Northern lights over Virginia by Peter Forister.

principles.design is an “open source collection of Design Principles and methods.” Great looking site, content, and URL.

Some things:

• Pitchfork on the band 100 gecs: “Theirs is the sound of a zillion infostreams from the depths of your social feeds shooting into your eyes at once, both poisoned by irony and aware that if you follow irony into its own ouroboros, you will discover the antidote.” I’m in!
• Reading fiction can make you a better person: “Research suggests that fictional books may effectively be empathy-building tools, offering us the closest we can get to first-hand knowledge of someone else’s experience.”
• Meta Rediscovers the Cubicle: “To be fair, the company takes pains to argue that their solution is not cubicles, because, well, the walls are curved, and they are made out of fancier, sound-absorbing materials. Sure. Okay…” Solving a problem they made. The ultimate fireman/arsonist.
• Everything else!

Receiving the cash is also empowering. “There’s a wide body of research that if you give someone a larger sum of cash it triggers long-term thinking,” says Williams. Or as Ray puts it, ”that energy of believing in myself again.” The effect is: “These people trusted me. Let me prove to them that I can be successful,” Ray says. 

Source: Vancouver Gave Homeless People $5,800. It Changed Their Lives. /via Keeping it Integer

See also: What happened when people in this upstate New York town started getting monthly $500 checks and The mathematical case against blaming people for their misfortune

By Phyllis Shafer

More here: www.phyllisshafer.com/oilpainti…

Mellow music to use in the background for reflection and discussion from Stanford’s Design School.

Keeping a personal changelog ⤤

Winnie Lim on looking back at her journals: “I see all these archives of my thoughts and psyche as keeping a personal changelog. They document what has changed in me since.” /via Scott Nesbitt

Happy De La Soul day to all that celebrate.

Art by Holly Astle

Land Lines “… is an experiment that lets you explore Google Earth satellite imagery through gesture. “Draw” to find satellite images that match your every line; “Drag” to create an infinite line of connected rivers, highways and coastlines.”

“Forest Luminescence” by Jonathan Edwards

Happiness 2.0: Cultivating Your Purpose - Hidden Brain Podcast

Having a sense of purpose can be a buffer against the challenges we all face at various stages of life. Purpose can also boost our health and longevity.

An interesting topic. Also, the Hidden Brain podcast in general is pretty good. The episodes are usually well structured/edited and not just a hodgepodge of people talking.

Dimensions.com " …is an ongoing reference database of dimensioned drawings documenting the standard measurements and sizes of the everyday objects and spaces that make up our world." Example:

/via Meanwhile by Daniel Benneworth-Gray

Or in simple terms, if what you say makes me think, processing it may naturally cause me to look away. To think “independently.” To sift through your information or idea, match it to my own perspectives or mental models, and then re-engage.

From People Who Don’t Make Constant Eye Contact Could Be Paying a Lot More Attention Than You Think

A micro cabin.

I, too, see a crisis brewing, among not only people my age but among the peers of my teenage children and the college students I teach. Pushed further into isolation by the pandemic, we’re all losing the ability to engage in what I view as the pinnacle of human interaction: sitting around with friends and talking shit.

From Hanging out: Americans report fewer friends. Could the cure be simple?

Dozens of companies (in the UK) took part in the world’s largest trial of the four-day workweek — and a majority of supervisors and employees liked it so much they’ve decided to keep the arrangement. In fact, 15 percent of the employees who participated said “no amount of money” would convince them to go back to working five days a week.

From 4-day workweek trial so successful 91% firms to continue, trial shows ← gift article link

The sound of online trackers, an episode of Carefully with Per Axbom.

The demons hate fresh air.