1. “Mockery is just a disguised fear of the unknown” A Reflection on Being Asian – Lawrence Yeo – (More to That newsletter) The full quote: “I’ve learned that people often mock what they do not understand, and that mockery is just a disguised fear of the unknown.” This is a fascinating self-exploration on what … Read more

1. “Everyone is flawed.” On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down – James Fell – (ebook) Cancel culture bothers me. Not that some shouldn’t be “canceled”, but so often it boils down to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Fell may have articulated the closest explanation so far, in the introduction to his … Read more

For those so inclined, I find myself sharing more of what I’m up to on Twitter these days. @leonot is my personal account where I’m getting wordier. 1. “…the result is a never-ending food fight.” Why Everyone on the Internet Is Wrong – Mark Manson – (MindF*ck Monday newsletter) Mark has a way with words. … Read more

Bonus? Don’t know if I’d call it that, but I was published last week in the What It’s Like To online publication. My (short) story, What It’s Like To Donate Platelets, is up on Medium.com. There are several other stories there you might find interesting as well. 1. “Gargling with bleach?” Did 4% of Americans … Read more

Two shots in! Whoo-hoo! (Side effects, if any, will probably kick in about the time this is scheduled to publish. Thank you, automation!) Hope you had a great week. 1. “They will say whatever they need to say to get as much money out of you as possible.” Inside an International Tech-Support Scam – Doug … Read more

For the curious, last week’s test / move went smoothly. 7takeaways.com is on a new speedier server. And yes, these are the things I geek out over. Well, that and the bonus takeaway, down below. Hope you’re having a good week. 1. “hydrostatic stress test” Finding the Best and Worst in Ourselves – Mark Manson … Read more

“I know engineers, they love to change things.” (Dr. Leonard McCoy – Star Trek: The Motion Picture) If you’re seeing this it’s because all the things this engineer changed, worked. It’s no secret that I enjoy playing with technology. For no other reason than that, I moved 7takeaways.com to a new webserver. The old was … Read more

1. “I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hate so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.” James Baldwin – Quoted in Mark Manson’s Mindf*ck Monday – (email newsletter) Not much to comment here, other than to remind that one of my … Read more

(Whoops. Tagline didn’t make it to the email. Or did I catch in time? Oh well. No matter. More practice needed. ) 1. “Stimulus eventually causes inflation” Your Stimulus Check Is Creating Wealth Inequality – Tim Denning – (Medium) I have to admit, the stimulus portion of the economic recovery plan(s) being implemented throughout the … Read more

1. “…retained the curiosity of childhood into adulthood.” Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Life Advice Will Leave You SPEECHLESS – One of the Most Eye Opening Interviews – Neil deGrasse Tyson – (YouTube) The title does not overpromise. This is one of the most inspirational videos I’ve seen in a long, long time. School should as a … Read more