This was originally posted on blogger. I like this format. It certainly doesn’t get my blog more views, but that’s not the point. Some thoughts come to me and I need to write them down. If they’re on my blog, rather than in my journal, I’m far more likely to look over them in the future. And a thought is best in its pithiest form. Why write a whole blog post for something when it can just be a paragraph?

That’s not to say everything should be converted into a TikTok video. Or that every book should just be a series of articles. Many messages are better as a train of ideas.

Hats off to Wayne Hsiung. His recent blogpost from prison is here, and here’s my summary:

50sq-ft studio apartment in Sonoma County. Fully furnished, natural lighting, minimalist design. Amenities include laundry, vegan catering, and pet fruit flies.

I have to say, the worst part of prison seems to be the solitude. There’s nothing like being alone with yourself and your thoughts. That’s the real prison. Out in the world, you can distract yourself with work, people, nights out. But in a prison cell, you have nothing but yourself. Some days I’m stuck at home with nothing to do and feel bored. But I have the infinite books, TV, and music; I can call anyone I want at any time. Wayne’s leisure is confined to thirty minutes a day to fit in calls and library visits. I’m sure he can get a lot of writing done.

Should I not eat vegan junkfood? My friend Truman recently made me think more about adopting the whole-food plant-based diet. Truman is vegan and avoids basically all oil, saturated fat, and GMO foods. All I can say for now is I’m thinking about it. In Taiwan, I don’t cook my own food, and it’d be a hassle to start. But he made some compelling points. I wonder what the difference is, though, between having a bit of oil and cutting it all out. I’ve heard qualitative descriptions, but not quantitative ones. I agree doing Michael Gregor’s Daily Dozen and avoid vegan junk food is better. But I just don’t know how much better, and whether it’s worth the hassle. It’s both an empirical question and a judgement call about convenience vs. longetivity.

CODA is a great movie. I watched it last weekend and loved it. It had me tearing up! But was so uplifting. I also learned a lot about deaf life and culture. My new favorite movie? Good song in it, too, Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell.

1-1 ping pong coaching has outsized impact. Playing with a coach in ping pong, you get lots of feedback, fast. I’ll do one movement and Coach will know exactly where I’m going wrong. Today we focused on my forehand drive. It’s a shot where you need to put your hand down as soon as you know you’re about to do it, so you have time to execute the full swing. That feedback is fantastic to get. It super-charges my next week or two of playing with things to think about.

Lin Yun-ju plays Ma Long in the World Table Tennis Championships. Lin Yun-ju, representing Taiwan, beats Ma Long (the Chinese world #1) four games to one. An incredible match. Incredible to see two world-class players in such intense combat. It reminds me of Federer’s decade long fall to Nadal in tennis. Is this the beginning of such a saga? Lin Yun-ju keeps his cool; Ma Long doesn’t take defeat well.