Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.
~ Bill Nye
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On this day
September 16thWhose thoughts
Some people live and act according to their own thoughts, and some according to the thoughts of others; this is a crucial distinction between people.
~ Leo Tolstoy
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I’ll be podcasting and presenting Art of Retreat 2022
During the Sept 24th weekend, I’ll once again be recording conversations with community leaders and movement enthusiasts at a retreat in the Cascades outside of Seattle. Follow that link If you’re interested in the nuts-and-bolts of what I do in order to create some conversations. Over there, I’ll be posting replies as the project progresses over the next two weeks. I’ll be showing my work—preparation, packing, gear, field recording, and post-production. I’ll try to cover everything from ideation to the final deliverables.
The first piece of context is, what is the event that I’m attending? It’s an immersive gathering celebrating leadership in parkour. We bring remarkable leaders from the global parkour community together for 4 days of learning, sharing, and play.
The event is a concept which has been held in various locations over the years. It’s near and dear to me both in the sense that I’m into parkour and I’m into podcasting. I’m also leading an interactive session about Creating Better Conversation.
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The roller coaster
Life is not ever going to be content. Life is never going to be normal. For the rest of your life you’re on a journey that has ups and downs and ups and downs, it is a roller coaster that never ends. Until one day you close your eyes and you’re off the roller coaster. And I think for me, I just want to be on as many different journey’s as possible, so at least if I’m on a roller coaster, there’s a new zigzag and a turn that I didn’t know about before.
~ Scooter Braun
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What room for an abject mind?
When you have acquired a contempt for things that are external and lie outside the sphere of choice, and have come to regard none of them as your own, but only this as your own, to judge and think aright, and exercise your impulses, desires and aversions aright, what further room is there after that for flattery, what room for an abject mind?
~ Epictetus
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And sometimes panic sets in
Inspired by a reader’s question to me, I thought I’d ask our followers on Facebook and Twitter for an answer to the question: What books would you recommend someone read to improve their general knowledge of the world.
I must say the number and quality of the responses overwhelmed me. The box Amazon just delivered reminds me that I ordered 9 books off this list.
~ Shane Parrish from, https://fs.blog/2016/09/books-recommend-someone-read-improve-general-knowledge-world/
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I know there are too many books—old books, new books, red books, blue books … A friend of mine just published a book, Before You Say Anything, and Jiminy Cricket I’d love to read it— I hovered on the add-to-cart button. But I paused, managing to trigger my habit-change “wedge” of repeating: “simplfiy. simplify. simplify.” I digress.
I skimmed that list of books from Parrish and felt I should probably read every one of them. Instead—simplify. simplify. simplify.—I noted I’ve read several, have several more already in my possession, and several others on the wishlist. With a life-is-short shrug, I’m passing it along to you and moving on with my morning.
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Do less
“If you seek tranquility, do less.” Or (more accurately) do what’s essential—what the logos of a social being requires, and in the requisite way. Which brings a double satisfaction: To do less, better. Because most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, “Is this necessary?”
~ Marcus Aurelius
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Meadows as endless as the desert
You know the landscape there, superb trees full of majesty and serenity beside green, dreadful, toy-box summer-houses, and every absurdity the lumbering imagination of Hollanders with private incomes can come up with in the way of flower-beds, arbours, verandas. Most of the houses very ugly, but some old and elegant. Well, at that moment, high above the meadows as endless as the desert, came one driven mass of cloud after the other, and the wind first struck the row of country houses with their trees on the opposite side of the waterway, where the black cinder road runs. Those trees, they were superb, there was a drama in each figure I’m tempted to say, but I mean in each tree.
~ Vincent van Gogh from, https://www.brainpickings.org/2018/08/22/van-gogh-sorrow/
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Sometimes, a bit of writing simply must be shared.
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I’ll just drop these here. Scotch lovers
Be sure to swipe right and ZOOM. IN.
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Day 46/100 – today’s running partner
(Part 49 of 104 in series, 100 Days of Training (2017))
Meet my great pal Kona! (Also, his human Steve.) Time to pay up for yesterday. run run run run run
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Only virtuous people
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.
~ Ben Franklin
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Multipurpose
The Puffin doubles as a leg rest when lounging awaiting a ride! Hello Kentucky! I am in you. #whereisthepuffin
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Orsay museum
Inconceivable!
Two pano’s squeezed out the window. Diff exposures, no filters. Some distortion from jet bumps and window etc. Looking south. On far right you can see the ‘wedge’ of the Earth’s shadow projected up onto the lower edge of the sky. On the left you can see the southern side of the sunrise. From this altitude, you clearly get the sense of how this color “show” rotates around that south point in the middle of the photo; Like a two panel beach ball, with these spectacular colors where the two hemispheres meet. Of course, the sky and sun aren’t moving… ;) Flying westward this show lasted so much longer than when you are standing still.
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Optical phenomenon
WOW! Westward flight left pre-dawn and I was treated to the most spectacular sunrise and Belt of Venus (wikipedia it!) I have even seen! These are two photos of diff exposures. No filters. I’ve never seen GREEN like this. More to come! Also: GOOD MORNING CHICAGO (just for a layover tho’)
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More photos from the Flatirons (Aug 21)
Our climb of the third Flatiron was leisurely enough that we took a lot of photographs. As I’ve been going through them, I’ve carved out a second set of must-see shots.
(There’s also my first Flatiron 3 post about the best beginner climb in the solar system.)
The Flatirons are just smack-dab right next to Boulder. Everywhere you go, the “front range” is just looming to the West. Sitting at Einstein Bro’s Bagels, the slabs of rock beckon tantalizingly close. Flatiron 3 is striking because the backside is exposed too, making the tip of the climb into an impressive prominence. (…and it makes for a wickedly fun, triple-rappel off the back too!)
The approach is simply a beautiful, long, hiking trail. (Or as we took to joking, a trail for the “walkers.”) The lower parts of the trail are heavily trafficked, but the further you go, the more interesting the terrain gets. Eventually, Flatiron 3 starts peeking at you through the trees.
A few shots from the top… just taking in the view!
At the very top, there’s a comfy recess just behind the true summit. Mike got excited at the huge slab with the prominent crack system that is hidden behind the Flatiron. (If he’d had his way, we’d have trekked over there immediately after rappelling off the thing.) There’s also a commemorative plaque set in the rock. Beyond the plaque lie the Rocky Mountains!
After you rappel, you “walk off” down a steep ravine filled with scree, between the 3rd and 2nd Flatirons. If you look closely in the first two photos, you can see “hikers” (or perhaps climbers walking off) on the rock to give you a feel for the scale.
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Costa Concordia parbuckling live!
They are attempting to right the Costa Concordia today. She’s TWICE as big as the titanic… no one has ever tried to right a ship this large. (…oh, and “parbuckling“.)
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