To the Beaches!
It's going to be hot in town this weekend, and we have already decided to head to the beach on Sunday. The beach has been such a lovely escape during the covid. When we could not go to the movies or have dinner with friends, we started jumping in the car every chance we could to set up camp at the beach. So much so that we have developed some advanced skills in the camping department. Check out the Camping, Camping Extraordinare youtube video. The dog is a massive fan of the beach, although she won't go near the surf for fear of getting her paws wet.
What I am working on this week
Following up on last week's blog about the Second Brain, I am doing an online course to build my Notion database. I have used the Notion app for about two years to create my weekly to-do list to keep track of my habits and systems. However, to go to the next level, I must wrap up my projects and work in a more robust system. For example, I have a workflow for creating my blog posts every week. I got interested in Notion while exploring ways to be more productive. I am taking a course from Thomas J Frank. The big selling point for me has been Notions' flexibility. With a little effort, I can build a personal productivity system that I can use to be more effective in my work. Also, the single-user version is free.
What I am reading this week
The Ministry of the Future | Kim Stanley Robinson.
Two snaps so far I am about halfway through the novel. I picked it off a summer reading list from Bill Gates. I slogged through two of the three Mars books by Robinson and he touches on the ice sheet collapse in that series too. In this book, he covers many of the clever ways we could be fighting climate change but are not. "We are losing" one character keeps saying. A few things jumped out more than others. "You pay to be a victim, not the criminal". And "Enough (resources) should be a human right. A floor you can't fall below and a ceiling you can't rise above." I can't wait to see what happens next.
I finished Crime and Punishment this week as well. While I joke about the darkness and death in Petersburg described throughout the novel, there is love in the end.