Falls, Phases, and Finish Lines
Drought in the Finger Lakes, wisdom on aging, and racing toward autumn.
It’s “abnormally dry” here in the Finger Lakes, according to the US Drought Monitor. Even though we’re in one of the wettest regions, as compared to our drier neighbors in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, things are objectively very dry here. Taughannock Falls is barely a trickle.
September is usually a lower flow anyway, but if you go back to 2018 in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, Taughannock put on quite a show.
We listened to a TEDx talk from Bill, a fellow yogi at YogOdyssey. We have quite a variety of students in each class, and when we heard about Bill’s notoriety, we had to listen. Bill (William H. Thomas, M.D.) is an international authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare. The talk is captivating and thought-provoking:
In our post-talk talk, Amy and I shared our reactions. One that stuck with me was a recognition of just how few “phases of life” we recognize in modern society. Bill cited the seven life stages cited in Shakespeare’s Seven Ages of Man, ranging from (and I’m paraphrasing here for brevity) the infant, the schoolboy, the lover, the soldier, the justice, the elder, and finally, the state of second childishness. It made me wonder about how our modern world could be adapted for elders. What about elder parking, for example? It’s not handicapped parking; there are plenty of people who need an accommodation who are not in that elder category. Anyway, plenty of food for thought.
The Finger Lakes Runners Club wrapped up its FLRC Challenge, and Amy and I were proud to bring home a few signs as prizes. We held the top two spots on the Black Diamond course leaderboard, and as such we took home the signs that were posted at both ends of the course. Now, we’re on to a different focus for fall: adult cross country. the Pete Glavin Cross Country series is in full swing, and we enjoyed our first race last weekend in Buffalo. It was a bit too hot for a 5K, but that’ll change soon enough.
Oh, and one more thing for the work-from-home crowd. If you use Microsoft Teams and bemoan the lack of video backgrounds (say, if you want to portray your background as a vibrant office environment instead of a bland photo), I have a tutorial page for you. Here’s how you can use a custom video background in Microsoft Teams.
A Tip for the Modern Worker
Bid adieu to vices and video games. Negative addictions have no place in your nine-to-five. It’s your choice to have them in your non-work time, though. Addicted to the latest binge-worthy show on a streaming service? Can’t stop playing the game that’s engineered to keep you playing for hours? You’ll be more productive and happier if you can’t access these addictions. Put up a firewall, use parental controls for yourself, or delete that addictive app.
This tip is one of 365 in my Handbook for the Modern Worker. That followed my first book, The Art of Working Remotely, about my experience working from home since 1998. Depending on where you work and which way the wind is blowing, these may be banned books or fan fiction. I hope it’s the latter.
Mail Bag: If you work remotely and have come across an issue that needs solving, a thorn that needs removing, or just an observation you’d like to share, hit reply. I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for sharing Bill‘s Tedx talk. While elderhood is perhaps not universally accepted. I would not describe Bill as being notorious. Renowned perhaps. Certainly interesting.