The Monday Read

Don’t Miss Two in a Row Edition

My apologies for missing last week’s Monday Read. The international date line was to blame, not me 😉

We made it back into Japan and it was surprisingly easy to enter with the MySOS app and the new procedures. They kept us on the plane for 30 minutes while the international transfer passengers disembarked, but after that I think it only took about fifteen minutes from plane to walking out of Narita.

Typeshare

I’ve been doing a lot of writing on Typeshare recently as part of the Ship 30 for 30 online writing course. You can check it out here if you missed it on Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, or Facebook 😉

YouTube

Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. More videos coming soon once I get rid of jet lag and clear my work backlog!

The Forum

The Forum is doing well (24,176 posts so far). Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

I’m really enjoying Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts. Set in India, it’s a sort of memoir/crime/action thing. About half way through it now.

Also started Scorecard Marketing. So far nothing special.

This week’s gadget

I’ve really enjoying taking photos recently, but my phone was a bit limited in that regard. Also the video it shot was basically unusable, so I decided to treat myself and upgrade.

I considered an iPhone, but I don’t want to use Lightning so won’t be getting one until the next generation puts in USB-C connectors. Also looked at the new Pixels but they seem a bit pricey.

In the end I picked up a Pixel 6a on Amazon for 43,000 yen. Seems like a decent compromise between features (it is way better than my cheap Xiaomi) and value for money.

So far I am really impressed. The cameras are amazing, it is fast and responsive, and it’s a bit smaller than my old phone which is nice. Highly recommend!

This week’s links

  1. 8 billion! UN warns against alarmism as world’s population reaches 8bn milestone
  2. I plan like a pessimist but live like an optimist: Save Like A Pessimist, Invest Like An Optimist
  3. I enjoyed Rei’s appearance on this podcast (also appreciate the mention): My Conversation with the Compounding Curiosity Podcast
  4. Enjoyed this video from Cal Newport: A Look Inside Cal Newport’s Deep Work Hideaway
  5. A bus journey in the US: A small journey of the sanguine
  6. I think I am a mix of these two: On Michael Crichton’s Busy Ambition
  7. Everything, I guess: What to buy in Japan
  8. Yikes: World War III Has Already Effectively Begun
  9. Always seemed like the most likely option: COVID-19 Origins: Investigating a “Complex and Grave Situation” Inside a Wuhan Lab
  10. Been consuming a lot of content about India recently -this seems like a nightmare though: I tried starting a manufacturing unit in India…
  11. Sean with some really nice photos: Himakajima
  12. Old but interesting article about James Cameron: Man of extremes
  13. I love the mundane Halloween costumes each year 😀

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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