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Bookish ..

My reading has dropped off this year. Not because I’ve picked up some other satisfying hobby, but because I just haven’t found many books that felt worth finishing. So I enjoy these posts that provide a list of ‘books worth your time’.

Based on those books listed that I have read, I suspect he and I share similiar taste. Might be worth your time.

50 books that transformed my business and my life

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Powerful ..

What an amazing photo (and wonderful result).

Swimmer faints in pool in terrifying scenes at world championships

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Roll for initiative and perfect bone structure ..

I’ve heard about this ‘A-List D&D Group’ mentioned on the occasional talk show spot, but I really enjoyed this short video that goes deeper into who’s included and what they get from it.

The vibes towards the end of the video really struck a chord for me; ultimately what they get from it is a social connection much more so than any stereotypical geeky imaginary play. Similar to the poker night or the footy training or the MMO raiding or the Men’s Shed. The activity is secondary; the community is key. And if they’re having fun and it’s keeping them out of trouble then surely it’s something to be celebrated?

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Desktop Porn ..

Back in Tumblr days I subscribed to a guy who would trawl the internet for people sharing their desk and home-office setups. I loved it. I lived for it. I don’t know why, but it scratches an itch for me. My own desk setup is a filthy, dusty, tangled mess. But I can appreciate others’ good work.

Sadly, ‘ol mate Tumblr Bloke stopped maintaining his blog, and I remember his final post went into how he had realised he had become a distributor of pornography. Not of the traditional kind, with the boobs and pool maintenance, but with dongles and cable minimisation. He lamented that his new category of porn was setting similarly unrealistic standards. He didn’t enjoy his hobby after that realisation. I’m still ok with it, though.

Anyways there’s a new dude doing the same thing and so my fetish continues.

Maker Stations

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When then ..

I enjoyed this article by Khe Hy on an issue I’ve been struggling with lately. He summarises it well below:

For much of my corporate life, I was living for tomorrow. The next vacation. The next purchase. The next promotion.

You could call it the hedonic treadmill. The when-then trap. Or just an omnipresent dissatisfaction with what was directly in front of me.

Now some of this “deferring” was in service for a better tomorrow. Making financial sacrifices for my kids’ college education. Or learning a new skill to advance my career.

And I’m glad I made those sacrifices.

But the deferred life plan was a bit more sinister. It was an elusive pursuit of fleeting happiness. It was a flawed belief that my life would start once I hit “my number.” Or when I retired at sixty.

I was speaking with Kisha (i.e. wifey aka the minister for finance) the other day about something similiar. I was saying, we’re nearly 40 years old, and now that I’m a type 1 diabetic I suppose my life expectancy is perhaps another 30 years. For a long time now it has felt like we have been striving for whatever is over the horizon.

Things will be better when we get through high school, then university, and then law school, and then graduate school.

Things will be better when we’ve got a few years of work experience under our belt; when we’ve bought a house; when we have kids; when our kids are just a bit older.

Things will be better when I land this client, and then when I finish this next project. Or perhaps once I become an owner of the business, then surely it’ll finally all become worth it.

I’ve got 30 years left - when does the good part start?

Khe’s article seems to be more about his personal journey. He talks about whether he should be allowed to go on a sole holiday without his wife and kids. That’s not so much what I’m referring to, though. It feels like wifey is in just the same position that I am. When does the good part start for the both of us?

I don’t have answers to any of these questions but I enjoyed his writing about it.

Saying goodbye to the deferred life plan

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Bennett

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