Q2 2024 - WTF am I up to edition
The mass updates since Feb 2, 2024 - because at the very least, I'll publish quarterly.
Hello!
Continuing off from the last time I updated you all in March 29, 2024, but really it’s what I’ve been up to since Feb 2…
Crypto Headlines That Keep Me Alive
SEC ETH ETF Approval paves the way for PoS based traditional financial products, following the January BTC ETF Approvals.
FIT21 passes the House, and while it is expected to be vetoed at the Biden Level, it signifies a major milestone in the blockchain industry as a whole. What remains to be seen is where the lines will be drawn amongst the CFTC, SEC, and our representatives.
Read Write Own is a fantastic, level setting book about blockchain technologies. What’s strong about it is it’s business-focused approached to explaining blockchain; an important fact considering that almost all narratives I’ve heard about blockchain have been too engineering focus.
Consensus 2024!
Fitness things
I completed the OC Half Marathon at sub 10 min per mile average. It is a fantastic race that takes you through Fashion Island, CDM, the bluffs, and OC Fairgrounds, with the only issue being exit parking (2 hour+ exit…). I signed up for the Long Beach Half Marathon in October later this year, and perhaps I will consider the Golden State Series.
Maintaining fitness while traveling is a challenge unto itself, but it didn’t stop me from running a 5k in Austin or doing cycling, also in Austin.
Travel, Events, & Leisure Things
If you’re reading this as this published on Friday, May 31, I am coming back from Austin for Consensus 2024.
I will be in Mexico thereafter. And Portugal at somepoint.
I skiied for the first time in Tahoe at Heavenly Resort, and I did it by doing beginner lessons (First time & second time on the mountain). I didn’t have the confidence to do much, and this was compounded by my inability to do directional turns or to stop. My calfs hurt like hell as well.
I skiied for the second time in Mammoth Lakes. I took lessons and succeeded in going down the Discovery Trail 10+ times in one day. The major boost of confidence comes from my ability to exercise incredible control over my feet as result of…rejecting ski boot tips and electing to “round up the shoe size” as a result of having thicker calfs. Perfect Ski Boots makes the difference.
Also had the pleasure of snowmobiling and the answer is if you ever get a chance to snowmobile, the answer is yes. Bring sunscreen.
I found myself at an Ascend Event in Hollywood focused on Mental Health, hosted by Jason. It was a great event, and the best of its kind. Unfortunately, it’s probably the only event of its kind as it’s unusual for Ascend, or Asian ERGs, to do anything to garner my attention and interest. For those of who know me, I make fun of Ascend and all Asian ERGs for their traditional-ness. I can say that, because I used to serve on an Asian Non-profit board, and internal Asian ERGs.
Cheftech in Long Beach offers great culinary classes for families. Source: Held a 25 person private event there.
Video Game & Entertainment Things
Helldivers 2 released Feb 2024 and since then, I’ve committed 170 hours to the game, and also play with a friend I made from New Zealand, as well as friends here in the states. The chaos is great. Democracy calls, bois.
I also picked up Balatro, a game that will really push your sense of arcade-roquelight-gambling fixtation to the next level. It’s a perfect addition to have on a steamdeck.
For those of you who are fans of Heroes of Might and Magic 3 (you know who you are), I can recommend Songs of Conquest as a modern day fix; great on steamdeck.
I’ve also picked up Dave the Diver at a strong recommendation from Mike, and so far, it’s impressive, delightful, and fun.
Vampire Survivors made a comeback in my rotation and for those of who followed me in the first year of this newsletter, you know my obsession.
I also picked up a OLED Steamdeck, and yes, it’s 110% worth the ugprade from the regular steamdeck especially if you like BG3.
Homeworld 3 released, I beat it, and the criticisms against the story are extremely fair, and the unit control for a strategy game is infuriating; however the songs slap hard. Also the only thing that matters is the Keepers song - but where did it go?!
I also completed Warhammer 40k Daemonhunters, a game that is only worth playing once if you like Grey Knights. I recommend playing on hard as medium is ridiculously cheesable.
Dune Part 2 release, and for those who worship Shai Hulud, there’s many.
Lord of the Rings Extended Theatrical Re-release is coming in June and you bet your ass the wife and I have a ticket to rewatch each part of the trilogy over the weekend.
I also binged the Fallout TV Series. If you love the universe, you’ll easily love this. It is unfortunately one of those shows where “yes it does get better, please bear with us.”
The Three Body Problem is a very worth while TV show to get into that I quite literally binged in one day. You like Sci-fi? You like the concept of Aliens? Perfect.
I finished the Midnight Library Audio Book, a great book for those of who have found yourself daydream what-ifs in your own life. Fair warning, the ending is not satisfying, but worth the read nonetheless.
