What I learned this week, Jun 11, 2021

Posted on June 11, 2021 by Bill Chance

The Joys of Short Bike Rides

Trophy from the Gravity’s Rainbow Challenge. Yes, I read the whole thing.

How to Think Clearly

By learning to question and clarify your thoughts, you’ll improve your self-knowledge and become a better communicator

The Most Irrational Number

The golden ratio is even more astonishing than Dan Brown and Pepsi thought.

Hot Pants, Love Potions, and the Go-go Genesis of Southwest Airlines

Fifty years ago this month, the Dallas-based carrier first took flight. Those who were there reflect on its past as it confronts a future shaped by the pandemic.

The ’20-5-3′ Rule Prescribes How Much Time to Spend Outside

Americans today spend 92 percent of their time indoors, and their physical and mental health are suffering. Use this three-number formula to make yourself stronger and happier.

Posing for photos at the Leaning Tower of Dallas

Want to Make Difficult Conversations Easy? Try This 1 Counterintuitive Trick, According to Psychology

anxiety you feel before entering a tough conversation can be greatly mitigated

The Key to a Good Life? Lose Yourself in Something

A Danish PSA for wearing bicycle helmets is the best Viking movie in 63 years

What I learned this week, May 22, 2021

Posted on May 22, 2021 by Bill Chance

The Dark Horse Path to Happiness

There’s a lot to learn about the good life from sommeliers and hot-air-balloon pilots.

Why your most important relationship is with your inner voice

Your internal monologue shapes mental wellbeing, says psychologist Ethan Kross. He has the tools to improve your mind’s backchat.

Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Neuroscience All Agree: Your Daily Routine Needs More ‘Non-time’

Your busy daily routine is healthy and productive. It might also be killing your creativity.

The Window at Molly’s, the street (Decatur) unusually quiet, with notebook, vintage Esterbrook pen, and Molly’s frozen Irish Coffee

Forget To-Do Lists. You Really Need a ‘Got Done’ List

Most digital productivity tools focus on what you have yet to do, but they never celebrate what you’ve accomplished.

The 20-Minute Daily Clean Routine That’ll Give You Your Weekends Back

Weekends should be for recharging, not for catching up on work we didn’t get to during the week. This includes housework. While we like the end result, cleaning the house (for most of us) isn’t a fun or relaxing endeavor. To get to your housework to-dos before the weekend, commit to cleaning for 15 to 20 minutes five days a week. Then welcome freedom — and a tidy home — when Friday night comes.

Bicycle Drag Racer on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

Here’s How Quickly We Become ‘Unfit’ if We Drop Our Exercise Routines

Getting in shape isn’t easy. But after all that hard work, how long do we actually maintain it? Turns out that even the great effort we put into training, taking a bit of time off can mean that we become “unfit” much faster than it took us to actually get in shape.

Es café macerado en ron, posee todas las propiedades organolépticas del ron, pero tiene grado de alcohol

A Beginner’s Guide To Buying Great Coffee

I did not set out to be a coffee nerd, really. But I realized that I liked good coffee better than bad coffee. And that is a rabbit hole. I’ve found James Hoffman’s Youtube videos to be very educational – if sometimes a little too much… but you can learn a lot from a little too much.

Here’s a good example:

Amazon Dreams of Time and Happiness

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Bill Chance

“We live as we dream–alone….”
― Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Sculptures, Clarence Street Art Collective, The Cedars, Dallas, Texas

I had a terrible time sleeping – finally at the early hours of the morning I was able to fall into a deep slumber.

The dreams I had were vivid. I was receiving a constant supply of Amazon boxes at my front door. They were of wildly varying sizes and shapes – some were long and thin, almost sticklike – others vast and bulky. They were all light in weight – as if they held nothing, or air, or ghosts.

As a matter of fact, every one contained on of two items. Half contained time and the other half contained happiness.

I guess these are the two things we really wish we could order online, but can’t.

What I learned this week, July 25, 2014

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Bill Chance

Love People, Not Pleasure

ABD AL-RAHMAN III was an emir and caliph of Córdoba in 10th-century Spain. He was an absolute ruler who lived in complete luxury. Here’s how he assessed his life:

“I have now reigned above 50 years in victory or peace; beloved by my subjects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected by my allies. Riches and honors, power and pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to my felicity.”

Fame, riches and pleasure beyond imagination. Sound great? He went on to write:

“I have diligently numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness which have fallen to my lot: They amount to 14.”