For those of you following my YouTube and Twitter, you know this year has been quite the whirlwind for us from my mother’s cancer, my wife’s pregnancy, and recently the freak accident I suffered to my left leg that has left me limited to slowly shuffling around the house. Walking and Riding my bike is only a dream now. By the time this note goes out, my left leg will be X-rayed again and have had several MRIs. Still the estimated recovery window is months. I am hoping at this point to be healed by the holidays.
Onward to our return to Library Notes!
Reading
After reading through Proverbs again in January with the Alabaster Co. printing of Proverbs, I’ve taken some time to revisit both Proverbs and Psalms in my Biblioteca collection (photographed in the image above) and found giving myself unstructured time has lead to a more intimate moment with the word and my creator.
This past week I began reading The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan. The book is a must read for anyone interested in the real world implications of web3 technologies. Spoiler alert: The Metaverse will change the dynamics of the real world, and Balaji’s insights paint a possibility that shouldn’t be ignored. It’s freely accessible in both a PDF and web format and the web version is delightfully formatted.
As I’ve continued to grow my online presence and seek to make a full time living from my work online, I remembered this week of one of the first and notable folks who did just that, Craig Mod. His essay from this year entitled Memberships Work was an inspiring look at how he’s now provided more value to his readership and been able to take on exciting projects all while focusing his time on what he feels called to do.
Haunting was the chart in this post from Anthony Pompliano. If you think the inflation of gas and goods are out of control catastrophe, just look at it compared to the cost of education.
Since my last dispatch I have continued to chip away at Richard the Lionheart by W.B. Bartlett. The world building is immersive, placing one at critical moments of Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy during the Second Crusade. While difficult to put down, it’s also difficult to pick back up. Still it has been a perspective on life nearly a thousand years ago, where governments futily attempt to infringe on peoples rights to bear arms and practice their religion freely. There really is nothing new under the sun.
Finally, I began reading Building a Second Brain by Tiago Forte. The recently released book by Tiago Forte is an approachable instruction on how to evaluate your digital notes, tasks, calendar, and more to meet the books audacious goal of “Remember Everything, Achieve Anything”. Nearing completion of this book I can say it in part did help me retool my workflow to be able to produce this newsletter again along with make progress on projects that had stalled this year.
Worth Watching
My office is my Library, unless I’m on the go, I’ll make my library where ever I can! My office is also where I keep my desk with computers, screens, keyboards and more. I felt it fitting at least this week to include a few videos that have stuck with me, and will more than likely continue to evoke thought:
This interview between Matti Haapoja and Shawn James (aka My Self Reliance) is an incredible insight into sustainable off grid living. It has been a dream of my wife’s and mine to have our own little piece of land where we could provide for family. Hopefully, one day, and one day soon.
Johnny Harris made a video about How The U.S. Ruined Bread. This subject hit close to home for us as my wife discovered she has a severe gluten allergy years ago, but it could be compounded by some of many added ingredients that show up in store bought bread. While I miss the Panaderías of Mexico City, I am grateful our local baker has recently led a successful Kickstarter to bring freshly baked bread to our small town. It’s no surprise the project was funded within its first 24 hours.
Thank you all for your support! I look forward to resuming these notes weekly and hope to hear from you!