KnitYak: Custom mathematical knit scarves by Fabienne – Very cool initiative. I backed it! I’m tempted to try to create my own unique pattern for handknitting too…

Recently I tweeted a photo of my homemade coconut yogurt, and a couple people wanted to know how I made it. I got the idea from the Eat Drink Paleo cookbook by Irena Macri. You can buy coconut yogurt at Coles, but it costs $8.25 for a 500ml container. (Ouch!) If you make it yourself, it costs about half that much. That definitely makes it worth the additional effort to me.

I start with four cans of coconut cream or milk, which yields about a liter of yogurt. The first step is to boil a big kettle of water and pour it over a saucepan, spoon, and the metal bowl with a plastic lid I plan to store my yogurt in. This sterilises everything and makes sure the only bugs in your yogurt are the ones you put there deliberately! I carefully move the hot items to a clean tea towel to dry. I open each can of coconut milk/cream and pour it into the saucepan, stopping when I get to the clear/watery bit at the bottom of each can. (You can chill your cans to make separating even easier, but it’s not too hard to stop when you get to that point. I figure I lose maybe 20%.) Start heating the coconut up slowly on the cooktop, using a thermometer to check when you’re getting close to 40C. When it hits 43C, it’s time to take it off the heat and add your yogurt culture.

For my first batch, I used a sachet of yogurt culture the Snook bought at The Hop and Grain brewstore. For the second batch, I used a reserved quarter cup of my first batch of yogurt. (You could also try it with leftover purchased yogurt.) I use the sterilised spoon to scoop out a bit of the hot coconut into my clean cup, and then I add the starter and stir it in. Then I pour the whole thing back into the pot and stir it around well. Then it’s time to transfer the whole pot into my metal storage bowl and cover it up. This goes into the oven, which is set at 40C (the lowest our oven will go – it’s basically just the oven light as the heat source). And then I leave it there for at least 12 hours, if not more. You can tell when you uncover it that it’s been fermenting, and it’ll have a nice little tang if you taste it. Once I’m satisfied, I put the whole thing into the fridge for another day. It’s not as thick as storebought yogurt at first, but it definitely continues to thicken up the longer it sits in the fridge. It’s really nice!

And to go with my coconut yogurt, I usually have some paleo muesli. This is another recipe from Eat Drink Paleo, and I’ve made it several times. Unlike the yogurt, this is definitely not cheaper than the storebought version! That’s because it’s basically all nuts and seeds, without the filler of oats or grain. I use a mix of macadamias, almonds, and hazelnuts, and I generally put either dried cranberries or apricots in as the fruit. Then I add maple syrup, honey, shredded and flaked coconut, pepitas, and vanilla. I never bother with “activating” the nuts, and I never remember to add the chia either. (Chia kinda grosses me out anyway.) Just be careful not to eat too much in one sitting! As my friend Amy said when she tried it last week, “THIS STUFF IS LIKE CRACK.”

10 Of The Best Bars In Sydney’s Inner West | The Urban List – A handy checklist!

Leveraging Content and Design to Grow Your Food Startup – Food Tech Aus (Sydney) – Meetup – I’m going to be speaking at this event in Sydney on July 9th about how to use Canva to grow your foodie startup. Come along!

MOOMIN EDITION FINNISH BABY BOX is now ready for order! – Moomin : Moomin – THIS IS THE CUTEST THING EVER AND I WANT IT EVEN THOUGH I DON’T HAVE A BABY.

Creating Beautiful Graphics with Canva – The Leading Librarian – Lovely review of Canva from a librarian. (I know I’ve been there less than two weeks, but it’s so nice to work on something that people genuinely like!)

On Monday, I got up super early and headed into the city for a talk on leadership by David Marquet. David is the author of Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders. I heard about David’s book a few months earlier from some friends who work at ansarada. Their CEO Sam is such a believer in the principles from the book that he bought a copy for everyone there and arranged for the author to come to Sydney to spend time with them! And fortunately enough for me, I was one of only a few outsiders to score a ticket. It wasn’t filmed, but you can get a pretty good overview from watching this video:

I’d read most of the book the week before, so nothing David said on the day was brand new for me. But it was great to hear his stories in person. I took some notes in Evernote if you’re interested…

Submariners are geeks 🙂

If your leadership was right for the past, it’s wrong for the future

The Industrial Revolution was all about reducing variability

• …including boardrooms, leadership, the way we talk
• Constrained thinking.

* Of 135 on sub, only 15 have college degrees!

The leader saying “I don’t know” makes it okay to ask questions

In a fear-based environment, bias is towards inactivity, avoiding decisions

“I intend to…”

Goal is to get to Know All, Tell Not. (Technical competence but still getting team to make decisions.

When hiring/recruiting:

• Look for victim language – How much control do they evince in their life?
• Do they have a growth mindset?

Assessing risk of letting employee take control when you disagree with decision – is outcome going to be “above the water” or “below the water”? (Below sinks the ship.)

In the future, leaders will get people to THINK rather than do

Don’t brief – certify

• The people doing the jobs tell what they’re going to do
• The group makes a decision
• Relies on management making sure everybody knows what the plan is

Look for legacy practices that constrain variability and keep us from thinking

Covey’s Ladder of Leadership

Added 7. I’ve been doing…

Leaders should make people feel safe – not stressed

Teams use “we” not “they”

Weasel words: Effectively, operationally…

The Most Efficient Way to Save a Life: Malaria Nets – The Atlantic – Interesting article about applying SCIENCE to find out where your charitable donation can have the greatest effect on the world. It’s also eye-opening to play with the linked “How Rich Am I?” calculator, which tells you exactly how well off you are compared to the rest of the world. (And if you’re reading this, you’re pretty damn well off.) I was inspired to donate some money to the Against Malaria Foundation, and I’m excited to see where the mozzie nets we funded end up!

Silicon Valley Job Title Generator – Very tempted to start using this and changing up my title very week.

This new site keeps track of failed startups and why they flopped | Business Insider