I’ve been using Duolingo for a while. I pay for the Premium (Super) version. But I cancelled this week. Not because I don’t use it. Not because I’m replacing it with another tool or ChatGPT. I cancelled it because I’m sick of so much upsell. The bottom set of icons used to give me access to different features. Now two of the six are just for upsells. I’m fine with...
My right AirPod had been playing up for the last few months. It was considerably quieter than the left one. I’d done all the obvious things – cleaning away wax build up, resetting and repairing, checking balance levels in Accessibility settings etc. No change. Then I came across this post that suggested I ‘suck’ the AirPod speaker. At that point I was happy to try anything...
Many, many years ago I was going to a nightclub with a group of friends. We got there and one guy in our group was denied entry by the bouncer because of his shoes (he had pointy toed boots – winkel pickers were having a resurgence at the time). So we all had to leave (we weren’t going to leave him on his own outside). We walked back to his hotel, where he changed his shoes, and then...
Another quote, I saw somewhere on social, but have no idea how to credit the original person…
Frustration isn’t a sign you’re not learning. But ease is.
Or: Why We Can’t See the Gap Above Us (I saw this idea while scrolling on social, but then got distracted and when I came back my feed refreshed and I lost it… but if I find the source again I’ll link to it here.) There’s a theory that we can’t understand or differentiate the levels of expertise above us. We can only differentiate them below us. If we have reached a...
Living all your different lives.
There’s not enough time to live all the different lives you’d love to live.
Different locations, different jobs, different circles of friends.
So because the time is limited, you’ve got to choose carefully.
Which life do you want to live?
It’s time to be ruthless. With all key ingredients. That make up your recipe for life.
I have a bad habit of saying: What’s if… eg: What’s if we get pizza tonight? My wife reminds me that there’s no such abbreviation. Instead I should just say: What if… But I can’t shake the habit (after all these years). So, I’ve decided to make up what the abbreviation is. Here’s what it is: What’s if = What is the situation if (I’m...
Was walking down the street the other day, and a car passed by. A woman in the back seat was looking at me, and started waving. I didn’t recognise her but she obviously thought she recognised me. In that moment I was a little paralysed – Are they actually looking at me? Do I wave back? What’s if I’m mistaken and they aren’t looking at me – will I look like a goose if I wave back...
If you’re out in public and your mobile rings and you recognise the number: smile broadly and answer the call (even if you don’t really have time or want to talk to them).
Although it’s rare, perhaps just a few times every year or so, the person calling has spotted you from across the street, and your reaction will live on in their minds for years to come.
“Do not ever write for radio. Ever.”
This was Neil Young’s advice to a young Jewel (before her music career took off) as she was feeling the pressure to switch from being true to her self, to some manufactured version for her record company.
Sometimes I wonder if the modern business equivalent could be: “Do not ever write for LinkedIn. Ever.”