Nature

Though I try to post mainly on leadership, it's hard not to post sometimes when you have a vacation of a lifetime. Still, for those interested in Four-Hour-Work-Week or Mr-Money-Mustache living -- that is, needing little -- you'll be glad to see that working only one or two days a week can bring you to one of the world's top-rated beaches -- Boracay! Last week a friend and I planned to visit another friend in Manila. Ten days of monsoon rains flooded that city, so they suggested I check out Boracay, an island I'd never heard of, but was a short, cheap flight away. Below are some pictures. They couldn't capture two of the island's best features. First, in the ocean. The fish and invertebrates…

I just visited a street lined with fruit stands serving durians. They sell other fruits -- including mangoes, mangosteens, jack fruit, dragon fruits, and others -- but only serve the durians at the tables. If you haven't heard of or eaten durians, here are some pictures. You can see they are unusual -- sharp on spiny on the outside, looking like guts on the inside -- but the smell makes them unique. Here is a description from Wikipedia The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as almonds,…