{"id":7053807,"date":"2026-09-01T11:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/friday-inspiration-551-semi-rad-com\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T11:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:40:13","slug":"friday-inspiration-551-semi-rad-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7053807","title":{"rendered":"Friday Inspiration 551 \u2013 Semi-Rad.com"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I spent probably way too long this past week animating my illustrations<\/strong> from my story about ChatGPT, and put it together in a short film: Why Don\u2019t You Just Have ChatGPT Write It? (video<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ve read dozens of tributes to Dolly Parton since she died this week, and the one Hanif Abdurraqib wrote on Instagram<\/strong><\/a> is one of my favorites (no surprise).<\/p>\n

Speaking of Dolly Parton, in a tribute that required much more physical effort (I assume), Jeff Garmire decided to run 9 5Ks (\u201c9 to 5\u201d) and made a short video<\/strong><\/a>, incorporating some bits of Dolly\u2019s biography (this is also one of my favorite tributes I\u2019ve seen).<\/p>\n

I long believed that coffee was an extremely powerful diuretic, and that my excessive coffee drinking meant I was sort of chronically dehydrated. Many, many years ago, I suggested to my then co-worker (and still dear friend) Mitsu that he should maybe consider drinking water instead of just coffee all the time and he deadpanned, \u201cThere\u2019s water in coffee.\u201d He was not wrong, and I wasn\u2019t 100 percent incorrect, but a better answer is in this article by newsletter sponsor Precision Fuel & Hydration founder Andy Blow: Does coffee ACTUALLY dehydrate you and harm performance?<\/strong><\/a> [\n<\/p>\n

My Annual Performance, As Reviewed By My Dog:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u201cErica excels in creating a positive team-building environment through a combination of belly scratches, gazing into my eyes, and reaffirming my position as the \u2018best doggie in the whole wide world.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

YouTube fed me this 25-minute set of chill electronic music<\/strong><\/a> by Jai Cuzco and I can\u2019t stop looping it (and every once in a while clicking back to enjoy the view out his window).<\/p>\n

This is not cerebral at all, but I think will make you smile: This guy futzing with the fuel door on a car at the gas station, and then the guy and his friend futzing with it, and then their other friend tries to help, and then they realize they\u2019re being filmed by the folks in the car behind them, and, well, it\u2019s worth a watch (with the sound on).<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I got to talk to writer, podcaster, and former wildland firefighter Amanda Monthei<\/strong><\/a> last week for the My Favorite Things podcast, and had a blast\u2014her list had some classics like Hemingway\u2019s Nick Adams Stories, Joan Didion\u2019s The Year of Magical Thinking, newer writing from John Jeremiah Sullivan, and a 2005 ski movie.<\/p>\n

Lastly: I collaborated with the Outdoor Alliance to make the below series of illustrations about the USDA proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule. If you\u2019d like to comment, here\u2019s a link to a form on the Outdoor Alliance website where you can customize your message<\/strong><\/a>. A note: Apparently the USDA only has to consider \u201csubstantive comments,\u201d and the folks at ON-X have explained how to do that here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Those links, again:<\/p>\n

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Books I\u2019m Currently Reading:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

My friend Sally recommended this brand-new book to us, and I of course was interested because of the big change in my life that has caused a thousand other little changes (including, presumably, how my brain works). I\u2019m only one chapter into it so far but I am already impressed and grateful for Saxby\u2019s engaging writing style.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I picked up this meditative book on, you guessed it, how to wash dishes, at our local bookstore, noting that the \u201cStaff Picks\u201d card inside it was from the owner, Garth, with the simple note \u201cthis should settle some arguments.\u201d I\u2019m only about halfway through it, and we don\u2019t have any arguments about dishwashing at our house, but I\u2019m enjoying it so far.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Hilary was reading this for months and absolutely gushing over it, and there\u2019s only so much you can hear about one book before you just say \u201cI\u2019ll go ahead and borrow that whenever you\u2019re finished.\u201d And I am happy to say it\u2019s as good as she said it was (although I would be terrified of taking on the challenge of writing about five different [famous] artists all in the same book like Mary Gabriel did).<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n