Some more things to share, in continuation of my post in ‘Today’, in case you haven’t read that one first.
A Few of the Year’s Pick-Ups
As much as I try to become less consumerist and more minimalist, there are still a few things that I ended up buying last year, or as kids say nowadays, a few of this year’s pick-ups:
There were a few more things I “picked up”, several tech and travel items, the new AirPods Pro 3, (not a new iPhone), and a few more items of clothing, but we’re not going to talk about that.
Nuggets of Wisdom
As Socrates once said, “the only thing I know, is that I know nothing”. On that thought, a new year is another opportunity to realize how little we know, and how much we can learn by just keeping an open mind. And with that, here are a few of the things I came across that captured my attention, challenged my preconceptions, tickled my funny bone, or further educated my ever-curious mind.
First of all, what I would consider an apt, optimistic take on “Word of the Year”.
Straight from Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood!
And for those geography buffs out there, along with another dose of practical optimism:
Paradise, MI and Hell, MI are 338 miles apart. For me, that’s a reminder that Paradise is never too far away, even if you feel like you’re living in Hell at the moment.
Interesting Articles
Dicing an Onion, the Mathematical Optimal Way - https://pudding.cool/2025/08/onions/
How Many Holes Does the Human Body Have? (It’s Complicated) - https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/mathematics/how-many-holes-does-the-human-body-have
Study Traces Autism’s Origin to the Rise in Human Intelligence - https://www.sciencealert.com/study-traces-autisms-origin-to-the-rise-of-human-intelligence
… and speaking of autism, did you know that autism causes vaccines?
Notable Quotes, Sayings, and Musings
“The fundamental problem of humanity is we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and god-like technology.” -Edward O. Wilson
“Your car is German. Your vodka is Russian. Your pizza is Italian. Your kebab is Turkish. Your democracy is Greek. Your coffee is Brazilian. Your movies are American. Your tea is Tamil. Your shirt is Indian. Your oil is Saudi Arabian. Your electronics are Chinese. Your numbers Arabic, your letters Latin. And you complain that your neighbor is an immigrant?” -Anonymous
“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.” -Voltaire
“A stupid man’s report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.” -Bertrand Russell
“So here’s the catch. If you have the power of geo-engineering to turn Mars into Earth, then you have the power of geo-engineering to turn Earth back into Earth.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Anyone telling you who you can love, what gender your are, what places you can travel to, which books you are allowed to read, which history you can learn, what prayers you should say, and what you can and cannot do with your own body, does not care one bit about freedom.” -Anonymous Internet Sage
“So many people from your past know a version of you that no longer exists. Celebrate your growth.” -Another anonymous Internet Sage
“If the USA is so great, why did they create a USB?” -Random Internet Tech Bro
And lastly …
Charlie Brown: Someday, we will all die, Snoopy.
Snoopy: True, but on all the other days, we will not.
Movies, TV Shows, and Podcasts I Enjoyed in 2025
This trio of single-word titled AppleTV shows that start with the letter S that I finally watched in 2025.
Sugar https://tv.apple.com/us/show/sugar/umc.cmc.4r6q7tdquewehwvb3rzl0k3dt
Shrinking https://tv.apple.com/us/show/shrinking/umc.cmc.apzybj6eqf6pzccd97kev7bs
Severance https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx
Also looking forward to the return of Ted Lasso this year.
A fun, somewhat “more foam than beer” buddy movie, also on AppleTV.
Wolfs https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/wolfs/umc.cmc.c3xhu25rw4jxxxzq4oio6snu
I also highly recommend the amazing Ken Burns documentary of The American Revolution on PBS. https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution/
And on Netflix, a couple of “can’t miss” recommendations: One Shot with Ed Sheeran and Adolescence.
I will also recommend these great podcasts that I continued to listen to last year - 99% Invisible, Ones and Tooze, Dear Hank and John, and Freakonomics Radio.
A Useful Infographic and Some Final Words
A primer on how to eat one of my favorite foods:
And finally, some parting words:
No, I don’t want tracking cookies.
No, I don’t want to subscribe to your newsletter.
No, I don’t want a special offer if I check out in the next 10 minutes.
No, I don’t want to sign in with Google.
No, I don’t want to watch an unrelated video on top of the article I’m trying to access.
No, I don’t want a “better experience” in your app.
No, I don’t want to sign in or open an account to read the article.
No, I don’t want to read “more like this”.
No, I don’t want to fill in a survey before I go.
And no, I don’t want to turn off my ad blockers to proceed.