I missed this in the news, then saw link refers to Kronen Zeitung report which is not a great newspaper to cite so thought for sure it cannot be entirely true? But it is! And here another link from Die Presse (google translate works fine here) which tells us it was not a jerk dad who brought his kid to drill holes but an idiot mom.

I think it’s Lay it on me by Vance Joy. It has a part about him being sad, then there is love, and then an instrumental chorus to which I dance to (given a chance). I guess I find it pretty uplifting.

This is beautifully said. There had been moments in my life when I’d be so very happy that I would indeed close my eyes, take a deep breath and appreciate the moment. When there is nothing to bug you in the back of your mind to ruin the setting, such moments are beautiful and I agree, could be described as pure joy.

Yes!! Funny story, I learned about redwood from a boardgame when I was six and thought they are some trees from this magic game world that don’t exist in real life. You can imagine how excited I was once I realized they are real and more so when I first saw them! Californian ones are the most impressive, no debate there, but I actually found quite a few across Europe too, often in super random places. So maybe you will also find some around where you live? You never know.

Lived in Bay Area for some time and been up to the Redwood National park but not to Santa Cruz! Just checked it out and now I have another reason to visit again. Honestly, I would have even stayed there - NorthCal’s nature is simply breathtaking - but unfortunatelly so are the living costs around there.

Trees! Those big, old giants which make you feel like they are indeed harboring some ancient wisdom, being there, in the same spot years before you, barely brushed by the passing of time. And then if they are evergreen not even season affects them - they just keep on existing, all tall and gracious. How awesome is that.

I think to really solve this we will need to wait for the kids from this generation to grow up, and those who “figure it out” teach others how to do it, through a (hopefully adapted) educational system or otherwise. Because, to be honest, we don’t really know what this is like. We think we do, but we don’t, not really.

Cycling. I don’t (yet) have all the fensi equipment nor an expensive bike and don’t do long, exercise-like laps. It is much more incorporated into my daily life. I have an oldschool road bike which I use for my commute and then every day after work go around the city with it for some hours (with small breaks for say shopping/eating; ca. 25-30 km per day). Longer rides on the weekends (average ca 100-120 km per weekend). Never was keen on sports but was always into little daily adventures and this combines the two. Last time: yesterday.