Thursday Things

June 21, 2018

What I’m Contemplating

Visitor’s Guide to Summer Fun at Keuka Lake – Julie did a big update to help folks plan for visiting us at the lake!
Say the Hard Thing – I’ve struggled with this sort of directness in my career as a manager. I got better at it and always saw positive results when I did.
Management books in review – Good list here to review.
Becoming a 10x Developer – A very different take on the 10x developer idea, this one focused on magnifying yourself and teammates by being an awesome team member. Love it.
Why Doing Nothing Is One of the Most Important Things You Can Do – I’ve gotten better at this in my semi-retirement.
Understanding the ‘Beautiful Game’ – World Cup soccer is upon us and I’ll be watching some games soon. Never hurts to understand a bit more, though I doubt I’ll read the book.

CWS notes: How a doctor, a sheriff and the Mafia helped Oregon State stay loose during delay – I’m hooked on the College World Series right now, of course greatly influenced by Oregon State’s current brilliant run through the loser bracket. This article talks about how they played Mafia (aka Werewolf) during the long rain delay vs. UW. True story – Julie and I have fond memories of Matthew’s baseball team playing Werewolf during breaks in baseball tournaments when he was a young teen. And two of his teammates from then are current starters for the Beavers!
After listening to the audio book, Julie and I watched Lonesome Dove with her dad. It probably isn’t as great as the 8.8 rating on IMDB, but it is very good and I think the best performance of Robert Duvall’s career.

Since my last update, just lots of Advanced Squad Leader.
Face to face gaming will ramp up significantly as gamers start joining us at the cottages here starting on Saturday.

I’m still loving (in a cheap escape sort of way) the Ranger’s Apprentice series and finished #2 The Burning Bridge.
I read about one third of The Genius of Birds before abandoning it. Great insight into bird intelligence but it didn’t hold me past the first few excursions.
A colleague I know wrote Going It Alone: Essential Tips for the Independent Consultant and it was a good read. I wish there had been more content about ramping up a consulting business using modern marketing techniques.
I was disappointed in The Power Of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business but I might be to blame. The book is more about how sales and marketing professionals can use the power of habit to influence buyer behaviors. I was looking for more personal advice on habit forming and breaking.

‘God’s Favorite Customer’ Is Father John Misty’s Darkest And Most Heartbroken Album – Best new album I’ve listened to in several years. On nearly constant rotation for me.
First Listen: River Whyless, ‘Kindness, A Rebel’ – I’m not sure about this one yet but will give it a few more listens. Pretty mellow rock but not resonating yet.

How to rig an E Scow Spinnaker – Julie and I joined an E Scow team as part of the fleet at Keuka Yacht Club this summer. We are not new to sailing but very new to this boat so much to learn.
10 common security gotchas in Python and how to avoid them – For the second straight summer I’m rekindling my original passion that started my career: programming. Python is such a beautiful language and I enjoy waking up facing a day when I get to experience the joy of programming.