I noticed this quote on Tumblr. I’ve noticed on the few occasions I’m able to just sit with difficult emotions in a meditation, they tend not to be as monolithic as they otherwise seemed beforehand.
On a related note, it’s been a while since I read anything by Jack Kornfield. I really enjoyed his book “A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life” when I read it in 2006 during our honeymoon in the Drakensberg mountains.
In fact, I read the book here:
Appreciating our colleagues
We have an amazing culture at Automattic that includes giving each other kudos as one form of recognition for great work, whether that’s delivering happiness to a customer, or to each other.
Typically we use a Slack bot to share kudos, and that’s posted to an internal WordPress site dedicated to showcasing internal kudos.
At the Grand Meetup (which we attended in mid-September – I’ll probably share more from that soon), we also have the option of giving handwritten kudos to each other. I like the ease of giving digital kudos, and at the same time I really like being able to write a note to my colleagues to express my appreciation for their efforts.
This year I was fortunate to receive a few cards from my colleagues, and really appreciate each of them.
I decided against sharing details of all of the cards I received as the messages can be pretty personal. At the same time, I’m grateful for each card.
Our team has just released a white paper titled “Trust, Growth,Inclusion: A Study ofWomen Engineers’Job-Search Priorities” that explores what motivates women and non-binary technical professionals to join companies, and what helps retain them.
Better gender representation is a challenge. I’m proud of our team’s efforts to better understand this challenge, and how to meet it. It’s clearly not something that’s capable of a simple fix, but I’m glad that we seem to be moving in a good direction. Here are some links if you’re interested in reading further:
If you’re interested in joining Automattic, we’re hiring people for a number of roles, especially in Engineering!
Simon commented on the state of the Web in a recent post:
Thanks to the open web it was possible to create massive platforms, which inevitably became closed.
He asks an important question:
Do we now abandon the open web or is it essential for keeping the closed platforms in check?
I think the only real answer to this question is not to abandon the open Web. The open Web remains essential, both in itself, and to offer a compelling alternative to closed platforms.
The open Web can offer a healthier, more sustainable alternative to closed platforms. What we need are services that are as good as, or better than, closed platforms. Perhaps more importantly, the open alternatives should be just as convenient to use. This is where open solutions seem to be lacking, for now at least.
Featured image by Tim Gouw
I sat down to watch the pre-recorded Austrian Grand Prix after work. My son came up to me …
Son: Do you know who won the race?
Me: No, I haven’t looked. I just want to watch the race.
My son left the room, and returned a few minutes later.
Son: Can I show you something?
Me (thinking this has to do with a game he’s been playing lately): Ok.
He shows me the Formula 1 app on his phone, and gleefully shows me who won the race I just started watching. 😱
Me: Haven’t you heard of spoiler alerts?! 😭
🏎️
By the way, what a race! If you’re interested, here are some race highlights (🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨):
Shoshanna shared this tweet about her friend who went to shul to say Kaddish for a parent:
It’s a reminder that there’s always room to be more considerate towards each other, especially in prayer. I’m not particularly religious, but when something means so much to someone, we can slow down a bit, and be more compassionate.
It’s really easy to share stuff online (that’s the point of social media, isn’t it?). At the same time, just because we can share something online, doesn’t mean we should share it.
With all this talk about the term “fake news” that a certain president made popular, there is plenty of material that is misleading, and inaccurate, and yet not so easy to discern. Being able to spot the fakes is a great way to fight growing disinformation online, often from the very people who portray accurate reporting as fake.
This Smarter Every Day episode includes an interview with Katy Byron, the Editor & MediaWise Program Manager at MediaWise that’s worth watching:
I finally took some time to get outside, and exercise for the first time in about a week. I was going to do my usual run (it’s effective but I don’t particularly like it) when my daughter asked me to take her to the park.
I was about to say “No”, and that I wouldn’t have time, and then it occurred to both of us that I could take her to the park, and get my cardio workout.
So we took a ball and a frisbee. Our daughter (and, later, her friend too), threw the frisbee, or kicked the ball, and I ran around fetching it for them.
This worked out to be a win-win, I think.