This edition of the Beach Bi-Weekly has a few shorter mini ideas in lieu of a central topic. I look forward to hearing your feedback on the different format. If you know someone who may enjoy the newsletter, you can share it here. Also, what topics excite you that you would like me to explore?
Roadtrip tips
Jenny and I recently finished a two-month cross country roadtrip, clocking in over 10,000 kilometers. Here are our tips!
Gas buddy app. Lets you find the cheapest gas around. Saved us a lot of money.
Love’s travel stops. Many of them now have fenced in dog areas. They always have clean restrooms and cheap gas.
Cruise control on flat ground.
Better fuel efficiency.
Keeps you from dropping too slow (losing time) and prevents you from accidentally stepping on the gas pedal 🚨
Better for ankles and legs mobility.
Healthy eating on the road. American interstate food options are limited if you want to eat healthy. Here is what worked for us.
Starbucks coffee with classic oatmeal.
Chick-fil-a salads - see the previous Beach Bi-Weekly on Chick-fil-A.
Chipotle bowls.
Don’t have too many snacks on hand.
Ice or mints. Keep your mouth occupied without unconsciously eating a bunch.
There’s a lot of backwards things about Texas, but in many ways Texas is the future of the USA.
The days of the classic Texas image of an old white cowboy are fading away. Today, more than 60 percent of Texas is not white. For every one new white resident that Texas welcomed over the past decade, there have been three Black residents, three Asians, three people with multiracial backgrounds and 11 Hispanics. The US is becoming increasingly racially diverse and Texas is leading the way. 95% of people who have moved to Texas this past decade are not white.
For better or worse, Americans are moving to the suburbs at record numbers. Nowhere is that more true than in Texas. Seven out of ten Texans live in the four metro regions of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. Almost all of the state’s population growth over the last decade occurred in the suburbs of the large cities. Additionally, six of the ten fastest growing US counties this past decade were in Texas.
Over the past decade, Texas has built three times as much housing as California. This has allowed its cities, despite massive demographic and economic growth, to keep housing prices significantly lower than in coastal Californian cities.
I can’t think of the last time a university was started near me. However, The University of Austin, is a new liberal arts university with an impressive board of advisors. They are hoping to provide a blueprint for the future of higher education.
Yes, Texas is home to oil, but is also a pioneer in renewable energy. Texas leads the nation in wind power.
Plus, Tesla the largest electric vehicle maker in the country moved its headquarters to Texas.
Texas doesn’t look to San Francisco, New York or Los Angeles for inspiration, but rather creates its own vision for the future. Let’s see if others start to emulate the lone star state.
Lifestyles
A race to solo sail around the world took place 54 years ago. It had never been done before and this wonderful article by Morgan Housel focuses on the story of two sailors. One focused on what others thought about him, while the other focused on what he wanted. One ended up dead, while the other found a deep sense of happiness. In life, we are always in a struggle between what the world wants from us and what we truly want.
How the Amish use technology
How do the Amish adopt new technology? Contrary to popular belief, they don’t ban technology, but have rules about if they should adopt it. In today’s world our default to new technology is “yes” and the Amish default is “no”. The adoption of a new technology is up to each Parrish. So the Amish in Wisconsin may have different technologies than a group in Pennsylvania.
The Amish will have someone who tests out new technology and reports back to the community. The elders decide based on these two criteria.
Does this strengthen the family?
Will this bring our community closer?
This is why the Amish reject cars, but allow for horse and buggy. They view cars as something that will take people away from their family and community. The Amish community typically lives in a relatively small area so there is no need for a car where you could drive a few hundred miles away in a day.
They don’t reject technology, but they want it on their own terms.
Backcasting
Creating a future vision and then looking back at how that future state could be achieved. Backcasting is a term popularized by Annie Duke, the professional poker player. Here are a few examples:
You finally got that promotion you are going for? How did you do it?
The year is 2048 and we beat our goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. What led to that outcome? Who were the key players? What innovations and policies mattered most? How did we beat our projections?
My husband and I got divorced, leaving us 3 kids to co-parent. What led to this outcome?
This is a helpful framework for planning, because it forces you to visualize the steps along the way that lead to a certain outcome.
Quote of the week
“Where can I have the most fun with the least regrets?”
-Tony Xu, CEO of DoorDash
Pic of the Week
I recently joined a workout group called Bay Area Movement Practice which has gotten my butt out of the house early enough to see epic sunrises like this.