia is a distinct disease have been “fatally undermined”. Just as we now have the concept of autism spectrum disorder, psychosis (typically characterised by distressing hallucinations, delusions, and confused thoughts) is also argued to exist along a continuum and in degrees. Schizophrenia is the severe end of a spectrum or continuum of experiences.

And now, as a palate cleanser – this has become a viral meme, but in case you haven’t seen it…. Those darn kids!

Sit all day for work? A simple step can cut your health risk

Take a work break: A small, new study suggests that getting out of your chair every half hour may help improve your blood sugar levels and your overall health.

How to Adopt the Japanese Approach to Accepting Life’s Challenges, “Ukeireru”

Experts explain how the concept may help you overcome almost anything.

Escaping the Efficiency Trap—and Finding Some Peace of Mind

The more productive we are, the more pressure we feel. It’s time to break the busyness cycle.

Here Are the Urban Highways That Deserve to Die

The Congress for New Urbanism once again ranks the most-loathed urban freeways in North America—and makes the case for tearing them down.

Freeways Without Futures

The Organizing Method That’s Gearing Up to Replace KonMari

First there was Marie Kondo, who asked us to only keep things that sparked joy. Then came The Home Edit’s Clea and Joanna, who made arranging our books by color and shopping our pantries officially a thing. So what’s next? Get ready to organize from the inside out.  

Mathematicians have solved traffic jams, and they’re begging cities to listen

Most traffic jams are unnecessary, and this deeply irks mathematicians who specialize in traffic flow. They reserve particular vitriol for local transport engineers. “They do not have competencies in the field of system-related increases in traffic performance,” says Alexander Krylatov, a mathematics professor at St. Petersburg University. “If engineers manage to achieve local improvements, after a while the flows rearrange and the same traffic jams appear in other places.” Burn!

What the science actually says about weighted blankets

The concept of a weighted blanket is pretty self-explanatory. They’re blankets stuffed with pellets—usually made of glass or a plastic like polyethylene—and can weigh as much as 25 pounds. You can readily find one online for around $150, though they’re simple enough to make that you can find plenty of DIY guides for making your own at a fraction of that price.

Is Life Better When You’re Busy?

Why is everybody so busy? Nearly a century ago, the economist John Maynard Keynes predicted we’d only work fifteen hours a week. Incomes would grow and so would our free time.

Except that hasn’t happened. Income rose, but we kept working long hours. Why?

One answer is that people like to be busy. This paper argues that people dread idleness and are generally happier when they’re busy than when there’s nothing to do.

Too Many Jobs Feel Meaningless Because They Are

If work that is of no real value has proliferated, no wonder productivity is stagnant.

Classical Music’s Suicide Pact (Part 1)

Classical Music’s Suicide Pact (Part 2)

Classical music is under racial attack. Orchestras and opera companies are said to discriminate against black musicians and composers. The canonical repertoire—the product of a centuries-long tradition of musical expression—is allegedly a function of white supremacy.

Not one leader in the field has defended Western art music against these charges. Their silence is emblematic. Other supposed guardians of Western civilization, whether museum directors, humanities professors, or scientists, have gone AWOL in the face of similar claims, lest they themselves be denounced as racist.

The campaign against classical music is worth examining in some detail, for it reveals the logic that has been turned against nearly every aspect of Western culture over the last year.

How to Tie the Strongest Fishing Knot

The insides of pro bowling balls will make your head spin

How to Reheat Fried Chicken So It Tastes Amazing

Beat Stress Like a Navy SEAL With This Ridiculously Easy Exercise

Simone Biles and the problem with ‘self-care’

The Olympics showed us how out of fashion resilience has become.

Swimming gives your brain a boost – but scientists don’t know yet why it’s better than other aerobic activities

I was thinking this morning about things that I miss from when I was younger – and swimming is one of them. When I lived in Panama I used to swim across open water (in Lake Gatun) – sometimes a mile a day. Now, it all seems like a dream.

A new start after 60: ‘I was sick, tired and had lost myself – until I began lifting weights at 71’

Joan Macdonald faced growing health problems before she began lifting weights, shattering preconceptions about what’s possible in your eighth decade

The Day the Good Internet Died

I remember the early days of the internet – there was such excitement and feelings that the possibilities were endless – especially at work. Those slowly died (were murdered, actually) and the digital world became the oppressive monster we all know today. What a shame.

5 Digital Libraries Where You Can Download Ebooks for Free

So little time, so many books.

Megaripples may be evidence of giant tsunami resulting from Chicxulub impact

I just like the word, “Megaripples.”

