👀 What are you looking for?

Oct 1, 2021

“The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” ~ Marcel Proust

🍁 Reflections

Here’s an oldie that always comes to mind this stunningly beautiful time of year.

Years ago, my aunt traveled from the south to visit my family. As we neared my home, her eyes became large. She was amazed at the brilliant color of autumn in New England.

Later that day, I decided to take a walk to find her some leaves; vibrant, pristine ones that she could press and take home. So I headed down a well-worn path in the nearby woods. One overflowing with recently fallen leaves.

As I walked along, attentively searching for the perfect leaf, all I could see was decay and various shades of brown. I was dumbfounded. In an area overflowing with foliage, I couldn’t find one worthy leaf.

But after about ten minutes of looking, something strange occurred. The forest floor started popping with Crayola color; burnt orange, brick red, lemon yellow. And the leaves seemed to be rising airily from the ground, as if I were wearing 3-D glasses.

It was an extraordinarily rousing and educational experience. My old eyes suddenly became new again, as my brain adjusted to its new environment and to its childlike instructions.

The English biologist John Lubbock wrote,

“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”

Where you are and what you attend to conditions what you see. If you look for beauty, truth and love, you’ll find it. If you look for facts, reasons and shortcomings, you’ll find them. If you want to see new, you have to experience new.

Now, it may take time for your old eyes to adjust to a new world, so I’d revise Lubbock’s words slightly:

“We eventually see what we look for.”

Stay focused and be patient. If you’re looking with the right intentions and you’re looking in the right places, the answers will appear.

🎃 Random information for October (my favorite month)

* The Puritans associated black cats with witchcraft, leading to the onyx-colored felines’ association with Halloween. In many other cultures, black cats are actually signs of good luck and are revered.

* Captain Kirk is going to space. Star Trek actor William Shatner will ride aboard Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket ship.

* There was a third Apple founder. Ronald Wayne sold his 10 percent stake for $800 in 1976.

* Ferrari hired Jony Ive for its EV project. The former Apple chief designer will work with the luxury car maker across its product ranges, with the first fully electric Ferrari expected in 2025.

* Car dealers tried to block Tesla from selling directly to customers in New Mexico. So the company opened a dealership in an old casino on tribal lands.

* A first edition of the US Constitution is up for sale. It’s one of only 11 in existence and can be yours for somewhere around $20 million.

* Netflix is buying the rights to Roald Dahl’s books. The price has not been disclosed, but if regulators approve, it will be the streaming giant’s largest-ever purchase.

* Big Tobacco’s next bet is Big Asthma. Marlboro-maker Philip Morris has secured a majority stake in inhaler maker Vectura.

* Michelangelo is believed to have stood at 5’2. Researchers are examining his shoes and other personal effects for the first time to estimate his physical attributes.

* Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple is starting a new space company, Privateer, to clean up space debris.

* Ola’s new factory will be run entirely by women. The Indian ride-hailing giant is attempting to shift the gender imbalance in manufacturing.

* A US military robot ship fired a large missile for the first time. The demonstration is part of an effort to develop robot vessels that operate alongside crewed warships. Lovely.

* A German confectioner is making marzipan Angela Merkels. It’s a sweet sendoff for the country’s long-serving chancellor.

* The American football season is expensive. The estimated cost of foregone labor on Mondays and Fridays tops $5 billion.

* China is planning a mega spaceship. The government is looking into how to build a kilometer-long vessel to explore the universe and support “long-term living in orbit.”

* There are 113 urban areas in China that surpass the one million population threshold. In comparison, North America and the EU combined have 114 urban areas that surpass one million people. HT to my friend David Burn.

* Chinese “butler cafes” rent out sensitive men. Fed up with patriarchal relationships, women pay over $60 to spend time with a man who will actually listen.

* The half-shredded Banksy painting will be resold for more than its original price. So much for the artist’s intention to prove a point about the cost of art.

* Google is marketing its Tensor system with Google-branded potato chips in Japan.

* A Walmart billionaire unveiled plans for a city in the desert. He just needs $400 billion, permission from the government, and 5 million people to move there.

* There’s a new “world’s biggest Imax screen.” It’s in Germany, it’s wider than a Boeing 737, and it will open in time for the latest Bond film.

* A NYC home made of shipping containers sells for $5 million. The “green” building is made of 21 shipping containers, and, yes, it’s in Brooklyn.

* A deep sea bacteria is the basis for a new brain cancer drug. The microbes have been shown to kill tumor cells.

* Researchers designed a room with walls that emit an electrical field. Phones, medical implants, and other devices can charge wirelessly inside—and it’s safe for people to be in there too.

* A crypto-trading hamster is doing better than human investors. Tunnels and a wheel in Mr. Goxx’s cage trigger buying and selling.

👁 Take a look

Dad Photoshopped kids to freak out mom at work. 🤣 Check it out!

🧠 Think about this

“To be awake is to be alive.”~ Henry David Thoreau

“If you want to be happy, be.” ~ Leo Tolstoy

“I’m pretty sure, I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure if you die, the cancer dies at the same time. That’s not a loss. That’s a draw.” ~ Norm Macdonald (1959 - 2021)

☝️ And remember

Please reach out to me with any recommendations, questions, complaints or comments, or simply to say hi: hello@tomasacker.com (or use the contact form).

The Business of Belief