Notes by Winny

In this public notebook Winny stores 'elements', since all ideas are new combinations of old elements. Confession: in her spare time she reads self-help books. Alain de Botton thinks that's cool though...

[winnydejong]

The benefit of the thing being done the first time is that it makes it easier for it to be done a second time,” Ms. Jones said. “That’s how progress works.

Tayari Jones, black sister. (Quote from the New York Times article on black sisterhood in the shadow of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.)

[winnydejong]

Punctuated equilibrium is the way that most natural systems evolve. The left image is a gradual, linear view of Darwin’s theory of evolution where species emerge gradually and consistently over time. The right image is a “punctuated equilibrium” view of evolution where there are long periods of very little change and short periods of “explosions” with huge amounts of evolutionary activity. Understanding punctuated equilibrium is essential to understanding how to change your life.

[winnydejong]

On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant

Ever had the feeling that your job might be made up? That the world would keep on turning if you weren't doing that thing you do 9-5?

“In the year 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by century's end, technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a 15-hour work week. There's every reason to believe he was right. In technological terms, we are quite capable of this. And yet it didn't happen. Instead, technology has been marshaled, if anything, to figure out ways to make us all work more. In order to achieve this, jobs have had to be created that are, effectively, pointless. Huge swathes of people, in Europe and North America in particular, spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed. The moral and spiritual damage that comes from this situation is profound. It is a scar across our collective soul. Yet virtually no one talks about it.” Sharp essay on bullshit jobs by David Graeber.

[winnydejong]

Dash Plus is an analogue to do list system by Patrick Rhone: “The beauty of this system is that it is all built upon, and extensions of, the original dash. Therefore, it is easy to change items from one state to another (...) and in the case of an non-dashed item changing completely the item is circled to denote that.” *Update - see 2nd picture: New dash/plush metadata

[winnydejong]

Donald Trump’s Crazy Handwriting Is Now A Free Font Called Tiny Hand

Tiny Hand could be the huckster’s Helvetica.

The idea for the Tiny Hand font comes from Buzzfeed - where they had their designer Mark Davis actually make it. You can the Tiny Hand typeface here.

[winnydejong]

B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and Willie Dixon looking like a million dollars at the opening of the Benson & Hedges Blues Tour on 6/1/91 in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Paul Natkin

[winnydejong]

DIE WITH ME is a chat app you can only use when you have less than 5% battery. Die together in a chatroom on your way to offline peace. By Dries Depoorter.

[winnydejong]

Only Do It If You’re Willing To Do It 100 Times – For The Interested – Medium

How to focus your efforts and accomplish your goals using the 100x Method.

“It’s important to be selective about what we pursue — just because something’s a good idea doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do at that time.” “When you approach work with a long-term mindset, you free yourself to judge the results of that work in a similar time frame.” Nice thinking by Josh Spector. :)

[winnydejong]

The ultimate university writing on a deadline hack: Times Newer Roman looks like the teacher-approved font, but runs bigger than regular Times Roman letting you cheat on your paper. Made by mschf.

[winnydejong]

Read ‘Found: Rosa Parks’s Arrest Warrant, and More Traces of Civil Rights History’ at the New York Times. Can't agree more with Jason Kottke: “What’s odd is that the records appeared to have already been gathered together, but not for any clear reason. They had never been made public.”

[winnydejong]

The Zen of Python

Beautiful is better than ugly. Explicit is better than implicit. Simple is better than complex. Complex is better than complicated. Flat is better than nested. Sparse is better than dense. Readability counts. Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules. Although practicality beats purity. Errors should never pass silently. Unless explicitly silenced. In the face of ambiguity, refuse the temptation to guess. There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it. Although that way may not be obvious at first unless you're Dutch. Now is better than never. Although never is often better than *right* now. If the implementation is hard to explain, it's a bad idea. If the implementation is easy to explain, it may be a good idea. Namespaces are one honking great idea -- let's do more of those! _____

The Zen of Python () is a collection of 20 software principles that influences the design of Python Programming Language, written down around June 1999 by longtime Pythoneer Tim Peters. (Origin | Meaning)

[winnydejong]

VOX about the time when running for exercise was for weirdos.

[winnydejong]

The Only 3 Things I Need In A Partner, by Kris Gage. “The only 3 things I need in a partner: emotional stability, critical thought, and friendship. (...) My list is incredibly short. But it’s also incredibly non-negotiable.”

Emotional Stability

Self-sufficiency. Emotional health. Responsibility for our own emotions. Composure. All healthy relationships require this of both partners. Without it, the relationship doesn’t have a chance in hell.

Critical Thinking

Real intelligence isn’t about what you know. It’s how you think. It’s problem solving — finding or figuring out the answer, not remembering it. Someone who loves a good challenge, never shies from a setback, and steps up to solve shit time and time again when the going gets tough.

I yearn deeply for friendship and intellectual understanding in love. It is deliciously nice to have. Someone with whom I have an inside joke or two. Someone with whom there’s comfort and ease and play.

[winnydejong]

I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.

John Adams, via Jason Kottke.

[winnydejong]

Cracking the Sitcom Code

After signing up to write a script for Croatian television, I learned that virtually all TV comedies, from Seinfeld to South Park, follow a simple formula.

The Teaser (Minutes 1-3) The Trouble (Minutes 3-8) The Muddle (Minutes 8-13) The Triumph/Failure (Minutes 13-18) The Kicker (Minutes 19-21)

[winnydejong]

“n a competition between eight teams, the central bank of Norway, Norges Bank, chose designs by Oslo-based graphic designers The Metric System and architecture and design firm Snøhetta for the front and back of the new banknotes, respectively. Snøhetta’s design, an abstract, pixelated artwork inspired by ocean winds, looks like no other money in the world.” (via)

[winnydejong]

How to Graciously Say No to Anyone

Say it fast, explain why - briefly, and propose something else.