On this day

August 13th

13th birthday

August 13

I go to great lengths to build processes which remind me of my past. This year, I’ve decided to start posting to remind myself of this blog’s birthday; August 13, 2011. Today is 13 years, and 4,841 posts.

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Balance

August 13, 2023

I’m prone to thinking I should be helping more.

If you’re prone to thinking you should be helping more, that’s probably a sign that you could afford to direct more energy to your idiosyncratic ambitions and enthusiasms. As the Buddhist teacher Susan Piver observes, it’s radical, at least for some of us, to ask how we’d enjoy spending an hour or day of discretionary time. And the irony is that you don’t actually serve anyone else by suppressing your true passions anyway. More often than not, by doing your thing – as opposed to what you think you ought to be doing – you kindle a fire that helps keep the rest of us warm.

~ Oliver Burkeman from, Oliver Burkeman’s last column: the eight secrets to a (fairly) fulfilled life | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian

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I was thinking, “oh look, a fire metaphor…” and then, with growing uncertainty, “…or, is that a fire simile?” At which point I spun off relearning the difference between metaphor and simile for the gajillionth time. *sigh*

I am certain however, that I do not need to direct more of my energy into my idiosyncrasies. No, what I need to do is to learn how to be comfortable letting things remain unexplored. I need to think, “That’s interesting.” And then let it go past.

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Now

August 13, 2022

What we miss about our own beloved Good Old Days isn’t so much the material things they remind us of—wholesome 1980s sitcoms, or musty thrift-store sweaters—it’s the particular feelings those days gave us, feelings which are now impossible to experience.

~ David Cain from, The Good Old Days Are Happening Now

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Cain rightly goes on to point out, that while we can’t feel those exact feelings again, there’s no reason we can’t—right this very instant—enjoy These Good Days. Ten years from now—presuming, of course—I can look back and think with a chuckle: Remember when I spent a couple years going really deep experimenting with knowledge systems. That was a fun exploration.

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Futurism with Karena de Souza

August 13, 2021

How can parents and younger generations better prepare for an uncertain future shaped by technology, education, and climate change?

A personal journey reveals the link between decision-making and courageous parenting.

I realized that the future that I thought—as a parent, who grew up as somebody else’s child—I was parenting as I was parented, not as my intellect was telling me I should parent.

~ Karena de Souza (8:23)

This conversation explores the intersection of futurism, parenting, and the challenges of preparing for an unpredictable world. Karena discusses her journey into podcasting and book writing, driven by a desire to engage younger generations and their parents in critical discussions about technology, education, and societal shifts. She emphasizes the importance of equipping children with the skills and mindset needed to thrive in a future dominated by uncertainty and rapid change.

Key themes include the evolving nature of work and the need for parents to adapt their approaches to align with new realities. Karena shares her insights into how decision-making skills can be cultivated and applied, using anecdotes from her life and travels. Climate change is highlighted as a significant focus, with an emphasis on fostering hope and resilience while addressing the challenges it presents to future generations.

Takeaways

Futurism as a mindset — Imagining both positive and negative scenarios to prepare for an uncertain future.

Parenting challenges — Encouraging parents to reconsider traditional advice to better align with technological and societal changes.

Generational shifts — Exploring how Generation Z’s unique position as digital natives influences their approach to work and life.

Decision-making skills — Using real-life examples to illustrate how structured decision-making can improve adaptability.

Climate change and hope — Addressing the intersection of environmental issues and the future of work while fostering optimism.

Effective communication — Tailoring messages for diverse audiences, such as parents and younger generations.

Bookwriting journey — Sharing the creative process of connecting futurist themes with personal experiences.

Resources

Karena de Souza on LinkedIn

Contours of Courageous Parenting — Karena’s book focused on helping parents equip their children with skills to navigate an uncertain future.

Akimbo Podcasting Fellowship — A program that introduces participants to the world of podcasting.

Rules for Radicals — A book by Saul Alinsky mentioned in the discussion for its insights into effecting change.

Generational Z Research — Research on the unique traits and challenges facing Generation Z.

Future of Work Studies — Studies examining how technology and societal changes shape work environments.

(Written with help from Chat-GPT.)

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Where to file a Thorn?

August 13, 2021

Dreams come true. You just have to be willing to work for them.

~ Annie Mist Þórisdóttir

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Apparently, these two-fer posts aren’t as rare as I thought.

Without thinking, as I transcribed that quote, I used their preferred way of writing their name—at least, that’s how they are attributed in the source I had at hand. (Every web site I find romanizes it to Thorisdottir, offensively—in my opinion—sterilizing the family name to simple roman letters.) I was feeling all proud about even being able to write that character.

And then I went to file the quote in the slipbox. Uh… “Houston, we have a problem here.”

Step one: What is it? It’s a Thorn. Wikipedia helpfully, (that’s sarcasm,) explains:

[…] in modern Icelandic, it is pronounced as a laminalvoiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative [θ̠],[1][2] similar to th as in the English word thick, or a (usually apical) voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative [ð̠],[1][2] similar to th as in the English word the. Modern Icelandic usage generally excludes the latter, which is instead represented with the letter ðæt ⟨Ð, ð⟩; however, [ð̠] may occur as an allophone of /θ̠/, and written ⟨þ⟩, when it appears in an unstressed pronoun or adverb after a voiced sound.[3]

~ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorn_(letter)

I didn’t quote the part where they say, it’s not actually related to the letter P, which we get from Greek.

Well it looks like a P. That suggests filing this person under “PO”.

Iceland is the only place that has not, long ago, replaced it with “th”, and it’s pronounced like “th”ick. So I’m going to treat it like “TH,” and then Þórisdóttir gets filed under “TO”. (Wait, why not under, “TH”. Because my index of people is arranged by first-letter, plus next-vowel—not by the first two letters.)

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A program of self-mastery

August 13, 2020

Begin at once a program of self-mastery. But start modestly, with the little things that bother you. Has your child spilled something? Have you misplaced your wallet? Say to yourself, “Coping calmly with this inconvenience is the price I pay for my inner serenity, for freedom from perturbation; you don’t get something for nothing.”

~ Epictetus

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Inflation, deflation or discontinuity?

August 13, 2013

After a while, a period of stagflation is reached. Population catches up to the new resource, and job opportunities for young people become less plentiful. Wage disparity grows, with wages of the common worker lagging behind. The cost of government rises. Because of the low wages of workers, it becomes increasingly difficult to collect enough taxes from workers to pay for rising government costs. To work around these problems, use of debt grows. Needless to say, this scenario tends to end very badly.

~ Gail Tverberg from, Inflation, Deflation, or Discontinuity? | Our Finite World

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