Short version: Back to work. Jocko’s letter made me cry and that’s OK. First triathlon, went fine. Sriracha sauce as a spaceship.
Long version:
Back to work
I returned to work this week after taking nearly two weeks of holiday. I continue to find it odd that when I am busier I also get more done, but I also suspect that is the combination of routines and inspiring colleagues. The ONI band is practicing more often, and live music provides a wonderful reminder of my family home. Hearing from others about their successes both in work and outside it creates some envy, but also motivates me to strive to make more out of my time.
Something that made me cry
At the end of my holiday I took some time to reflect on the past year, including when I experienced particularly strong emotions. Often in a professional context it is appropriate to suppress emotions, and it is also common that men feel the need to project a stoic facade at the world. In the past I have taken this too far and lost awareness of my emotions, which is detrimental. I still feel generally we should act out of reason rather than emotion, but we should also be aware of our emotions and use their patterns to guide our understanding of ourselves. To this end, I wanted to share this letter written by a Navy Seal to his daughter. It left me feeling a powerful mix emotions, seeing aspects of myself in both the father and the daughter. It left me in tears.
First Triathlon
I took part in my first triathlon on Monday. It was fun. I’ve written a race report you can read here.
Instagram Art
Social media is often an echochamber, but there are opportunities to find new ideas. This week I came across spacegooose who imagines everyday items as spaceships, e.g. Sriracha sauce.
Short version: I regularly listen to podcasts and articles, and this week “Jocko Podcast” entered my regular rotation.
Long version:
Podcasts and constant stimulation:
The world feels very information dense. From a notepad sized device we still refer to as a “phone” despite rarely using it to make telephone calls, I can access more content than can be physically stored in any library in the world. Anywhere in the developed world where people might be waiting, taking a break, or even simply walking down the street, you can see people turning to this incredible network of information sharing. That creates both a pressure and a desire to consume more information, more stimulation, when performing less intellectually intensive tasks. When performing household chores, routine cleaning in the lab, or taking gentle runs, I tend to put my headphones in and listen to a podcast. This is what I listen to.
The main place I get news and current affairs. Factual, dense, and in a weekly format that prioritises significance over promptness. When I debated in high school and university, The Economist was frequently the recommended reading. Had I gotten into the habit of reading it towards the start rather than end of my debating career, I suspect I would have performed better for it. I particularly enjoy the different levels of coverage, from the one or two sentence summaries in “The world this week”, through the summarised articles in “Leaders”, and then the in depth coverage in regional and topical sections.
Technical, detailed, and yet presented in an entertaining manner, the Nature Podcast has been an enjoyable way to hear about research highlights across the sciences. It is also humanising to hear the actual voices of the authors of scientific papers. It can be easy to forget that those scientists are relatable, mostly normal people.
Are We in a Mattress-Store Bubble? (Ep. 251), as I have occasionally wondered how there seems to be a proliferation of certain stores, I found this episode particularly amusing.
Since discovering the Jocko Podcast while in Australia, I have binged on the Jocko Podcast, listening to the first 50 episodes at time of writing. I have long aspired to master personal discipline, and Jocko is a fairly accomplished mentor. His daily picture of his watch, rising before 5 am each day to exercise, is inspiring. The historic readings he chooses seen through his personal experience of war give me a strong sense of appreciation for the safety and freedom I enjoy every day.
ABC Radio’sHack is a current affairs program targeted at youth and young adults, that I would often hear on actual FM broadcasts in Australia.
TED Radio Hour on NPR edits TED talks into podcast format, and is an interesting way to be pushed into an area I might not usually interact with.
BBC Newshour before I had access to the Economist podcast, Newshour was my go to news in audio form. Occasionally I still listen to get more up to date news, or to hear from a correspondent.
Savage Lovecasttalk back radio format, occasionally with guests, offering advice on sex and love. In a world with a sometimes divisive plurality of sexual identities, it is pleasantly unifying to see the common struggles we all face.
Athletes Unfiltered inspiring stories of (predominantly) runners and cyclists. I find listening while hanging out laundry makes me eager for the next opportunity to get on the bike or into my running shoes.
More Perfect has my favourite episode of any podcast, telling the complex and surprising story of gun law in the United States of America. The more recent episodes have had less of an impact on me.
Joe Rogan Experience I find many of Joe’s guests entertaining, but the tendency towards fringe content makes listening feel more like a guilty pleasure than gaining knowledge.
Podcasts I haven’t listened to but have been recommended several times
