A weekly selection of what I was reading, drawing, writing, and doing.

Last week, I started a new cycle of experimentation with habits. The goal is to amplify a few things and reduce a few things, leveraging Cal Newport’s strategy for cultivating a deep life.

As part of what I want to amplify (per the above) I started looking for coaches. I’m lucky to have some sessions paid for by my employer, Automattic, but coaches are all around you if you look. Everyone should have a coach.

I saw this thing about an invisibility device and as much as I’d want to use it to catch the people who let their dogs poop in the middle of the sidewalk right outside our school, it would be cool to see this tech used to mask ugly buildings and roads, if nothing else.

Here is something from the categorey of the absurd: I didn’t think you can be prosecuted for a tweet in a free country, but you can in Scotland. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I think I can be a maximizer and a saticficer depending on my mood. There is certainly a point at which I can feel trapped by the analysis of a decision, which is a good sign that I’m in the maximizer zone.

I spent more time than I should have thinking about bears, not-so-soon birthdays, and house styles.

Finally, I didn’t realize that driving a manual is pretty much dead in the US:

In 1980, some 35% of cars produced in the U.S. were manuals. Today that figure is closer to 1%, and only 3.7% of Carmax sales are for stick shifts—shockingly low considering that 80% of cars sold in Europe have manual transmissions. Some car makers, including Audi, no longer offer manual transmissions in the U.S. market at all…

Only around 18% of American drivers can handle a manual transmission, according to U.S. News and World Report.

See you next week!

Last but not least, check out what I’m up to now.