I’m an amateur word nerd. Nobody pays me to rave about etymology or to irritate my friends with my Wordle score every morning. But I like it that way. Being an amateur is wonderful. After all, the root of the word is “one who loves”. Is there any better reason to do something than…
Category: Whimsy
Can Niceness Change the World?
Like seemingly everyone I know, I watched Ted Lasso last year. It’s an Apple TV series about an American football coach being appointed as a manager in real football—or soccer, as it’s also called.
But this isn’t a typical sports show. I’ve seen the premise of Ted described as simply “what if a…
What an Artificial Intelligence Taught Me about Perfectionism
Every now and then I get sick of the fact that all my goals are massive, overwhelming and scary. It’d be nice to just achieve something, for once. So I had an idea for a small, mini-project to help me recharge, and I thought it’d be fun to share the whole journey with you….
The Examined Life Is Not Worth Living
“The unexamined life is not worth living” – Socrates
THOUGHT: The over-examined life isn’t exactly worth living, either.
How I Got Hit in the Face & Saved by a Magic Bat
[This story was originally shared via the Neil Hughes Occasional Email Experience. Sign up for stories like this in your inbox.] Image via Max Pixel, licenced under Creative Commons CC0 A story about life revelations in three parts: I: Hit In The Face Last week I got hit in the face in a pub toilet…
Jiggling an Imaginary Rope Helps You Re-Evaluate Your Life
How to use the exact right amount of effort all the time.
Several Ways To Enter A Shower That Is Initially Too Hot
I have a recurring problem. Actually, I have many recurring problems. But today we’re going to discuss a particularly tricky one: What is the best way to enter a shower when it’s initially too hot… but will be a perfect temperature after your body has adapted? The answer may surprise you!
Shoot The Moon (And Aim For Happy)
In the addictive card game, Hearts, the play that scores the most points is known as ‘Shooting the Moon’. I’m greatly in favour of this. The moon has sat there for long enough, arrogantly watching over us. For aeons it has floated judgementally over the Earth, thinking it’s better than us, all ‘romantically’ flying around…
The Little Virus Who Fell In Love
There once was a virus who fell in love with its host. It drifted around in their bloodstream, dreamily content with its lot in life. Every moment was a joy. It was physically joined with its true love, and it had never wanted anything more. One day, after a spate of joyous multiplying, the virus…
Exploding Cats & Panic Attacks
Anxiety can get out of control very quickly, but there’s one big idea which reduces its power over us…
(NO CATS WERE HARMED IN THE PRODUCTION OF THIS POST, BUT ONE ELDERLY LADY DID FAINT)