Happy Fri-Yay! Reader,

Welcome to the 4x Friday, four of the coolest things I've found, learned, or experienced this past week.

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What I watched

​Playing the longest golf course on Earth (00:42:31) is one of Michael Downie's videos posted on his YouTube channel, DownieLive (Thanks, Bob).In this case, "the longest" refers to both time and space. The course stretches across one-third of Australia and takes three days to play. If you hurry. Downie is a vibrant Canadian YouTuber, and I watch YouTube like many others watch network TV. I'm attracted to Michael's adventurous spirit and his childlike, wide-eyed curiosity. He and his editors, Matt and Warrick, deliver a show that will resonate if you crave authentic travel experiences and behind-the-scenes glimpses into unique journeys. Like me.

What I read

​According to my hometown paper, TC Palm, urban planner Andres Duany was nearby this week, preparing for a week of public meetings beginning on February 5. The meetings are about the downtown master plan for Vero Beach, Florida, and how Duany's ideas will influence it. Duany (best known for designing Seaside, i.e., the town used as the setting for The Truman Show) promotes New Urbanism, a design movement that advocates for walkable, mixed-use, and human-scale communities. He received a standing ovation in 2020 after unveiling a plan to restore an old Vero power plant into a conference center next to a hotel. Closer to home, when Duany started designing downtowns in 1988, he was commissioned to redesign Stuart, Florida. That's where Rebecca and I hang out on Sunday mornings with Willa the Wonder Wiener(dog) when we are in search of something from the weekly farmer's market. I understand it's him who fought to preserve our downtown's "Confusion Corner" in the master plan. Thanks, Andres.

What I listened to

Catching up on the How I Built This Podcast, reCAPTCHA and Duolingo: Luis van Ahn (01:11:56) was one of the December episodes. That was a replay from 2020, actually. In 2000, Luis von Ahn was starting his Ph.D. in computer science when he attended a talk and happened to learn about one of Yahoo's biggest problems: automated bots were signing up for millions of free Yahoo email accounts and generating tons of spam. Luis' idea to solve this problem became CAPTCHA, the squiggly letters we type into a website to prove we're human. He gave away that idea for free, but years later, that same idea evolved into a new and ingenious way to monetize language learning on the web and inspire Duolingo. Although he intended for Duolingo always to be free, particularly for those outside of the USA wanting to learn English, today, Duolingo is a publicly traded company with a market cap of $9 billion. It's very interesting how he compromised and became one of the pioneers of the "freemium" business model.

What I'm pondering

As I type, sixteen bills aimed at reducing the housing shortage and affordability crisis are being considered by eight state legislatures. All of them have their sights set on incentivizing the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and how they may be an inexpensive remedy. These may be inspired by California's AB 1332, which was signed into law last October and established the Preapproved ADU Program. Since then, cities in CA have begun offering free ADU construction drawings and expedited permitting.

Have a triumphant week!

PS - It's time to start thinking about this year's International Builder's Show in Las Vegas. If you're interested, I have free expo passes, and I'm throwing a Viva Las Pizza Party (February 27). Check them both out at AIBD.org/pizza-party.

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Generative AI assisted in writing and editing this email's content. If you find a mistake, don't blame the technology. Sometimes, I ignore its suggestions.