irjustin: Making Your Box Bigger

Mindset (Dweck) + GuavaPass

Sat, 11 Feb 2017 23:18:08 +0800

Return

I’m back! Well, I decided to start writing on this blog again. Let’s see where it takes us.

Mindset

This is a book that is pretty well known. Gates writes about it in his 2015 books list, and many have reviewed it on Amazon.

As a team at GuavaPass, we decided to start a book group and this blog post is our learnings as a group thus far.

Fixed vs Growth

To give a basic understand of Dweck’s primary argument, I’ll draw from Gates:

Our genes influence our intelligence and talents, but these qualities are not fixed at birth. If you mistakenly believe that your capabilities derive from DNA and destiny, rather than practice and perseverance, then you operate with what Dweck calls a “fixed mindset” rather than a “growth mindset.” Our parents and teachers exert a big influence on which mindset we adopt—and that mindset, in turn, has a profound impact on how we learn and which paths we take in life.

What Mindset Isn’t

This book is not a how-to guide on go from a “fixed mindset” to a “growth mindset.” Rather, Dweck introduces the mindsets in Chapter 1 and expands on it in Chapter 2.

From there, it is example after example of either fixed or growth mindsets in various settings such as sports, business or rearing children.

The difficulty is many books like these provide roadmaps on how to achieve the final goal, but Dweck only provides examples.

GuavaPass

During our lunch reading group, this issue was brought up.

“It feels dry, and I’m hoping that it goes deeper.” or “It is only a bunch of stories where people have either a fixed or a growth mindset.”

For the most part, I concur.

If Mindset is read purely at face value it is a boring book. Many Amazon reviews describe just this.

The greatness of the book is realized when the “growth mindset” is used to understand the book in of itself (a weird inception).

While reading, I had to review each example and how it applied to my personal life. At times it didn’t, but at the times it did, a few of them would cause specific memories or feelings to creep up and allow me to understand old situations where I had a fixed mindset.

Leading Questions

During the lunch, I ask a few basic questions:

What is your 5 or 10 year goal?
What fixed mindsets do you have that prevent you from achieving this?

Responses to question 1 were, “I would like to be retired in 6 years.” or “I would like to be a great programmer.”

Personally, I want to be the best leader I can be. To give people the power to help others grow.

Question 2, I asked this at the end, allowing 1 week for introspection.

To me, this is where the book’s examples meet real life. When one has to ask her/himself the question, “What thought process is preventing me from fully applying myself to achieve my dream?” To reach in and be willing to not only admit, but embrace the idea that there exists an external or self implanted doubt, problem, question that hinders the progress.

I’ll follow up on this post with our team’s responses.

No English - Week 1 Review

Wed, 28 Jan 2015 10:17:19 +0800

Recap of my last post: Based on a TEDx video, I asked Lillian to become my “language parent” in efforts to quickly learn Cantonese.

Me - Justin

This has been fantastic! My ability with the words that I know is significantly stronger. Albeit, they are simple words with the wrong sentence structure, but my personal confidence has soared.

My Language Parent - Lillian

For Lillian though, I feel this image describes what she’s feeling every time we come across a word that I don’t know and I’m attempting to use Cantonese to explain the word that I’m looking for.

This process can take up to 2 minutes for me to explain the idea around a word. One terrible time, it took upwards of 5 minutes and when Lillian reverts to English… I know I’ve pushed it too far.

A common interaction:

Fruit

Is an abstract category. We don’t think it is because it’s only one step removed, but the conversation went something like this.

Me: Last night, I didn’t get to eat any…

Lillian: Oh last night, <some idea unrelated to me trying to find the word fruit>

Me: No no, last night was fun, but I didn’t get to eat any…

Lillian: Errrr…

Me: Watermelon

Lillian: There was no watermelon there yesterday…

Me: No no, watermelon, apple, orange

Lillian: Do you mean “fruit”?

Me: Um…………………… Yes… no… errr what is “fruit”?

Lillian: apple, orange, coconut is “fruit”

Steps to a Word

The steps exist something like

I run into word I do not know.
I explain ideas, topics, words around said idea/word.
Lillian eventually finds word and explains it to me.
I have to find out confirm whether this word is the word I’m looking for

All without English.

A key fallacy is once she’s found the word I’m looking for, even if it’s the right word and repeated back to me, I have no idea if that’s actually it or something close but technically wrong.

The more abstract the idea; the more this tends to happen.

Forcing Cantonese

I really have to push the issue to speak Cantonese. Lillian would much rather just speak english so that we can convey ideas and talk about things that happen in our life since we last met.

It’s really hard when I speak cantonese and I get spoken english to because I want to speak english too! Like really really bad.

As a kid exposed to Canto, plus the 2 years I’ve been here, this past week has been mostly becoming comfortable with the super simple sentences and words I already know. Improving recall.

My “already known” cantonese has become insanely more useful in just one week. So much so, even by the end of the first week, I can see my acceleration quickly slowing.

Now it’s a chore to learn new words, put into practices proper sentence structures and learn more of them. I actually want to stop and say, “Good enough!” Because I’ve “arrived” and it’s becoming a chore to learn more.

But I must press on. Each day I speak Cantonese is another day I’ve put into practice.

Some Things I’ve Learned to Say

Running
Stretching
Blood pressure and stress
I told so-and-so <some idea> (this is a struggle as I learned it improperly)
Basic conversation around today, yesterday, tomorrow
How cute little babies are.

A Thank You

So Lillian, I write this out to you. Thank you for your willingness to sacrifice our normal conversation time for me being able to learn Cantonese.

I know there are so many things you would rather talk about since we last saw each other than basics of what you did through the days with very little response.

Inside one week, I’ve already been able to see how much I’ve grown and want to continue.

Soon, I’ll be able to converse properly with you.

Let us see what 1 month achieves.

Goodbye English, Hello Cantonese

Mon, 19 Jan 2015 11:52:57 +0800

Why did I move to Hong Kong? It was to learn Cantonese.

