Ramble #79

Hi Team,

Welcome to the latest edition of Ramble, a compilation of what I have been pondering, learning and enjoying for the past month or so.

Now, grab a beverage and let’s begin.


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Something Interesting:

I left you last time with a swarm of bees taking up residence in my wall. My genius friend only bringing one bee suit to help evict them. And an aspirationally positioned hive box offered as a tantalising new home for my new buzzy friends.

Our plan rapidly failed.

So I engaged the services of a nice man to cut a whole in the wall.

There were lots of bees.

But he had a vacuum cleaner.

Also he stole my honeycomb...

Then he legitimately scooped out the rest of the bees with his hands...

He can keep the honeycomb.

Overall, pretty fantastic services provided by @hinterlandbees.


What I am Reading:

A harrowing story of flow and triage. Very interesting read.

Seems like we should just hurry up and move to nuclear power...

The 'Charlie Teo' phnomenon of offering $100,000 out of pocket surgeries for inoperable brain cancers...

I will keep reading these books until the Childs stop writing them.

And I smashed through this one in a couple of sittings.

But it is just not quite as good as the earlier books.

Backstory: Lee Child wrote the first two dozen 'Reacher' books alone. The last three he has written with his brother, Andrew Child (they are both just pen names), as he phazes himself out of the writing process and hands over the authorship.

So far. They are just a bit different.

The storylines seem a little more convoluted, almost as if only to make the final revelation more of a twist. The stoic violence that is key to the character just seems...less. And the relationships between characters are just not quite as meaningful.

Maybe I'm thinking too much. I mean, it's just fiction...

...

I don't like change...


What I am Watching:

  • Primal Fear (Netflix)

From 1996 with Richard Gere and Edward Norton. An altarboy as a murder suspect, fantastic cast and that last scene...

  • Mr Mercedes (Netflix)

Pretty cool seeing Mad Eye Moody as a retired grumpy cop. The tone is dark. Another great cast. Season 1 was fantastic, Season 2 started to get a bit weird.

  • 'Alma' is a 2009 Spanish animated short film. It goes for about 5 minutes. It is slightly terrifying -

What I am Listening to:

  • The isolated vocal track of Merry Clayton's vocals in The Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter'

Hot Takes:

It seems I was in a grumpy mood at times recently...

Hot take 1. - Outdoor footpath cafe seating in Australian inner cities is an idealistic transplant from the old towns of Europe by foolish Australian hipsters who 'spent two years in Barcelona just finding myself'. It is one thing to sip a coffee in the shadow of  Sacré-Cœur adjacent to a cobblestoned old street barely capable of baring an electric moped (it's a Parisian thing...); it is a very different thing to sit gutter-adjacent on Anne street as a streetsweeper cleans up the vomit from last night's Fortitude Valley antics, only to be followed by three concrete trucks and a semi-trailer on their way to the next highrise building site.

Hot take 2. - Taylor Hawkins of 'The Foo Fighters' died of an overdose in a Colombian hotel this year - true rockstar style. Naturally, at a tribute concert, his son is carted out to perform on the drums in his honour. One wonders if it would have been easier if Hawkins simply just didn't overdose as a 50 year old rockstar and just kept living and supporting his family to a ripe old age...? Rather than tacitly forcing some yong kid to now both have to go on without his father, and also to perform to a bunch of people he has never met just so that the fawning crowds can say "oh he was amazing on the drums, just like his dead dad".

(Note: Don't worry, I am well aware of the issues facing those trying to break addictions. But did the poor kid really have to endure the death of his father just to be brought out as the big finale at a concert...?)


Maps are Cool:

Like everyone, I've been watching 'House of the Dragon'.. And I like maps. So naturally I found this to be realy cool:

Westeros in the style of Google Maps

Speaking of maps, how about this cool visualisation of the last 500 years of Europe:

Countryballs history of Europe: 1500-2022


How to Quit Your Job and Escape for a Year (and Why You Should...):

Last edition we covered:

  • Part 1 - How to Quit Your Job; Section b) - Get a Good Job

So this time, we move to:

  • Part 1 - How to Quit Your Job; Section c) - Do Good Work

"You have decided you are going to escape. And told no one. You have found a good job. Now, do good work.

Your next 2-4 years of working (saving) is also your CV for your return. Don’t be a burden. Do good work. When you are at work, be an excellent employee. Ruffle as few feathers as possible, but be good at your job such that you are valuable. Make yourself valuable enough that you would have no problem applying for your own job when you return (or before you even leave...more on that later).

Do not be the one putting in after hours unpaid time. That is not helping you fund your escape. You could maybe argue that it will help your return to a career, but what kind of career is that? That sounds really sucky. Just show up. Do good work. Keep quiet about your plans. Stack cash. Go home and have a fun life with the knowledge that you have an escape planned.

And, of course, don’t be a dick. It is possible to have a good job. To be saving. To be doing good work. Progressing in a career. Holding a secret. But being a dick.

Dicks don’t get their job back. And that will be important soon."

Next edition I will cover:

  • Part 1 - How to Quit Your Job; Section d) - Build Relationships

(I will start compiling these into one post as well so they are easier to track.)


A Quote:

Along with watching 'House of the Dragon' I have also been watching 'The Rings of Power'. Which naturally meant that I had to go back and re-watch the Hobbit movies and all 14 hours of the extended versions of The Lord of The Rings trilogy...again.

And in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' we see this lovely little dialogue on power, evil and kindness:

Galadriel:
"Mithrandir... why the Halfling?"

Gandalf:
"...I don't know. Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I've found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps it is because I am afraid... and he gives me courage."


Closing Thoughts:

Thank you once again for reading along with me.

If you found something you liked, let me know.

If you think I can do something a little smoother, please let me know.

Talk soon.

Luke.