July 11, 2023 - Spheres, Dark Side, Habits, Slurpees
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Nuggets of Information: The Only Thing We Have to Sphere, Is Sphere Itself
There isn’t much to capture one’s attention in the sleepy desert town of Las Vegas. But all that may change with the debut of “The Sphere” at the Venetian Resort. The Sphere is 366 feet/112 m high and 516 feet/157 m wide at its broadest point and is the largest spherical building in the world at 875,000 sq ft/81,300 m2. It will include seating for 18,600 people or can accommodate 20,000 people standing. The Sphere has nine levels, including the basement, where a VIP club is located. A total of 23 suites are included, across the third and fifth floors.
The Sphere's interior is equipped with the world’s largest and highest-resolution 16K resolution wraparound LED screen, measuring 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) The exterior of the venue features 580,000 sq ft/54,000 m2 of programmable lighting, which can display an exceptional variety of amazing visual presentations. The Sphere features 164,000 speakers, and the sound system delivers sound through the floorboards. 4D features, including scent and wind, will also be used. I have a similar setup in my basement and it is pretty rad.
The exterior went live over July 4th weekend, and the first scheduled act inside the Sphere will be later this fall when U2 performs their Achtung Baby concert. The long-term plans for the Sphere are to have 4-6 “residence” performers a year in addition to other music and sporting events.
Enrichment: Dark Side of the Dead
Last week I hooked up with my dear friends Tom & Julie, and we headed down to Terminal West to see Cosmic Charlie’s “Dark Side of the Dead” show. We met up with our friend Rich, his dad and some of their friends. Great crowd. Cosmic Charlie is a successful Grateful Dead cover band, with very talented musicians. This show was unique in that between two full sets of Dead songs, they also played the entirety of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album. Over three hours of music – a pretty impressive feat. Equally impressive was that they nailed the loose, jammy improvisational approach the Dead have, but also hit the highly scripted/orchestrated nature of Pink Floyd albums. Tickets were only $25 - a steal!
I had a great time, but if I had to rank the “cover band doing an album” concerts I’ve seen this year, I give the edge to Yacht Rock’s performance of “Stop Making Sense.” That show rocked.
Workshop: Stacking Is Habit Forming
Developing habits and creating routines based on those habits is a powerfully effective way to make changes in your life. I am a big fan of figuring out what my habits are, replacing habits that don’t align with my goals with those that do, and incorporating habits into routines.
One concept that I’ve been focusing on is “habit stacking” where you take a new habit you are trying to develop, and you tie it to an existing habit you already have. This is particularly useful if you are having trouble adopting the new habit. The key is to choose an existing habit that you already do consistently and link a new habit to it. This makes it easier to remember and helps you build momentum. As the bond between habits grows, routines are established.
Some of my routines that came from habit stacking:
Morning routine: When I wanted to start journaling, I tied it to my morning “go for a morning walk” habit, which was firmly established. When I get home from my walk, the coffee is ready, I spend a few minutes with our dog, play Wordle, then I journal. My morning routine is a series of habits I’ve developed – I don’t really even think about it anymore.
Bedtime routine: When I’m ready for bed, I make sure to get water to have next to the bed. That action has me in the kitchen, where I also set up the coffee for the next morning. Brushing teeth, putting out my clothes for my morning walk, and reading for a few minutes round out my bedtime routine.
If you would like to read more about habits, routines and goals, check out my article at FocusTransform.com. I also recommend the following books on habits and routines:
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by BJ Fogg
The Five Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
How have you stacked habits together? Leave comments below!
Selected Content: No Auto-correct, I Do Not Love ‘Burpees’
This week’s Boo’s N.E.W.S. falls on July 11th – 7-11 – and I would like to pay tribute to a fixture of my childhood. As a boy growing up in South Florida, one of the greatest treats after school was when whichever mom was driving carpool would take us to 7-Eleven to get Slurpees. From the variety of flavors to the cool straw with a spoon at the end (Stroon? Spraw?), the Slurpee was the quintessential hot weather treat – well worth the risk of Brain Freeze.
7-Eleven offers much more than just this frozen wonder. They feature the Big Gulp – perfect if you need to consume up to a gallon of soda. Back in 1976, the Big Gulp revolutionized the soda industry, giving consumers a choice of sizes much larger than the standard “large” size of 20 ounces. Starting with the original Big Gulp at 32-ounces, the sizes only got bigger: Super Big Gulp (46 oz.), X-treme Gulp (52 Oz.), Double Gulp (64-oz.), and Team Gulp (1 gallon).
Many summer days were spent riding bikes to the 7-Eleven, buying comic books, microwaving little pizzas, gorging on candy, and enjoying their famous bevvies. Truly a wonderful place!
As today is 7-11 day, everyone who subscribes to Boo’s N.E.W.S. can get a free small Slurpee - today only! Not sure where the closest 7-Eleven is? Use their store locator!