đ Airbus story, Construction physics, Arguing with a toddler, Sam Altman on productivity, Rethinking money
Behind the scene at neal.fun, Costco in France, Trunks & travelling & more
Hello, this is post #208.
Iâm settled back after the vacation and trying to find a routine. Work was manageable, but the interior work was in full swing this week, keeping me on my toes. Weâre almost thereâwithin a couple of weeks, our dream home should be ready to move in. Canât wait!
Another thing thatâs kept me busy and glued to the screen is Shonda Rhimesâ new show âThe Residence.â Thereâs something about her storytellingâpunchy, weird at times, but always keeps you hooked. If youâre into murder mysteries, give this one a shot.
Last weekâs post got an unexpected responseâlow open rates and engagement. Not sure what went wrong. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share. If you missed it, the linkâs at the bottom of this post.
For now, hereâs a quick look at what I found exciting this week.
Before we dive in; a quick favour âŚ
If this piece sparks even a tiny âhmmâ or âaha!â along the way, do me a kindness: tap the â¤ď¸ or drop a thought in the comments. Curiosity thrives when we trade reflections, not just clicks.
And with that out of the way, letâs get to our main features.
âď¸ The Airbus Story
Europe is a graveyard of failed national champions. They span from the glamorous Concorde to obscure ventures like pan-European computer consortium Unidata or notorious Franco-German search engine Quaero.
Airbus is the rare success story. European governments pooled resources and subsidised their champion aggressively to face down a titan of American capitalism in a strategically vital sector. Why did Airbus succeed when so many similar initiatives crashed and burned?
If this question intrigues you, Alex Chalmersâ âHow Airbus took offâ is a good crash course on Airbus history & what made it successful. There are plenty of surprising insights, but two stood out for me:
How English as the official language helped a truly collaborative effort across different European (and non-English-speaking) nations.
How assigning clear focus areas to each party let them go deep without creating overlap.
This post reads like a recommendation letter for the most collaborative project of the century. If you care about such things, you should give it a read.
đď¸ Construction Physics
Brian Potter lists 50 things he learnt writing Construction Physics over the last four and half years.
If you havenât heard of it, hereâs how he describes the newsletter: âConstruction Physics is about the technology and economics of building construction, with a focus on improving productivity and reducing costs.â
I discovered it just last year and found the posts surprisingly deep and interesting. Itâs not the flashiest topic, but pieces like why skyscrapers became glass boxes and how to build 300,000 airplanes in 5 years were fascinating. I had shared them in earlier editions too.
Here are two surprising and counterintuitive takeaways from his list. They remind us how little we actually know about the big industries that make our comfortable lives possible.
Prefab construction is typically not any cheaper than conventional, on-site construction, either in the US or around the world. When it is cheaper, itâs often because it takes advantage of low-cost labor, rather than for efficiency reasons.
Bricks havenât gotten cheaper since the mid-19th century, despite massive improvements in brickmaking technology.
𤡠Argument with a Toddler
Seth Godin talks about how to win an argument with a toddler. And his two cents is that you cannot.
And hereâs why.
Thatâs because toddlers donât understand what an argument is and arenât interesting in having one.
Toddlers (which includes defensive bureaucrats, bullies, flat earthers, folks committed to a specific agenda and radio talk show hosts) may indicate that theyâd like to have an argument, but theyâre actually engaging in connection, noise, play acting or a chance to earn status. It can be fun to be in opposition, to harangue or even to use power to change someoneâs position.
A short post packed with sharp insight on human interactions. Seth Godin has a real gift for writing like this. His blog is full of such gems, and itâs well worth subscribing to.
đŻ Sam Altman on Productivity
Sam Altman has an interesting blog on productivity. Hereâre a couple of snippets that stand out.
About what you work on:
It doesnât matter how fast you move if itâs in a worthless direction. Picking the right thing to work on is the most important element of productivity and usually almost ignored. So think about it more! Independent thought is hard but itâs something you can get better at with practice.
About meetings:
I generally try to avoid meetings and conferences as I find the time cost to be hugeâI get the most value out of time in my office. However, it is critical that you keep enough space in your schedule to allow for chance encounters and exposure to new people and ideas. Having an open network is valuable; though probably 90% of the random meetings I take are a waste of time, the other 10% really make up for it.
I find most meetings are best scheduled for 15-20 minutes, or 2 hours. The default of 1 hour is usually wrong, and leads to a lot of wasted time.
Itâs fascinating the way he has described his approach to productivity. Worth a read. His writing has found place in the past editions as well. In case youâre interested you can check out: how to be successful, the days are long but the decades are short and what I wish someone had told me.
