100 Pleasures, AI Granny, Data Beads & Headless Chicken
#59 of 10+1 Things | Abu Dhabi
⚡ Welcome to #59 of 10+1 Things!
Thanks a lot to everyone who bought me coffees($1 or ₹75) last week!
Also, a warm welcome to everyone who is new here from Meco!
I had an ordinary week as usual—lots of reading, pushing hard at the gym, endless job searching, and connecting with potential clients on UpWork.
Regarding 10+1 Things, I experimented with a different timing last week, posting at 6 PM Gulf Time to see if it would impact engagement or open rates. Turns out, it was a failed experiment! Even though I finish writing my newsletter early, deciding on the best posting time is a bit tricky—or maybe I’m just overthinking it.
With most of my readers in the USA, followed by India, the UK, Canada, and Australia, figuring out the ideal time to post is a challenge. So, I thought of creating a quick survey to gather some feedback. If possible, could you take a moment to complete this short survey? It’ll help me get a better idea of the best time to post.
Also, a small correction from last week!
In the Curta mechanical calculator section, I mistakenly stated that it was the "only handheld mechanical calculator ever made." That was an error on my part—I trusted the video without verifying. It makes sense that it couldn’t be the only handheld mechanical calculator ever made! Apologies for the mistake, and a big thanks to Trucian for pointing it out!
Without further ado, here are 10+1 Things that I thought were worth sharing this week:
💡 100 Simple Pleasures
I came across this short yet eye-opening list of 100 simple pleasures in life, and it really made me appreciate the little moments. From the smell of rain on a hot sidewalk to sinking a long putt or waking up and realizing it's Saturday, these small joys add up to make life more fulfilling. The idea is simple—pay attention to these everyday moments, and happiness follows. It’s a great reminder to slow down, be present, and find joy in the ordinary. I might even try making my own list!
📿 Data Beads
I found this very cool yet thought-provoking initiative called Databeads, which turns data visualization into wearable art. The idea is simple: you take a dataset, map it into a bead pattern using colors to represent different values, and then weave it into a bracelet. The goal of the initiative is to create conversation starters, spark curiosity, and improve data literacy in a casual, creative way. They’ve also provided details on what materials you need, step-by-step instructions, and examples of bracelets made using real-world data. It’s a fascinating mix of storytelling and craft, making abstract numbers more tangible and engaging. I really love this concept—I’m probably going to make one using the climate stripe data of India!
🍎 EcoTracker
I came across this interesting product on Kickstarter, a small handheld device called EcoTracker that detects contaminants in food and measures water quality. It's cheap ($49) and very handy. The food contamination testing feature is impressive—you select the food item from its built-in database, probe it with the sensor, and within three seconds, it gives you a reading on nitrates, chlorides, and pesticides. There’s even an option to tweak the safety thresholds, which is a great advantage if you have specific health conditions. The device can test around 60 common food items, including fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat. However, the water testing part isn’t particularly appealing—it only measures TDS, something that can easily be done with a basic $5 TDS meter.
💬 Best Life Purchases
I've been using Lemmy a bit lately and had bookmarked this discussion where people shared the best purchases of their life. Barring the usual ones in discussions like these—bidet, electric toothbrush, cast iron skillet—some very interesting ones stood out, like an Instant Pot/air fryer combo, raw food subscriptions for dogs, an infrared grill, and bone-conduction headphones. Weirdly, I saw so many recommending the Zojirushi rice cooker—is it really that good? Never understood the need for a rice cooker when the good old knuckle method always works.
📚 Courage to be Disliked
This has been on my anti-library for a while, and I finally started ‘The Courage to Be Disliked’ by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga. It’s about how we can be happier by letting go of past struggles and caring less about what others think. The book is written as a conversation between a philosopher and a young man, which makes it easy to follow. It explores ideas from Alfred Adler’s psychology, focusing on self-acceptance, personal freedom, and overcoming the need for approval. I’m halfway through, and I really like how it challenges common ideas about life in a simple way.
Love this quote from the book:
“No matter what has occurred in your life up to this point, it should have no bearing at all on how you live from now on. That you, living in the here and now, are the one who determines your own life.”
~ As always, resurfaced by Readwise, - helping me remember everything I read for FREE!
Last Week’s Read: Valuable Humans in Transit
🐓 Headless Chicken
Mike the Headless Chicken was a male Wyandotte chicken that lived 18 months after he was beheaded. His owner, Lloyd Olsen, tried to behead Mike but missed the jugular vein, leaving most of the brain stem intact. Since the brain stem controls basic functions like breathing and reflex actions, Mike was able to survive. Olsen fed him using a dropper, and soon, Mike started gaining fame. He toured the country as a sideshow attraction and was even photographed by Life and Time magazines. His legacy lives on with an annual Mike the Headless Chicken Day festival in Fruita, Colorado.
🧶How I Make Rugs
In an interesting post, Tabitha Arnold shares the process of making her rugs. She starts by explaining how she transitioned from painting to weaving, eventually discovering punch needle embroidery as a faster and more detailed way to create textile art. She talks about her tools, from her first Oxford punch needle to experimenting with different types of yarn, preferring hand-dyed wool for its rich colors. Over time, she refined her technique, upgraded her rug backing materials, and even began incorporating shaped edges, tears, and holes to make her pieces more sculptural. Her post offers a deep dive into the craft, from material choices to the meditative rhythm of stitching.
⚽ Plain Text Sports
I found this interesting site called Plain Text Sports, where sports scores are displayed without any ads, pop-ups, or unnecessary clutter. It’s not just for the NBA—it covers NHL, NFL, NCAA, Champions League, Premier League, and more. The site loads instantly, giving you game updates in a simple, text-only format. No waiting, no distractions—just the scores you need. It also runs beautifully on mobile, and since the website is super light (only 30KB), it loads fast even on limited data!
🚻 My Cat Mii
I came across this beautifully written piece about Mayumi Inaba's cat, Mii, whom she found as a tiny kitten stuck in a fence one summer night in Tokyo, 1977. Cold and helpless, the kitten clung to her, and from that moment, their bond was sealed. Inaba reflects on how moving to a peaceful new home made space in her heart for Mii. Struggling to find the right name, she eventually settled on Mii, inspired by the kitten’s soft cries. This is a pre-publishing excerpt from Mornings Without Mii(translated), coming out on the 25th. AI can write well, and I’m not against it, but this kind of writing just has a soul that no machine can replicate, or at least for now.
🗺 Wild Map
I had so much fun exploring the art project Wild World by Anton Thomas, a stunning hand-drawn world map featuring 1,642 animals from every continent and ocean. It took him three years and over 2,600 hours to complete, using colored pencils and a magnifying glass to capture every intricate detail. Unlike traditional maps, this one ignores national borders, focusing solely on nature and wildlife, celebrating the planet’s incredible biodiversity. Thomas wanted to create a perspective that inspires curiosity and love for the natural world, showing how much is still left to protect. The sheer level of detail, research, and passion behind this project is incredible. Prints are available to purchase on his website as well.
🎬 AI Granny
I had so much fun watching this conversation between an AI granny and a scammer pretending to be a support agent. Daisy, the AI bot, keeps scammers stuck on the line by acting confused and rambling about scones and knitting. Honestly, this is one of the best uses of AI I’ve seen—if we can waste their time to the point where running scam call centers isn’t worth it, that’s a win. It was a fun watch, and I loved the little jokes along the way!
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That’s 10+1 Things for the week!
Which one was your favourite this week?
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With Love,
Rishi
“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together”
- Vincent van Gogh