tag:nicoappel.com,2014:/feedNico Appel2020-06-04T00:59:53-07:00Nico Appelhttp://nicoappel.comSvbtle.comtag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/always-have-a-pull-up-bar2020-06-04T00:59:53-07:002020-06-04T00:59:53-07:00Always have a pull-up bar<p>I finally installed my pull-up bar again about two weeks ago. Not sure why, but it always seems to work its magic: I walk underneath it, I see it, and I want to reach for it, and do a pull-up. <br>
<a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/qZTKxbUiSZCZGS7F12jJvR0xspap.jpeg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/qZTKxbUiSZCZGS7F12jJvR0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="5A4620D2-5E3A-470B-B3F6-CD430E952AE5_1_105_c.jpeg"></a></p>
<p>Considering how much effort a pull-up takes, the bar has an asymmetric level of attraction. It’s seductive. I never have to motivate myself to do pull-ups. The bodily feeling of exerting the force/strength to pull ones’ own body weight, is really satisfying by itself.</p>
<p>Two reasons I am writing this:</p>
<p>One, rather selfishly, I want to remind myself and take note that I should always have a pull-up bar. It’s a no-brainer.</p>
<p>Two, this phenomenon of putting something in my view or broader environment which then lures myself into repeatedly doing something, which in effect is a sort of unstructured training, meaning I do get better at the thing over time, is such a sweet hack. <br>
<strong>If that is a pull-up bar or something different for you, make sure you have it.</strong> (As another example, having a piano does the same thing for me. I have to sit down and play it every now and then.)</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/knowledge-workers2020-05-25T04:02:26-07:002020-05-25T04:02:26-07:00Deliberate Practice for Knowledge Workers<p>I read these posts (<a href="https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2019/07/learn-like-an-athlete-knowledge-workers-should-train.html" rel="nofollow">link 1</a> & <a href="https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2019/07/how-i-practice-at-what-i-do.html" rel="nofollow">link 2</a>) by Tyler Cowen, the second one in particular about what Tyler is doing daily to train his knowledge worker skills. </p>
<p>I realized that there are a few things that I do as well. </p>
<h2 id="reading_2">Reading <a class="head_anchor" href="#reading_2" rel="nofollow">#</a>
</h2>
<p>For one, there is reading. I read a fair bit, and I have a good balance of what I read currently, i.e. the ratio between</p>
<ul>
<li>books</li>
<li>essays</li>
<li>articles</li>
<li>newsletters</li>
<li>tweets</li>
</ul>
<p>Some of the reading is connected to other media, such as video (lectures, talks, podcasts) and audio (lectures, podcasts). I have an Audible subscription and I end up with too many open credits. There are a couple of disadvantages with audiobooks, probably worth a future article.</p>
<p>Because I am currently about half way in How To Read a Book, I guess that is worth mentioning in this context. This particular book, and there are others like it, is meant to facilitate and improve reading and understanding. Therefore, I am thinking of it as a learning/training-project in and of itself.<br>
How To Take Smart Notes would be another example.</p>
<h2 id="typing_2">Typing <a class="head_anchor" href="#typing_2" rel="nofollow">#</a>
</h2>
<p>I occasionally get into doing some typing exercises. This may or may not be something to even list here. Proficiency in touch typing should play a role. Maybe this is even the closest to (what most people imagine when they hear) “practicing scales”. <br>
I use <a href="https://www.keybr.com/" rel="nofollow">keybr.com</a> and sometimes throw in a round of <a href="https://zty.pe/" rel="nofollow">ZType</a>, just for fun.</p>
<h2 id="english_2">English <a class="head_anchor" href="#english_2" rel="nofollow">#</a>
</h2>
<p>I have to list English, the language. I’m not a native speaker, although quite fluent. Getting to my current level has taken years, but I am so grateful that this “happened” without being much of an effort or struggle for me. Learning English allows me to connect with people, work, have access to an incredible wealth of knowledge. It is simply foundational, almost a sine qua non. </p>
<p>Many books are not being translated from English, ever. A lot of technical material is published primarily in English. </p>
<p>Also, the internet, or rather most of its users, speak and write English. Speaking English is a gateway to so many things. It is hard to overstate this. Another, maybe similar universe and culture to which I have no access to would be Chinese I assume it is very different, culturally and sort of “directionally”.</p>
<p>Part of my continuous efforts to improve my English is the practice to look up words, meanings, definitions, and also entire concepts. There is a huge difference between looking up the word “providence” for example, just so I remind myself of what the German correlate is, and trying to look up something like “ergodicity”. The latter will lead to a field of study rather than an immediate aha-moment. At this points, and I have come across the concept a few times now, I have a faint idea, almost like a hunch, but nothing firm. This is still on my list.</p>
<h2 id="conversing_2">Conversing <a class="head_anchor" href="#conversing_2" rel="nofollow">#</a>
</h2>
