I moved. I am a New York Times trend story. After 13 years in New York, my partner and I decided to move back to my home state: Michigan, where our votes will count this November. But New York is not dead (you heard it here first, folks), a number of factors contributed to our move: family, access to nature, and mostly we just wanted a fireplace, which is very hard to find in Brooklyn.
At our Three Point Four Socially Distanced Summit in August, Noah pointed out that the pandemic isn’t specifically what’s pushing people to move and make Big Life Decisions. It’s just speeding up a longtime migration pattern: People Of A Certain Age (And Means) leave cities. What would have happened in five years happened in the span of six months because of the clarity the pandemic brought. We had been talking about moving before Covid. Quarantine flipped a switch that had been toggling back and forth for a while.
The funny thing is, I was nervous to tell Noah. Is he gonna be mad? Will he want to dissolve the business? This is hilarious, for those of you who know Noah. If you are ever going to start a business with a very close friend, I suggest going into business with someone who is very relaxed and clearheaded when it comes to decision making. His response?
Yeah man I don’t care.
We’ve been talking a lot in the Three Point Four Slack about decision making. Your gut usually is right. Reply to the client’s email about the budget right away—don’t wait. Ask for a higher fee. Save money. Buy a Vespa. Just press send. People spend a lot of emotional capital overthinking decisions. We all have better instincts than we give ourselves credit for, quit over thinking it. Move to Ann Arbor, people yell at cyclists and complain about bike lanes here the same way they do in New York.
The Loop is a self-help newsletter now. Onto the links.
An Article
Inside the Boogaloo: America's Extremely Online Extremists
Everything in this Times Magazine feature is terrifying, but I was amazed at how many news events mentioned in the piece I totally missed when they happened.
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A Book
The Death And Life of the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes account for 21% of the world’s supply of surface fresh water. I grew up on Lake Michigan. It’s a sight to behold. The Inland Seas, baby! Anyway, like every other resource on earth, humans are ruining it. If you want to read more about how we’re ruining everything, check out longtime Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Dan Egan’s book.
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A Recipe
I’ve been cooking a lot of tri-tip this summer. It’s cheaper than more popular cuts like ribeye or skirt steak. You just have to cook it right. It’s traditionally more of a stew or slow cook cut. I like to put a rub on it—Saturday was equal parts kosher salt, Aleppo pepper, garlic salt, fresh ground pepper, and one teaspoon cayenne—and let it sit at room temperature for a few hours. Then I cook it off heat while I grill vegetables (don’t sleep on grilled cabbage) and other protein (whole fish). After the internal temp is above 100, I hit it on the high heat and baste it with butter. Take it off at 115-120 if you want it truly medium rare. Let it sit for 15 minutes. I guess wait for it to get to a higher temp if you’re weird and want your steak medium?
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A Run
Still can’t run. Been biking a ton. My tan lines are impressive.
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Soak up these last weeks of summer. Make big decisions. Wear a mask.