Mappy February!
We Touched Pyramids! / Stunning AI videos / Teeth affect Brain and Heart / Housesit! / Watch Limitless Thor / Read about Elegant Murders / Do Self-love meditation / Check out Ancient Mind Maps
New on MappyEverAfter: Touching1800-year-old Mexican Pyramids
AI Shenanigans: OpenAI’s Sora can make amazing videos
Health: The Link between Healthy Teeth and Healthy Heart and Brain
Money/Travel: Housesit! Like we are, right now.
Watch/Health: Chris Hemsworth - Limitless
Read: Rupert Holmes - Murder Your Employer
Mental Hack: Sam Harris’ 13-min Self-love Meditation
Just because: We didn’t invent Mind Maps
Note: I will always tell you if I’m getting any referral bonuses and how much they are. There is one in this letter, a referral link for Trusted Housesitters membership that will give you 25% off and me 2 free months.
New on my MappyEverAfter website: Touching1800-year-old Mexican pyramids
This was an amazing trip!
Not much is known about the people who built Teotihuacan, the biggest city of the Americas, almost 2000 years ago near Mexico City. The whole civilization is a mystery. They left behind huge pyramids, secret tunnels and caves, statues, tools, and remains of human sacrifices.
We got to walk where the 150,000 inhabitants walked, touch the stones they touched, and soak in the ancient city. Here’s my story with pictures.
AI Shenanigans - (soon) Generate Videos with Sora
Hold onto your holograms, friends! Machines are churning out content faster than ever, from writing articles and books to cloning your own voice and creating videos.
OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, are making waves again with their latest project. They're testing Sora, a video-generating model that may change the way we make visuals.
Soon, you’ll be able to create any scene you can dream of, from documentary-like realism to carton animation. Just let Sora know what you're thinking of and watch it turn your imagination into a stunning, realistic video.
Prompt for this video is from their website, where you can find dozens of other examples:
Prompt: Extreme close up of a 24 year old woman’s eye blinking, standing in Marrakech during magic hour, cinematic film shot in 70mm, depth of field, vivid colors
Is this the future of entertainment, or the grave of reality as we know it?
Health - Andrew Huberman on The Link between Healthy Teeth and Healthy Heart and Brain
In this excellent, recent episode, Dr. Andrew Huberman talks about techniques for healing teeth and gums, remineralizing small cavities and best practices for brushing, flossing, tongue care, gum health, gut and mouth microbiome. Taking care of your mouth can help prevent cardiac, gut and neurological diseases like IBS and Alzheimer's.
If you don’t feel like listening for 2 hours (which you should tho), here are my main takeaways:
Sugar and carbs don't cause cavities. Communicable Strep mutans bacteria live on the food you eat and produce acid that eats away at enamel, causing cavities.
You’re either in the state of remineralization (building your teeth in alkaline mouth environment) or demineralization (breaking down your teeth in acidic environment).
Keep your mouth alkaline by limiting the time food and drinks spend on your teeth. Rinse, brush, or eat xylitol after meals and beverages.
If you brush only once a day, do it at night.
Don’t use antiseptic mouthwash, it’s bad for your microbiome and capillary health.
Breathe through your nose to keep your mouth moist, warm, and saliva bathing your teeth.
Eat fermented foods.
Poor oral health can effect the whole body, from heart issues to Alzheimer's.
Money/Travel - Housesit, it’s a win-win!
Housesitting is one of the best travel hacks! It’s like having a backstage pass: you’re not a tourist, you become a temporary local.
The hubby and I are at it now, taking care of sweet little doggies in a beautiful house in the Utah canyonlands.
This is our 4th time here. The owners have become our friends, their place feels like a second home, and the neighbors now greet us with enthusiastic “Welcome back!”
It's such a win-win! Homeowners can vacation knowing their homes and pets are in good hands, and housesitters get to experience unique places they might not have otherwise visited, usually with cute animals to snuggle with as an added bonus.
There's no exchange of money between homeowners and housesitters. Instead, both parties pay an annual membership fee to a housesitting website.
TrustedHousesitters.com is the platform we've been using, and we've been very happy with it. Their annual fee of $129 for sitters and $149 for pet “parents” covers unlimited sits, and you can save 25% with this link.
Read - Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes
This darkly funny, deliciously written literary feast transports you, blindfolded, to McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts. It’s like Hogwarts, but instead of wands and potions, your classmates are meticulously studying poisons, alibis, and the art of the perfect getaway.
These are not cold-blooded killers, but a unique breed of decent people who want to rid the world of just that one horrible person.
We follow Cliff Iverson, eager to learn the skills (and the etiquette) of eliminating his unbearable boss.
McMaster’s motto: Do in others as you would have others do you in.
Watch - Limitless with Chris Hemsworth
Confession: Watching Limitless with Chris Hemsworth started as a pure fangirl mission – I wanted to catch Dr. Peter Attia in action and enjoy some eye-candy Thor moments. I expected a few nerdy fitness episodes. Boy, was I wrong!
Limitless turned out to be much deeper than I expected. It wasn't just about extreme challenges to make you healthier and more resilient, but also about dealing with life's curveballs, from getting older to losing loved ones.
And Chris Hemsworth is just so darn likeable and refreshingly honest. His mentors are a fascinating bunch too, ranging from insightful to eccentric – all incredibly knowledgeable in their own right.
Mental Hack - Meta Meditation
Give this 13-minute self-love meditation from Sam Harris a try. To listen, just press Play on the 30-day-free-trial page that opens up.
If you enjoy the meditation, sign up for the trial, there are lots of great meditations and lectures in there. If you want to keep going but can't swing the subscription, they offer scholarships. I'm not affiliated at all, just love sharing good stuff.
Just Because - Mind Maps are Really Old
If you're a mind-map nerd and a visual thinker, you may be surprised to learn just how ancient this practice is.
From Paleolithic cave paintings in 15,000 BC to hieroglyphic writings in 3500 BC, medieval philosophers' branching diagrams in the 13th century, and Leonardo Da Vinci's interconnected drawings in the 15th century, humans have been thinking in visual maps for millennia. This article takes you through the evolution of symbolic maps as tools for thought.
So there you have it, that's February for you: A mind-map of huge pyramids, someone else's dogs, deep fakes, heart-healthy teeth, sexy Norse gods, elegant murders, and self-love sessions.
Hope you’ll use the extra February day for something unapologetically delightful!
Be Mappy,
Mags