Getting people to share conversations is what I try to encourage, but it takes time. Here is a review of some of the chats I had during the week. Some didn’t make it to the community….yet.

Monday: Sebastian’s “BBQ Career”. It is actually quite impressive and definitely worth learning about. Not that BBQs are something exotic, but simply his dedication to quality and doing it right, and indirectly motivating others to learn from that spirit, wanting his friends to enjoy the experience of eating good food in good company. We need to get this sizzle into the community.

Ismar, in Brazil, and I venture into Confucianism and Religion, prompted by Nathalie, who discovered that in Korea, people are trying to transform the philosophy into a religion.

In the evening, Igor in Brazil and I plan our next podcast, based on a book “The Writing Life” by Annie Dillard.

Tuesday: Tuesday afternoon, Rosii and I work on the final touches of her Socorro minibreak, which has now been transformed into a “Sip’n’Study”. By the way, that is Brida-Speak for an exercise with a quiz.

In the Tuesday Get Together, Levent and his wife Belkiz joined Igor, Ismar, Sebastian and me. For those who don’t know, they live in Turkey and were immediately affected by the earthquake in Hatay earlier this year. Together they told the story of what happened. Yes, what happened was all over the media. But sharing a story on a personal level makes it more impactful.

Wednesday: Joerg, an engineer in Germany, paints a picture of how the European Union, European Universities and Train Companies cooperate to standardize signalling throughout the European Railway Network. Not that isn’t already impressive. But he then takes it up a notch and explains how the European Train Companies use artificial intelligence to help them in the process. It makes ChatGPT look like an amateur.

Wednesday. Off-grid. I work with a bunch of children. Léann, who is 14, loves literature and especially tragedies. She gives me homework for the next lesson: what are the differences between classical tragedies and modern tragedies? And her cousin, Charlène, who loves music, asks me to prepare a lesson on where music comes from. Two teenagers, who, given the right environment, actually want to learn.

Thursday: Somehow, Maxime and I have a hit-and-miss relationship with scheduling at the moment. The exchange you see here actually happened on Friday, but it is telling.

Céline is back from her jaunt to the South of France. And the opening sentence is full of promise: “The objective of this trip was to let go of the control of our destination, where we would sleep, what we would visit, what we would eat and how we would live.”

Friday: Walter continues his Beer Trail Hiking trail, dog and all, with a rudimentary description of beers to drink. We need to develop that one. In the afternoon, Caroline sends me a post from her blog about productivity.

Saturday: Cléa fills me in on the latest K-Pop gossip, she tests the Socorro “Sip’n’Study” inspired by Rosii. Cléa approved of the Sip’n’Study, which makes me happy.

Finally, Saturday evening, at a really relaxing place by a hidden fish pond, I am invited to a BBQ. There, Carolina tells me more about her desire to help people be less busy but more productive. It’s all about priorities. And, I meet some people who could contribute to our community as well.

Some of these stories were shared, and some may not make it to the community, but believe me, looking at the tapestry of life that this community displays, the diversity that is on display here is great.