Why Emotionally Intelligent Minds Embrace the Rule of ‘Writing in Reverse’

Learn to ‘write in reverse,’ and change the way you communicate.

Loneliness: Coping with the gap where friends used to be

One bad (possibly the second worst) thing about being old is how difficult it is to make friends. Good friends you have had for a long, long time drift away and new ones are hard to come by. Is it impossible?

Fully Oligarchic Luxury Californication

The tech elite have joined forces with progressive visionaries to establish a model of America’s feudal future.

Scott Burns: What history tells us about stock market returns

As I think/dream about retirement, the stock market becomes very, very important to me.

Changing Habits: Interview with Dr. Amy Bucher, a Behavior Change Designer

I recently caught up with Dr. Amy Bucher, the author of Engaged, a compelling guidebook on designing products and services that change people’s lives. She talks about behavioral design, the science of crafting products and services in such a way as to shape or influence human behavior. Here is our conversation.

Timeboxing: The Most Powerful Time Management Technique You’re Probably Not Using

Timeboxing is the nearest thing we have to productivity magic, yet most people don’t utilize it. Here’s how to overcome the top 3 reasons why.

“I can’t seem to get enough done.”

“I’m always distracted.”

“Why can’t I focus?”

I hear these complaints from my clients and readers all the time.

But when I recommend perhaps the most effective technique ever devised to help people stay on track, most of them balk.

“You want me to plan every minute of my day?”

Yes! Now what are you waiting for?

The Pulp Tarot

A new Tarot deck, designed by graphic artist Todd Alcott, drawing inspiration from midcentury pulp illustrations

I use a Tarot deck to help generate fiction writing ideas. I just have an ordinary (cheap) Rider-Waite tarot deck – but I look at more artistic and interesting decks – it could be a rabbit hole – but if I had a little more money I know I’d buy a few.

Is Dreaming Real?

When you’re lucid, it can feel so real the distinction ceases to matter.

What Kind of Burnt Out Are You? (And Why It Matters)

Different types of burnout require different solutions.

Classic Songs Reimagined as Vintage Pulp Book Covers

Time Management Won’t Save You

How bacteria are changing your mood

Time blocking 101: A step-by-step guide to getting the most from your daily schedule

You can probably count on your fingers the number of times you’ve completed 8 hours of work in an 8-hour workday. Whether it’s endless meetings, constant emails, or coworkers popping in for a “quick chat,” your productivity rarely makes it through the day.

The problem is that when you design your to-do list for an 8-hour workday but end up with just 1-2 hours of productive time, you’re going to be in trouble.

Deep Habits: Use Index Cards to Accelerate Important Projects

The Depth Deck

The idea behind the depth deck is simple. Identify one or two deep projects that are important to your professional life.

For each project, identify one or two concrete next steps that:

1. require deep work;
2. are self-contained in the sense that they have a single focus and a clear criteria for when they’re completed.

Garland, Dallas County tag team on another trail to connect Garland to Richardson

The More Options You Have, The Happier You Are

I have read some opinions that the opposite is true, that we are all suffering from too many options. This article makes more sense to me, though.

New website allows users to track mesmerizing journey of a raindrop

Take a look, play around with this website. It is really cool. Try Western Colorado.

River Runner

How to Make Time Slow Down

Japan’s unusual way to view the world

Wabi-sabi offers a refuge from the modern world’s obsession with perfection, and accepts imperfections as all the more meaningful – and, in their own way, beautiful.

By Now, Burnout Is a Given

The pandemic has stripped our emotional reserves even further, laying bare our unique physical, social, and emotional vulnerabilities.

Fight Fatigue by Harnessing the Power of Your Internal Clock

Sluggish? Tired? Seven tips for getting your body into better alignment.

People Think What You Do With Your Shopping Cart When You’re Done With It Says A Lot About You

I remember sitting by the ponds at the end of my block, reading and enjoying the beautiful day. I saw two kids on the other side of the block pushing a shopping cart from the local Kroger with about three items in it. When the path they were on veered away from the water they took their items out and pushed the cart down the slope into the pond, where it promptly sank. They were across the water and too far for me to do anything, but I was disgusted.

A year ago they drained the ponds to clean out the silt, it was full of carts. The Kroger has gone out of business, replaced by an Aldi where you pay 25 cents (refundable) for a shopping cart.

