Month of Nov 2024
Bangkok Devcon and Thankfulness
//Proof of selfies project for Devcon Bangkok 2024. Great seeing everyone at some awesome parties!
Theme of the Month - Bangkok Devcon and Thankful
The questions/thoughts that led me to the posts for Nov 2024 were:
What did I eat in Japan?
Why do I love cooking?
How was Scotland back in 2013?
What did I eat in Bangkok?
What manners do I want Evie to learn?
A friend asked me “So how do you control your weight from traveling and eating so much?” Honestly, it’s not going great. I think I’m still healthy, but I’ve broken a lot of rules for sugar and fat intake. I’m sure all those mangos won’t help any onset diabetes and those wagyu and octopus treats won’t help my cholesterol. At least I’m doing it with class and it’s also feeding my happiness.
Devcon was loads of fun. We’re building great things and can finally answer the question “wen token” with “soon (TM)” or “Q1 2025”. I am blessed to be surrounded by smart/driven people and work on challenging technical problems. There’s so much more to do and so much farther we can travel together.
Another conversation from the trip sparked joy. I was asked why I do all these side projects. I believe I answered “they’re just fun", but I think it’s deeper in my psyche than I thought. I am so optimized that I treat so many things in my life with deliberate action. I like the compression and packaging of a narrative, so if I’m taking a photo to improve my memory of the moment, then I’ll likely also create a video from it, curate an album, or make a collage. The photo by itself has so much potential to tell stories and the creative itch is scratched by coming up with new ways to express those good times.
Perhaps a list of 30 is brewing - a base action of taking a photo manifests into projects telling a story. A blog post about a project could lead to workshops and whitepapers. A podcast about riddles can lead to a funny joke in a future standup routine. Reduce, reuse, and recycle.
The blogposts I’ve published this month were:
![[Travel Advice] Japan for Foodies](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb7d0ee0c-62b0-413f-9db9-d5a001c6226d_4000x1848.jpeg)
I will always say yes to a trip to Japan. The culture makes me feel seen. The food feeds my soul.
Cooking is such a peaceful part of my existence. It’s the joy of creating sustenance for those who I love. It’s my escape from the digital and an immediate transportation into being in the zone.
![[Travel Advice] Scotland](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1501877b-8fb7-4703-91f8-399ed7a1cc0d_740x491.jpeg)
My retirement might just be revisiting all the awesome places I’ve gone, with the twist of eating all the things.
![[Travel Advice] Bangkok for Foodies](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_140,h_140,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fac7deeab-6a95-4f6d-9b90-32308d161fdc_4000x1848.jpeg)
Bangkok is another unbelievably delicious adventure. I loved the secret food tour and $1 breakfast/lunch/dinner street noodles. I’m lucky I have a stomach of steel.
I’m so proud of how quickly Evie has grown and expands her perspective of the world. She’s showing signs of being a caring and loving adult.
Some ideas for Dec 2024?
Reflecting on 2024 - The lovely tradition of reflecting on the year of travel, digital consumption, and triumph moments.
30 More AI Buzzwords - Latest buzzwords from reading some different research papers and looking at headlines.
30 Mechanism Design Examples - Consider how different incentives are created to lower costs and increase engagement from the community to fulfill key product value.
30 New AI Careers - Rethinking our post-labor economic jobs. Let’s all switch to the gig economy.
Reflecting on 10 years of writing lists of 30 - I still love writing lists of 30! It’ll define my whole life.
30 Future Decade Goals - We split the next 30 years into goals per decade as mapped out by Evie’s age. This was a great activity in long term planning for her ages 6-16, 16-26, and 26-36.
30 Ways to Stretch Time - Wealth doesn’t mean money, but time. It’s our only limited resource.
30 Things I do for Self Care - We all need to figure out what restores our energy and keeps us sane.
Kicking off “Her Life in Lists of 30” - I think I have enough material from my monthly lists of 30s to cover this and launch it in 2024. Maybe I’ll find a publisher for this book? I think I’ll be happy with more substack subscribers than a single book defining a decade. If it’s popular, maybe I’ll do a book tour!
Thank you for reading and I hope everyone stays safe!
Please suggest a list of 30 and I’ll write it! I’ve written 290+ lists of 30 and only publish ones that I think other people would enjoy. It’s my fun brainstorming routine.
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