The Spectrum Escape Room is genuinely one of the best and cleanest escape rooms I’ve ever done. Coming in at a higher than normal premium, it does not fail to disappoint.
Season 2 of Blood of Zeus is a fantastical nuance narrative on Greek Mythology. If you enjoyed Castlevania, you’ll enjoy this easily. Now if you don’t mind, I have X-MEN, Bad Batch Season 3, and Tales of the Empire to catch up on.
I saw Rebel Moons Part 1 and Part 2. It’s basically a B-Rate fantasy movie that has great slow motion visual effects but shit-all everything else. Honestly surprised it has a cast like that. It has spawned amazing Reddit discussion threads.
Finance Things
I’m committing $240 per year to use Mercury Banking for Personal Finance Management. Yes, I’m paying for a personal bank account and I have a lot of great things to say after using Mercury for Businesses with multiple companies (business referral link for you). On the personal front, I’ve completed my migration over a span of 5 days, ushering in V3 of my Personal Finance Tech Stack. Combined with RocketMoney, as well as the configurations I have across all my institutions, I don’t think I can get any lazier than this.
I did my taxes and owed a decent amount at year-end. Much like all of you, and I’m finally going to go hire a CPA to handle all my taxes. You can only do this on your own so far before you realized this isn’t a sound idea any more.
Restaurant & Food Things
Intercrew was the best restaurant I ate at. Johnny, I have dreams about your signature duck confit dish, your pho, and your korean friend chicken.
I got married and had a lovely dinner at Rogers Farmhouse. 10/10 on the mussels.
Dolan’s Ughur Cuisine was one of my noteworthy favorites I ate at this year.
Le Shrimp Noodle Bar is the latest restaurant to call back my craving for “Tsujita Like Noodles”. To be clear, this isn’t Tsujita like at all. It’s Shrimp Wonton noodles, like the Costco frozen ones. Except it’s the S-tier version of that.
The Italian Homemade Company is the Pasta Sister of Long Beach. Casual go to spot, with a great area to be around.
Finally had the Crystal Cove Shake Shack after doing a half marathon, and I ahve to say - those shakes hit hard. Becareful of the cheeseburgers - it’s a bit…too cheesy, if that makes sense.
Sugarfish (yes we’ve all been here) actually has the most cost effective omakase menu; just ala-carta it. At $75 per person budget, you will be extremely satisfied just blindly choosing your sushi, and that includes encore for your favorites.
The Mammoth Lakes Smoke Shack has the best pulled pork mac and cheese, and I usually hate both of those items. To find htis place, look up “Eastern Sierra Fruit Co”.
Also shout out to Trader Joes Cacio e pepe, it has no reason to slap that hard but it does, so much so that I’ve outsourced the making of that dish to simply buying it at Trader Joes.
I also had the pleasure to try Gordon Ramseys Hells Kitchen Restaurant, and as tacky as it is, their Beef Wellington delivers. It’s too good.
Vespertine is the most mid restaurant for it’s class I ate at this year, and I can easily say “you can pass on it.” Odd, because I enjoyed their pandemic take-out meal kits.
Bello by Sandro Nardone is the second worse restaurant I ate at this year.
Sampa is the worst restaurant I ate at this year so far.
I lied, Mozambique in Laguna Beach is the worst restaurant I ate at this year so far.
p.s., nigiri scallops with soy sauce look like my cat’s ass. I can’t unsee this, so neither can you.
EASE & EFFORT CORNER
Small reflections on what I “eased” into and what was “effort”.
What did I ease into
Long Distance Running.
I started 2024 cooling off from running and seeking new ways of fitness through Lifetime. Two months before the OC Half Marathon, I found myself building up my endurance patience with running ever so incrementally (big help of running buddy Jason) that I want to do more half marathons.
My weekly runs can be best characterized as recovery runs, where I will average a pace between 11 to 12 minutes. Doing this kind of regime, while complimenting it with the occasional “faster run” and other cardio exercises, ultimately led me to have a 9:45 avg pace for the actual OC Half Marathon.
What was effort
Maintaining a healthy relationship with running for me is effort. I’m very mindful of a tendency to “achieve a major milestone” and then not revisiting it ever again. The last time I did a half marathon, I would proceed to not run for 4 years.
I set some boundaries with running:
It’s not about speed
It’s not about distance
It’s not about gear
It’s not about being better
It’s not about doing better than yesterday
It’s definitely not about the micro-improvements
What running is about for me is it is focused & forced introspection time. It’s my time of solitude, something I desire as a counter balance to all other things I do in a week.
It is one of the methods I employ to seek clarity. The moment I start treating running as a physical sport of metrics, it becomes effort I do not want to exert.
p.s.s. SURPRISE TPAN. THIS DROP BE BIGGER THAN CONSENSUS2024.
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Great to finally meet you in person!
Missed seeing you around here, Allen - we should reconnect sometime soon!