Yōkoso, {{contact.first_name}}! Sunday Surprise is here (28th Nov 21)
Nov 28, 2021 3:11 pm
Yōkoso, !
That's "welcome" in Japanese by the way. I've just come back from a Japanese lunch with friends that I haven't seen since the whole Covid-19 shindig began. What have you been up on this weekend so far? Let me know what you're up to!
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!
In this week's email...
- Week in the Life - read on the blog
- Creative - randInt EP 020 & 2022 PxR Calendar
- Gadgets & Tech - Corner LED lights (~$80)
- Listen - Tim Ferris and Balaji S on everything
- Watch - Humanity's future (~25min)
- Quote - "In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power"
Week in the life
The tsunami of socialising continues unabated this week, especially this weekend. Last night was a long delayed catch up of the private anaesthetic group that I work with. I haven't seen our office staff and other colleagues in over 2 years and I was almost forgetting their faces!
It was quite a big group dinner and while it was fun, I feel like I've truly embraced my introvert self and find myself getting tired and needing to recharge after social outings. Thankfully, today's lucnh catch up was with good friends so it was nice and gentle way of rolling on. There are even more dinners and lunches coming up next week which is making me question my identity: I'm a hermit at heart!
Apart from socialising, I have also now passed my 1 month ban of tech purchases and may have gone a bit overboard. More on that over on the blog...
Creative update
randInt EP 020 - Numbing Spines and ponzi schemes
The podcast has changed quite a bit in the last little while and we're going to mix things up in 2022 a bit more. Have a listen and send us your thoughts on what we should do in season 2.
Melbourne 2022 Wall Calendar (pre-order) (~$22)
https://photosbyraffy.com/product/melbourne-2022-wall-calendar
The final page design for the calendar is done! It took a bit of a back and forth but here we are. It's been sent for printing and I'm told I'll physically have the product sometime next week. I can't wait to see how they turned out!
The photos are a mix of my wanders throughout Melbourne and some drone shots. After the Antarctic calendar last year, I thought I'd feature something closer to home. Almost all the photos are within my 5km bubble that I got to know too well in the last year.
If you'd like one at a discounted price, you can use the code "sunday10" to get another 10% during the pre-order time! I haven't shared the discount elsewhere but here! Goes great as a Xmas or Secret Santa gift!
Gadgets & Tech
Corner LED lights (~$80)
I used to use a LED strip light behind my monitor for some ambiance in my study but I needed all the USB spots for accessories. I bought the corner lamp today and I have to say, though it's a bit gimmicky out of the box, I'm a fan. I'm going to set up some custom colours so it's lets garrish, but I'm loving the little bit of ambiance it adds to my study. Check out the blog to see how it looks.
- Sony WF-1000 XM4 - The best noise-cancelling in ear headphones you can currently get. Great battery life and sound.
- Oura Ring - Got this as a more of an experiment but have genuinely found the biometric data from it useful. The link should give you a $50 discount.
Listen
Tim Ferris and Balaji S on everything (~4hr30min)
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5MrMCSbPrz3jQLGFKpqnIH?si=c142c36c955048f4
The reason I'm linking it here instead of something to read is that I found this to be SUCH an interesting listen. In a way, keep this in mind as a prediction from a really smart, forward looking individual on how the near future may look.
There's a whole bunch of technology, politics, policy, human nature and more bundled into this conversation and it simply blew my mind. I'm glad there are people looking forward this many steps ahead and trying to remedy future problems before they arise.
What I'm reading
- Dune - Realised that Dune comes out in the movies in the next week or so. I better get a move on and finish my fiction binge!
Watch
Humanity's future (~25min)
I think there are a couple more that the video doesn't indulge in given it's mainly focused on technology, but I'll leave those for another day when I can create something about it.
Quote I'm pondering
"In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power"
– Yuval Harari
I've mentioned Sapiens so many times to people that I feel like it's about all I talk about. Yuval Harari (the author of the book) seems to be able to take a very "outsider" view of society and make some startling observations.
This quote struck me because it points out something that's subconsciously obvious: we read the news and scroll social media but most of it is totally irrelevant to anything. It's simply noise. In a world drowned by that, things get fuzzy and confusing because it's like being in an environment with too many people speaking at once.
Being able to have clarity of thought is almost like a superpower in these times. It allows you to separate Truth from opinion, which is a task that's becoming increasingly difficult.
That's all I have for yet another week ! Hope you enjoyed the newsletter. As always, I simply LOVE hearing from you and your opinions. Feedback is always welcome!
Stay safe!
- 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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