RRR7: Capturing Inspiration, Minimalism Revisited, Changing Our Perception of Life, Villavicencio Assassination, Tea Time, and Team Mid Range

😊🙌🏻😢➡😊:😡🍵🏀🎯

How much inspiration do we let pass us by?

Have you ever read something, heard spoken words, or perhaps even thought to yourself something so profound, that it almost alters your view of life in that moment?

You immediately get thoughts flying into your head of all the ways you can improve life for yourself and potentially others as well. You may even start to craft ideas of how to get started down this beautiful yellow brick road of human potential.

Only on occasion will those moments of inspiration stick with us and trigger actions that send us down a more prosperous path. Mostly, the feeling and thoughts that come with it are gone within a minute 🤦🏻‍♂️.

This happens to me all the time. Incapable of quickly identifying the problem and creating a solution, I have let this happen to me week in and week out for most of my 28 years on this earth.

Today, I am pledging to try and stop the profuse bleeding of opportunity that these moments are desperately trying to deliver to me.

I plan on creating some sort of log to store my most weighty thoughts, filled with enough details to recreate the same feelings of hope and excitement that I initially experienced.

From there I’ll ponder each thought more deeply, and create actionable steps to try and live out whatever it is I’m considering.

I hope this new strategy will allow me to traverse through life with more intention, especially surrounding the ideas that can bring me and those within my sphere of influence the greatest benefit.

I will be sure to circle back and let you all know if I come up with anything that works! Please leave a comment or shoot me an email if you have life hacks that work to capture inspiration before it flies away 🕊.

Before we get into recent times, a quick Connecticut four-pack of goodies:

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In Recent Times…

This wouldn’t be the first time in RRR history that we’ve discussed the concept of minimalism. Well, this past week I took my study of minimalism to a new level by watching a short documentary on Netflix (it’s literally called Minimalism):

I will admit, I don’t think it was a perfectly made documentary. Perhaps I was more critical of the film that most would be, simply by transitive property of reading so much material on minimalist philosophy. I watched with a friend who seemed to be quite moved (I wonder if he will capture that moment of inspiration 😉).

What I think the film does excellently is tee up the problem that minimalism is in a unique position to solve. Where I believe it lacks is showing the viewer exactly what a minimalist life can look like.

You get some shots of really cool minimalist apartments, tiny houses, rooms that are so decluttered they breathe calm into your soul, but that is almost where it stops. I was hoping we’d get a laser focus on what you can do with your life once you achieve minimalism, not just what your house and wardrobe would look like 🤷🏻‍♂️.

Anyways, try watching it if you have a little over an hour to spare. I enjoyed watching it with a cup of tea before bed 🍵. More to come on tea...

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Readings of the Week

“Regional Clusters and Rural Development: To What Extent Does EDA’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge Include Rural Areas?” by Anthony F. Pipa, Zoe Swarzenski

I found this an important follow-up reading to what I read and briefly spoke about a couple weeks back in RRR6.

The article starts by concisely laying out the problem statement:

Employment and labor force participation rates in rural areas have still not recovered to pre-Great Recession levels. From most indications, rural America’s economic fortunes continue to diverge from the rest of the country.

Data points such as the ones in the chart above are important to consider if you’re someone who contemplates cultural divisions in the U.S.

We often get upset when people don’t align with us on an issue. However, I challenge all of us to think about if we are considering everyone’s needs and challenges as much as we want them to consider our own 🧠🤔💭.

For what it’s worth, I think we do need to be wary of massive government spending… The interest payments on our national debt are about to get freaky. As long as we have the budget, though, lets use it to steward in a more prosperous era for all Americans.

“With China Attending, Ukraine Peace Discussions Inch Forward” by Laurence Norman and Stephen Kalin

During the talks, China presented a 12-point plan for a cease-fire and peace talks to end the war, which it first announced in February. European diplomats pushed back to warn that an unconditional cease-fire could simply create a frozen conflict and allow Russia to consolidate its control of Ukrainian territory.

