by Patrick Rhone, Master Generalist
A frequently told joke among Minnesotans, and those in the Twin Cities especially, is that every time someone tries to leave or move somewhere else they always come back.
It’s true for me. For my wife. For anyone I know who’s tried.
We love it here. Leaving only makes us love it more.
The first of a few posts about the work here last year and my plans for the year to come.
These are the things I wrote that I’m the most proud of.
Take good care of your body. After all, you only have one.
I thought a lot about culture change. I still do.
In fact, everything we call “culture” and “society” is built on one thing and one thing only; trust.
I also thought about AI as a tool for learning.
Are you leaving things better than you found them?
Everything good in my life is because I have a policy of yes.
All I’ve ever aimed to be is a knower of things and it’s all the working world has ever wanted from me.
Beatrix is the most astute art critic I know and gives a fine example of how we should think about art.
My January? Not so dry…
Over the years of hunting down the true tools, I have noticed a pattern among the those that earn their place: they offer simplicity and reliability. These are not gadgets promising to revolutionise your life through complexity. They are not systems requiring elaborate maintenance or steep learning curves. They are foundational tools and habits that quietly-and without fuss-ease daily life.
— Nicholas Bate, The Tools of Excellence: Seventy Devices, Concepts or Strategies which enable Brilliance, Easily.
Out with the old. In with the new.
Ever since she was a little kid, when Beatrix is having the most fun ever — the time of her life — her face is serious. No smiles or laughter. No wide-eyed wonderment. Dead serious. It remains that way to this day. If her face looks like this, she’s having a blast.
This was her at Mardi Gras in New Orleans watching a parade. Loving every second. Serious.
Seeing Hamilton or Hadestown (with the original casts, no less) on Broadway? Serious.
Seeing Frozen at five years old? Very serious.
When we were first noticing this, we’d stop to ask her, “Is everything OK honey?”
“Yeah! Why?”
Beatrix is one book you should never judge by her cover.
I’m still stuck on the wonder that we can get turn by turn directions almost anywhere on the planet for any mode of transportation available to us including our feet!
Way more amazing and useful to me than anything AI currently offers.
I love running errands with you. I’m really going to miss it when I’m gone next year.
— Beatrix, age 17 5/6.
(This whole going off to college thing is really beginning to sink in for us.)
Finally replaced my missed-so-much Volvo XC70 that got totaled back in September. This is a 2015 Volvo XC60 in great shape. Hopefully, it will serve me just as faithfully and long.
Thought: In this day and age, lack of confidence in one’s ability to do anything is really just a manifestation of fear. All of the world’s knowledge is available to us in just a few clicks. You can learn anything you don’t know. If you have the time, energy, and desire, you can do it.