Thursday Things: First Issue
15 August 2019. Vol 1 No 1. By Dan McGirt. #1
Austrian National Library. Photo by mana5280 on Unsplash
Welcome to Thursday Things!
This is the first issue. Thank you for subscribing!
All of my early subscribers know me (or think they do…) but for the sake of those who might be reading this on the website later — or, perhaps, have it forwarded to them by a Loyal Reader (ahem!) — your Thursday Things editor is Dan McGirt, author of the Jason Cosmo fantasy adventure series and other fiction, compulsive bookworm, former speechwriter, non-practicing lawyer, occasional kayaker, amateur bioethicist, and a few other things I might mention later because you don’t want to reveal everything on the first date. (Fun fact: I once finished second in a Don Johnson lookalike contest. That there were only two contestants may have had something to do with that result. I did win a copy of the Miami Vice soundtrack!)
I have not been to the Austrian National Library, but after seeing the picture above, I want to live there.
By the way, I found that picture on Unsplash, which is a great source for beautiful, free, and freely usable images. You’ll being seeing a lot of great pictures from there in Thursday Things. If you click the link in the caption you’ll see more work by the photographer. Who doesn’t love free stuff on the internet?
Bad news is sudden, good news happens slowly. The bad news captures our attention, due to cognitive biases and because bad news often involves blood and loud noises. But there is, overall, far more good news in the world than bad. If you don’t agree, stick around. I will slowly persuade you.
Book I enjoyed reading: Smaller Faster Lighter Denser Cheaper: How Innovation Keeps Proving the Catastrophists Wrong by Robert Bryce. It’s about human ingenuity, innovation, technology, prosperity, freedom, and many of the ways in which the world is getting better, never mind the doomsayers.
I’ve always enjoyed reading the work of futurists, going back to reading Alvin Toffler’s Future Shock and The Third Wave when I was in high school. I recommend those too.
Rat-human hybrids. What could possibly go wrong? Scientists in Japan plan to grow rat-human and mouse-human embryos, presumably for some good and worthy medical reason (organ transplants, actually). But how does this not end with a giant rat-man stomping Tokyo?
First class is now less classy. Premium flyers lament the downgraded experience of today’s first class seats, compared to times past. Why does this matter to those of us in the back of the plane? Because as first class goes, so goes steerage. However, the article does offer this helpful tip: “If you want a true first-class experience, you might be better off chartering your own aircraft or buying a plane.” Problem solved!
Virtual fitness classes are a thing now. Millions of people use apps and internet-connected gear to exercise at home, while connected online with other people working out at the same time, with or without an instructor. There are also “virtual competitions, online communities and electronic alerts that nudge you to exercise.” Because some — most? — people need the energy of other people exercising to motivate themselves. Or someone saying “Come on! Ten more reps!” Are you one of those people? Have you tried virtual workouts at home?
I often work out at home, but it’s just me, no virtual connections. I also go to the gym, but I pick times when fewer people are there. Sometimes I have the whole gym to myself! Which is awesome.
There is a *Georgia angle in this article: “Virtual workouts can be a good option for people who crave some level of group connection but feel self-conscious in a real class, says Walter Thompson, a professor of exercise psychology at Georgia State University in Atlanta. But his research shows that home programs are most effective when they nudge the user to act.” Eventually, Alexa will be your personal trainer. If she isn’t already.
That last item linked a Wall Street Journal article, and some of you probably couldn’t read the whole article, because it is behind a paywall. One thing I hate is when you click on a link to an article and it is behind a paywall. How annoying! I’ll try to keep that to a minimum and at least give you the gist of the article when I link to paywalled material.
*Georgia, the greatest of all states. You can argue if you want. But you’re wrong.
From the international crime desk: Ex-worker tries to rob Brazilian bank in elaborate old-man disguise. Someone has watched too many Mission Impossible films.
I promised you dog mayors. Here is a dog mayor just elected to his third term in Cormorant, Minnesota:
Thank you for reading Thursday Things. We’re still settling in so please let me know what you liked, what you didn’t, what’s missing. Too long? Too short? What do you want? Are you not entertained?. Hit reply or send your questions, comments, and complaints to thursdaythings@substack.com.
And if you do like it, please forward freely to your friends.
See you next Thursday!
Dan McGirt