Saturday-Pentacle // Issue 177 // Week 13 // 2020

Hello there!

Hope you are doing well!

I know this whole lockdown situation is getting intense and it feels like we are stuck or imprisoned. But I think everyone should take it positively that at least we are able to sit at home and avoid exposure to Corona Virus. Because trust me there are a lot of people, who are forced to go out in uncertain situations.

Secondly, while being home we can do the things which we actually care about, in the time that we save by not commuting to work.

I’ve created a small video as well on this on the TikTok platform. Yes! I’m experimenting with it and let me tell you this is like the Instagram in early stages, so you should also get on it if you haven’t. I’m trying out different videos like inspirational, funny ones, reaction videos and more. Need to learn which ones work out. But as with any platform – consistency is the key.

Now coming to the Corona Virus situation, as we all can see in the US the spread is pretty bad as the preliminary preparations seem to be not enough. I follow a lot of people based on New York and it is a jarring situation there. Healthcare workers are working tirelessly there but I think Govt need to do more.

On the contrary Indian Govt is doing a better job than other countries, they have initiated 21 days lockdown in time as compared to other countries like Italy, US, UK etc. We are completing the first week of the lockdown soon. But in many places like the Capital City Delhi, the situation has gone out of control as well. As many migrant labour workers have a rumour going on that the COVID-19 is spreading in cities only, so they are migrating to their villages in enormous numbers. This is a red alert for Govt. They really need to address the situation. Hopefully, they will soon. But apart from that, they have initiated huge relief fund, pension schemes and free food for the poor (1.7 Lakh Crore Package). But only the time will tell how effective these schemes are.

While at home, being optimistic about the situation is very necessary as one might get into depression due to this kind of situation. So working on a passion project or cultivating a hobby is really great idea to keep yourself engaged along with your usual work.

Coming on to the book listening progress. I actually didn’t make much progress in this past week. As my book listening was connected with my commuting earlier but then I tried to tie it with my daily runs. However, after complete lockdown on last Tuesday, it has become very difficult to make special time for book listening. So I’m at 95% with “The Sign of the Four” book from Sherlock Holmes series and with “Nonviolent Communication” I’m at 90%. Still better than zero progress. But I need to tie my book listening to a special time, otherwise, it’s gonna be difficult to achieve my target.

So without further adieu, please enjoy this week’s Saturday-Pentacle.

Issue 177 // Week 13 // 2020

An interesting find (which may be useful to implement in our ATMs) —

Holographic Buttons – A few days back I stumbled upon this tweet from Vala Afshar (Chief Digital Evangelist of SalesForce) and found that Holographic buttons are actually being used at some ATMs in China.

China started installing holographic buttons to combat current and future disease spreading. I think this is a great way to make the ATMs touchless to avoid any kind of contamination from the touch because this is a high exposure area. It may reduce the risk of ATM PIN capturing fraud as well where some fraudsters use a keyboard replica and implant it on the ATM and use the inputs to capture our ATM PIN. However, the Holographic buttons may also impose some unknown threat in future. But for now, this seems like a good implementation.

Check out below video tweet – (if you are not able to see it below, click on the link of the title).

A podcast I re-listened —

The Tim Ferriss Show: Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park – Making Art, Making Music, Getting To 60+ Million Albums (#21) – As I’m doing an episode with a musician (upcoming), so I wanted to have some inspiration. I found this episode of Tim Ferriss show with Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park’s co-founder) particularly amazing. They touch upon a wide array of topics on music. You can check it out as well.

Here is the Spotify link (if you’re reading from an email) and mini-player (for instant play) –

A video experience I loved —

Wim Hof Method & The secrets of successful entrepreneurs – This video is of an event organised by The School of Greatness’s Lewis Howes along with Wim Hof.

Lewis selected a few of his high achieving friends and successful entrepreneurs on this trip to Poland where they experience the Wim Hof method and found it very spiritual. Then they share their experiences in a round table. The whole sharing of experiences is pretty amazing.

Check it out – (if you are not able to see it below, click on the link of the title).

An old film I found amazing –

Lawerence of Arabia – This is a 1962 movie. This is a biography of an Englishman T. E. Lawrence who united Arab tribes in a battle against the Ottoman Turks during World War. The story is pretty complex with all the war scenes and so many characters.

Watching this movie I just wondered how was it even possible to make in 1962. But David Lean produced this splendid movie and it’s a must-watch for any cinema lover.

Check out the trailer below – (It’s available for rent on YouTube for Rs. 120, if you wanna watch, just click the rent/buy button on this trailer)

Quote I’m pondering on lately –

The trick is not avoiding hurt, but it is not minding that it hurts.

Matthew Hussey (School of greatness retreat with Wim Hof)

Before saying “see you next week”
Here are a few TikTok Videos I made in the last week. If you like the videos and want more please follow me on TikTok.

1. How to feel productive while you #stayhome

2. Age = Wisdom?

That’s it for this week. Until Next Saturday!

Thanks for reading.

Himanshu

Hey friends, I’m Himanshu, a technology professional working in Mumbai, India. I spend most of my spare time making Podcasts, YouTube videos and write on Lifestyle Design and sometimes stories. Every Saturday, I send out an email newsletter called “Saturday Pentacle”, a list of the cool stuff I explored in the past week, including quotes, photos, books, articles, movies, documentaries and so on!

No spam, ever. Only great stuff.

Saturday-Pentacle // Issue 177 // Week 13 // 2020