<p>Good conversations and discussions would also be a kind of training. I am not doing enough of these on a regular basis, and outside of work.</p>
<h2 id="writing_2">Writing <a class="head_anchor" href="#writing_2" rel="nofollow">#</a>
</h2>
<p>Lastly, writing. This is an ongoing project of improvement for me. I recently began to appreciate the clarity and conciseness I can achieve in writing and editing. I hope more of that will seep into my speech.</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/linkedin-spam2020-05-25T03:11:24-07:002020-05-25T03:11:24-07:00LinkedIn is 😕<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/6WwPGRUBJfHUQi1vMoZesM0xspap.png" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/6WwPGRUBJfHUQi1vMoZesM0xspap_small.png" alt="Notifications | LinkedIn 2020-05-25 13-06-33.png"></a></p>
<p>Dear LinkedIn, this is stupid. You are making some false assumptions here.</p>
<ol>
<li>You’re telling me, “try mentioning someone in a comment". Do you think I don’t know how to do that? If you were cognizant of my past activity on <em>your</em> platform, you would know that I am capable of mentioning people in comments. I do it <strong>when I think it is appropriate.</strong>
</li>
<li>You are pushing me to work to get more views for my post. Have I told you or signaled in any way that this is <em>my</em> objective? Not really.
But you assume that more views, more likes, more comments, more engagement, more attention spent on that post is “good”, don’t you? It might be good <em>for you</em>. It’s probably one of your platform’s KPIs. And hey, <strong>if you care so much, please go ahead and show my post to more people.</strong> That’s totally up to you (or your algorithm).</li>
<li>What you want, but not communicating clearly, is, that I work (more) for you. I don’t really want to. <strong>It doesn’t feel like we’re well aligned here.</strong>
</li>
<li>I didn’t ask for these types of “tips”, you know? It’s not really a notification. It’s not relevant. <strong>It’s simply spam. And that’s disrespectful.</strong>
</li>
</ol>
<p>So are we becoming friends? I don’t think so. <br>
</p><div style="width:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:58%;"><iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/wYyTHMm50f4Dm" width="100%" height="100%" style="" class="giphy-embed"></iframe></div><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-oc-asks-wYyTHMm50f4Dm" rel="nofollow">via GIPHY</a></p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/most-people-don-t-think-process2020-05-07T00:34:20-07:002020-05-07T00:34:20-07:00Most people don’t “think process”<p>There’s a pizza place close to where I live, run by people from Italy. I mean, they have the appropriate accent, body language, casualness, etc. When you call them up, they’ll answer the phone with, “Buonasera.” When you give them your order, they simply confirm it by stating the ETA, as in, “OK, 20 minutes.” That’s it. They never ask for or note down a name. I did notice that, and it had never caused any issues in my past experience with the restaurant.</p>
<p>With the current lockdown, they adjusted their setup to handing out takeaway pizza over a table that is blocking the restaurants main entrance. With warmer weather and the restaurant’s proximity to the park, people queue up to order and they wait around for their order to be ready. </p>
<p>Now, maybe you can guess the problem already: the only thing the folks inside can and do announce is which <em>kind</em> of pizza just got put in a cardboard box. Especially when it’s already a bit hectic – at pizza rush hour – it is also that more than one person or party has ordered a, let’s say, “prosciutto”, right? I mean, that’s to be expected. And in that case, it does lead to confusion and the waitress getting slightly stressed out. </p>
<p>I personally can’t help but immediately think of the process level. I want to step in and say: “Get the name with the order, earlier in the process, so that you can shout, ‘Prosciutto per Nico.’”<br>
Then, no more confusion: “<em>Il problema è risolto</em>”.</p>
<p>Thing is, most people don’t “think process”, and I can’t help it.</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/work-with-friends2019-11-21T02:51:39-08:002019-11-21T02:51:39-08:00Work with friends<p>Part of the upside of running your own company, or to freelance, is that you can to some degree decide to work with friends instead of coworkers.</p>
<p>I often forget just <em>how different</em> we work at our company – and how well that works for me. I deeply appreciate it.</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/out-of-left-field2019-09-07T01:54:23-07:002019-09-07T01:54:23-07:00Out of left field<p>The more you have a clear plan of action, a trajectory you are trying to follow, the more you are able to see what is in fact coming “out of left field”. </p>
<p>Makes sense. Firmly understanding what is <em>part of the plan</em>, on the trajectory, exposes everything that is not</p>
<p>Unexpected events are sometimes surprisingly welcome, even fortunate. And at other times they present obstacles which we have not anticipated, and which can be utterly frustrating.</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/read-more2019-08-23T05:11:15-07:002019-08-23T05:11:15-07:00Read more<p>How often do we hit a button that says “Read more” or “Learn more”?</p>
