July 2020
Working on
Nulango, a language learning web app with my brother, and adding some new content and features to this site.
Recent Adventures
This month, my family took a road trip out to the Badlands National Park South Dakota and did some hiking. If you haven't seen the Badlands before you should check them out. I would describe them as a majestic maze of colorful, dried-up, ancient seabeds that are surrounded by grass prairies. It was odd hiking in them, because I felt like I was simultaneously hiking a mountain and seabed. After a few days of hiking these mountainous seabeds and through rattlesnake-filled trails, we then got back in the car and drove to Colorado to visit my brother and do more hiking in Estes Park.
Estes Park is located in the Rocky Mountain National Park, but it's much more than just rocky mountains. It has everything from mountain lakebeds and waterfalls, to grassy slopes with marmot caves, and 14,000 foot climbs that some people use hiking poles, wear helmets, and spiked mountain boots for. The only thing that I didn’t like about that trip was the 14-hour ride on the way back to Wisconsin.
New Routines
Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of pull-ups, using TRX straps to do ab work and cardio, lifting weights to build some muscle, and jump roping to prepare for my next fight.
Just kidding, I don't plan on fighting anytime soon, and it was the first time I picked up a jump rope after about 7-10 years. I also started to run again after not running for a few months. My current running strategy is to run at like 80% effort until I'm tired, then walk for a minute or two, and repeat, usually in quarter-mile increments. I’m slowly starting to build my stamina again to run longer distances. I'll report later on the effectiveness of this strategy.
Current Music
IknowhowIfeel & TiedUpRightNow — Parcels
Love the funky upbeat groove these guys have. Their other songs are just as good as the ones above and you should check out their latest album Live Volume 1. If you like Jefferson Airplane or The Alan Parsons Project, you’ll probably like Parcels.
Overlapping male and female vocals, complex choreography of various background sounds that blend in an ear-soothing, technicolor beat.
Tom Misch's songs are very diverse, but this one is down-tempo, instrumental, contemplative, and representative of the south London jazz scene, which I'm just starting to appreciate.
I’ve listened to this song a lot this month and still can’t relate to the lyrics, but love the vocal range of the singer and the constantly changing pitch which builds nicely with melody. Listen to the first minute of it before you decide it’s not for you.
Learning
React JS (javascript library), Amazon Web Services, and Mandarin.
Latest Good Reads
• Unscripted: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Entrepreneurship by M. J. DeMarco (Currently reading)
• Perrenial Seller by Ryan Holiday
• Anything You Want by Derek Sivers
• Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham
• Eloquent Javascript (still reading)
• Minimalist Website Strategy by Justin Page Wood
I'll add a summary soon to each of these books, but I highly recommend all of them.
TV Shows
I haven’t been watching much TV lately, but I finished season 4 of Money Heist, which is a show about two elaboratively planned, action-packed, nerve-racking bank heists in Spain. I started watching this show mostly to improve my Spanish, but continued to watch because it was sooo good. Every scene in this show is masterfully crafted and the acting is some of the best I’ve seen. I can’t wait for the final season to be released.
Movies (spoiler alert orange)
The Other Guys — I loved the unconventional beginning of this movie, having the main protagonists randomly die, by jumping off a building and landing on the concrete below. I had to watch that scene again, since it was so unexpected and funny. Besides the intro, this movie was loaded with funny one-liners, situational humor, and plot twists. I think it’s worth a watch and would rate it 8/10.
Current Beverages
Kick Ass (actual name) dark roast coffee by kicking horse. Despite my primitive way of preparing it, by tossing the grounds in a tea filter and letting it steep, this coffee is some of the best I’ve had. Will repeat bi-daily.
This page was inspired by Derek Sivers and the Now Project.