Welcome to this week's edition of our Friday Quality Linkage column. Please enjoy this week’s collection of interesting and entertaining links. Brew a fresh cup of coffee, find a comfortable place, and relax.
Photos: Lara Hogan
The Importance of Donuts »
Engineer and author Lara Hogan found a delightful way to celebrate career successes:
Years ago, I found that whenever something awesome happened in my career – maybe I got published, or promoted, or launched a project – I wouldn’t take the time to celebrate the achievement. [...]
Once I realized that this was happening, I decided to be deliberate about marking achievements by eating one donut. Well, sometimes more than one, if it’s a really big deal.
Suddenly I'm craving donu– er, achievements.
Finding Your Work Sweet Spot: Genuine Interest, Skills & Opportunity »
In this 99u article published in 2011, Scott Belsky offered a useful definition of "career 0pportunity":
There is no such thing as equal access to opportunity. Old boy networks and nepotism run rampant in all industries. And most opportunities are entirely circumstantial. As such, you must simply define “opportunity” as an action or experience that brings you a step closer to your genuine interest. Opportunity is less about leaps forward and more about the slow advance. Most folks I meet recall their greatest opportunities as chance conversations. This is why personal introductions, conferences, and other networking efforts really pay off. Just surrounding yourself with more activity will inherently increase your “opportunity stream” — the chance happenings that lead to actions and experiences relevant to your genuine interests.
What Kind of Company Are You? »
Last month, a service called Know Your Company made a potentially disastrous mistake. Their CEO, Claire Lew, writes about what they chose to do next and the results of that decision:
Now I was faced with a big decision… Should I tell our other customers about it? [...]
Here’s what [Jason Fried, CEO of Basecamp] said to me: “I like moments like this. Moments like this are an opportunity to show what kind of company you are. You get to show your customers what you stand for.”
Those words were all I needed to hear.
The measure of a company's character often has less to do with their everyday operations and more to do with how they respond to a crisis.
Photo: Todd Heisler, The New York Times
No, You Do Not Have to Drink 8 Glasses of Water a Day »
Aaron E. Carroll, professor of pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, writes for The New York Times about a common myth that seemingly will not die:
Although I recommended water as the best beverage to consume, it’s certainly not your only source of hydration. You don’t have to consume all the water you need through drinks. You also don’t need to worry so much about never feeling thirsty. The human body is finely tuned to signal you to drink long before you are actually dehydrated.
Now you know.
Illustration: Robert Krulwich
Who’ll Freeze First? A Puzzle About Size and Staying Warm »
Yesterday, Radiolab co-host Robert Krulwich and science writer Aatish Bhatia together launched a delightful new science blog called Noticing. Their first piece — covering the interesting ways animals within the same species adapt to different climates — already shows the site's potential:
The world is full of differently-shaped, differently-sized, differently-sorted animals, and yet, in that jumble of difference there is a pronounced pattern: higher latitudes seem to select bigger and more compact bodies, lower latitudes smaller and leaner ones, and that may be because towards the poles you need to keep yourself warm, towards the equator you need to cool off, and bigger, compact bodies are better when it’s cold out.
Subscribing right now.
Inventor Portrait: Alan Adler »
David Friedman filmed this charming profile of Alan Adler, inventor of the Aeropress coffee maker (which we're quite fond of) and the Aerobie Flying Disc.
I like that we get to see how he uses the Aeropress himself, and I noticed he even uses the same kettle I have at home. Great minds!
Photo: Trever Tondro
The Skillfully Styled Bookshelf »
Though this Valet. article is labeled "A Man's Home", the tips within are useful for anyone wanting to give their bookshelves a little character, rather than merely arranging their contents in the typical left-to-right manner. Yawn.
The most important tip of all for an interesting-looking bookshelf:
This isn't a library. Things don't have to be so perfectly aligned.
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