Why Note-Taking Apps Don’t Make Us Smarter. I like the idea of capturing all my thoughts and the stuff I read in one central note-taking app in order to create a super-powered brain sitting in the cloud. I have dreams that my note-taking app will help me unleash a torrent of untapped creativity. But every time I’ve tried putting the idea into practice, I’m always underwhelmed by the results. This article explains what might be contributing to the underwhelm. In the end, you can’t outsource good old-fashioned brain thinking to a computer. At least not yet.
The Thief of Always by Clive Barker. We just finished reading this book aloud as a family, and we all really liked it. Clive Barker, who’s done a lot of writing in the horror genre for adults, also penned this book aimed at kids. It centers on young Harvey Swick, whose boredom leads him to the Holiday House, where each day includes all four seasons of the year and their major holidays. What could be better than Halloween and Christmas every day? But, of course, there’s a dark price to be paid for the fun that’s offered. The second half of the book is definitely a lot weaker than the first, but the set-up is so compelling that a middle-schooler or even an adult who wants a quick pre-Halloween read will likely enjoy it.
Peak Refuel Backpacking Meals. The McKays went backpacking in AR last week and dined on these freeze-dried meals during our trip. These are our favorite backpacking meals. They’re tasty and have more protein (and calories) than other backpacking meals. All the varieties are good, but Beef Stroganoff and Chicken Pesto Pasta are particular favorites.
WoodWick Candles. It’s getting colder here in Tulsa, so it’s time to start getting our hygge on. Hygge is the Danish idea of creating a cozy, snug, and relaxing atmosphere in your home during the colder and darker seasons of fall and winter. Candles are an important element of hygge. One of our favorite candles is made by WoodWick. As the name implies, the wick is actually made out of wood, and when lit, it crackles like a real fireplace fire. It’s soothing. Great for fire meditations.
Quote of the Week
There is a sense in which a man looking at the present in the light of the future, and taking his whole being into account, may be contented with his lot . . . But if a man has come to that point where he is so content that he says, ‘I do not want to know any more, or do any more, or be any more,’ he is in a state of which he ought to be changed into a mummy! Of all hideous things, a mummy is the most hideous; and of mummies, the most hideous are those that are running about the streets and talking.
—H.W. Beecher