He Didn’t Make the Olympics—So He Used His Bike Racing Skills to Rob Banks Instead

After fizzling out on a number of disparate career paths that included a go at social work, the Catholic priesthood, and underwater welding, Justice started robbing banks. As Leckart tells it, it wasn’t about the money—it was about doing something he could be exceptional at. At first, Justice gave away most of what he stole, leaving bags of money in alleys for homeless people to find, or in port-a-potties. But he later kept the cash to cover his growing drug habit.

Whether slow or fast, here’s how your metabolism influences how many calories you burn each day

Does the speed of metabolism really vary all that much from person to person?

Got too much stuff? Try these 7 tips to help pare down

Most of us have no problem admitting that we have more than we need. The difficulty lies in the next steps: How to get rid of it? What room to tackle first? Should we toss, regift, donate, recycle, repurpose, sell?

Over 60? Here Are 5 of the Best Exercises You Can Possibly Do

This total-body workout builds strength, stability, mobility, and better posture.

You Fail to Reach Your Goals Because You Designed Them Badly

Reaching any goal requires motivation, self-discipline and commitment. But where do those things come from?

Want to taste the sweetest onions in Texas? Order the rings at Lakewood Landing

A few miles south of Tyler, in the little town of Noonday, the soil is the right mix of sandy and rain-soaked for growing onions. Accordion to legend, as written in Onion World Magazine, it happened by accident:

“Several farmers here in East Texas started experimenting with growing yellow onions and soon discovered they had the proper type of sandy soil to produce a sweet onion.”

They’re both easy and difficult to find. They show up at Central Market every now and then for a little bit more money than your other local onions. Or you can make a phone call and gas up the car:

“Tomato shed, how can I help you?” “Tex” answers the phone. There are no social media handles, and the online store leads you to a physical address. They’ve got small-to-large bags of Certified Noonday Sweet Onions, ranging from eight bucks to 30, right from the ground of the vice president of the Noonday Sweet Onion Grower’s Association.

The 50-mile trail around Dallas: When White Rock to Trinity Forest will open and why that matters

The 7.5-mile Spine Trail segment will mean that, for the first time, residents south of Interstate 30 “won’t have to use a car to get out of our neighborhoods.”

What Happened When I Told Marie Kondo I Have a Better, Higher-Tech Method of Tidying Up

Throw them away? “By keeping less — documents, folders, files, emails, etc. — you create more space in your life,” Kondo told me. “Though digital clutter is not tangible like clutter in your home, I believe it carries the same weight.”

I don’t agree. Precious memories don’t need to go into dusty photo albums or the trash. They should go online.

I Know the Secret to the Quiet Mind. I Wish I’d Never Learned It.

Of all the injuries we suffered, mine is the worst. My brain injury has shaken my confidence in my own personality, my own existence.

Hey, There’s a Second Brain in Your Gut

Scientists have known for years that there’s a “second brain” of autonomous neurons in your long, winding human digestive tract—but that’s about where their knowledge of the so-called abdominal brain ends.

8 Ways to Read (a Lot) More Books This Year

How much do you read?

For most of my adult life I read maybe five books a year — if I was lucky. I’d read a couple on vacation and I’d always have a few slow burners hanging around the bedside table for months.

And then last year I surprised myself by reading 50 books. This year I’m on pace for 100. I’ve never felt more creatively alive in all areas of my life. I feel more interesting, I feel like a better father, and my writing output has dramatically increased. Amplifying my reading rate has been the domino that’s tipped over a slew of others.

The Damaging Double Standard Behind Intermittent Fasting

Is it “optimization” or an eating disorder?

This Is the Most Bizarre Grammar Rule You Probably Never Heard Of

But I’ve been following it all my life, and so have you.

What We Really Lose When Highways Destroy Historic Neighborhoods

A few old news reports about Deep Ellum in the late 1960s unintentionally document the huge costs of highway-driven demolition.

4 Ways to Cut Dow Your Stuff Without Going Insane

You may not be a capital-H hoarder, but chances are you’ve got more stuff packed away than you really know what to do with. If it’s time to reduce the clutter, start here.

Trying to Lose Weight? Here’s Why Strength Training Is as Important as Cardio

Don’t spend all your energy on the treadmill if you’re trying to drop a pants size. Strength training is an important way to boost your weight loss. Here’s why—and how.

Resistance training: here’s why it’s so effective for weight loss

The perfect number of hours to work every day? Five

Research shows that five work hours a day can improve productivity and bolster wellbeing. There’s only one thing holding companies back

How Low Can America’s Birth Rate Go Before It’s A Problem?

Earth’s core is growing ‘lopsided’ and scientists don’t know why