Another one? [ Sunday Surprise 26th May 2024 ]

When it rains... it drizzles?

Guten tag!

Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend. For this first time in this revamp of the newsletter, I’m actually starting the draft a little earlier (it’s Wednesday right now as I type this, but suspect the last bits of the update will be done on Sunday).

This little detour is because of 2 things:

1. We have a new paid subscriber 🎊🎊🎊

   1. 99% of the newsletter is free, so it really means a lot that you’ve chosen to support this project anyway! Very much appreciated.

   2. Helps keep this platform running - Substack doesn’t let me pay them. It’s a pretty good email platform and available for free for everyone. They fund themselves by taking a cut, but hey they got to keep the lights on!

2. Heard one of the most interesting podcasts, but more on that below.

Thank you for those that took the time to respond from last time. We’ve had readers being visited by orcas and others who are exploring podcasts on lost Russian spacecraft. Y’all are always up to something! I love hearing about it so, please do hit reply!

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Weekly update

This week has been a LOT gentler than the ones in the past with a lot of things moving on the Stanford front:

1. Stanford IT accounts are approved for the moment I land

2. Insurance is sorted

3. Down to the last 3 houses that I’m likely to stay in

It’s a little scary that the whole move is so close, and I STILL have a few things to iron out. It’s that nervous kind of energy that permeates everything right now.

Also, in just a few days, I’ll hopefully be visiting Japan again after many years. The original plan was to take my wife to Noumea for her birthday but given the situation politically is so volatile, we had to cancel our lovely stay and opt for Japan instead. I can’t wait to go get my Family Mart fried chicken (if you know, you know).

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Creative update

Youtube: S24 Ultra: 4 Months later - Worth the upgrade?

I promised myself on average that I’d film and edit 1 video every 2 weeks at least this year (ie. get 26 done) and this past month I’ve only managed this one! Not to fear, I did take my time since I got a whole bunch of feedback that I managed to incorporate into this.

If you watch it, please do hit reply or leave me a comment with any feedback. I’m going to be working on the pacing next, but this video was all about getting the audio quality right and using B-roll.

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Cool finds

• Desktop Retro Flip Clock* - I’ve recently redone my desk with a slight new update and have been looking for something retro and cool to add to the backdrop. This has been on the list for a long while but they’re always so expensive! This one (I got it in white, but you really can’t see as an image, hence the black one pictured) is much more affordable and looks cool.

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Things to read/listen/see

• Deep dive podcast w. Dickie Bush - While I’ve listened to Ali Abdaal before, I had no idea who this Dickie Bush guy was. I just happened to start listening to this on a long car ride and boy was it great on so many fronts. Don’t let the title deceiving you into thinking it’s all about starting a business - I found so many little gems for life in this episode.

• Russian spaceship podcast - This was sent by a reader who ended the summary by saying “I never leave reviews, but I’m leaving one for this podcast”. It’s on my queue and sounds like it’ll be fascinating- essentially it’s about Russia’s response to the Space Shuttle and their fate after the fall of the Soviet Union. It just makes me wonder just how much cool tech is out there gathering dust…

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Something actionable *new*

This is a new section I wanted to add after ACTUALLY taking action from seeing a specific actionable step in other newsletters or Twitter/X feeds.

For the first one, something super simple to try:

The next time someone does something a little bit extra, go the extra mile in thanking them.

This happened to me recently in clinical practice where I looked after a young, anxious patient undergoing a procedure. Afterwards the mother emailed my admin folks to tell them about how the child was so excited to recall my little game/story that we play for an anaesthetic induction.

Not only did it make my day, but over a week later, I’m STILL thrilled to just recall it! I’d love to hear more things like that and if it felt so great, why not start the trend the next time you’re treated well?

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Weekly quote