Friends news: Indoor air quality tips 🌱

Published about 1 year ago • 4 min read

Hello Reader, from your internet friend Nick, author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party (paperback sale or Audible).

In this issue: how Tokyo became an anti-car paradise, indoor air made this guy sick, Spanish slang trends, some fun memes I made, and more.

Why you’re getting this: I'm Nick Gray and this is my Friends Newsletter. I send this every month to interesting people I’ve connected with and friends I want to keep in touch with. You can un-subscríbe any time and I won't be mad. I won't even be notified!

Random Links

🗻 How Tokyo Became an Anti-Car Paradise​

"The world’s biggest, most functional city might also be the most pedestrian-friendly. That’s not a coincidence."

🫰 If I Had $10 Million Dollars, How Would I Live Differently?​

I wrote this article a few years ago and it still rings true. You can try the thought exercise, too.

🗣️ Is Therapy-Speak Making Us Selfish?​

"Boundaries are important. But our relationships require a touch more compassion than some online blueprints offer." via Diksha

✈ Flighty app for travelers​

"Travel stress-free. Predict delays. Get instant updates." It is an app that helps you with your flights or tracks them. My friend Amit Gupta and a few others love this and swear by it for travel delays etc.

🗓️ The days are long but the decades are short​

"Never put your family, friends, or significant other low on your priority list. Prefer a handful of truly close friends to a hundred acquaintances. Don’t lose touch with old friends. Occasionally stay up until the sun rises talking to people. Have parties."

☹ My Best Friend Died From Loneliness​

"Social isolation continues to be one of the most deadly epidemics in the US. This is a heartbreaking piece. I’ve been on Mike’s path. I know Mikes. We can do better for the people we care about." via Zach Ware

✨ Fun: Space Elevator​

"Scrolling up will take you on a trip to Space while exploring the atmosphere and its many layers, past high-dwelling animals and cruising altitude for aircrafts and different types of clouds." via recomendo newsletter

🌩 How my indoor air made me sick and dumb (and how I fixed it)​

I met this guy recently and he is VERY passionate about indoor air quality. specifically using ERV devices inside the home to circulate outside air without a loss of temperature (to reduce indoor CO2, I think?) here's his whole writeup on his site.

📘 Help Wanted: Amazon Ads for My Book​

I spent over $10,000 to sell only 1000 books using sponsored ads. Check out my article for detailed results and lessons learned.

🎫 Fun sale: The 2-Hour Cocktail Party (paperback)​

Speaking of my book: you can get the paperback on Amazon for only $15 with free shipping today. Satisfaction guaranteed, just write back to me if you feel it isn't easy to read and packed with value and I will Venmo or PayPal you the money back.

🗽 NYC this Friday: Caveat: The Science 101 of Parties​

I am co-hosting a live show in NYC with my friend Dustin Growick this Friday, May 12th. Tickets are $20. It is all about games, ridiculous audience polls, blistering hot takes, "art" challenges, votes for tenure, and real scientists.

🧙🏽 Podcast: The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling​

I like this podcast, especially the last few episodes. You might listen if you have broad questions about trans issues, you want an unbiased perspective, you think J.K. Rowling might be sincere, (or) she might be evil. It starts a bit slow but I learned a lot.

Spanish Slang

There’s a trend in Spanish slang of describing someone with an overly high opinion of themselves as a powerful fictional character, but of a tiny territory. Examples are ‘Yeti of the fridge freezer,’ ‘Aquaman of the toilet bowl,’ and ‘Tarzan of the flowerpot. Here are a few more:

  • Blackbeard of the bathtub
  • Sasquatch of the herb garden
  • Samurai of the butter knives
  • Poseidon of the paddling pool
  • Sauron of the seesaw
  • Lord of the ring binder
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Flowchart

And some phrases about the boastful and the conceited, from different countries:

  • He thinks he's the last biscuit in the bag (Brazil)
  • He thinks he's the last suck on the mango (Mexico)
  • He thinks he's the Pope's head mustard-maker (France)
  • He thinks he's the cheese, but he's only the stink (Scotland)
  • If you've been to Tenerife, he's been to Elevenerife (Ireland)

– via Judhajit De​

Help Wanted: Amazon Ads for My Book

I tried using Amazon Ads and their targeted advertising to drive sales for my book, The 2-Hour Cocktail Party.

But I spent over $10,000 to sell only 1000 books. That is not good. I need help!

In this article on my blog, I'll show you the different strategies that I tested using Amazon Advertising for my book.

Video: My First Million

Last weekend I was the Master of Ceremonies at the live recording for a popular business podcast called My First Million. See this behind-the-scenes video clip that I made showing the green room, how we managed crowd control, meet & greets with VIPs, and more.

Fun Memes

Here are a few fun memes that I remixed and people seemed to like:

The End

Thanks for reading my Friends Newsletter. I'm working on a few new articles that I am excited to share soon. Today I'm driving back to Austin after visiting my parents in Dallas to see their new puppy.

Here's where I'll be over the next few weeks:

  • New York City this weekend, May 12-14
  • Mexico City on May 16-18
  • San Diego, CA on June 5-6 speaking at a conference

OK! Have a great rest of your week.

🤠 Nick Gray

p.s. Here's the About Me on my website if you forgot who I am. We met [HOWWEMET GOES HERE].

An investor, entrepreneur, and author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party. I started and sold two successful companies: Flight Display Systems and Museum Hack. Join 20,000 CEOs, investors, and founders and receive business tips, productivity tools, and other resources from me.