{"id":45887,"date":"2026-04-15T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=45887"},"modified":"2026-03-26T15:29:35","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T22:29:35","slug":"whats-in-my-now-augie-nielsen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/whats-in-my-now-augie-nielsen\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s in my NOW? \u2014 Augie Nielsen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>August<\/strong>&nbsp;is a husband, father, runner, practical Midwesterner, and HR executive currently serving as Chief Human Resources Officer at Central Trust Company in Jefferson City, Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/03\/wimb-augie-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45888\" width=\"668\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/03\/wimb-augie-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/03\/wimb-augie-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/03\/wimb-augie-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/files\/2026\/03\/wimb-augie.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong>PHYSICAL<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.garmin.com\/en-US\/p\/886725\/\">Garmin Forerunner 965<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 After a decade of loyalty to Fitbit, my wife finally talked me into making the switch to Garmin \u2014 and I haven\u2019t looked back. As someone running about 30 miles a week, the depth of data it provides is genuinely useful: VO2 max, HRV, sleep scores, route maps. I\u2019m not just collecting numbers \u2014 I think it\u2019s actually made me a better runner and healthier person.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/roguehoe.com\/product\/55a\/\">Rogue Hoe\/Pick<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 If you live in the American Midwest, bush honeysuckle is basically a villain \u2014 invasive, stubborn, and once you know what it looks like you\u2019ll see it absolutely everywhere. I picked up this hoe\/pick while volunteering with the Missouri Conservation Corps and it\u2019s the best tool I\u2019ve used in a decade for chopping, pulling, and hacking these things out at the root. Simple, brutal, effective.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbanchestnut.com\/\">Urban Chestnut Brewery<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.urbanchestnut.com\/\">&nbsp;<\/a>\u2014 My cousin owns this St. Louis gem, and I have it on good authority that he\u2019s a good guy. But the beer stands on its own \u2014 Urban Chestnut leans into classic European styles done really well. If you\u2019re in St. Louis their two taprooms are worth your time, and you can find their beer at retail locations across the region. You won\u2019t be disappointed.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong>DIGITAL<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wakingup.com\/\">Waking Up<\/a><\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 I\u2019ve been a Sam Harris fan for over 20 years, so I was thrilled when this app came out. Harris once wrote that spending every waking moment lost in thought leaves us at the mercy of wherever our minds wander \u2014 and that meditation is a way of breaking that spell. This app makes that accessible without being intrusive. From 30-second mindfulness moments to daily quotes to a vast library of guided sessions, it meets you wherever you are and whenever you\u2019re ready.<\/li><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/notebooklm.google.com\/\">NotebookLM<\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/notebooklm.google.com\/\">&nbsp;<\/a>\u2014 I hadn\u2019t interviewed for a job in nearly 20 years, so when I decided to get back on the market I started with NotebookLM as a thinking partner \u2014 uploading personality assessments, personal reflection notes, and an honest account of what I wanted from my next role. Once I landed an interview, I shifted gears: fed it company research, the job description, and all that personal data, and it helped me figure out where I could genuinely add value. It synthesized everything into a custom podcast I could listen to on my runs, and during cooldowns I\u2019d switch to Gemini Live for mock interview questions. After a few weeks of that I felt genuinely ready. And wouldn\u2019t you know it \u2014 I got the job.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4><strong>INVISIBLE<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u201cProceed as the way opens\u201d \u2014 Quaker Proverb<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I first encountered this Quaker proverb in William Least Heat-Moon\u2019s River-Horse, where he called it his \u201cprecept of last resort\u201d while navigating 5,000 miles of American waterways. It stuck. There\u2019s something in it that echoes what evolutionary biologists call the \u201cadjacent possible\u201d \u2014 the idea that each step forward opens up the next one, even when you can\u2019t see very far ahead. I find it grounding. It\u2019s never hopeless. There\u2019s always something you can do, and one move usually reveals the next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/whatsinmynow.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Sign up here<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0to get\u00a0What\u2019s in my NOW?\u00a0a week early in your inbox.<\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8ec17518-5a1f-4d72-bb4c-90894919687f_600x600.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>issue #250<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[2303],"tags":[2389],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45887"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45889,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45887\/revisions\/45889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}