I hope you aren’t held back because of a number. And that you don’t rush into things because it feels like time is slipping by. I hope you do what’s right for you. Hold on. Slow down. And breathe in. Your age is your age. But more importantly, your life is your life. Don’t change your journey so that it matches someone else’s. We need to walk different paths so the whole world can be explored. Revel in the differences. And enjoy where you are, in this moment.
The singular for spaghetti is spaghetto
…sounds like a troubled side of town in Italy.
Before Smartphones
Some lines from this brilliant Substack post.
…I did not take photos of myself, was not filtered, and had no idea what I looked like as a bunny rabbit, puppy, or unicorn.
…I had no idea how many steps I’d walked or stairs I’d climbed…
…I read cereal boxes while eating breakfast and shampoo bottles while sitting on the toilet…
…Quizzes were just for students and I did not know which ice cream flavor matched my personality, who should play my BFF in a movie of my life…
Racing Glaciers
Bubble gum music usually boosts artists into stardom, it’s catchy, engineered to hit the dopamine spots.
Indie bands hit different though.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. It’s someone’s attempt to synthesise their experiences, not an accurate statement about how the world works.
Water is Life
These hydropanels use the power of the sun to extract an endless volume of clean drinking water from the air.
Underground Power
London’s underground network (the tube) uses around 1.6TWh a year to function.
The strong winds felt on platforms and around stations is caused by the piston effect. It’s generated by the trains pushing air forward through the tunnels, and the drawing of air down into the tunnels through draught-relief shafts.
Here’s what I’m thinking – There’s a crap ton of fans noticeable in stations, is it possible to adapt them to act like micro wind turbines? It could harness the wind to power stations as it’s generated and revert to traditional means when fan-created power loses momentum – like a hybrid car. This way we wouldn’t need to worry about batteries just yet.
Even 1% of energy derived from this method would be a staggering improvement.
Growing Underground uses hydroponic systems and LEDs to grow crops pesticide-free using 100% renewable energy. They grow salads 33 metres below the pavements of Clapham, London, drastically reducing transportation emissions.
I didn’t wear sunglasses till I hit mid-20s, thinking it was only for celebrities.
Also, I don’t trust people who wear shades indoors.
Value
Value is deeply subjective and stems from the mind, even if economists believe value is derived from a production process.
Cars are homogenous in most regards: the tech, the ability to transport, the aesthetics. But given the choice between a Mercedes and a Peugeot, which would you choose? And why?
You are accepted to a university with the best lecturers for your chosen discipline, a diverse social scene, on a campus most fitting for you…. you also get accepted to Oxford. Which would you instinctively choose?
Much of what we do is decided by whether other people value it.