Simply, I wanted to be able to speak with my grandma relatively fluently. It was my one single goal coming here even if my mom had other plans for me.

Sad part was, I’ve been here 2 years and barely learned anything. It’s hard to learn all the tones etc. I can’t communicate even the most basic ideas. But, I moved to HK with this primary goal. I had to man up.

I saw this TEDx talk.

This talk is given in HK and says I should be able to learn cantonese to basic everyday fluency in 6 months. 2 years… WTF am I doing wrong?

Chris, the speaker, said by week 4 I should be able to use complex sentence structures, i.e. but, and, this not that, etc. I am STILL struggling with those 2 years later.

The “Language Parent”

In the video, Chris says I need to find a “language parent.” This was a new concept to me, and it said I needed to find someone who was willing to speak to me like a 4 year old. Use simple language and be patient with me while I struggled to describe what I wanted with the limited Cantonese that I had.

Specifically, problems should not be corrected. Problematic words should be used by the “language parent” properly back to the “child” but not explicitly pointed as wrong. This creates a safe learning environment, which I was missing.

Even at 31 years, the same thing applies to a 2 year old. I was just too proud to admit it this early on.

So I asked Lillian to become my language parent. That we would abandon all english together and simply communicate via Cantonese. That we would struggle through ideas until we got to what we’re looking for just like a 4 year old.

Problems at Day 1

Well the main one, I’m not a 4 year old. I have complex ideas that I want to convey but we can’t do that.

We spent 3-5 minutes trying to get Lillian to tell me what the word “feel” was. Like “I feel happy”. Abstract ideas are insanely tough to convey without the word itself. I was saying

When I am happy, inside I….
When I am sad, inside I….
When I am happy, inside my body…

In hopes that she would get what I’m getting at. The responses would be mostly direct:

You are “really happy?”
You are…

After a while of this, she broke down and said are you trying to go for “MOOD?!” And I was like… yes… But a huge problem was in Cantonese you don’t say, “I feel…” you say “I am…”

A much more direct language.

So, I learned that pretty fast.

I’ll let you guys know how it goes.

Finish the Job, James

Fri, 16 Jan 2015 16:50:46 +0800

It’s been nearly a year since I posted.

Lots has happened. Got engaged, wedding planning, business forming only 7 months later to get scrapped. I’ve learned an incredible amount along the way.

One thing that I’ve been developing is the notion: Finishing the job.

“Finish the job, James. Blow them all to hell!” - Golden eye

Personally

Call it ADHD, being a dude, general lack of attention, being an otter. Whatever the reason. I have this horrible habit of starting something and then not seeing it through.

I’ll start many things and then simply abandon whatever it is because I got bored.

List of things I’ve started, yet not finished:

Books: 7 habits, Crossing the chasm, the Bible, ….
Programming projects
Various video games
Even some contract jobs were half-assed

This seeps into other areas of my life other than just doing work. Finishing work is a form of commitment.

Commitment scared the crap out of me for the better part of 29 years of my life. While I had a girlfriend, it was always on and off and never steady. Many times I just wanted the companionship and it was so easy to go back.

Even after it was clearly over, I couldn’t commit to returning.

I was simply hoping that a prayer, Jesus or a stoke of luck would make things happen for me. I always, and even still, shy away from “hard work” and finishing things up.

At around 27, I decided I had to do something about it. I could not continue life the way that I had and hope that could help the world in any significant fashion.

My Rice Bowl

Even after I tried for for a few months to finish my large projects, I was still quitting halfway, and now it was killing me because I knew what was going on.

Knowing is half the battle.

Yeah but it still made me hella depressed.

So I narrowed my problem and focused up. My bowl of rice.

I’m Chinese… so yes, I eat rice every day. Yes, I do get antsy if I don’t have rice often enough (low carb diets are annoying). So it’s not surprise that when I ate, I would commonly leave a little bit of rice in my bowl, food on my plate or soup to go bad.

The common argument: “Finish your food. There are starving kids in Africa.” Screw that. There are so many problems with it. It’s guilt tripping, finishing won’t help anyone in Africa.

For me though, I told my self to always finish my rice. Each day. Every day, I committed to finishing my bowl and finishing it well. It’s insane - a 27 year old struggling to finish his bowl?!

First day I did it, no problem. Second, third, easy peasy. The trouble started after the “starting high” wears off. For us otters, this can happen pretty fast. That’s when the real work begins.

IT WAS SO HARD… I WANTED TO DIE AND QUIT AND RUN.

Okay, right so it’s not that hard, which is why I picked it. Finish my rice. It’s “easy enough” and I could win and win every day, near every meal.

It was stupid, but after I did that for a few weeks, I expanded into laundry, emails, work. It’s pretty easy to start writing an email or blog post and walk someplace else mid-sentence.

Now

It’s been a few years since I started it and I’m just learning to make it a motto for the rest of my life.

I do significantly fewer things, but I finish them then finally move onto the next.

To the Future

I’m reading one book a week and starting with all the books on my kindle that I’ve either haven’t finished or never even started.

The pomodorno has helped maintain focus to finish.

I intend to carry this all the way to the end =)

Keyboard.io - Day 11

Sun, 09 Mar 2014 18:42:58 +0800

It’s been a bit since I was able to post about the using this keyboard. I was in Macau for a few days without it so it was interesting going back to a regular keyboard during that time.

This post focuses on the construction and build of the Keyboard.io. Since I’ve been with it for about 11 days now, I’ll write some of my feedback.

Construction

This prototype is made out of stained Birch plywood.

It’s extremely sturdy and built with lots of love. By far the prettiest of keyboards to look at. This stained wood construction won’t make it into production, but as long as the love and care that went into making this prototype goes into making the final cut, it’ll do just fine.

Keys

In the mechanical keyboard world there are a number of different switches that vary the feel/feedback, weight and sound.

This keyboard is using the Cherry Brown MX switch. I absolutely love them.

Layout

As before I’ve mentioned this keyboard uses the columnar layout scheme as opposed to the row staggered layout that most keyboards are used to.

