Pete's March 2022 update
A productive month, all things considered.
Built stuff
Started a new job
Sold some books
Learn, Measure, Build
I finished the chook shed door. Below you can see the before, in progress, and finished versions. The door opens the other way now, so that when it’s open it screens us a bit from the neighbour’s house which is on the other side of the apple tree. The chook shed is the first place that gets sun in winter, so this will be our morning coffee spot.
I learned how to drill wide holes using an auger bit, which I needed so I could attach things with bolts. (I also learned that a vice/vise and clamps are wonderful friends to have when working with a drill bit as long as your forearm!)
I built an awning over the laundry door for a bit of rain protection (because rain was seeping in the top of the door), and then an impromptu phone holder for Lucy to do stop-motion animation drawing and painting. The former was my first time using the wavy roofing plastic stuff and therefore learning how to use roof fasteners: a frustrating battle against slippage, trying to drill through the very peak of the curvy hilltop.
All up, a lot of learning new things and I was pleasantly surprised that most things worked the first time around. Though I also learned the value of proper equipment and technique; a lesson learned through cuts and scrapes and tired muscles.
I now have favourite types of screw. I hadn’t really encountered square-drive screws before I needed to remove some from a wall here. My goodness, they’re the best. The Phillips head is dead to me now. I’ve also encountered Torx (dislike) and Hex (like) screw heads, and a thing — probably trademarked — called T-Rex Teeth which I think is the thread pattern? Anyway, I am now the type of person who has opinions about fasteners.
There, a whole hardware section without any innuendo.
New job: General Manager of Learning and Product at Young Change Agents
I wrote about my new job on LinkedIn, though LinkedIn stole my thunder and announced it a few hours before then. I actually started in early March.
I’d been trying to decide between three jobs, weighing up the different benefits of each. They were all exciting options. I was glad I’d taken the time to reflect on what was most important to me and coming up with decision criteria.
In the end, Young Change Agents offered the biggest opportunity for impact. So I made the decision on a Friday afternoon and started the next Monday morning.
I’m helping prepare the next generation to see problems as opportunities and get experience building social enterprises to address challenges in their communities and for the planet.
Pretty awesome.
I’m putting together a brains trust for a new program we’re developing. If you know people in the tech, digital, startup space who’d love to contribute to this amazing impact, please send them my way.
Submit an expression of interest: https://forms.gle/Q4p5EXMGk4jGHoPZA
Other highlights
Startups/founders supported: 6
Books sold: 37. I had a goal of 100 copies sold by the end of March. I started the month strong on promotion but lost momentum and focus. Oops! Still, I’m pretty happy with that. (Haven’t bought a copy yet? Get 20% off right now!)
Jobs for Generalists is going well, with great responses and engagement. I could also be doing more here — I recorded four interviews and haven’t got around to editing and releasing them yet.
Had a great ‘branding and marketing’ session with Megan Flamer who gave me a great objective kick up the bum on what I’m doing vs what I could be doing.
Also on the to-do list is a short story I’ve been meaning to write, and a blog post or two. Let’s hope it rains here on Easter weekend.
New bunny alert: Stewart and Willow have been joined by Cinnamon and Sugar, who are tiny and adorable. (One of them is on the left in the photo below.) Hazel is still around but I think she’s mostly been hanging out with her college friends. The other evening we saw them all gathered around the same fallen apple, and gobbling it up in tiny bites.
The fun stuff: read/watch/listen
[Read: 8 minutes] Fascinating deep dive into the world of investment, why boom & bust cycles happen, and thought experiment on whether the same thing could happen in VC and startup investment.
[Tweet thread: 1 minute] Important life announcement-slash-humble brag done right:
[Watch: 7-10 minutes] Jelle’s Marble Runs is back. A world in which marbles compete for glory. There are offroad tracks like the Sand Marble Rally below, but also F1 tracks and Olympic-style events. The commentary is great, too.
[Watch: 7-15 minutes] 3DBotmaker. Speaking of great commentary, that’s what makes these toy car races so entertaining. And sometimes gripping!
[Read: rabbit hole] False memory. Someone tweeted “Mandela effect” at me and I had to look it up. Some really interesting false memory examples on the Wikipedia page. And it reminded of this article I’ve had in my ‘to share’ file for a while now: Sexual Assault & Memory: Upending Common Narratives In Rape Culture
“Loftus’s sensory experiments into the malleability of memory started in the 1970s when she was an assistant professor at the University of Washington. These included the Lost in the Mall experiment, in which a false memory of being lost in a shopping centre as a child was implanted in subjects' minds. A quarter of participants subsequently believed it had happened.”
The article goes through the problem with police questioning techniques, which is also what often makes me shout at the TV when we watch murder mysteries.
(To be clear: I’m firmly on the side of “I believe you”.)
”According to Flowe and others, despite Loftus’ shadow, the science does show that memory, even after consuming alcohol – a highly effective weapon in the arsenal of victim-blaming – is more reliable than we’ve been led to believe.”“We listened to the Traveling Wilburys and to Old & In the Way, and we listened to the BBC audio drama of The Lord of the Rings, where I heard Ian Holm as Frodo say, quoting Bilbo, “It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to.” — author Max Gladstone