Five Things: EU, Swimming, Strava, Checkout, Coffee Shop Live Chat
Gooooood Morning!
It’s Sunday Morning and it is time for Five Things!
Enjoy this Sunday’s Smörgåsbord of interesting articles I somehow found somewhere on the interwebs. Don’t ask me how I do this, it just happens. And as every week, I have different interests and read different things, although there are some recurring themes, I assume.
So with no further ado, grab a coffee and start reading!
Europe’s Geoeconomic Revolution
“A quiet revolution with major consequences for transatlantic relations and international economic affairs has taken place in recent years. Its success still hangs in the balance. But the EU has already proved capable of innovating and reinventing itself in a volatile world.” - Ursula von der Leyen was not a very capable minister in the German government, to put it politely, but I think she’s the strongest President of the European Commission we’ve had in a long time. (Foreign Affairs)
Epiphany at the Y
This article resonated a lot with me, as I recently decided to go swimming again to help with my back problems. Swimming really helps. But it is so boring. The only interesting thing are the other people. (VQR)
Strava, The World’s Sweetest Social Network
I log all my runs on Strava, and also my boring laps in the pool. I’m happy about all the kudos I get and I upload lots of pictures of my runs and I like looking at other people’s pictures. I admire their efforts and only occasionally make fun of them for posting a 200m walk with zero altitude gain. (Clive Thompson)
An Ode to Checkout Counter Small Talk
Our kids like self-service checkouts, but I don’t. It doesn’t really go that much faster and I do like to see a person who I can exchange a few words with. My wife will now think “ha, he doesn’t ever talk to other people like I do!” - which is true. I talk much less. But I still like exchanging some pleasantries. (Eater)
What I Learned in the Coffee Shop Live Chat
This article totally surprised me. I sometimes listen to music on Spotify that supposedly has a calming effect or helps me focus. I would never search on Youtube for that. And I most certainly would not chat with people there. But the idea is really interesting. (Slate)
That’s it. Have an amazing Sunday!