Five Things: Gmail, Foreign-Language Education, Productivity, Lovestories, Long-Stay Hotel Guest
If I were you, I would grab some Easter candy and read this email.
It’s Easter Sunday and while I’m not religious, I like this long weekend. In Germany we get Good Friday of and Easter Monday as well. Jesus probably would have wanted it this way. For my kids two weeks of school vacation are ending this week, so pretty soon everything will be back to normal again. This long weekend is a well-deserved break for me after some very exhaustive three months. I got back into running after a two week break, and it feels fantastic to be back on the trails again! I’m also still not drinking alcohol, which is a nice habit I took up with the start of this year.
As it is customary all over Germany, we went to an Easter Fire. In some places this fire is connected to church lithurgy, but in Northern Germany it is more about welcoming the sun after the long winter. We had bratwurst and french fries served by the voluntary fire department, and we went home smelling like smoke. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Happy Easter! 🐇🥚
20 years of Gmail
Ok, wow, 20 years already? Gmail totally changed the email experience. All of a sudden there was enough space for all the emails and it was browser-based, but worked fast and without ads. A truly amazing service. And yes, I am one of these people mentioned in the story who registered domains and email-addresses for all of his kids.
The End of Foreign-Language Education
While I cannot wait for a babelfish in my ear that will help me speak every language, like it was described in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, we will lose the chance to learn a new language. Learning a language is not easy, but there are many positive side-effects attached to learning a new language, like understanding a different culture, getting your brain wired differently, and so on. I’m really bad with languages, except for German and English. I had French in school and can only read a bit, but cannot say more than a few words, barely enough to let me do a trip to the bakery in the morning. My Latin skills are also not that awesome, but I also have not many conversations in Latin these days. I’m also at a 114 day Duolingo streak learning Hebrew, but I don’t really see any progress yet.
Is It Even Possible to Become More Productive?
So do you want to be more productive? I want to produce better output at less time, sure. But I think we worship something that doesn’t make our lives better, but lets us run faster and relax less while not really getting better results, but looking busy instead.
‘To the train lady with dark brown hair … ’: extraordinary stories of four couples who found love via small ads
Every once in a while I see some note on a lamp post asking for somebody to get in touch after a concert, train ride or some other occasion. Unfortunately, we never really get a followup to the possible romance behind these chance encounters. Until now. What a read!
The Hotel Guest Who Wouldn’t Leave
What would you do if you figure out a legal loophole that would let you live in a hotel room on the same fare as a rent-controlled apartment? Well, one person rented a room, paid $200 and never moved out.
That’s it. Have a great Sunday! If you missed last Sunday’s edition of Five Things, have a look here:
Five Things: VAT scam, QAnon Shaman, Second Hand, Hot Sea, Digital Twins
— Nico