“They got live feedback, which was a good exchange,” said a person familiar with the discussion. 

A senior U.S. official said that national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland met with the head of the Chinese delegation, Beijing’s peace envoy Li Hui, on the sidelines.

“It was very good to have the Chinese here,” the U.S. official said.

Diplomats also said some of the differences that emerged in Copenhagen appeared to have narrowed. In those talks, Ukraine pushed for major developing countries to accept Zelensky’s peace plan, at the heart of which is a demand that peace begin only when Russian forces fully withdraw, and several developing countries said they wouldn’t do so.

In Jeddah, Ukraine and the major developing countries appeared keener to seek out a consensus. A senior European official said that Ukraine didn’t push again for its peace plan to be accepted and other countries weren’t insisting that Kyiv drop it. Nor was there any crossfire over Ukraine’s demand for the withdrawal of Russian troops. Ukraine didn’t press the point, two diplomats said, nor was it challenged by developing countries.

While no date has been set for a third meeting, there was agreement on a two-track process to move forward. Ukraine will continue discussions with foreign ambassadors in Kyiv on peace conditions. 

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Junto Club

Do you know of any fellow citizen, who has lately done a worthy action, deserving praise and imitation? or who has committed an error proper for us to be warned against and avoid?

Today I want to approach the negative side of this question and discuss an error that we would be wise to avoid.

I want to preface by saying that being human is really difficult a lot of the time. We have wants or needs that are unmet, challenges we need to overcome, sadness that engulfs our world (and we have unlimited access to that sadness if we so choose), and worst of all, sometimes we may feel a lack of purpose.

Why are we here and what are we striving for?

The answer to that question may be different for everyone. For me, I at least currently am under the impression that I’m striving for true happiness for myself, and that I should at least try and be a source of happiness for those around me.

For others, it might be to provide for their family, change the world, or to live in a manner consistent with the teachings of a religion. There’s a wide range of possibilities.

However, though these meaty questions deserve time and attention, I think it’s important not to take life too seriously.

Have any of you ever looked back on a difficult life moment and thought, “wow, I can’t believe how upset I was about that”, or, “that was the littlest deal ever, why did I care so much”?

How much time each day do you think about the things you don’t have vs. what you do have?

How much time do you spend thinking about your positive qualities vs. your less admirable ones?

If you’re like me, historically, the answer to that question is anything but fun to think about.

Time is the singular most precious gift we have, fill it with joy when you can. I’ve read a lot of research that indicates most people think about the negative aspects of their life more than five times as much as they appreciate the positive qualities of life.

Is it crazy of me to advocate for a 50/50 split? 🤷🏻‍♂️.

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Villavicencio Assassination 😪🤦🏻‍♂️

Dark times have fallen upon Ecuador, a nation of nearly 18 million situated on the northwest coast of South America. This, from Reuters:

The assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio less than two weeks before the election has sent shockwaves through the South American country, leading some rivals to suspend campaigning and bringing the issue of rising violence to the foreground.

Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was killed on Wednesday during an evening campaign event in northern Quito.

A suspect in the crime later died of injuries sustained in a shoot-out and six others have so far been arrested, the attorney general's office said. Nine people, including a candidate for the legislature and two police officers, were injured, it added.

President Guillermo Lasso said the crime was clearly an attempt to sabotage the election, but that voting would go ahead as planned on Aug. 20, albeit amid a national state of emergency, with the military mobilized to guarantee security.

This is not an isolated incident. Just weeks ago, the mayor of the coastal city of Manta was assassinated. The killings of these political figures is coinciding with a dramatic increase in violent crime in the country.

I don’t want to offer too many of my own thoughts on the situation, but its unfolding serves as another reminder of how fickle peaceful times really are throughout human history.

