I got to take my daughter on a nice walk to see the fish and turtles at Singapore Quarry today, followed by Chicken Rice for lunch, I hope you had a great Sunday as well!
What I’m reading this weekend
If you haven’t read, or at least watched the Netflix or Amazon Prime versions of “The Three Body Problem“, you really should. The series is one of the best science fiction trilogies I’ve come across. This weekend I started “Ball Lightning”, which is considered the prequel to the series. I haven’t gotten far enough to figure out how it connects yet, but the storytelling of Liu Cixin is as strong as ever and I hope there’s more of his work for me to dig into. I think the reason I enjoy his books so much, is that although they are hard science fiction, and bring in elements of philosophy as well, the character development and world-building are top-notch and almost make them feel like fantasy books. There’s a lot of science and heavy dialogue, but it never feels boring or too techy. Although the tone and scope of the books are far different, they are similar to Andy Weir’s books that way, they make science and science fiction accessible and interesting while still keeping things grounded. If you haven’t read them yet, start with Three Body before this one though.
Best podcast I listened to this weekend
Yesterday’s episode of The Dad Edge Podcast, “Slowing Down Time: The Truth Every Dad Needs to Hear“, really hit a chord with me. The host Larry Hagner reflected on how so many people told him to treasure every moment when he became a dad, but it only just hit him how fast time really goes when his son graduated high school this weekend. I’ve mentioned it before, but since I’ve become a father one of my favorite quotes has been “The days are long, but the years are short.” – I feel it really encapsulates the range of emotions being a parent and helps me get through the tough times and see the big picture. I’m sure Larry has thought about how fast time goes many times before recording this episode, but I can imagine how big a milestone having your oldest kid getting ready to leave home is. I’m trying to savor every moment, and it’s the best seeing your kid progress and become their own little person, but it isn’t easy, especially with how busy people’s lives are. This episode was a great reminder!
What I’ve been thinking about social media this weekend
To be honest, I resisted downloading TikTok for a long time. There wasn’t any single major reason, more that I mostly use Reddit, LinkedIn, and Instagram and I didn’t feel I needed to add another platform to my screen time. It also seemed like a lot of content is reposted on IG Reels, so I figured I wasn’t missing much. It was only when I started Before We Get There that I created an account and started posting and browsing. I’ve been surprised at how different it is, and how I’ve found myself on TikTok much more than Instagram recently. I barely follow any accounts and haven’t interacted much with comments or likes, so my feed is very cyclical, if I watch one or two cooking videos, every second video is cooking for ten minutes until all the sudden I watch a golf clip – and you get the picture. I think what is most interesting is the community and comments, it feels much more like Reddit sense of humor and commenting style than Facebook or even IG. I’ve said before that reading comments has become an integral part of consuming media for me, to the point that when I watch Netflix I miss being able to scroll down and see what other people are saying. TikTok comment sections are fun, and I often end up watching the videos I like a second time while I am reading the top comments. I’m going to be thinking more about how I can make my comments and my post’s replies more interesting and worth reading on LinkedIn, without using the infamous “Agree?”.
Have a great week!