weekly-dispatch

Interior crocodile alligator productivity, html gmail, and summer blazers – | Kuya Vic Weekly Member Dispatch | 002

Aesthetics and when faced with a choice: choose both

Aesthetics are important. I am almost completely focused on frugality and function, but I am learning that aesthetics are important.

Of course, I start to think about clothes on the one hand clothes are to keep you warm.

But really, they serve aesthetic functions as well. Even if you 'reject' the signaling of expensive brands, that is fine, but you still communicate a style.

You can even thing of style as a 'function' of clothing. Style is the first thing you say before you even open your mouth.

Of course one part of my brain goes towards the negative: there are other things that matter, personality matters, money and wealth matter, being nice matters, have a physically fit body matters. But why not have both? Choose both. Have it all.

Dress great and still be all those things.

Why not?

1) Interesting item: The Blazer or Sportscoat

Blazers do have a magical quality about them. When you get one that works, it feels nice. Instead of feeling constricting, it feels comfortable. You can go anywhere. You can do anything (legal). It feels like travel and relaxation and being professional all at once.

Characteristics to look for:

  • The tech fabrics have not been impressive. They are mostly itchy, scratchy, or do not breathe.
  • Look into natural fabrics (cotton, linen, wool).
  • Look into unstructured for easy breathing.
  • Look for fit above all.
  • Casual features like pockets are interesting.
  • Light grey, navy blue, olive green, pink

2) To listen: Interior crocodile alligator

This song is 10 years old, came back as a meme once, and is having its second comeback. Put it on repeat while working. Listen to it first thing in the morning and your day will be filled with energy and swagger.

Versions of the song:

3) Productivity hack: HTML your Gmail

Remember when gmail was a cool new service? It was do no evil, a cool counter that increased your storage space, and was fast and sleek. Well it looks positively 2001, but switch to HTML view and the loading times are crazy fast and it is snappy as all getout. Can't bring back the no-evil vibe though. Note: you cannot use the shortcuts in this mode.

The fastest way to use gmail

4) To watch: Business How to Pick a Name for Your Business by Gary Vaynerchuk

A name is made. People will learn your name, they will convert your name into something convenient if you deliver value.

Here is a link:

5) To think: Happiness is the ROI

This quote is the basis for an expanding theme I have on making choices. What do you prioritize?

The most visible games:

  • Things and money
  • Things
  • Status
  • Power
  • Prestige
  • Experiences
  • Money
  • The one I often ignore is happiness

Of course there is not one thing that you can put on a pedestal. And the pursuit of other things has gotten me somewhere, so I think you have to make it. It is like moving out of your hometown...at some point you should do it, like really do it, like do it earnestly not just so you can cross it off your list, but say you're going to put 4 years on it and see what there is to see.

Lately, I have been exploring happiness as the ROI and I hope you do too.

Have fun!

Boredom as a tool toward self-awareness, good-enough gadgets, making things fun | KuyaVic Weekly Member Dispatch | 001

Is boredom good for you? Yes, it can be a starting point.

This week, I learned that intentional boredom is the elixer of the gods when it comes to self-awareness.

Fun is fun, and busy is successful, but boredom has benefits.

This week I've been sitting in my room. I find myself working during the day, and without the 'water cooler' talk and random drop-ins from coworkers, I am getting bored.

When work stops, man, now I'm really getting bored.

But I like it, I've been preparing for this for the past 7 years.

Read more

Member Dispatch – April 28, 2020

Well, it is work from home week for me, for the first time an entire week. COVID-19 talk has started to wane, but despite head in the sand people, the virus is still functioning.

A good time to evaluate how we work and what we work on.

1. Quick, interesting read

This woman rowed across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
The first tip she has about staying centered is : "... delight in slow, deep breaths."

Here's a link: https://www.fastcompany.com/90494452/what-rowing-solo-across-the-ocean-can-teach-about-solitude

The blog seemed pretty confusing, but the article is good. Beware the 'infinite scroll' the website uses because it could just suck you in.

2. Productivity tip

Sweat pants glory. That was the first few days of working from home.
The most pertinent tip for WFH productivity for me, has been changing my clothes. For me, the commute, which is now non-existent, does more than just get me home -> it shifts my mind and helps me decompress from work.

The Harvard Business Review references a study that describes "boundary-crossing activities."

"Putting on your work clothes, commuting from home to work—these are physical and social indicators that something has changed. You’ve transitioned from “home you” to “work you.”

