Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

The best laid plans

I ran into a work colleague today. For exchange of pleasantries, we talked about vacation plans. I said I planned to take the last full week of July off, a bit of staycation to relax before the rush of Fall semester preparation begins. The colleague informed me he’s already taken his summer trip: to Hawaii, more specifically the island of Maui. After congratulating him on a good time, I remarked that my friend and I were suppose to go to Hawaii during spring break (March) of 2020. Other plans, as they say, got in the way. To say the least.

Three years later, I still don’t desire to visit Hawaii, even though I’ve never been. Besides, the whole reason for going - back in 2020 - is no longer there. This is a good thing, mind you.

Today is Amazon Prime Day, a Black Friday of sort for Amazon Prime subscribers. I didn’t plan to buy anything during the festivities (there’s never any discounts on the photography stuff I want) until my friend informed me that New Balance shoes had a site-wide 46% discount. So like a chum with money burning in his pocket, I plopped down some unplanned cash on a pair of New Balance running shoes, and a regular pair of the classic 515. Not bad for under $100 shipped (free two day shipping, obviously). I paid more for my current single pair of Allbirds.

But that should be it - no more spending during this year’s Prime Day. Please do not notify me of any deals you’ve found. Because I’m as memetic of a person, with little self-control, as the rest of you. For our generation (read: millennial), interest rates are at historic highs. The move to make right now is save as much as possible, and put money into a high-yield savings account. These days, my monthly interest earnings are nearly as much as the monthly payment on my first car. Somewhat humble brag.

Are you threading?

Facebook (I’m not calling it Meta), via its Instagram division, have launched a twitter competitor. It is called Threads. In five short days since launch, the service have already amassed over 100 million accounts. The major brands and personalities you're following on twitter have likely all jumped over to the new thing. So why haven't you?

I haven’t signed up for Threads because that would break my own rule of having nothing to do with anything Facebook (again, not calling it Meta). My own Facebook account have been long deactivated. So have the instagram handle. I’ve essentially convinced my friends to join me on Signal, therefore no need to keep the WhatsApp around. There will be zero nefarious ad-targeting (and probably spying) on me!

Besides, the whole point of leaving twitter is in large parts eliminating all social media apps from my everyday life. The other part obviously is Elon Musk’s utter mismanagement.

It’s sad to see twitter dying on a proverbial vine. Now that a worthy replacement have appeared - back by the biggest social media company of all time - I don’t see how twitter can survive. Locally here we speak of a doom spiral in San Francisco - the same can be said if people start ditching twitter in droves. There comes a point of critical mass, and there would be nothing worthy or notable remaining on the bird app. The party’s over at Threads.

I have to say, it’s a masterful way to set 44 billions dollars on fire. Monsieur Musk is like the Joker in The Dark Knight - torching the money he stole from the mobsters simply for sport. It’s sad to watch, honestly, because twitter will be but a beautiful memory. Forever lost to the pantheon of bygone social media apps.

Gray so gray

The drudgery of summer here in San Francisco have gotten slightly depressive, even for jolly ole me. The western side of the city remains constantly blanketed by a cloud of fog on most days. An unpleasant situation for receiving those mood-positive vitamin Ds from the sun. Even though I’m grateful for the coolness during the night, the grayish overcast during the day can be rather oppressive.

I thought of Conan O’Brien’s sign off during his last episode as host of The Tonight Show. (Shame forever on Jay Leno for forcing Conan out of his dream job.) Despite the clear unfairness done to him, Conan cautioned us to not ever be cynical:

"I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: please do not be cynical. I hate cynicicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you: amazing things will happen. I'm telling you. It's just true."

It seems every time I get into a bit of a funk, I go back to this Conan quote. Indeed, nobody in life gets exactly what they want. What you thought something would be turns out to be completely different. That girl you like just might not like you back. Where you are right now isn’t where you’d thought just five years ago. But that’s okay. Like Conan says, you just have to be kind, and keep working at whatever it is that you do. Take some risks, make some decisions, and deal with the consequences head on.

What I’m working on these days is being first to communicate. If I encounter something and it makes me think of someone, I try not to hesitate to text that person. Typically, I would be paralyzed with anxiety and simply not make the effort. What if that person finds it bothersome? What if they don’t text me back? What if we haven’t talked in a while, and I come off as weird? I’m trying to fight against that programming.

The point is to let it out into the world. Whether that boomerang comes back is out of my control. Best case, however, it sparks some conversations that otherwise wouldn’t ever have happened - if I didn’t make the effort.

Don't kill my vibe

Ever since I deactivated my twitter account, these days I’m largely cut off from the latest news. This is of course a very good thing. The news is nothing but tragedy and sadness. There’s never any good news, is there? The only reason even I knew about the missing Titanic submersible from last week was my friends told me about it.

That sort of news is at least interesting and fascinating, worthy of a lengthy discussion that stretches multiple days (I guess our friend group doesn't have better things to do). What I can’t give a crap about is the daily political stuff that my coworker prefers to talk about. I literally don’t care what Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is doing or not doing. I live in San Francisco, California; I’m more interested in what our own mayor is doing.

But I have to maintain some modicum of politeness, right? I can’t exactly shut them down immediately soon as a coworker comes to me with a latest news topic. Do that often enough and none of them will talk to me again ever. Or perhaps that’s really what I want: to be left alone. (Which I do.) To be congenial with the officemates, however, I would listen half intently, then say something glib in response. The goal is to listen, then say things in a way that ends that particular conversation topic quickly.

