Here’s a collection of holiday-related links to keep you entertained as you prepare for an evening of trick-or-treating. Or candy distribution. (Or holing up in your house and eating all that candy by yourself, your choice!)
I did not know that solar panels have been around for more than a century.
I did not know that one of the early pioneers in this field was a Canadian inventor named George Cove.
And I did not know that Cove was on the brink of bringing solar power to the masses when he was kidnapped and threatened unless he closed down his company.
While researching the economics of clean energy innovation, I came across a little-known story: that of Canadian inventor George Cove, one of the world’s first renewable energy entrepreneurs. Cove invented household solar panels that looked uncannily similar to the ones being installed in homes today – they even had a rudimentary battery to keep power running when the Sun wasn’t shining. Except this wasn’t in the 1970s. Or even the 1950s. This was in 1905.
It sounds like that wasn’t the only reason Cove’s company collapsed, but whoever was behind the actions against him clearly had, shall we say, other interests at heart. Spare a thought for George Cove and other creators who were either ahead of their time or swept aside.
While we’re here, enjoy these images of early electric cars, milk trucks, and… baby carriages?
Believe it or not, battery-powered vehicles have been around since Victorian times – everything from private automobiles to taxis, ambulances and tricycles. We’ve got the photos to prove it.
History is a fascinating place, full of lessons for the future.
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“a futuristic image of a baby in a flying stroller, with a cloud city in the background, photorealistic” (Bing Image Creator, Generated with AI)
I was recently invited to be a guest on the West Virginia Uncommon Place podcast. It was a fun interview, and I enjoyed the opportunity to explore multiple facets of writing, including how the landscapes and ideas we think of as home influence our creativity.
The relevant quote belonged to Richard Osman, writer of the charming Thursday Murder Club series. I’ve replaced the duplicate quote with another quote from the same book.
While I apologize for failing in my self-appointed task of sharing new, interesting and entertaining posts, I’m not sorry for doubling up on Mr. Osman. His work is fun, touching, thoughtful and often witty and I again recommend it if you’re into that sort of thing.
What sort of thing would that be, you may ask? The “octogenarians are clever, interesting people too and also murder murder murder” sort of thing. What’s not to love?
In which I share a snapshot from my creative life, acknowledge that progress isn’t always linear and look forward to funner times.
What is it about avoiding a project that causes it to snowball into its own sort of blockade?
I’ve talked about creativefriction before, and it’s a bit of a process. (I don’t care who you are, the life of an artist is not all productivity and acclaim. Some days are just slow like molasses.)
It’s not just “the project” itself I’m avoiding now, it’s the increasingly large speed bump that has been growing between me and it. At this point, I’m having trouble even seeing the original idea, just the mountain standing between me and the task that’s been haunting my to do list for lo these many weeks.
Avoidance takes on its own power, not replacing but adding to existing barriers to action.
So much of what paralyzes us when we’re stuck isn’t the act we’re supposed to be doing, but rather the questions that hover above the act like a curious vulture. “Why is this so hard?” “Why am I not making more progress?” “Should I be doing something else instead?” “How much longer do I need to spend on this?”
— Adam Alter, Anatomy of a Breakthrough
The good news is that the opposite also holds true. Action dismantles both types of barriers, or allows you to bypass them altogether.
The other good news is that it helps to remind myself that my key to creative progress has always been to tilt my perspective far enough that “must focus” becomes “must have fun.”
And that I can do.
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Is that a wall way down there? Photo by Rusty Watson on Unsplash
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