Micro Controller

For the prototype, it uses an Ardruino Micro to do all of its controls.

This allows it to be fully hackable. I’ve personally remapped a number of command keys.

The Carry Bag

This prototype comes with its own felt carry case, which I thought was odd until I started using it all the time to carry it from one place to another.

Touche Jesse and Kaia…

Potential Bugs

The space key and alt key don’t register 100% of the time.

The real problem with these bugs is they’re not reproducible. I’d need to have a logging system to see if the key was registered or not to know at what point it is failing.

I’ll work with Jesse and Kaia to figure that out.

Personal Takes

Stained Wood - Drawback with the stained wood is the smell of varnish/stain. I’m slightly sensitive to the smell and so it can give me a headache at the wrong time of day, stars align, horoscope reads wrong.

I know this won’t be a problem in production, but for me it’s there.

Columnar Layout - I personally hate it. I’ve grown up on the staggered layout so much that my fingers are rather inaccurate. I find myself hitting the Return key or the Tab more often than I should. The B is also in an odd stretch position for myself.

My personal request would be to figure out how to make new/custom keycaps so you could provide a staggered layout while retaining the curved shape of the fingers.

I love the curved shape, but I fear columnar layout will alienate too many. The market size containing columnar willing people is probably much smaller (just guessing).

Lack of Arrow Keys - This is probably my biggest gripe at the moment and what keeps it (for me) from being a 100% keyboard. Specifically the casual use area.

What I mean is when I’m watching a video and need to skip ahead quickly or browsing through files and want to move up and down a few. This action requires 2 hands. Palm + h/j/k/l.

When I’m working, this is fantastic because my fingers never leave the homerow, but I can’t ever “quick one hand” arrow key movements which is a lot of the causal use area for me.

USB Port Location - It is currently at the top of the keyboard.

This is rather inconvenient for me because I use stacks of paper and shoe boxes as my laptop stand as close to the keyboard as possible. This makes the USB port location a bad place. It bends the cable at a right angle.

Personal Requests to Jesse and Kaia

A sanded dip/rest area plus padded material for the wrists. It’s got a slight pressure point where my wrists rest on the keyboard.
Bring back the tenting of Mark 6 and 7. Slight, not a lot is necessary.
Thinner, by a lot.

These requests are purely selfish as I know it would take a lot to make these things happen especially for final production.

Thus Far…

I love this keyboard. Lots of effort and I’m slowly becoming faster and faster at typing with this keyboard.

Programming continues to be a chore, but I will learn that in time.

This keyboard is like the E-macs/Vim of keyboards. There’s a lot to learn, a lot hidden, but once you learn it, it’s pretty awesome.

I worry it’ll take a while before the keyboard can be adopted, so here’s to hoping you two!

Day 6 - Keyboard.io

Mon, 03 Mar 2014 11:54:11 +0800

Well I did it again. I shifted the command keys around.

Specifically I moved the space key to my left hand where I’m used to it. This caused me to put the delete on the right hand, which then caused the alt to move to the left hand (they need to be on opposite hands for alt + delete).

I can type soooooo much faster when I don’t have to use the shift.

On the right side the upside down Ctrl is actually now a Cmd.

Current Thoughts

I love this keyboard. It’s so fun to use, but it still is a chore.
I am typing a lot faster now. Non coding near 60 wpm for everyday use. Coding is still a nightmare at 10 - 15 wpm.
I learned the ‘cvb’ a bit better, still trouble with 'zx’
Commands like alt + del, cmd + b/c/v/x are still foreign
Left pinky key which is space is still unused, considering what I could use.
Palm key to full depress is too far, wish it was half the distance. I want the rubber O rings for the Cherry keys, but I can’t get them here in HK.

I actually want to change the command keys again, but I know that would be a mistake. I’m going to use this setup through the end of this week and see how I feel about it.

There seems to be an odd activation issue with the alt key when I use it with alt + palm + h/j/k/l. I use this for skipping around text, but it’s not entirely reproducible, so I’ll have to do some investigation.

Till next time.

Day 2 - Keyboard.io

Thu, 27 Feb 2014 11:59:24 +0800

Yesterday was my first day with my new beta Model 00.

Before I launch into any of this, let me say one thing:

I love this keyboard.I’ve already worn away some of the hand written lettering

All the critisims lie in the fact that I need to learn a brand new system.

Onto the keyboard!

After I had received the tracking code, the excitement that I had was palpable. Ask Lillian.

But shortly after sitting down with they keyboard it was very apparent that I was going to have lots of learning to do. The curve is pretty steep, but I would endure.

This post describes my typing efforts and doesn’t review the construction

Methodology

I immediately wanted to change a bunch of the thumb keys around. Specifically the location of the space and also the CMD key.

After fiddling with the space key, I decided not to change that, but the CMD key was way too far to be used regularly. On Windows the Win key is used far less compared to Apple’s… apple key.

Specifically it's Apple + ~ that I wanted for switching between windows of the same application.

After figuring out how to program the Arduino Micro, I swapped the location of the CMD key (I’ve since swapped a bunch of the command keys).

Dedicated Learning

I dropped everything and started using Typing.lk to… learn how to type on this keyboard.

What this helps me do is not think about the content, but focus on practicing the keystrokes.

This helped reveal a number of things for me.

Hardest to Learn

First revealed item was that using the space key on the right hand is pretty difficult for a lefty.

Early in the game, I knew this was going to be a problem, so we press on.

Staggered Keys

Most keyboards we use today are row staggered. And, here is the key layout for most people:

I use the standard keyboard differently than most people. I use it like this:

Note: I use my index finger to hit ‘c’. Middle to hit 'x’ and 'z’ with my ring finger.

If you ask why, it’s more efficient and follows how your hands naturally curl.

But my problem is in a columnar layout of keyboard.io, I was hitting 'v’ with the same motion.

Thus, I needed to re-learn how to type 'zxcvb’… great.

Homerow Nub

My keyboard didn’t come with the little nubs that you expect on 'f’ and 'j’.

I suspect this is due to all the keyboard variations, writing the letter would be too committal to one.

