Beetle & Byte

Inspiration

A Week of Links

Chunk, the groundhog, is a constant source of zen happiness for me. Now that Chunk has a family, it’s even better.

Andrew Scott (“hot priest” from Fleabag) reading “Everything is Going to be All Right” by Derek Mahon.

Bird-watching for the soul.

Stick with this video of cats and dominoes until the end; it’s worth it.

Uncertainty as opportunity.

Beautiful black plants for my dream garden.

We’re working on some home decorating and I am truly and deeply in love with this wallpaper.

This side table is a solid contender for our balcony.

This list of craft projects from Selvedge is dreamy and tempting.

I’m trying something new and creating a weekly “scrapbook” page of the best of the internet. Check it out 🙂

Batfishes

I was mesmerized watching this quirky, yet informative, video on batfishes. I had no idea they existed and they look like they got stuck between two evolutionary stages.

Questlove + Janet Jackson

For Janet Jackson’s 54th birthday, Questlove had a 4-hour long, live DJ session of all her work over the past five decades. Definitely some good background music while I enter the third month of WFH.

A Year of New Beginnings

And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been. 

Rainer Maria Rilke, Poet and Novelist

Imposter Syndrome

She explained that many people, but especially women, feel fraudulent when they are praised for their accomplishments. Instead of feeling worthy of recognition, they feel undeserving and guilty, as if a mistake has been made. Despite being high achievers, even experts in their fields, women can’t seem to shake the sense that it is only a matter of time until they are found out for who they really are- impostors with limited skills or abilities.

Sheryl Sundberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Built in Plate Warmer

Late 19th century Victorian radiator with a built in warming oven which was usually used to keep plates warm before serving food on them.

I love catching glimpses of ingenuity from throughout history. While I can reason why we abandoned this particular concept, as appealing as it may be, I often wonder why some others went by the wayside. Perhaps, just like in fashion, they’re just waiting for someone to take inspiration from them once again.

Claude Shannon

I’m embarrassed to confess that after more than twelve years in the technology industry and with a Masters degree for Science in Information, I have only just learned of Claude Shannon.

In a blockbuster paper in 1948, Claude Shannon introduced the notion of a “bit” and laid the foundation for the information age. His ideas ripple through nearly every aspect of modern life, influencing such diverse fields as communication, computing, cryptography, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, cosmology, linguistics, and genetics.

I hope to have a chance to catch this documentary if it ever makes its way to the Pacific Northwest or to streaming video. In the meantime, we can all learn more about Shannon the The Bit Player website.

via Kottke

A Week of Links

DRIPEESHA.

Edible whiskey capsules. I’m at a loss for words.

A Porg™ Pie Bird.

Banksy’s new “homewares store.”

Dozens of videos chronicling the lives of chipmunks in the wilderness of Canada. I dare you not to get sucked in.

Stunning hanging planters.

A stationery store straight out of a fairytale.

If the Joker laughed like Pee Wee Herman.

I may need to join the ladies at Cup of Jo in lathering my skin with this nourishing cream for dry weather.

Making Hard Choices

Recently, I was confronted with a choice between multiple, equally good yet entirely different options. As much as I had prepared myself in the lead up to the decision, I hadn’t considered a scenario as good—or as challenging. Having exhausted all logic and reason (e.g. pro/con lists), I felt stuck and my anxiety began rising sharply.

Fortunately, my partner shared this TED Talk by Ruth Chang who discusses how to make hard choices when confronted with equally good but strikingly different paths. It helped me tremendously and I hope it will also serve you when you need it most.