As I’ve mentioned before, Ecuador is one of the most beautiful places our planet has to offer. What’s even more, it’s home to some of the most genuine, fun loving, and caring people you could ever hope to meet. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to share with you some of their perspectives on the social and political environment that currently exists in their country.

For now, lets keep the people of Ecuador in our thoughts, and use this as another lesson that a status quo of relative peace does not guarantee continued peace.

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Tea Time 🍵

Some people are extremely sure of themselves. To these individuals, the question of “who am I?” is easily answered, and they often abide by a program or code of action that they have developed for themselves (I do not mean a moral code, by the way. Hopefully everyone has that part mostly figured out by the time they are young adults or even teenagers).

I, am not one of these people. Yet, there is just one thing in this entire world that I do believe defines who I have been in the last 15 years or so, and that is coffee ☕☕.

In fact, I often attribute coffee with saving my academic career. Story time!

I went to an elementary school that at the time of my enrollment was laser focused on reading and writing, but paid very little attention to math. As a result, many of my former classmates have gone into law, politics, education, etc.

As a result, I was always in remedial level math classes starting in middle school, throughout high school. In high school, I was struggled mightily in my first year of math. The class begin at 7:31AM (which is another topic I want to revisit soon). This was a unique challenge because I was also playing competitive basketball, which meant 3 hour practices most days after school.

The holy quadrant of early wake ups, poor nutrition, a lack of math fundamentals, and being severely overworked and under-rested as an athlete ensured that my math career was doomed for failure. That is, until I discovered the magic of the coffee bean.

All of a sudden, I felt excited and eager to apply myself to the material in class, as opposed to (literally) falling asleep in class most days. My grade started to improve rapidly, and I actually began to feel for the first time in my life a real joy from learning.

Unfortunately, coffee and I are hitting a bit of a cross-roads. Like any loving relationship, we need our space 😢. I’ve started to experience some of the negative effects that people have warned of for ages. I’m beginning to have random anxious feelings, some jitters, and even a lack of simple focus because my mind is working too fast.

To be clear, I’m still having a (very) bold cup or two to start my day, but I’m skipping the post lunch brew, and certainly the post dinner espresso. I’m also waiting to have coffee each day until at least 45 minutes after I wake up.

🍵🍵 and here is where the tea comes in 🍵🍵

My initial attempts to stop having coffee at lunch did not go so well. It’s only when I started experimenting with tea that I began to curb my craving a bit.

I’ve found that even though it seems like a stupid gimmick, having something hot to sip on after lunch took away a ton of my desire for coffee! The same is true for curbing my desire for an espresso after dinner.

You might be thinking, doesn’t tea have caffeine?

I’m drinking herbal tea which is caffeine free in most cases, but even black tea has negligible amounts of the stimulant compared to some of the s*** I normally drink 😂😂.

In particular, I’ve been gravitating towards chamomile 🌻🌻.

I can’t wait to report back soon on my newest endeavor:

Entering my loose leaf era ✨🎉

If you’re struggling with a coffee addiction despite the negative consequences, try giving tea a shot! What I am beginning to love is the massive variations in flavor profile and health benefits of different teas. This is going to be fun 🥂 (or should I say, 🍵🍵).

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The Art of The Midrange 🏀🎯

In basketball, there are many areas of the floor that make up the overwhelming majority of shot attempts. These different areas, however, can easily be summarized into three “levels”:

• The rim

  • Shots very close to the basket, let’s say 0-5ft

• The midrange

  • Shot from 5ft to the three point line

• Three point range

With the growing use of data to supplement team building and competitive strategy, mid range shots have become increasingly rare sights in todays game. Think about it:

A shot at the rim that goes in 60% of the time is worth 1.2 points per attempt

A shot in the midrange that goes in 50% of the time is worth 1 point per attempt.

A shot from three point range that goes in just 35% of the time is worth 1.05 points per attempt.