It was killing me.

So often, I was swimming on the keyboard, so I added my own using surgical tape.

Problem solved.

Awesome Things

One of the hidden benefits is my proper use of the shift key has skyrocketed. Normally, you’re supposed to use the SHIFT key on the opposite side of the board that you’re hitting the letter on.

Example: Typing 'G’, I should use the R-SHIFT key.

Back to more practice.

Unboxing the Keyboard.io

Wed, 26 Feb 2014 14:58:56 +0800

This new keyboard is the brainchild of Jesse & Kaia over at keyboard.io.

I’m writing this post using the new keyboard. As with any new product, it is extremely slow going, but I will stick with it!

The Beta for Model 00

I signed up for the beta a few weeks back. The requirement for entry was a creative writing piece for which I submitted a song where Lillian helped me write it.

WARNING: This is pretty cringe worthy.

Unboxing

Shipped from America this keyboard came in a brown box. It was very well packed.

Each keyboard comes in a fabric wrapped pouch. Mine came in one that resemble a Dalmatian or a spotted cow.

Immediate Response

It actually wasn’t by me. By the time I had the box opened a small crowd had appeared around me.

This was cool but I wanted to play with my new keyboard! So, now everyone can go away. I don’t need you guys…

Initial Reaction

It is hard use.

There’s a few things going against me for using this keyboard. The are all summed up in this one sentence.

I’m left handed.

Here’s my troubles directly related to being a lefty:

Relearn space key with right thumb

That’s all for me specifically but it’s pretty massive. I’m constantly deleting stuff instead of adding a space.

I reprogrammed it the keyboard (since it’s an Arduino), but it actually got harder to do alt-deletes which, I am a huge fan of, so I swapped back.

Things I need to get used to:

Del is now on thumb
Rows are not staggered, so hitting ‘c’, 'v’, 'b’ is different finger and locations.
'Palm’ key gives access to arrow keys. I actually love this.

Learning Curve

For me personally the learning curve will be steep. Right now, I feel as if I’m learning to type and there is a level of frustration with it.

None the less, Jesse and Kaia have placed a lot into me by getting a keyboard all the way to Hong Kong, so I will learn regardless,

For now, chalk my annoyances up to not being proficient in typing on this keyboard yet.

I’m going to play some typing games.

Rev. Miles, please stop talking about stuff you don't know about.

Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:26:00 +0800

I got this in my Quora e-mail today:

Was this year’s Nobel physics prize (2013) given to deny the existence of God?

The original article is by Rev. Austin Miles is here.

PLEASE PLEASE stop talking! My goodness can you make the rest of Christianity seem any more uninformed, bigoted and prejudice?

UGH, YOU MAKE ME SO ANGRY.

Rev. Miles, why are you scared of what LHC actually does? Because you think it is out to disprove God? What happens to your world when they actually explain something?

Here’s a question: If the particle ended up with a different name say “supercalifragelistic” particle, would you have cared or even known about the LHC?

Rev. Miles claims $10B is “too much money” to spend on science. That money came from many countries, many donations. Separately, do you remember how big our military budget is which is your tax money? How much was spent on Afghanistan and Iraq? Please go shout about something that matters.

To the Rest of Us Christians

Statements like these are made out of fear. That their “way of life” is going to be disrupted. Why though? An understanding was never attempted towards the science nor was the post backed by evidence other than “the mere existence of the device is a slap against God.” That’s the fastest way to get discredited by anyone. “JUST BECAUSE”

In a gross over simplification, science can never fully disprove Jesus and Jesus will never fully explain science (in this life). The two sides are mutually exclusive.

Most scientists have problem with a “higher being” controlling everything, so they choose not to believe. Separately, they set out to explain things which they and many think will explain away religion. If we discovered everything, does that explain away Jesus?

Again, over simplified, but - No, it does not.

What was before matter? Big Bang. Then before that? A singularity. Before that? Jesus, nothing, stuff? Maybe. Maybe not.

Whether Big Bang, Singularity, Great Expansion, or even Jesus, each position requires a belief, a faith in it.

For Christians, there is a gap between the seen/physical world and God. That gap is bridged by faith.

That is what should be feared. That people don’t bridge the gap between this world and God.

Please understand something before you decide to become the spokesperson for it.

Now if it were more like Prometheus and Space Jesus, then I’d really have something to wonder about.

/rant

5 Things to Know When Eating in Hong Kong

Fri, 17 Jan 2014 14:22:16 +0800

Getting food is probably one of the first interactions that you’ll have after you land, and this interaction gets personal very fast.

Above is bacon and tofu with salty fish. If it sounds/looks disgusting, it was one of my favorite meals in the past year. Though, I love salty fish and will kill for it.

If you haven’t significant time in Asia, even veteran travelers will tell you this can be daunting. The fabled “stress order” may happen and be a source of food regret. Woe is food regret.

In this blog post, I explore the areas of different foods, rudeness, cleanliness - the lack there of, price and a few of my favorite joints. Here’s what to expect.

Different

Get off the beaten path. Do NOT show up at Ruth Chris’s Steak House, Ruby Tuesday’s or even Pizza Hut.

While all the major chains exist and have “specialized foods from the area”, did you really sit on a plane/airports for 16+ hours to eat Asian-ized American food?

No! Of course not, you came because there’s a wedding of an old highschool buddy happening in Asia or you’re stuck with your family!

Be open minded. Alright you’re convinced, let’s go.

Rudeness

This is the crux of my post, actually. Chain or local, there’s a rudeness factor you’re not used to.

You’ll sit down, be handed a menu and be expected to already know what you want. They’ll stand there uncomfortably like that kid no one wants to be around while you struggle with the menu.

Do this: Take your time, wade through that sea of uncomfortable staring.

At some point the girl/guy will be frustrated and give up waiting for you. They’ll leave and many times won’t return.

Do this: Throw up your hand like you were in 5th grade and wait until someone eye-contact acknowledges you or comes directly.

Expect them to be short with you, curt and annoyed. If you get anything more pleasant, be happy, but don’t expect it.

