Having guests to relax
I wrote that addiction to work and working from home is a lethal combination.
The solution - is to go away and remove ourselves from the environment.
But that is not the only medicine.
I forgot about the other one, which is having guests.
For the past few days, Paulina’s mum and her younger sister have been staying with us (plus my mum over the weekend).
Having guests over, at least at ours, means one wants to be a good host.
Locking ourselves in a home office is not good manners, so naturally, we had to organise places to go, places for lunch, and attractions to visit.
Driving away from the house, cooking dinner or just trying to entertain guests disrupts the usual routine and forces you away from the daily work.
We discovered a picturesque spot in Wales that we’ll definitely visit again. Cotswolds was a great place to see and walk around, and we also visited Birdland.
On Saturday, we drove down to Fernhill Farm and attended the prog-metal festival Arctangent - the whole reason Paulina’s sister wanted to come - where we saw some interesting bands.
After seeing her favourite band (Electric Wizard), she said she could die happily now.
Those are strong words for a 15-year-old, but I understand. It was a good gig.
We finished the visit with a trip to Tyntesfield and its Victorian Gothic house.
Having guests is a good way to relax and disconnect.
I guess.
WHAT AM I WORKING ON
Casefile is out!
We are back with the 2nd half of the 2024 season, and Case 293 Part 1 is out on a regular feed.
Part 2 is already out for our premium subscribers.
The list of episodes for the remainder of the year is almost set, but of course, production happens just before the releases, so there is still a fair bit to do.
In the meantime, I am preparing the musical cues for the Missing Niamh podcast and hope to start mixing this week.
But, the more interesting story is about YouTube.
I wrote that we had a semi-viral video, and I am happy to let you know that it is still going strong, with over 85k views so far!
However, at the same time, the latest video about the Deadpool and Wolverine movie totally flopped and is not getting any impressions.
YouTube algorithm giveth and taketh away!
WHAT AM I READING
Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt. The original was released in 1946! This book is an updated version, but the main body remains the same, and it is scary how relevant it is today.
The author argues against government intervention in the economy, except regulation/protection, and explains why leaders repeatedly fall into the same economic traps.
The main thought is that people left to own devices are much more efficient than a centralised force, and the role of government should be to protect the property and make it easier for regular people to trade. Over time, governments have given in to bloat, bureaucracy, and inefficiency. Looking at the state of the world today, it's hard to argue with this decades-old logic.
The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. I remember the first time I read the book. The main thing I took away from it was that equality is directly opposite to freedom. Nature is unequal by design, and human societies naturally replicate that. Over time, the most capable will gather the most resources, leading to uneven distribution of wealth and inequalities.
To force it, we must restrict personal freedoms, taking away from the most productive and giving to the least productive, aka communism. Of course, this is the simplest explanation, but the main idea is that the best we can hope for is equality of opportunity and education rather than equality of outcome.
The new lesson from my second reading of the book is that education and knowledge transfer to younger generations guarantee society's progress. Therefore, looking down at students and the current anti-science trends are not helpful, even if the degrees aren't 'useful.' History, art, and the humanities are examples of our progress, and we should celebrate passing it further.