Happy Monday!
I celebrated my birthday this week by attending California Superbike School on Willow Springs race track — talk about a day of exhilaration. We got deep into the biological limitations of eyesight as we fly through the track and how to optimize our mechanics to get the most out of the motorcycle. Now, I’m on vacation for two weeks in Japan. Hope you all have a great week!
Something about pi
My birthday happened this last week (on March 14), which is also known as pi day. While I often celebrate with friends and eat pie, a good friend of mine sent me a link to find your own pi day. It finds your birthdate digits within the infinity of numbers that pi is.
My pi day is at digit 802,621.
Another fun tradition of mine on my birthday? Memorize my age in digits of pi (34 this year).
Something ridiculous
A recent video showed that emus are very curious birds and will investigate just about anything. That, however, reminded me of a different rabbit hole: the Great Emu War as described above. While that’s a 4-minute video, if you decide to investigate further, it just gets more an more ridiculous.
Something symbiotic
Sometimes solutions feel obvious after the fact. One recent example is a data center (a computer server warehouse) using its excess heat to heat up a swimming pool.
If you don’t know, computer equipment gets extraordinarily hot when you get to high performance and one of the items that cost a lot of money is keeping the computers cool.
On the flip side, one of the things high-cost items for pool maintenance is keeping it warm.
Something I’m reading
David Goggins is an American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL member who served in the Iraq War.
With all that said, he’s known for being a badass who can push himself through just about anything. I’m not sure what I was expecting by reading this book — but not the deeply personal story nor the inspiration for actionable steps to overcome your difficulties. I’m only just a bit in, but his personal story is intense, and I’ve found myself much more caught up in his challenges than I expected.
Something Japanese
I thought it was on point as by the time you are reading this, I will be in Japan.
Shoshikantetsu (article). "Shoshi" translates to "original intent", and “kantetsu” translates to "to carry out". Combined, it means to complete what was originally intended.
I suggest reading the short article, but the tl;dr version is that it is the practice of following through with your original intention despite adversity. The article uses the example of planning to do a jog but when the time came felt like he wanted to do anything but jog. He decided to push himself to go through with it, and by doing so, he was practicing shoshikantetsu.
I think this can carry over in many parts of life, and I’ve been meaning to write an article about a similar concept. I consider “will power” to be like a muscle, and that the more you practice shoshikantetsu, the more you will be able to use will power in the future.
Hope you all have a wonderful week! If you have any must-do’s or must-see’s in Japan, let me know!
Cheers,
Kerry
Curious Minds - March 20, 2023
I found my pi day: 2,162,306. Much larger. Not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing? 😏
Loved it!