This is Uncle or 舅父 (we’re wearing BK crowns i picked up for halloween). He’s the owner (at least, he runs it like he is) of a place I show up at twice a week. I love his food, but by western standards, this guy is rude.

Case in point - Uncle is fast. He won’t wait for you to decide, he’ll try to push a dish on you (with love, of course). I’ve seen him need more space at one table so he picks up a girl’s food and moves it at the same time as telling her “Sorry I need this space!” It’s happened to me too, but he didn’t move my food for me… rude.

This isn’t even the rudest place I know. That goes to my current favorite eatery, Wai Kee.

Dirty

Most of my favorite places in Hong Kong are pretty dirty, but the food is top notch and cheap.

Simple, don’t expect it to be clean and you’ll be fine.

Do this: Wash your utensils in the tea you’re given. It’s not rude, it’s normal.

Prices

Local joints run about HK$20 - HK$42 (~$3 - $5.50 USD). Nicer places go up to HK$80 ($10.50 USD).

Stay local, it’s cheap and really tasty.

Best Foods

My joints I enjoy right now are:

Wai Kee - Duck, Curry lamb rice. Current FAVORITE. That duck up there is from Wai Kee. Their sauce is NUTSO good. But the place is as rude as I’ve known.
Tsui Wah - Not my favorite, but a good safe bet
22 Ships - Fancy, spanish infusion. Date material.
Butao Ramen - Fancy ramen

In the End

I hope this gives you a glimpse into what eating is like in Hong Kong. If you’re ever in the area, hit me up.

My First 30 Days Challenge

Mon, 06 Jan 2014 14:49:32 +0800

Hey guys,

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

Well I’m about 3 weeks behind schedule of posting the 30th day’s blog post.

None the less here it is.

What I Learned

Blogging takes a long ass time.

Each post took the better part of 1 hour. That included the time I was stealing pictures from other people’s websites.

What I Would’ve Improved

I wasn’t dedicated enough to make my own pictures so screw that, but that would’ve added another hour to each post. If no time or fore-planning commitment was involved, I would’ve done this.

Another thing I didn’t really do was proof-read my posts. Lots of my posts are terribly formatted, spelling/grammar mistakes, and sometimes ideas didn’t make sense. I just typed away. Proof reading and redoing ideas can double or triple the time it takes to get a post down.

In The End

To all those regular bloggers out there, goodness you are good at what you do.

To package ideas an in easily consumable idea piece, while keeping it upbeat and on point, I have a new found respect for you guys, especially if you have a full time job.

What’s Next?

I loved it. Loved it so much that I decided to keep it going.

At the same time, I built a website to help keep myself accountable.

For30day.es

Today, I start up my next do-something-new-for-30-days challenge.

This upcoming one is a little more personal, so for now I won’t be blogging about it.

Visiting Hong Kong? - Day 25

Fri, 06 Dec 2013 10:54:06 +0800

Day 25.

Octopus card is a must if you stay longer than 1 day. You can get the HK$50 back by returning the card. Alright, enough of that.

More importantly.

If you’re planning on visiting Hong Kong get a prepaid SIM card for your 3g/4g phone.

For HK$48 ($7 USD) or less, you’ll have:

A local phone number
4g data
HK$100 to use

Why is this big?

Obviously, phone if you need help
Whatsapp for basic communication
Openrice to find validated places to eat
Google Maps to help you get around

Sign Me Up!

Make sure your phone is world wide unlocked, talk to your carrier.
Buy a SIM card from: one2free (best deal)

Cheapest (~HK$28), go to Sham Sui Po.
Easiest (HK$48), any 7-eleven and ask clerk for it.

Get Data

HK$38, 300 MB, 30 days - Dial *101*833*2#
HK$78, Unlim, 7days - Dial *101*833*4#

If you don’t have a unlocked 3g/4g phone, get your hands on one by borrowing.

Call me, let’s have a beer.

You Sick? Believe Harder - Day 24

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 11:41:12 +0800

A number of my close friend will tell you, “Yeah, Justin believes this stupid thing where he can’t get sick.”

And, it’s absolutely true.

Let me tell you: it’s not that I can’t get sick, but that I believe that I’m not sick or won’t get sick.

You should imagine me imagining myself saying, “I’m not sick. Nah, I won’t get sick. Whatever!”

Origins

In college I worked at the UW Pathology department’s computer support. There a manager named Greg… something. I forget. Anyway, he told me a story that loosely went like this:

“My grandfather refused to be sick. He lived for 70 some odd years and never did.

He simply believed that he wouldn’t get sick.

It was incredible. By simply believing, I think he didn’t get sick for 30 or 40 years.”

Greg said it with a lot of passion and fervor and significantly more words.

I heard that story and it oddly stuck with me over the years. That you could will away sickness.

Taking It to Heart

Over time I slowly started doing it. Bit by bit.

Today, if I feel a scratchy throat, a little too much phlegm, a head cold, I simply tell myself, “Nah, it’s nothing. I’m not sick.”

I sincerely believe it.

Evidence

Yeah, so there’s none.

No one’s done any good studies on number of colds vs mental health state.

Please be the first. Here’s a loosely correlated article that means nothing towards this discussion.

So, Have You Gotten Sick?

No.

Fine… yes. It’s been about 3 years since I started openly telling people about this and I’ve gotten sick twice. Food poisoning doesn’t count.

One time is completely explainable and avoidable, I didn’t wash my hands after going to the gym and I ate food directly using my hands soon after getting home. Feeding germs into my face. My b, my b.

The other time was the tail end of an office bug. That is the only time I consider myself legitimately getting sick like the rest of you “normies”.

I never hear the end of it either.

Drawbacks

Main drawback of claiming this skill and rarely being sick is I can’t call in sick. No one believes me/I never hear the end of it.

In The End

In conclusion, my lack of getting sick, which is purely based on mental belief and state, is 100% proven effective since I’ve only gotten sick once in 3 years to unexplainable circumstances.

The end.

Recounting My Demotion - Day 23

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 13:28:36 +0800

Day 23.