(via Readwise)
đž Behind the Scene at Neal.Fun
Anu Atluru sits down with Neal Agarwal. The name might not ring a bell, but mention neal.fun and youâll probably remember something weird, delightful, or wildly viral he created. As Anu puts it, heâs the indie game artisan behind a cult-favorite corner of the internet.
Iâve been a big fan of his work. Even my kids love visiting the site whenever they get a chance. So I was excited to read this interview â and it definitely gives a good peek into what makes neal.fun so special.
One thing that surprised me: Nealâs first (and only) job was with MSCHF. He worked as a programmer, building websites for their wild monthly drops. Sometimes, the website itself was the drop. Makes sense now, right? A place like MSCHF is a perfect playground for someone like Neal. He shares more:
It was never boring, every month you were working on something different and completely insane. You would get a slack DM like, hey weâre gonna make a gun buyback program where we take your gun and melt it down to a sword, can you make a website for that. I loved how MSCHF saw the web like a creative medium like I did.
The right environment can spark real growth. Neal found that at MSCHF, even if just for a while. He later left to chase his dreams with neal.fun â and the rest is history. It was a joyful conversation that left me smiling and inspired.
𧳠Trunks and Travelling
Trunks and travelling takes us back to the world of 19th-century ship journeys. Travelers faced real challenges: packing smartly to balance weight limits and protect their belongings, preparing for both the sea voyage and the destination, and then dealing with long customs inspections, often in front of nosy officials and curious onlookers eager to peek into the lives of the rich and well-traveled.
Magazines of that era were filled with detailed articles, reviews, and stories about trunks and travel. This fascinating post just scratches the surface and makes for a super interesting read. Here's a sample:
The assorted labels and markings visible on travellers' trunks acted to ease the baggage handling and reclaim process. Several labels here feature a large 'G' for Grigsby as upon arrival at port, luggage would be offloaded and deposited in zones under the initial of the owner's surname. In much the same way as travellers today affix eye-catching ribbons or stickers to their luggage, ocean-faring travellers were also encouraged to "have trunks marked with full name and some striking sign â a red star, or white cross â for ready identification" (Ladies' Home Journal, New York, May 1905).
(via Lila Krishnaâs The India House List)
đ A Visit to Costco in France
David Lebovitz visits a Costco in France. If youâre anything like me, youâll be excited to see what he discovers and how he describes it. And let me tell you, he does a great job. Sharp observations, good visuals, and witty commentary bring his experience to life. I loved it!
Some tidbits:
I am a professional shopper. Actually, I truly am. In France, you have to declare your status as to what you do.
Kind of funny that Mac & cheese has come full circle and is coming back to France. James Hemings, the slave and chef of Thomas Jefferson brought it to America from France, after Jefferson sent him to Paris to learn about French cooking and he learned about gratin de pâtes, which became Mac & cheese. The one at Costco didnât look very promising, so I took a pass.
As for pancakes, theyâre sold pre-made, in bags, in France. And when I say bags, thatâs plural. If you look closely, you can see theyâre wrapped inside the bag, in bags of 2. And here I am, rinsing and drying all my plastic bags to reuse as many times as possible to save the planet.
Pecans and zip-lock bags â those are the two things we always ask Siddhant to send from Costco. I was happy to see David mention them in his post too.
It also reminded me of my first trip to Singapore. Visiting IKEA was at the top of my to-do list â in fact, it was the first thing we did after landing, before heading to the Night Safari. I felt like a kid in a candy store, wide-eyed, wishing to buy everything, and actually buying way more than I needed. Davidâs post brought all those memories rushing back.
(via MR Blog)
⨠Everything else
The Elementary School Disciplinary Record of Jesus Christ. McSweeneyâs has outdone themselves in this one. Hilarious!
âFailing history. Insists on listing all dates as âBefore Meâ and âAfter Me.â Guidance counselor says that he is âunusually egocentric for a child of his age.ââ
Rethinking Money: Seedbills is a design project that pushes you to rethink our economic system and imagine new possibilities, all while learning about some of the most important seeds for humanity. I love the concept and the way theyâve told the stories. Itâs a visual delight too! (via Dense Discovery)
Agostino lacurci vibrantly reimagines urban facades through his Monumental Murals. Stunning work!
ICYMIâŚ
Last weekâs post was a quick visit to the âStay Curiousâ archive to find interesting nuggets on two themes: Travel & Singapore. If youâve not read it yet, you can find it here:
That's all for this week, folks!
I hope I've earned the privilege of your time.
If this piece sparked something for you, Iâd love to hear what stood outâleave a comment and letâs keep the conversation alive. And if you know someone whoâs always asking "why?" or "how come?", pass this along to them. The world gets more interesting every time a curious mind shares what theyâve found.
Nice curation of stuff :)
Loved the Airbus story, it's always fascinating to see and it's a simple proof right minds anywhere can put up a great show together.