This past July, Planetary Ink celebrated its 11th year. It’s hard to believe that an entire decade (and then some!) has passed.

I love what I do more than ever. One of the things I enjoy the most about my job is that I get to engage in conversations with people who are so passionate about making a difference in the world. They speak from the framework of their expertise, and then I get the privilege of communicating their knowledge to a larger audience. In the process of speaking with them, I sometimes also learn a little about who they are as people. Tangentially or anecdotally, they may speak of their sons and daughters, their partners or parents, their most embarrassing moment, their fears, their favorite foods—all while maintaining a sense of professionalism. Some people would say that they have “let down their guard” by sharing some of these personal details, but to me, they are doing something far more extraordinary. They are showing me what it means to them personally to be human, to be whole, and that makes it all the more enriching for me to communicate with them—and for audiences to relate to them.

Over the years, I, too, have come to realize that maintaining professionalism does not have to mean becoming more guarded than Fort Knox. Each day, I get the opportunity to embark on a journey where I can love, learn, listen, laugh, make mistakes, feed my family, read, and hopefully, eat at least a bite of chocolate. And each day, I am a little more inspired by the people (and animals and plants, even) with whom I inhabit this world.

If you have delved this far into the Planetary Ink site, thank you! In the spirit of the cognitive sharing and openness that make us human, I have assembled a list of URLs I have stumbled upon—or my sources have recommended—that I cannot get out of my mind. (See sidebar at right.) These are fun or fascinating links—not necessarily dated recently—on a variety of topics. Enjoy.