Kickoff For October 22, 2018
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.
I’ve been in Raleigh, NC for the last few days, and this morning All Things Open 2018 gets underway. It’s always a bit of a change coming back to North America from New Zealand, but it’s also great to be around a group of my open source sistren and brethren.
Let’s get this Monday started with these links:
Science
More than just a sparkling gem: what you didn’t know about diamonds, wherein we’re treated to a short history of diamonds, why they’re fascinating, and how they give us a glimpse into the origins of the Earth.
This is Roquette Science, wherein we learn about the pros and cons of indoor vertical gardening, and how we might be able to bring it into our homes with personal food computers.
How virtual worlds can recreate the geographic history of life, wherein we learn how scientists are using simulations of parts of South America to better understand how ecosystems developed on that continent, and to try to predict how those ecosystem might change in the future.
Productivity
Launching Your Project in 20 Minutes, wherein Leo Babauta explains the need for taking action, but also how doing it a bit at a time to makes taking that first big step a lot easier.
The hunter method productivity hack can bring clarity to your day, wherein we’re introduced to a method for managing our tasks that goes against the grain of so-called productivity science (is that actually a thing?) and which can help us focus on what we really need to do.
How to Be More Productive Without a To-Do List, wherein we learn about the limitations and constraints of task lists, and pick up some strategies for getting things done without them.
Odds and Ends
The Women Code Breakers Who Unmasked Soviet Spies, wherein we meet some unsung heroes of America’s Cold War codebreaking efforts: a group of women who did the mathematical grunt work, but who (until recently) remained in the shadows.
Logged off: meet the teens who refuse to use social media, wherein we get a glimpse into the world of so-called millenials who are spurning the connected world they grew up in, why they’re doing it, and the effect it’s having on their lives.
Noodle School, wherein, via a documentary video, we travel to Lanzhou in northwest China to discover why budding noodle cooks make the pilgrimmage to that city to learn their craft.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.