One of the toughest things that happened. The aftermath was harder.

Only in hindsight can I say it was one of the best thing that ever happened to me.

While I left the names out, if you know them, do not take this as complaining/bashing. At no point is this a bash or a complaint on anyone else’s performance but mine and mine alone.

The Setup

I was Director of Product and Development for Cut Media, LLC. I ran a team of 4 developers with 1 to 2 interns.

My job was to build the product and lead the team that was going to do it. This allowed me to become idea creator and idea implementor. This is a dream job for any wannabe product owner.

For a number of years, I always wanted a leadership position. When I finally got one, I had no clue what to do nor what was important.

Without either of those, I eventually became a “yes man”, which is one of the worst things to become as a leader. It causes your team a lot of pain and the right things aren’t tackled.

Also, I was leading a team where each member was and is significantly smarter than I am.

A “yes man” leader is someone who gets told something then instantly gets his team to try to do said task without questioning whether it’s important, whether it’s right or even how it will look as an end result.

I just went out and tried to implement. I couldn’t effectively push back and the team just worked harder and harder.

Regardless, I was happy and at the time, the team was happy. We were all riding high on a deeply funded new company with lots of upside.

Food, drinks, and good times with promise of lots of money kept my eyes from the slowly brewing problem.

Smoke and Mirrors

One of the things we were good at was making “show pieces” for upper management. This was a problem of my always saying “yes” to short term requests and never providing enough time to long term vision.

These “show pieces” were never full featured items, but we slapped them into production anyway. We would piecemeal it until it worked.

From the outside it all looked fantastic! But it was all a facade, and the structure couldn’t hold itself up much longer.

All Crashing Down

My boss had a demo to the owners and board members. It was one particular feature that we were demoing.

Boss, during the demo, clicks a link.

Webpage displays: Sorry, something went wrong.

Everyone sits around, stunned wondering what my boss is trying to show?

I wasn’t in the room, but I was connected via chat. The words to me were:

“Never had a demo fail this badly before.”

“I’ve never been so embarrassed in front of management.”

I felt it all. Letting a boss, a friend down at the worst levels. Knowing that his name is in question because of my inabilities to do a job right.

I asked what I can do. I asked if I should resign. I asked how I could fix this if that was at all possible.

Utter embarrassment and failure.

Aftermath

I was lucky. Others would have been fired for a mistake so large. But my boss liked me.

We talked, and I was to give up my position as director for development and only own product.

One of my directs was to take the position of Director of Development.

The deeper issue was I secretly harbored a jealousy towards him. He was and is significantly smarter at all levels. I knew too. I always knew it. He was also a better leader by multiple margins, but I didn’t want to acknowledge.

Feelings of Weight and Frustration

So, for the next few months, I watched someone who used to be my direct, do my job and do it better than me.

I hadn’t been fired. I took a pay cut and an even larger slash in options.

The worst part for me was the part where everyone I worked with knew what had happened and what was going on.

Each day was faced as a zombie in an empty seat. I was still Director of Product, but only in title. My presence was felt no where and I gave no input. I coded here and there, but at nothing really. I “developed product” for no one to build. I really have no clue what I was doing nor did I actually produce anything.

I could have changed things, but really, there was no longer a heart in it.

Jealousy

Over time my jealousy grew against him and others.

Why wasn’t I as smart? Why didn’t I make as much money? Why couldn’t I do anything I wanted?

It’s messed up because he is my friend. A close friend and my roommate. How can someone harbor such deep feelings of jealousy towards a great person?

And yet all I cared for was - it wasn’t fair that I was so incapable.

That level of jealousy will grip anyone. I was incredibly secretive about it as well. I put on the friendly face, asked all the nice questions - how are you doing? how’s the team?

I would get happy when I heard about setbacks and feel good when other problems started arising.

To not wish the best for others has become one of my instant disqualifications for leadership. The heart starts to harbor vindictive thoughts. Secretly you wished your enemy, your friend, anyone doing better than you, a quick crash to nothing simply because you don’t have that.

I had all that and more.

Recovering

After switching jobs in August of 2012, I began the long road to learn to love and wish good things for those who took my position up, who still ran on the old team.

I learned what was important in life? Shortly after the question became why be jealous? There’s no point.

My desire to prove myself to others almost fell through the floor. I was humbled and realized that God didn’t want me to chase such meaningless endeavors.

A year later, we recounted the old team over drinks and I decided to tell him about the feelings I used to harbor.

That was the final piece in my recovery, to be vulnerable to my friend, recognize his ability, and be okay with all of it.

Since Then

Would I do it all over again? Haha, no. That experience sucked so hard.

Is it worth it? Yes, yes it was. The price I paid is nothing compared to what I’ve learned.

This idea of “don’t prove yourself” is learned by many in much easier ways. For me, it took this situation - being demoted.

For some the lessons are more expensive than the thing learned (someone I know paid over $30M to not be greedy through the dot com crash and now has no money), but for me and this time, far from it.

My experience has taught me to become a significantly more effective leader.

Thanks everyone who has helped, taught, carried me up through now. I’m still learning and I’ve still got a lot to go. But, thank you thus far.

“The road is long.” -Wing Yew

Leaders vs Leading

Fri, 29 Nov 2013 11:43:33 +0800

Day 18.

If you read my post about the TED talk that changed me and watched Simon Sinek’s TED Talk. There is a line in there that this post focuses on.

“There are leaders and there are those who lead”

Gates and Clinton are some of my favorite heroes. Many people won’t agree with me on Clinton, but just look at his history, it’s stinking solid.

Leaders vs Leading

Leaders are people in leadership but aren’t necessarily leading. Many times people are placed there based on need. A lot of the time the result is:

“I can’t stand my boss. He sees nothing, is inept…” so on and so forth.

Those who lead need title nor position nor employees. They go at it with passion and heart.

Times we’re lucky and the two coincide where the leader is leading!

Leaders Aren’t Born; They’re Made

Sadly, there are a few natural leaders in this world, but thankfully the rest can learn it.