Please don’t ruin my zen, people. I’m quite okay with not knowing what’s going in the larger outside world. I’ll simply watch the local 6 o'clock news to get my fix of what’s immediately pertinent.

Grow old together

On a leisurely stroll through the local park this Saturday, I encountered an old Asian couple having a picnic at the bench tables. Both looked older than my own parents, who are in their 60s. It was a beautiful scene to see. A loving couple, well into their golden years, still going out on a date. Both enjoying each other’s company and conversation, while eating a nice meal.

That’s just sweet, isn’t it? We’d all be so lucky to find a life partner like that. A loving relationship with the ultimate longevity. The type that can weather the ups and downs, well beyond the initial spark and illogical craziness. I’m sure the couple I encountered had to work hard through some shitty times to get to where they are. They understood the tradeoffs, and had no qualms with dealing with both the positives and negatives in choosing one another.

Or perhaps I’m merely projecting my own hopes and dreams to this lovely couple (I definitely am). Maybe they’d just met each other on an online dating app, (they’ve got those for older folks, surely) and this picnic at the park is their first date. But I doubt that. Asian couples of that generation tend to have stuck around with each other for a very long time. They didn’t have the options available to go do something else. A commitment was made, and that was it.

And if there were irreconcilable differences, they would stick together despite it. Either for the kids, or for the safety of money. There’s pros and cons to this too, obviously.

I feel like our generation have too many options. Dating apps, social media; everybody’s waiting for the person who is just right. Any sight of a red flag means game over. And why not? We’ve got access to so many others at the flick of a finger. It’s easier to give up than to work things through. Is this necessary better and improved? I honestly don’t know.

What I do know is it would be kind of wonderful to get to that picnic table with someone, in my old age.

And it's gone

It was a particularly spendy weekend. And I didn’t even use that money for anything fun. The money was spent on replacing stuff I already have. After more than a decade of using the same electric shaver and electric toothbrush, (I’ve swapped out the brush heads many times, obviously) it was time to replace them with something new. Something with stronger battery and improved functions.

I’m not that picky in choosing what to buy when I’m not sure what’s best in that category. I’m as memetic and consensus-seeking as anyone when it comes to this. Research for what electric toothbrush and electric shaver to buy was incredibly simple: I visited Wirecutter. The top-rated toothbrush there is the Oral B Pro 1000, (at a surprisingly reasonable $50 dollars) while the best shaver is the Braun Series 7. (Fun fact: the Oral B toothbrush is also made in Germany by Braun.) I stopped research immediately and bought both on Amazon.

The Oral B toothbrush is a revelation. I can’t belief I stuck with an off-brand low power unit for so long. The motor in the Pro 1000 truly allows me to let the brush head do all the work. it’s a real electric toothbrush, rather than a brush that merely vibrates. I am supremely happy with this purchase.

What I’m not happy with is having to replace my barely three-years old AirPods Pro. The right-ear unit have developed an annoying crackle. This is a hugely disappointing quality miss for an Apple product. No big deal: guess I’ll just drop another $200 (original price is $250) on the newer AirPods Pro 2.

Soon as I put those on, I immediately forgot about the hefty expense. The claimed 2X improvement in active noise cancellation (Pro 2 versus the Pro 1) is absolutely true. The way the AirPods Pro 2 shuts out the outside world when you put them on is stunning, as if I’d entered a new aural dimension. These mere ear buds can definitely rival the noise cancellation capabilities of full-on headphones. It’s amazing to see how far that technology has come. I just hope this pair lasts way longer than three years of use. Fingers crossed.

Apple TV 4K

I’ve always been a big proponent of spending money to make your life easier. It’s a wonder then why I waited so long to get an Apple TV 4K unit for my LG television. Farewell, LG’s utterly crappy WebOS! No more apps crashing, paused shows not starting back up, and general unresponsiveness. More importantly: LG can no longer harvest my usage information.

The reason I delayed on getting the Apple TV is the price. After spending $1,800 on the LG OLED, I really didn’t want to immediately spend another $129 (plus tax) for something that duplicates what the TV can already do (albeit poorly). One year later, I’m finally fed up. Still determined to save money, I bought my Apple TV 4K from the Apple Refurbished store, for a $20 saving. Combined with a $100 Apple Gift Card that I bought for $90, it brings the Apple TV to a price just palatable enough to click checkout.

If you’re going to run a TV operating system, you really want the power of the iPhone. The A15 chip in the Apple TV 4K makes everything buttery smooth. Apps launch super quickly; there’s nothing you the user can do to flummox the unit. Best of all, the exquisitely-built aluminum Apple TV remote can serve duty to control the LG TV as well. While it lacks buttons to switch the TV’s inputs (I have a PlayStation 5 plugged in as well), merely starting up the PS5 (using its own controller) will cause the TV to switch to the appropriate input automatically.

Consumer tech is as its best when it can delight like that. I can now relegate the LG remote to storage.

The only thing preventing Apple TV 4K from being perfect, is the inability to act as an interface for over-the-air TV signals. It would be sweet if I didn’t have to leave Apple TV to watch local broadcast channels. Perhaps in future iterations? Overall I am incredibly happy with the purchase.