The Monday Read

November temperatures edition

My wife put the AC onto ‘heat’ the other day. Which is only about a week since it was last on ‘cool’.

Is it too much to ask that the temperature be pleasant for a couple of weeks?

A bit of a weird mix for you this week:

This week’s links

1. I always enjoy Sean’s photos: Hiking: Jokoji – Dojusan
2. One of the most important stories this year (decade)? What China’s plan for net-zero emissions by 2060 means for the climate
3. Pretty useless for me (pandemic+everyone I would go with is Japanese), but JR East has a new pass for foreign residents: JR East releases first-ever rail pass for international residents in Japan
4. Some good stuff in here: Common Causes of Very Bad Decisions
5. Definitely don’t want to end up in prison in Japan: JAPAN FROM INSIDE – LE JAPON A DOUBLE TOUR
6. I enjoy Geoguessr, but this guy is something else: 10 seconds per round, no moving, scrolling or zooming, a Diverse world #1
7. After seeing countless ads for Rakuten Denki, I tried their online simulation. Was pleased to see they are only 1 yen a month cheaper than my current provider GREENa (which I am very satisfied with): GREENa

What do you think? Anything good in there? I really enjoyed the videos this week (#5 and #6).

This week’s books

• Morning Star, by Pierce Brown. The last book in the Red Rising trilogy, this was gripping from start to finish. There is another trilogy after this, but I have decided to save it for later.
• Dirt, by Bill Buford. I really enjoyed his book about English football hooligans (Among the Thugs) so looking forward to this one about being a chef in France.
• The Forward Collection. Six short SF stories by different authors including Andy Weir (who wrote The Martian).