Here is a link: https://hbr.org/2020/04/3-tips-to-avoid-wfh-burnout

3. Cool photos

Work from home set-ups of people who only WFH. The "show-off" is a pretty sweet set-up for IG purposes. What it really showed me, though, was that even for these people, some prefer just one laptop, one screen, and use the built-in keyboard. No need to get all crazy with a setup. Do what works for you.

https://m.signalvnoise.com/remote-working-the-home-office-desks-of-basecamp/

4. Unique product

Backups and redundacy. What would you do if you lost all your photos? Would you be bummed? Do you have copies? I have a back-up system that I like. It invovles HDD and I prefer it for a few reasons. Otherwise, use the cloud, I guess?

Two options (mainly because there is a sale) try this* or this

(*) coupon code 42603

5. Workout - I call it the 10x10

  • Pick one exericse*.
  • Put a timer on for 1 minute. Do 10 reps of the exercise. The rest of the minute is rest.
  • Repeat 10 times.
  • Start with 5 reps per minute.

(*) Example exercises:
Full squat no weight
Pushup
Pullup (adjust to timed hang ex. 10 sec)
Burpee no pushup
Goblet squats

Have a good week dude!

Do you have any questions? On anything gear or good life related? Reply and I'll research for you. Free.

Stuff I Want Spring 2020 Weekly Dispatch – April 14, 2020

stuff i want

I make these lists to get an idea of gear. Instead of buying it, put it on a list.

clothes

  • a blazer or sports coat that is dark blue and i can wear at work - eleventy
  • a light summer blazer - seersucker or linen -> get on vacation to a warm place
  • get the grey blazer tailored - shorter sleeves

books

  • becoming a supple leopard - book that gives you form and teaches you how to move your body
  • simple and sinister - book on workout for kettle bells
  • investment books

listen to

read and dream

stuff i am wondering about

  • what is the best way to connect gymnastic rings to a doorframe pull-up bar?
  • what are my money priorities? what do i spend money on?

watches

  • A wrist watch i can look at and is beautiful, a watch that is art

    • FP Journe
    • Grand Seiko SBGH267
    • Grand Seiko SBGA011

    pens

  • machine era designs brass pen for G2, "it is the pen of choice thinking of absolutes, of abundance, renaissance, beauty in refinement, and less a distractable toy for boys" -> after i have been doing this weekly dispatch for a year?
  • tactile turn - there is a clicky, titanium, short

stuff i want to do, long term goals

  • to enact and make money from strategies in investment
  • to understand and have made money from the stock market and investments
  • program computers to help me in my day to day tasks

learning

  • I joined the stanford CS106A Code in Place course, it is the first time a large course is being taught with volunteer section leaders. 80k people applied. 8k were accepted. It is taught by 3 video lectures and 1 video real time section, 4 projects.

books related to frugality and systems thinking, primarily investing

  • Emergency (Neil Strauss): Having learned some serious survival techniques, like tracking and living off the land, it suddenly becomes much less important whether one’s clothing is color coordinated or whether to use antique astroparch paper or glossy lasercopies for one’s resume.

writing related to simplicity and frugality

Now, what’s important here is that once abundance has been achieved, edges transform from being relative to being absolute. Consider another “edge”, the edge of being remarkable. This is the celebrity edge of simply being known. Again, this edge is being used to stand out from the competition rather than as an absolute. The relative situation creates a continuous low stress environment compared to the absolute world. In an absolute world, striving to do things to be known becomes irrelevant; you will be sufficiently known regardless of what you do. (This is the situation that family members are in. You probably remember your family members from the 1980s but do you remember the popular stars of the 1980s).

Early retirement apparently works slowly to transform one’s mental frame towards a more absolute level, a world of abundance rather than a world of competition. Perhaps there are other ways but early retirement is one of them.

On an anecdotal note, I vastly prefer less stress to the low level stress that is present in most modern life. The stress I feel now is the “original” stress of a boat about to crash. Not the continuous stress of not being able to meet deadline after deadline.

summary

he does not live in a world of outward luxury
but likely in a world of connectedness, he has a following

i'm a big deal in ...

if you give a system everything it wants, it will reward you with its prizes
but that does not mean you will be happy

be a watch person with real followers, and real commenters too
or go wholesale and be influential in the market

priorities for spending money

what do i spend money on

there are certain things you need