Novels, Off-Grid Homes, Cycling and Surfing
Weekly Mix #163 - Novels, Off-Grid Homes, Cycling and Surfing
Hi friends,
I hope you're having a great start to the week.
I enjoyed a weekend mostly outdoors, with some surfing, cycling, and live music. Could be one of the last. Hope you're all enjoying some time outside in the fall air if you can.
In this week's newsletter:
- Book Notes: The Way of the Superior Man
- Book: All Quiet on the Western Front
- Article: The Flight Goes Nowhere. And It's Sold Out.
- Article: Off-grid Nova Scotia home
- Podcast: Matthew McConaughey on The Tim Ferriss Show
- Short Film: Badlands 2020 - EF Gone Racing
- Product: Paperlike Screen Protector
Have a great week!
Graham
Book Notes I Added: The Way of the Superior Man
No doubt some will be offended by this book, despite the preface that the book is about masculinity, regardless of gender.
In general, I found useful lessons in the book. I just found it a bit too vague and general.
Book I Read: All Quiet on the Western Front
I've been reading more paper books lately, in an attempt to avoid screens before bed, and read more fiction.
This book is known as one of the greatest war novels of all time, and it didn't disappoint. Hyper-realistic, and discussing subjects that would seem vulgar if not for the context and reality, there are lots of lessons here. Makes you question life in the same way as novels like Man's Search for Meaning.
Articles:
- Off-grid Nova Scotia home - Zahra Sethna - East Coast Living - This weekend I had the pleasure of getting a tour of this off-grid home from the architects/owners, who are neighbours of my parents. The home itself is built to Passive House standards, and so requires no extra heating for the majority of the year. It uses lots of recycled materials, is fully monitored by some custom instrumentation, and gets all power from solar panels. Wonderful people and such a cool home.
- The Flight Goes Nowhere. And It's Sold Out. - Tariro Mzezewa - New York Times - The environmental part of me isn't a fan of this, but I get it. I've often said an out-and-back flight would be the most productive place to work available. I just didn't think a pandemic would be the reason it started.
Podcast I'm Listening To: Matthew McConaughey on The Tim Ferriss Show
I tend to go through cycles of listening to lots of podcasts, and then consuming none at all.
Last week I got back into a few, and none were as entertaining as Matthew McConaughey, who seems to have been everywhere talking about his new book.
Video I'm Watching: Badlands 2020 - EF Gone Racing
My brother got me into this series, which are short films (~15 minutes) about endurance bike races.
In this particular one, the main rider (Lachlan Morton) rides for 43 hours mostly non-stop to beat his nearest competitor by over half a day.
Product I Ordered: Paperlike Screen Protector
My trusty iPad 3 finally died, so I just got an iPad Air, and ordered some of these screen protectors to try out.
I will mostly use my iPad for reading and taking notes, so I'm curious to see if these can help replicate the feel of a pen and paper.
Photo of the Week: Hirtle's Beach at sunset
Hirtle's Beach is a beach just south of Lunenburg, which has become something of an architectural enclave, mostly due to the influence of Brian Mackay-Lyons, who has a home and cottages there.
A friend and I escaped here after work Thursday to get in 45 minutes of surfing, and were treated to an absolutely stunning sunset, with some mist coming from the pond behind the beach, the sun setting over the hill, and some glassy waves.
