The Monday Read: Uninvited Guests

Time for a little autumn cleaning perhaps

The shift in the weather caught me off guard this week. We went from AC on to “hmmm, might need a light jacket” in what seemed like minutes. Very welcome though, especially if that was the end of the humidity.

Found this fine fellow in my office today. Hopefully he was alone, but I’m going to clean a bit more carefully and keep my eye out for more of them.

Speaking of cleaning, I’ve read a few articles about subtracting in order to get ahead this week. Sometimes, the best way to fix something or improve something or get ahead is to stop doing something, to remove something, to cut down on inefficiency.

This year I feel like I have been adding a lot to my life (mainly in terms of diet and exercise) and I have a bit too much on my plate (heh). My project for the rest of the year is to try to remove things to make some more breathing space.

In jiu-jitsu too I am trying to make my movements more efficient, which means doing less of them, but doing them at exactly the right time and in the right direction. It’s making things more fun again as it gives me a mental puzzle to work on alongside the physical one of grappling. Interestingly I probably need to do something similar with RetireJapan.

And I removed the cockroach from my office.

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The Forum

The Forum is doing well (37,469 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essense, they are:

1. Be nice
2. Ask any question you like
3. Only answer questions when you have relevant knowledge or experience

Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

Still reading Burn, by Herman Pontzer, about metabolism and calories. You can see a long-form interview with him here if that’s more your thing. The book is pretty interesting and quite readable, especially for someone in the middle of long-term dietary changes.

This week’s links

1. Japan smashing records for the forseeable future: Japan’s elderly population grows to record 36.25 million
2. This was an interesting distinction: The 4-Hour Life
3. Zuckerberg is definitely worth whatever it costs to protect him: Protecting a billionaire CEO costs millions. Here’s how the world’s biggest companies measure up
4. This video is great. I liked the Australian garbage guy. Might be a good post-retirement job for me too (NHK): My Job in Japan
5. Stunning. I’d love to visit someday: Walking Faroe Islands (part two)
6. Initial comments seem fine and even self-evident: Business leaders weigh in on Uniqlo chief’s ‘Japanese people may perish’ remarks
7. This is why I don’t think a single government is taking climate change seriously: Global spending on subsidies that harm environment rises to $2.6tn, report says
8. This was good (YouTube): Things I Do EVERY DAY To Get Back In Shape
9. Found this very useful from Seth Godin: The ledge
10. Yes, I think hereditary political machines are immoral: Is Japan Losing Its Vitality Because of Dynastic Succession in the Political Class?
11. Ben Carlson seems to be slightly younger than me: 10 Money Revelations in my 40s
12. And is making little videos now too: What If You Only Invested At Market Peaks?
13. I like this guy even more now (YouTube): I Bought My Dream Car in Japan
14. What would the current religion stocks be I wonder: The Hidden Risk in “Religion” Stocks
15. In Sendai? Not in the slightest (YouTube): Has Japan’s Tourism Boom Affected Residents Like Me?
16. Enjoyed this. Coincidentally sent a memo to a colleague this week that said: ‘are we doing too much? What can we stop doing?’: Take Something Away
17. Interesting stories. I used to earn a bit more than my wife: she earns a bit more than me now: ‘I earn £2m – my partner £20k. It’s a bit ridiculous’: the truth about wealth-gap relationships
18. Very glad this disgraceful scheme is being reformed, it shouldn’t have taken this long: Japan to address issue of foreign trainees quitting in record numbers
19. I can’t see a moral or logical argument for the death penalty, especially given the flaws in the Japanese legal system. This just makes it even worse. Pretty horrendous stuff: Japan criticized as treating death-row inmates ‘inhumanely’
    

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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