<p>My motivation to read got recently majorly re-kindled by a series of events. I already had quite a few books, mostly audiobooks on Scribd, saved for later. Then I watched Eric Weinstein’s conversation with Werner Herzog on his new podcast The Portal (<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-portal/id1469999563?l=en" rel="nofollow">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/nobani88" rel="nofollow">YouTube</a>).</p>
<p>Herzog makes a convincing case for reading, in general. Note how he is hammering it in with his hand gestures going from cutting to praying.</p>
<p>Werner Herzog:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yes, watch films and do whatever you need to do in technical terms, but read, read, read, read, read, read. If you don’t read, you will be a film maker, but mediocre at best.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/Eua5iPUKw6Y?t=50m57s" alt="Werner Herzog emphasizing the importance of reading" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/8afPMKs2p5yZp5tMVgeT1B0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="E442948F-CF6B-461F-B65B-33104045A576.jpeg"></a></p>
<p>Click on the image to see that part of the conversation.</p>
<p>Herzog has some more thoughts on reading and even what to read, but I will leave the option to “Learn more” up to you.</p>
<p>The mentioned required reading list for his Rogue Film School can be found <a href="http://www.roguefilmschool.com/about.asp" rel="nofollow">on its about page, item 10</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Related, but more reflective, will be a reading list. Required reading: Virgil’s “Georgics”, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, and Baker’s “The Peregrine” (New York Review Books Edition published by HarperCollins). Suggested reading: The Warren Commission Report, “The Poetic Edda”, translated by Lee M. Hollander (in particular The Prophecy of the Seeress), Bernal Diaz del Castillo “True History of the Conquest of New Spain”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And if you happen to know about the context or some background to this, also from the about page of the Rogue Film School, please send me <a href="mailto:i@nicoappel.com" rel="nofollow">email</a> or DM on Twitter. </p>
<blockquote class="short">
<p>Censorship will be enforced. There will be no talk of shamans, of yoga classes, nutritional values, herbal teas, discovering your Boundaries, and Inner Growth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What is the nature of Herzog’s censorship and contempt? I may find out more reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22876311" rel="nofollow">The Guide to the Perplexed</a>.</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/people-based-reminders2019-07-30T02:20:50-07:002019-07-30T02:20:50-07:00People-based reminders<p>There is a place that sells ice cream in Berlin, a family run business, called <a href="http://www.eis-hennig.de/" rel="nofollow">Eis Hennig</a>. Their business is going so well, they haven’t updated their website in roughly eight years, it seems. They don’t even need any of the images on their website to work. It doesn’t matter. They got better things to do: making and selling ice cream, assembly-line style. I am not kidding. There is always a queue.</p>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/iwR11NcdbJUnWKWkcNSuvW0xspap.jpeg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/iwR11NcdbJUnWKWkcNSuvW0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="A855480D-6251-48A1-989D-6BFC05A906D3.jpeg"></a></p>
<p>At Eis Hennig, you don’t buy ice cream by the spoon, you can choose a container size and they fill that up with ice cream, <em>layering</em> the selected varieties on top of each other. Here, pick a size.</p>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/8zCesbqQRXrbjFxvxz4mak0xspap.jpeg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/8zCesbqQRXrbjFxvxz4mak0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="BBC61D70-4115-45B9-81F9-7766C786BF2E.jpeg"></a></p>
<p>The reason why I am telling this is context. This is not a sponsored post. Bear with me.</p>
<p>Last weekend I went and had the 2.50 € container. One minute into enjoying my ice cream, I thought: “This is too much ice cream.” So I took to my portable super computer and <strong>set a location-based reminder</strong>:</p>
<p>When I will return here <em>the next time</em>, in fact already when I’m approaching the place (geo-fencing), I will be reminded to make a better choice, for <em>a more appropriate quantity</em> of ice cream. I even worded it in a very encouraging way for my future-self: </p>
<blockquote class="short">
<p>“Be smart: Pick the 1.90 € size”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/qLsVLGkDPbaDtRezeDTScx0xspap.jpeg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/qLsVLGkDPbaDtRezeDTScx0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="8D1A5542-ABD4-4160-AC2B-6A03AFC1D93E.jpeg"></a></p>
<p>I am not sure whether using technology this way is dumb, genius, nerdy, or all of the above simultaneously.</p>
<p>I then thought, how much longer until we are going to have <strong>people-based reminders</strong>? Yes, I know, privacy and stuff, but it could work similar to how location-sharing is possible with the user’s consent and also limited to the selected people she wants to share this information with.</p>
