Seasons change: Last week you could feel fall setting in here. The leaves are turning color. It feels like even the calendar is starting to settle in for winter. I was out for a scooter ride with Sam on my Friday off and I remembered how much I love the fall (sorry Scots, autumn). As of last week we’ve been in Scotland for two months and it felt like a new stage was beginning along with the season.

Book excerpt I loved:

“The reality of your life is always now. And to realize this, we will see, is liberating. In fact, I think there is nothing more important to understand if you want to be happy in this world.” (Sam Harris, Waking Up)

Thought exercise that I learned from a co-worker: What will I tell my grandmother? Next time you are explaining something or writing about something, even if just as an exercise, try writing about this.

I always like to think about how I would break down my experience to my 93 year old grandma who does not understand the internet or how technology has evolved over the last decade since she stopped using the internet and email about 10 years ago. When she asks about my [next/new anything], what will I tell her?

Music I enjoyed: I went on a music thread one day last week starting with The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Jim Hendrix, then veered to Sex Pistols, and ended up at The Buzzcoks – Singles Going Steady. So good.

Misc things I’ve learned about Scotland:

• Boxed mac and cheese is basically non-existent. It’s both good and bad.
• It’s more rural than I realized. Most of what people would say are “suburbs” here would be considered rural to someone from Seattle.
• There are no Mexican restaurants, and judging from the ready-to-cook food section, people love making food that I put in the Mexican-type genre like fajitas, tacos and the like. Go figure.
• Police Called To Stop Massive Game Of Hide And Seek At Ikea – Ikea in Glasgow to be clear.

How Stupid Things Become Smart Together: I’ve been watching One Strange Rock and reading the recent Wait But Why stuff and in the middle watched this video (from A Game of Giants) and thought it was all pretty crazy to think about.

Scotland and WordPress: a peek into the variety of work and world I’ve been working with over the past month.