The Two Bag Problem
Bringing food into a concert
This week I went to a concert.
Great story Elliott, I am closing this email up and going to read another newsletter about nothing.
I was on the fence about it already but then I realized I could get a ticket for $20 all in thanks to a promotion in conjunction with a nationwide pizzeria in order to help sell a plethora of extra tickets.
The plan was to ride my bike to the venue which is by the waterfront and is not easy to either drive or take transit to.
I would bring my own water and snacks so I didn’t even have to look at concession stands and eat whatever I want.
I did my research ahead of time and saw that you can bring food into the venue as long as it looks like it was prepared at home (non-compete clause for sure), and as long as it’s not in a backpack.
Yet if you’re on your bike, you kind of need a backpack.
So I consulted with ChatGPT to get some ideas about how to handle the situation.
We figured out that if you have a backpack that can fold up into a pouch (which I do), you can pack a small tote bag in your backpack, and then when you get to the venue you move everything into the small tote.
When it’s time to go home and back on the bike, take the backpack which is now just a pouch sitting in the tote bag, unfold it, and you move everything back so you can wear it for the ride.
Entering the venue, I started out with the backpack on my back to test what policies were in place.
Security greeted me and then told me I can’t bring it in. No surprise, but you don’t know who you’re dealing with. So right in front of them I switched the contents of the two bags.
They were thoroughly impressed by this magic trick. And they didn’t even search my possessions which was funny. I guess they assumed that anyone who has thought of this cannot be on drugs, they’re simply insane and shouldn’t be provoked.
In the end, the AI figured this all out ahead of time.
N.B. There is a product for this, which can be searched by finding Tote Bag Bike Panier by brands such as Tourbon, but this is such a niche case that I doubt you will have a need for it.
Three Ideas from My Notebooks
Ideas don’t have to be good or realistic in order for you to give yourself permission to come up with them. Write down ideas every day in your notebooks, paper or digital1.
A good system takes work up-front, but then it becomes low maintenance. If you have annoying tasks that repeat throughout the week, possibly needing meetings with other people, those are good targets for things that need a system or automation to get them off your plate on an ongoing basis.
Every day return to the idea that you have limited time here in the physical form. So work on the things that light you up. Learn to refocus energy on things that bring you joy.
A long archive of the ideas are located in The Ideas Index:
🎶 Music Reco: Sonido Cósmico by Hermanos Gutiérrez 🎶
I enjoyed listening to the new Hermanos Gutiérrez album this week. I put it on in the background while I was doing work.
Is this music revolutionary? Probably not, but a better question to ask is if it’s enjoyable. And that gets a yes.
Similar to drinking a Californian red wine with a label and name designed for housewives, this music is easy to take down.
The tremolo guitars drenched in spring reverb which are reminiscent of old Spaghetti Western flicks, mixed with some dry, 1960s drums is a recipe for sounds that put you in a creative or contemplative mood.
These brothers have carved out a sound for themselves and they’re sticking with it hell or high water, so bless the people who are devoted to playing their hearts out.
Thanks for reading today, have a great week ahead 🧡🥯🧡
Elliott
I mentioned some digital notebooks/services to consider in this week’s Wednesday Waffle.