<p>With <strong>people-based reminders,</strong> you could not only remember other people’s names, e.g. at <a href="/networking/" rel="nofollow">networking</a> events, but potentially also their hobbies, last topics you talked about, that kind of stuff.</p>
<p>And while this may sound a bit weird, how practical would it be to set a reminder such as this one: </p>
<blockquote class="short">
<p>Remind me to “Ask dad about the private liability insurance” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>And tie it to conditions such as:</p>
<ul>
<li>next time we meet / when he’s near me</li>
<li>when he calls me</li>
<li>when he sends me a message</li>
<li>when I send him a message</li>
<li>when we are speaking on FaceTime</li>
<li>etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>Connecting certain things (tasks, questions, topics, information, etc.) to when we interact with certain, particular <strong>people</strong> would be so handy. I can think of many applications.</p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/same-boat-different-page2019-07-28T03:15:32-07:002019-07-28T03:15:32-07:00Same boat, different page<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/ned8JABnfPGCXJ8X2cGMyr0xspap.jpeg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/ned8JABnfPGCXJ8X2cGMyr0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="A4651192-4170-4626-BAE4-D7A845146E26.jpeg"></a></p>
tag:nicoappel.com,2014:Post/networking2019-07-19T02:09:28-07:002019-07-19T02:09:28-07:00Networking<p>It is 2019 and I am officially networking. Not entirely sure what networking actually is, I am making an effort to go out and meet people. I re-signed with LinkedIn, or maybe I resigned myself to use LinkedIn, which appears to be the “business Facebook” where you can like and comment on all things professional. </p>
<p>Apart from the mutual awkwardness involved in most networking activities, I am genuinely interested to learn about people’s problems related to my area of expertise. If you read this and even slightly suspect I might be able to help you, please reach out to me. If you think you could help me, I invite you to do the same.</p>
<p>Back to networking events. It seems that most of it is rather <strong>blind networking</strong>: You don’t know who you are going to meet. The filter could be being in the same city, the same industry, having the same sex, … you name it. </p>
<p>At those events, while we are meeting, we try to remember each other’s names and build a very rough mental sketch of those newly met strangers. Drinks are served, and often complimentary. I suspect alcohol consumption, especially in this context, alleviates the uncomfortable feeling and unease most people have in these types of situations. My gut feeling is that it is smarter to get drunk with good friends, instead of drinking while in the process of making new ones. But OK, a glass of wine won’t hurt. </p>
<h2 id="the-business-card-conundrum_2">The business card conundrum <a class="head_anchor" href="#the-business-card-conundrum_2" rel="nofollow">#</a>
</h2>
<p><a href="https://svbtleusercontent.com/gpVRZUssHyMUw4BjmnoWts0xspap.jpeg" rel="nofollow"><img src="https://svbtleusercontent.com/gpVRZUssHyMUw4BjmnoWts0xspap_small.jpeg" alt="ECE8B536-68DD-41D8-98DE-8FD6A89117A6.jpeg"></a></p>
<p>I despise business cards. I think they are sort of a waste. But hey, maybe it’s just me being subconsciously envious of people who have nice paper with their names printed on it. I don’t have any (yet). Will I get some? I probably have to. Here are my two recent experiences:</p>
<p>At networking event (A), everyone gets 30 seconds to introduce themselves. I get up, tell people my name and a few sentences about my business. Before I sit down again, the lady moderating this part of the event asks me for a business card. I must have said something that interested her because she didn’t ask everyone for a card. I tell her, unfortunately I don’t have business cards, to which she replies: <br>
“That is about the biggest mistake you can make: Going to a networking event and not bringing business cards. They only cost five bucks!”</p>
<p>I refrain from any attempt to refute this and sit back down. During later parts of the event, I get handed about six business cards from other people and apologize for not being able to reciprocate. I promise to write an email with my contact details instead. Later that same day, being a good networker, I compose individual emails to each one of these people. After that’s done, I am uncertain about the use of the collected business cards. I will probably keep them around in my bag for a few weeks so they get “ready” for me to throw them out. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p>
<p>At networking event (B), I am among a few guests to a sort of business club meeting. The guests get moved around tables every few minutes to meet some of the existing members. </p>
<p>No one hands me a business card. No one asks for a business card. I don’t observe any business card exchanges at neighboring tables. </p>
<p>After the introductions, I sit on a larger table with about six freshly made acquaintances and talk over some food and more alcohol. Then, as people are about to leave, there is a “we should connect” moment. People pull out their phones: “LinkedIn, Facebook, WhatsApp?” I <em>actually am on LinkedIn</em> (since about two weeks ago). I leave with a few new additions to “my network”, but no wiser about the business card conundrum.</p>