The Weekly Wrap: September 22, 2024

I'm back from vacation and there are lot of great things in this week's Wrap. The Wi-Fi had excellent reach at the resort (all the way to beach!) so I got through a lot of links. 

But before we get to that, I want to talk about one thing that amazed me while we were on vacation.

We stayed at a lovely resort with a wonderful staff. I have never felt so pampered. I think the reason things felt so indulgent was because of the memories of those working there. Every single person at this resort seemed to be trained to remember faces and preferences. If we visited a service area more than once, they knew who we were and what we liked.

This was intended as a relaxed, beach vacation and, by the first afternoon, the exterior bartender already had our drinks memorized. All we had to do was walk up and he knew what to make. The gentleman working the snack bar knew we liked our coffee black and in a to-go cup. The person at the towel stand knew exactly how many towels we liked in the cabana.  It added a personal touch which made our visit feel extra special.

This was not a small resort. There were a lot of things this team of personnel needed to remember.  As someone who has trouble with face-recall, I was highly impressed. 

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• Shein is shady AF. [The Atlantic - may be paywalled]
• For love of Moleskine. [The Walrus]
• Add "minting the penny" to things we should stop doing. [NYT - may be paywalled]
• I love a list of practical tricks. [The Guardian]
• Our Notes app, ourselves. [The Atlantic - gift link]
• The curious global echo. [WaPo - gift link]
• This might be something I have to try. [The Takeout]

• Disaster response is designed for stuff, not people. [99% Invisible]
• We need more people in trade jobs. [The Indicator]
• Food waste is a problem. Here are some tips to help. [Short Wave]
• You know how I, a librarian, feel about book bans. [Code Switch]
• More pasta, more fun. [Atlas Obscura]
• Books in prison. [Ear Hustle]
• If men eat less beef... [Up First]

• How does she keep her eyes open? [André Musgrove]
• Before we left on vacation, we rented Twisters.  This is a classic summer blockbuster with Glen Powell doing Glen Powell things. (I like Glen Powell so this was find by me.) The CGI was great and I didn't mind the storyline - even if it ignored science. The main thing that annoyed me was that Daisy Edgar-Jones kept slipping in and out of her accent. [Amazon Prime]
• After we got back from vacation, the Husband had to immediately fly out of town for work. I used this as an opportunity to continue my rewatch of The West Wing. I love this show so darn much. Yes it's idealistic but the writing and acting hold up. [Max]

• As a surprise to me, the Husband upgraded our flights home to first class! Did you know they still feed you real food in first class? I got a cobb grain salad. It was pretty darn good. [American Airlines]
• Since I was solo parenting the week we got back, I stuck with quick meals that could be made without a trip to the grocery store. One night, I was not hungry enough to eat dinner with the kiddo. After she went to bed, I found an almost empty box of breakfast sausage in the freezer. That inspired me to make breakfast for dinner. Sausage, scrambled eggs, and buttered toast, you can't go wrong with that.