In my eyes, the most genuine leader is someone who believes in their cause and only wants the best thing for it. For others to understand his/her position and for others to make that cause their own.

When you start here, and never stop pushing, you’ll all of a sudden find yourself leading.

By Example

My first leadership experience was helping out with the sound system at church.

At 14, I joined sound and at 15 I was placed as head of sound for the English service.

For another 2 years I just did sound. I scheduled people for Sundays and laid a few ground rules, but that’s all I really did. I was in leadership, but not leading.

Over time, I slowly started caring about what the service sounded like. A catalyst was our worship nights, which are akin to mini-concerts. I didn’t care about just the sound, I cared about whether I could be accurate. Such as modifying things so when people grabbed the mic so there wouldn’t be handling noise or when the speaker starts talking their mic IS in fact on.

Because I expected that of myself, I started expecting others to do it. It just so happened that I had been leading the team for 2 years, so implementing these things were relatively easy.

From there, the services quality of sound improved. People understood why things happened as I started studying and educating people. We kept cranking out more and better worship nights.

It took 2 years for my leading to catch up to my leadership position. I was basically an empty seat until I “came online”. That is the difference between a leader and those who lead.

Now I can’t get people to stop asking me to perform sound at weddings, churches.

Leading

You never need to be in a leadership position to start leading. No one needs to report to you.

I’ve heard the complaint: “They want me to do such and such task before I get promoted to management. F*** that.”

True leaders understand why that is the case. Also, true leaders don’t care that they’re not in a leadership position.

True leaders inspire action.

In the End

Gates is perfect example of this. With his beliefs and example he’s saving lives, but not just that. He is inspiring others to do it who don’t work for him.

That is greatness.

Cell Phones in HK - Day 17

Thu, 28 Nov 2013 12:05:53 +0800

Day 17.

There was once a time where people in Asia had significantly better cell service along with cheap prices and amazing phones.

Those days are gone with American designed OSes and Phones dominating the market. Even cell phone plans have matched in price and frustration.

Not all is lost. Read on to see how I run my cell phone plan.

Current Hong Kong Market

Remember all those asian cell phones that people really wanted to have?

Yeah, no one wants those anymore. It’s all about the Samsung S3 or the iPhone 5s.

The other thing is, prices in Hong Kong have caught up to American standards. Cell phone plans range from:

HK$180 ($23 USD, 300 MB, 800 minutes, no phone)
HK$450 ($58 USD, 5 GB, 3000 Minutes, with almost any phone)

The contracts are 24 to 30 months. Even if you have your own phone, contracts are still 12 months, which is stupid.

The Chink in the Armor

Racist pun intended. There’s a way around all of this.

Requirements

Rarely talk on the phone
Data use is limited

If you’re okay with this, then you can get your monthly cost down to $40.

So what is it? It’s prepaid. I use one2free prepaid. The initial SIM card can be as cheap as HK$28 ($4 USD) that has HK$100 ($13 USD) on it.

Economics

Data: HK$38 (300 MB, 30 days, H+/4g speeds)
Phone call: HK$0.12/minute

Recharge is $100. You only recharge whenever you’re out of money on your prepaid plan.

If you rarely talk on the phone, and only use Whatsapp, FB and browsing the Internet you can stay below the 300 MB pretty easily.

For me, with the occasional phone call, it comes out to around HK$40 and I recharge around every 2 or 2.5 months.

With Phone

Phone: HK$3600 ($467 US)

Normal price, but over 2 years that comes to: HK$150. Add my $40/month.

With the phone, I effectively pay: ~$190 HKD/month ($24/month)

How Is this Possible?

In Hong Kong, most people don’t talk for long hours on their phones. A few do (especially while on the train, ugh), but most just go visit the person, hang out, have dinner etc.

Because physical proximity is so close, a phone call is used to setup said hangout instead of jabbering away.

Whatsapp, FB

Primary mode of communication is whatsapp. No one texts. They hate it. I promise you.

People would ask me, whats your whatsapp? And for 3 months I texted until I could get a cheap phone. Everyone hated me then.

In the End

If you currently live in Hong Kong, I would seriously consider switching to pre-paid only even if you have to switch numbers.

Show Up - Day 15

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 11:50:50 +0800

Day 15.

“What is the best workout?”, “What is the best equipment I should buy?”, “Should I join this gym or another?”

Who cares. Show up.

General Population

Why do most people fail at their new years resolution to keep a diet or start a new workout? An astounding 92% of people fail to make their resolution.

Setting goals way too high, not putting enough effort into making time for what you’re doing.

Those are all valid reasons for failure, but over time I’ve come to learn for many people I know, that the performing the act of working out isn’t the problem. It’s the first step of simply being there.

Showing Up

If you made it a goal or a resolution to work out (or do anything for that matter). Then that means it’s a priority, otherwise you wouldn’t have made it.

Since it’s a priority, focus on it. Make it a habit to simply show up.

I actually don’t care if you show up, suit up and don’t workout at all. Just sit there for a bit and leave.

You can have a bad day. You can have a great day. But, the most important thing is you were there that day.

Life

This philosophy applies to any area of your life especially creative portions. You have to do this for your job, but we don’t think about it like that.

It’s my job. I have to show up - I want to keep it; I want the money.

Why not for other areas of your life?

Focus

You can only “show up” to so many things. Trying to take on too much too quickly is setting yourself up for failure.

Let’s not do that, so at most devote yourself to 2 or 3 things.

In the End

Whatever goal you have, working out, writing a book, or even writing a blog, just be there.

The first step is the toughest. Get up and over it.

Things I Miss from America

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 13:40:00 +0800

Day 14.

In so many ways, America is great. You don’t know how good you have it until it’s gone.

Here are the things that are gone for me:

Amazon
Open Space
Meat
My Motorcycle
Snowboarding

Amazon

I’m a nerd. I hate going to the store. I LOVE shopping online.

Pretty much except for clothing, I bought it on Amazon and sometimes ebay.

