👓 Stuff #132 - 10cm accuracy

Hey from Dublin,

It's a long weekend here in Ireland, celebrating the festival of chocolate eggs.   That gets surrounded by two four-day weeks for me - so I'm grateful for the long weekend and full family house.

My 2023 intention to post a new interesting piece of music each day will reach the 100-day milestone on Tuesday this week.  There have been some bangers on the list recently.  You can follow the list on Spotify here, or the daily post on Twitter here.

My other intention of writing more original material continues this week, and included below is a link to a longer piece on developing an essential skill for the workplace and your growing career. I hope it's useful!

Thanks for coming along on our shared journey of curiosity, I hope you enjoy this week.

Thanks for being here, see you next Monday...

1. Monday Motivation:   Let this week be the one that you strengthen your relationship with your boss.   Managing upwards is an essential skill that will enhance your career.   If you have a new manager, it might be time to think about how you onboard your boss.
2. Your new superpower:  Time to regain your focus and stop distractions from your phone, here are three effective (and practical) strategies.  These useful tips can really help limit screen time, and help your mental health.  Maybe what we really need is an 'anti-social app'.
3. Essential Reading: 41 short rules for a good life.  Written by influential philosophers, because I know you love a list.  #17 and #26 really resonated with me this week - which ones land with you, hit me up in the comments below.
4. Take care: Dig into the science of stretching, and find out what it does to your muscles.  Middle Aged Man note: I've been doing Reformer Pilates for 10 weeks now, and can feel the difference every day.
5. TWIL:  Housing prices have grown by 27% globally since 2010, with some countries nearly DOUBLING in that time.  
6. Gamify your sleep:  Sleepagotchi rewards you for sleeping.  By getting to bed at the right time, and waking up well - you can help your Sleepagotchi to live a better life!  I'm not sure about the game, but sleeping better is good for your health.
7. I know where you are:  GPS has been the standard for location for some years, in Stuff #70 I shared how it works.  Now, the Delft University of Technology has developed an even more accurate system of navigation.
8. AI-ght:  Whilst ChatGPT continues to impress and alarm, the march to develop interesting apps continues.  FakeYou.com takes your text, and speaks it using your favourite characters (Samuel L Jackson reading my CV was fun). Replika is an app that will create an AI bot, who will be your friend, with reasonably coherent conversations.
9. Freeform - fun:  The 2023 World Happiness report has been published, find out if your country features in the Top 10.  
10. Finally:  Remember those plastic sliding toy puzzles you had as a kid?   There's a page for those now.

Managing Upwards: Practical Advice and Tools for Career Growth

Managing Upwards is an essential skill for building a successful career, learning how to effectively manage your relationship with your ‘higher-ups’ can lead to better opportunities, increased job satisfaction, and improved collaboration.

Stuff that MattR'sMatt Rutherford

This weeks music treat comes from the North East of England, and is a somewhat unlikelt collaboration between Rachel Unthank of The Unthanks, and Paul Smith of Maximo Park.

Nowhere and Everywhere is a collection of stories from the North-East of the UK, set to folk music, and beautifully illustrated by vocals from the duo.  

I don't listen to a lot of folk music, but this is a great album. Highly recommended.