Happy(early) new year, !

Hope you are recovering from too much food and lots of great gifts! Apologies for the delay in this newsletter, but those who follow along on Instagram would know that it has been BUSY in the hospitals. Also, my email service was down for maintenance yesterday. So? What cool gifts did you get? I'd love to know!

This week, I'll try a different version of the newsletter. A year in review with mainly dot points rather than detailed rambles. Again, let me know what you think. I'm going to tweak things for 2022 so your feedback is welcome...

Before I go on, a shameless request! Could you forward this newsletter to just 3 people that you think would like one of the articles? It helps A LOT! If you're the friend reading this, click the link below to join! Glad to have you here!

Week in the life

It's official: I'm an old man. In the past, on calls didn't really phase me too much. Nor did subtle sleep deprivation. These days, 1 night with a 2am finish and work the next day can break me and take me a few days to recover from. That's exactly what happened over the Xmas period. Late finish Xmas eve, thankfully relaxing start on Xmas day but a late case til 2am and then I had to be at work again at 8 the next day. I was knackered.

It's a bit self-inflicted since I agreed to do all this work. I'm just glad that those that celebrate the holidays got to spend it with their friends and loved ones after a nearly 2 years of trying times. I have the first 2 weeks of January off so I'm looking forward to getting through the next few days.

I've lived in Melbourne for nearly 2 decades now and consider myself a Melbournian. Yet, I have never done the quintessential experiences of the city like go the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch a sporting match, or attend the comedy festival! One of those changes today: I'm going to the MCG for the first time ever. One of those "always wanted to do, but never did" things ticked off!

On the note of goals, it's that time of the year where I sit down and start making plans for 2022. Are you the goal setting kind? While I'm not going to be sharing my full list of goals, here's the current work in progress over on Coggle, which is the mind-mapping software I use to personally keep a "birds eye" view on them all. Have you got any resolutions or goals for 2022?

To see the full version with photos and more, head over to the blog...

Creative highlights of 2021

This year was interesting for a few reasons. The pandemic and lockdowns meant that I had started some projects (like this newsletter!) but now had the need for a distraction to start a few more. I was very proud that we managed to start and continue a year worth of the podcast. Here's some of my personal highlights of 2021.

• randInt EP 016 - Interviewing Lahiru - We started interviewing people in an episode prior, but this was the first episode where we kind of had a system and it half worked. It was also interesting interviewing a friend we both had known for ages to find new things out.
• randInt EP 022 - End of the season - I know we've put our podcast under the "comedy" section but more because we thought the idea of our rambling show and anyone listening was a joke. This is the first podcast that I feel like we've loosened up and had a few laugh out loud moments!
• Ramadan21 - while I never did really finish this series this year, we did donate more this year!
• A day in the Covid-19 wards - First time I felt compelled to write just to debrief myself after a day at work
• Gift ideas for your favourite geek - A recent listicle, but the first one that weirdly generated (so far) $30 of revenue and made me think that my writing wasn't totally crap
• Melbourne 2022 Wall Calendar - It's a bit cheesy, but I really do like how it came out! Use code bye2021 for 20% off

Gadgets & Tech highlights of 2021

My love of tech and gadgets knows no bounds! Here are some of my favourite ones and some knick knacks from the past year...

• DJI Mini 2 - My most used drone of late. Love this thing for photos!
• Oura ring - Initially bought with reluctance, but now my primary device I use to track most things
• SBE Mug - I have the ember, but this is cheaper and good!
• Matt Black/Silver Fountain Pen - Cheap fountains aren't meant to be this good
• Floately levitating plants - Floating plants! Simply cool
• Ecovacs Deebot 920 - Robovacs with Lidar are game changing
• Zyron 66W GaN Charger - I love small compact and lightweight chargers
• ExpressVPN- I've tried many VPNs. This is the best
• Pocket - Without Pocket, I wouldn't be able to keep this newsletter going
• 1Password - Best password manager hands down. I've tried a bunch!

Best reads of 2021

Some of the articles & books that I loved and recommended in 2021...

Articles

• The genetic fluke that enabled us to drink milk (~6min)
• 1000 True Fans (~8min)
• Alarmist or accurate? A look into pandemic modelling dilemmas (~5min)
• The Daily Aus

Book I'm currently reading

• 2034: A novel of the next world war - The novel is eerily realistic in how the next war may play out.
• Dune - Classic sci-fi novel that feels epic in so many ways
• Stories of your life and Others - Short sci-fi stories that I found fascinating
• The Graveyard Book - Classic Neil Gaiman at his best

Non-fiction

• Beginning of Infinity - It's dense, but I haven't read anything that's stretched my thinking more recently
• Guns, Germs & Steel - As a fan of Sapiens, this is another book that shone light into how humans came to be where they are
• How to Live - I think Derek Sivers is one of the current modern day living philosophers. His insights are condensed into such precise words that I love just reading and re-reading his works. This is a gem
• The Rational Optimist - The world often feels very bleak. This is a good reminder that even though it feels off, it's much better than it has been

Listen

Some of my favourite podcasts and music from 2021 to keep your ears entertained over the break...

Podcasts

• Tim Ferriss Podcast - Balaji S: The Episode of Everything (~3hrs) - this is a LONG podcast, but if you want a glimpse into how the future will look over 5-1- years, listen to this
• Naval: The beginning of infinity (~60min) - Naval's commentary on the concepts from the book
• Jimmy Carr: The easiest way to lead a happier life (~1.6hrs) - Comedians seem to have a very philosophical take on life and Jimmy Carr is no different
• Ramit Sethi - How to play offense with money (~1.5hrs) - Ramit is one of the best personal finance and business guys out there!

Music

• BT - Metaversal - released initially as a NFT now a streaming album, it's a LoFi electronic treasure
• Flight Facilities - Forever - their second album, filled with vintage vibes.
• Echolily - Mindspin - Doctor and musician doing excellent blend of electronica and pop

Best videos of 2021

Some of my favourite clips from 2021

• Stephen Duneier - How to Achieve Your Most Ambitious Goals (~17min)self-healing concrete.
• Brain implant helps a man speak (~5min)
• This is Water (~22min)
• The best stats you've ever seen (~20min)
• You are not special (~12mins)

Favourite quotes from 2021

"It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it..."

– Seneca

"If they don't know you personally, don't take it personally"

– Steven Bartlett

“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”

- Adolf Hitler

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you"

- Anne Lamott

"Your attention is one of the most valuable things you posses. That's why everyone wants to steal it from you."

- Austin Kleon

This is the last email for 2021 ! Hope you enjoyed the newsletter. I may take a break for a week or two from the newsletter depending on how the next week fares. I hope you have a wonderful start to the new year and see you in 2022! As always, since I love any feedback... Feedback is always welcome!

Happy New Year!

- Raffy

PS - What was your favourite part of the email this week? Let me know with 1 click! I read the survey every week (& keep tweaking things with your feedback!)

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