Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyCanada must become a global superpower
The silver lining to the US starting a trade war with Canada and regularly threatening annexation is that it has forced this country out of complacency. Indeed, I'm hard pressed to remember a time, at least in my lifetime, when patriotism and nationalism has united so much of Canada. According to a recent survey by Angus Reid, the percentage of Canadians expressing a "deep emotional attachment" to the country jumped from 49% in December 2024 to 59% in February 2025. And as further evidence of...
Brandon DonnellyThe bank robbery capital of the world
Between 1985 and 1995, Los Angeles' retail bank branches were robbed some 17,106 times. In 1992, which was the the city's worst year for robberies, the number was 2,641. This roughly translated into about one bank robbery every 45 minutes of each banking day. All of this, according to this CrimeReads piece by Peter Houlahan, gave Los Angeles the dubious title of "The Bank Robbery Capital of the World" during this time period. So what caused this? Well according to Peter it was facil...
Brandon DonnellyThe story behind those pixelated video game mosaics in Paris
If you've ever been to Paris, you've probably noticed the small pixelated art pieces that are scattered all around the city on buildings and various other hard surfaces. Or maybe you haven't seen or noticed them in Paris, but you've seen similarly pixelated mosaics in one of the other 79 cities around the world where they can be found. Or maybe you have no idea what I'm talking about right now. Huh? Here's an example from Bolivia (click here if you can't see...
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Brandon DonnellyForty
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Today is my fortieth birthday. And despite a noble attempt to avoid having meetings today, I spent a big chunk of the day in them. Thankfully, I was also fortunate to spend a lot of time with family, friends, and colleagues (see evidence above).
This is a birthday where I think I'm supposed to feel things. And I do. I'm grateful for the wonderful people that I get to have in my life and who love me. I feel lucky that I get to wake up every day and do something I love. And I'm genuinely excited for this next decade.
It is, however, true that time does speed up. It feels like just yesterday that I was 30 years old. I had just finished my MBA. I was about to start writing this daily blog (yes it's nearly a decade old). And I was trying to figure out how to make an impact on the world.
Maybe not much has changed. It's not in my nature to feel complacent. But there is something nice about getting older and feeling more confident with yourself and your abilities.
If anything, birthdays are a good reminder that time is precious. We only have so many weeks. So we shouldn't feel shy about asking the world for what we want. I think that's what I'm feeling most this birthday, and I view that as an exciting thing. So here's to forty years.
Today is my fortieth birthday. And despite a noble attempt to avoid having meetings today, I spent a big chunk of the day in them. Thankfully, I was also fortunate to spend a lot of time with family, friends, and colleagues (see evidence above).
This is a birthday where I think I'm supposed to feel things. And I do. I'm grateful for the wonderful people that I get to have in my life and who love me. I feel lucky that I get to wake up every day and do something I love. And I'm genuinely excited for this next decade.
It is, however, true that time does speed up. It feels like just yesterday that I was 30 years old. I had just finished my MBA. I was about to start writing this daily blog (yes it's nearly a decade old). And I was trying to figure out how to make an impact on the world.
Maybe not much has changed. It's not in my nature to feel complacent. But there is something nice about getting older and feeling more confident with yourself and your abilities.
If anything, birthdays are a good reminder that time is precious. We only have so many weeks. So we shouldn't feel shy about asking the world for what we want. I think that's what I'm feeling most this birthday, and I view that as an exciting thing. So here's to forty years.
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