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Michael's Newsletter - September 2018

Michael's Newsletter - September 2018
By Michael Karnjanaprakorn • Issue #53 • View online
We just got back from our honeymoon! Thanks to everyone that sent over recommendations to Thailand, Seoul, Tokyo and Hawaii.
One thing I noticed while traveling was the “hipster” culture of the different cities where everything started to blend together. There is a saying in Thailand… same same. Everything started to look the same same, from the craft beer to the clean Scandinavian interior designs to the artisanal brick oven pizzas.
I was hoping for more of a local feel to get a sense of the culture, the people, what they value and how they live. Instead, I got a dose of Williamsburg circa 2010.
This trends is dubbed “airspace” and it seems I’m not the only one that has noticed this:
We could have been looking at London or New York, Sydney or Paris — everywhere, it dawned on us, was starting to look the same.
Even Airbnb, which was supposed to be a shortcut into the heart of local cultures, has ended up fostering a creeping sameness, “an extension of Ikea showrooms”
So, what does that mean for traveling? The article mentions to enjoy some peace and quiet in the woods. Or, to travel an hour outside of major cities to experience something different and unique.
Me? I’m going to enjoy Brooklyn and stay away from the avocado toasts.

✍️ Tweets
Michael Karnjanaprakorn
Average life expectancy for women in Okinawa, Japan is ~90 (oldest in the world). These women form a social network called a moai - group of 5 friends who offer each other social, emotional, and financial support throughout one's lifetime.
Michael Karnjanaprakorn
@AriannaSimpson To add to what @naval wrote:

- no meetings w/out an agenda
- no coffee meetings
- deep work before lunch
- no work dinners unless necessary (save for friends & family)
- asynchronous comms (no Slack)
- do the hardest thing first
- think week 1x year
- 2-3 big decisions per year
🔖 Articles
With a little bit of upfront investment, you can put together a library of canned responses that will save you hours of time each week.
blog.rescuetime.com  •  Share
When the whole world is fighting for the same jobs, what happens to workers?
www.theatlantic.com  •  Share
A psychedelic drug produces effects similar to near-death experiences. The finding suggests changes to brain activity may explain such paranormal phenomena
www.newscientist.com  •  Share
Fed up with their high-pressure jobs, some millennials are quitting and embracing the FIRE movement. (It stands for financial independence, retire early).
www.nytimes.com  •  Share
Maples explains how the tech community can harness the power of connections in a world of “networked capitalism.”
fortune.com  •  Share
Game theory is one of the most important concepts to grasp to understand blockchains/crypto, strategy, and decision making.
hackernoon.com  •  Share
With much riding on the first major Hollywood film with a majority Asian cast and crew since 1993, the makers faced questions about identity.
www.nytimes.com  •  Share
🕵️ Recommendations
When Sports Illustrated declared on the cover of a June 2014 issue that the Houston Astros would win the World Series in 2017, people thought Ben Reiter, the article’s author, was crazy.
I couldn’t put this book down as it lifts the hood on how the Astros used a combination of human intuition and big data algorithms to win the World Series.
www.amazon.com  •  Share
The definitive oral history of the iconic and beloved TV show The Wire, as told by the actors, writers, directors, and others involved in its creation
If you are a fan of The Wire then this is a must-read book.
www.amazon.com  •  Share
Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero.
www.amazon.com  •  Share
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Michael Karnjanaprakorn

I'm the founder of Otis. Every month, I share my favorite links from the web and share an inside look of our company.

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