Friday's Five ✋ #428
Cheeky Pint
Happy Friday! ☀️
Happy new year to all of you. I hope you concluded the previous year the way you wanted and can gear up for the new year that just started. I am excited for this year and look forward to new adventures, family time, further progress in my own development, and exciting new assignments with my clients. Keeping steady.
What I’m reading 📖
Usually I only recommend books here that I did enjoy reading. Transparently, I did also read Taylor Reed Jenkins’ new novel ‘Atmosphere’ as well as Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Shadow Ticket’ but they both weren’t 100% for me. I’ve enjoyed previous Jenkins books before but this one didn’t make it for me (loved the space stuff but didn’t care for the romantic stuff). As for Pynchon–well it’s Pynchon–so always the need to prepare for some crazy. At first I loved it–the 1930es language, banter, and characters. But towards the end, there was no way to follow the story so I gave up at 70%.
Instead, this week I recommend Patrick Radden Keefe’s ‘Rogues’: true stories of grifters, killers, rebels and crooks. From the siblings behind Heineken’s abduction to El Chapo, there is a story in there for everyone. More about the book.
What I’m listening to 🎧
Patrick and John Collison are two brothers who co-founder Stripe, the now-ubiquitous online payments company. I just discovered that they host a podcast and their guest list is impressive. I started with the conversation with Ely Lilly’s CEO and Chairman. Ely Lilly is the company behind one of the GLP-1 hormones Mounjaro.
What I’m watching 📺
To witness a Nobel prize in the making… This is what happens in this documentary by Google DeepMind that follows a team of scientists during the rigorous process of scientific discovery, documenting how the team moved from mastering complex strategy games to the ups and downs of solving a 50-year-old “protein folding problem” with AlphaFold.
What I’m thinking about 🧠
Just like every year for the past 10+ years, I am taking January off to reset my mind and body, focus on anything that doesn’t revolve around client work, and spend quality time with my family. In previous years, I always felt the urge to travel somewhere warm and spend some time alone. That sensation usually started around October/November. This year, for the first time in many years, I have the urge to stay home or close to home, and close to family. It’s a new feeling and a new quality that I embrace.
What else?! 💯
Not much–my sister and my nephews were here for a few days which was lovely. And my wife and I spontaneously decided to join her sister and family in Altaussee for a few days in the snow.
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!
David
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