Thus, the math makes it increasingly unlikely that it’s wise to take a mid range shot.

That is, until that math changes…

In the NBA, a phenomenon that needs to be understood to analyze the game is that the playoffs often offer up different circumstances than a game in the regular season. When a team tightens up it’s player rotation, ratchets up its defensive intensity, and focuses better on every possession, you need more tools in the toolbox to score the ball effectively.

This is why, nearly without exception, every great team shoots more mid range jump shots in the playoffs than they do in the regular season.

In the playoffs, it becomes harder to shoot threes and get to the rim to score, but the vast amount of space (and variety of ways in which you can get a shot off) create an opportunity to enjoy great efficiency in the mid range.

I was not a particularly good three point shooter, nor was I nearly athletic enough to get to the rim consistently in my playing days, so I made my living on offense by being a threat to score in the mid range. My high school teammate Nate and I used to call ourselves “Team Mid Range”.

As an ode to the mid range, I wanted to post some material that celebrates the glory of this often forgotten shot:

Kobe Bryant’s Mid-Range Journey

This video is a great primer because it discusses the evolution of Kobe’s strategy on when and how he utilized the midrange to his advantage.

Kevin Durant’s Unstoppable Midrange Game

In this video, it’s essential to focus on how the mid range offers Durant optionality he doesn’t enjoy anywhere else on the floor. He can fake drives to the basket to clear a little bit of space for high percentage shots. He can turn his back to the basket to setup fadeaway jump shots that would be nearly impossible to make if he were as far out as the three point line. This is extremely advantageous because he doesn’t need to expend tons of energy, nor does the team need to make risky dribbles or passes to setup a shot. Durant can simply get to this shot whenever he wants to.

“Game theory and the subtle value of the midrange” by adammorrisongoat on r/nbadiscussion

First of all, what a reddit username 🤣. More importantly, this is an excellent deep dive on when the math changes to favor the mid range jump shot in certain situations:

Looking back at the 2017 West Semifinals of Rockets vs Spurs, we can see what happens when an offense is unwilling and/or unable to punish a defense that is conceding open midrange pockets in order to prioritize guarding the rim and the arc (takeaway #1 from above). The Spurs were well aware that the Rockets were historically averse to taking midrange jumpers. So whenever the Rockets played pick-and-roll with a big screening (Capela or Nene), the Spurs played a deep drop with the big defender (often Gasol, sometimes Aldridge) playing goalie at the rim and the guard defender fighting over the top to prevent a pull-up three.  This often left a wide-open pocket in the midrange which invited a rhythm dribble into a pull-up, but Harden and the other Rockets ballhandlers dutifully declined these looks in accordance with peak Moreyball. Two specific examples from this series:

1. Capela screens for Harden, and Kawhi trails over the top to dissuade Harden from pulling up for 3. Harden runs straight past that open midrange pocket, only to crash headlong into a waiting Pau Gasol under the rim and miss a layup heavily influenced by Gasol’s long arms and excellent technique. Gasol held opponents 11 percentage points below expected when contesting shots at the rim during those 2017 playoffs, an elite number. It’s fair to say the Spurs were just fine having him sit back in deep drop coverage and wait for Rockets ballhandlers to stubbornly challenge him.

2. Eric Gordon comes downhill off a Ryan Anderson screen into wide open space in the midrange. But Gasol knows Gordon isn’t taking a middie, so he plays goalie at the rim and is able to contain both Gordon’s drive and the dumpoff to Capela in the dunker spot without any help needed.

These examples demonstrate the weakness of Moreyball’s lack of counters: once players such as Harden and Gordon and even Capela have crossed inside the arc, everyone in the building knows they’re only going to attempt a shot at the rim. So, the defense can just have their best rim protector sit back in the restricted area, with the other defenders providing minimal help in order to stay near shooters dotted along the perimeter.

A toast, then, to the artistry of those who have the arsenal to score the ball at all three levels 🥂.

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