Author: neil

[Link] The Third Space

Rob Miller on “third spaces” or Non-Offices as an alternative to the office:

In the old world, going to the office was a source of important social capital; it provided you with autonomy, mastery, and purpose, and with human connections and friendships, too. If you can get those things just as readily from other physical places, what does that mean for the future not just of offices, but of conventional employment?

Getting Your Ducks in a Row

School reopened today. And with it, all the challenges of the adults getting up earlier  😀

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Identifying problems are hard. Meetings with several people trying to define the problem makes it exponentially (?) harder. Without the tools, space, discipline, and agreed principles of engagement, might as well give up.  And yet, I see many episodes of this happen every day, multiple times a day.  It feels like people do this so they can keep themselves feeling busy, or important. Activity over accomplishment is the mantra. Exhausting.

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HT @John Naughton’s newsletter today had a link that caught my eye. The math is way beyond me for sure, but the phrase ‘getting your ducks in a row’ has a new meaning!

From the “Journal of Fluid Mechanics“:

“Simulations reveal that ducklings swimming in a single-file formation behind the parent can achieve a wave-riding benefit whereby the wave drag turns positive”

 

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Serendipitously, I caught this mother duck and her three ducklings walking back from their little swim this afternoon. No, they weren’t in a row 🙂

 

Style, Socialise and Smell

Nancy Duarte’s company has some wonderful content they publish on their blog.  I watched two of their videos on ideas to present virtually: Content, Design and Delivery. Short, practical and well produced, they were definitely worth the time invested. I have Content listed to watch later.

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This weekend we got to see some of our friends in person after nearly 18 months. It was simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. Learning how to socialise again is important – and tough, particularly after being used to the introverted way of life I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Kids, on the other hand, took much less time to test and engage. Oh, to have a child-like ability to connect and forget.

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There were few people on the beach on our walk – schools reopen tomorrow and the freedom-celebrating crowds of the last couple of evenings had all returned to their abodes to prepare perhaps. Low tide meant we could walk over the rocks and take in the sight of waves crashing on the rocks; and take in some surf in the wind. Got home, & my daughter smelt me from afar to say “you smell like fish” 🙂

Spencerian Rest Day

I didn’t get much time today with all the busy-ness that the relaxed – pun intended – lockdown rules brought to focus on writing an alphabet. But I did have time to practice some ovals and shades and a few words.