So often, I would come home and have a package waiting for me on the table. Opening an amazon box is like a mini-Christmas every time. Who wouldn’t want that?!

Now I have to go hunt for the things that I need instead of a using a search box. Wish life had a search bar.

Open Space

This is Hong Kong.

Want to go to a Park? Drive a long for awhile? Feel like you’re not surrounded by 7M other people?

There’s just no place to run around with your arms spread out unless you’re trying to clothesline a whole bunch of people real fast.

Maybe I’ll try that soon.

Steak

I think our meat comes from 2 places. China or Brazil. Only time I’ve seen American beef is when it’s not cheap. General prices:

Brazilian Chicken Breast: $2.75/lb
Pork Chops: $3/lb
USDA Choice Ribeye: $10.50/lb

My buddy Bosco just a few steaks and that was just too much money.

The quality of the meat is no where near like it was when I lived in Texas. Yeah, I know that’s not fair, but UGH THE MEAT WAS SO GOOD… AND CHEAP.

Here in Hong Kong, I’ll stick to my chicken.

My Motorcycle

Man she is sexy. That’s not my picture, but it’s my bike. I miss riding so badly.

There’s something extraordinarily freeing about riding a motorcycle.

Before I started riding, it was once described to me, “the closest feeling to flying.” Having ridden and become comfortable, I wholly agree. On the free way, you look down, maybe 4 ft beneath you is the earth moving underneath at 70, 80mph.

Even going 60mph is pretty much impossible here since the speedlimit even in the most open areas is 80 km/h and there are lots of speed traps.

Snowboarding

If you squint, there might be an asian guy in there someplace.

Mountain, music and me. I love it and miss it.

The nearest cheap mountain is supposedly someplace in northern China. I have a hard time trusting the Chinese and their ski-lift systems (i don’t trust chinese in general). The nearest awesome place is Japan, but expensive.

I used to live 30 minutes from Snoqualmie and go 3-4x per week. From my front door to on the lift was 45 minutes.

Sigh.

In the End

Hope you guys enjoyed this installment of life.

Why I Won't Raise Kids in Asia - Day 11

Fri, 22 Nov 2013 16:15:42 +0800

Day 11.

After 10 months of living in Hong Kong, I’ve come to learn and realize a few things. One is where not to raise my kids. Here, in Asia.

All considerations aside it is education.

There are other things such as space, environment, other’s values that I don’t enjoy as well but those do not weigh as heavily.

Education in Asia

Here in Hong Kong, education looks much different. It is more strict and the pressures to perform are higher than America. Normally, I’d be all for this.

The problem lies in the philosophy of the education. It carries an undertone of “fill in this box, detail this out, don’t question me.”

This mentality actually runs deeper in culture for “respect your elders” so severely that in the work place and place of schooling, you cannot challenge ideas.

Common Problem

Your values are the values of are of those who taught you.

For asians, those values commonly look like. “You should be a doctor, engineer or lawyer and work at Microsoft, Google or Morgan Stanely, JP Morgan Chase.”

As soon as it appears you’re able to make decisions these ideals are pounded into you. Those might mean all and well, but they’re not for everyone. We end up going down a long drawn out path of self identity.

Challenging of Ideas

The ability to question an idea is a fundamental piece to the process of betterment.

It is also a critical part of self identity.

If you lead a team, run a project, in charge of a product, or are anything OTHER than a monkey, you need the ability to critically think.

Beating critical thinking out at an early age is not the way to go.

In The End

If I can, I’d love to raise my family in Seattle or San Francisco.

If I’m still in Asia around the time my kids begin going to school. I will be forced to put them through international school. But man, international schools are NOT cheap.

Please, I welcome any one who feels otherwise to openly discuss.

Chasing What's Important - Day 10

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 21:54:11 +0800

Day 10.

What do you think the most important thing that you can be doing is? Give it a moment. Do you know what it is?

If you don’t it’s okay, read on.

As I’ve decided to actively improve myself through reading, self introspection, and prayer, I’ve come to learn that the most important thing I can be doing is chasing what is important.

Once you’ve decided what’s important, then simply go and execute on it.

Why

In today’s world is that we do things that we’re “supposed to do”. Whether asked, told or were taught long ago, large swaths of our life are rather autonomous.

Turns out not questioning results in a lot of spinning wheels (This statement is heavy; I recommend pondering on it). I see it waytoo much in Asian cultures. Because our parents or our boss told us so; therefore, it is gold. No, not always.

The thing I get my mentees to think about is the question of whether or not “this is the best thing I can be doing.”

Maybe the thing that you’re doing or the belief you hold is in fact the most important one to you or the best, but until you know that by testing it, you can never be sure.

Once you’re sure, at least confident in resolve, you can tackle said thing with reckless abandon.

Belief and Self

There a multitude of ways of discovering/deciding what is important for yourself. I cannot say one way is better than another. For me, there is simply the one I use and that I teach.

It starts with what do you believe in (Simon Sinek TED Talk). Do you know what you believe in?

When you clearly know what you believe in about yourself, you have your foundation and can launch all your actions from there.

It is your base. Any time you are unsure about the task, you can always check it against to see if you’re on the right track.

Myself as an example:

For me: Jesus is my God and that He expects me to do great things.

Vague, but there’s my foundation.

More specifically: I believe everyone should have access to clean water.

How am I chasing this? What do I do towards it?

Each more specific belief or action is tested against the higher.

Don’t worry about getting it right on the first time. Set out to eventually get your beliefs in order.Refinement will get you there, but only after you’ve taken the first step to try to explicitly state those beliefs.

Questions to help focus:

What do you believe in?
What do you believe about yourself?
What makes you angry?
What makes you happy, sad, cry, laugh?

Execution

I admit chasing after what you believe constantly is not easy. It’s time consuming and expends lots of effort.

I can’t help much in this space other than, “one step at a time and after a time, you’ll find yourself running.”

Once in a while check your actions against whether it is important or not.

In The End

The most successful people do this naturally. Me - I had to learn it through lots of hard hard lessons.

If there are any points you’d like to discuss, please ask below!