Many people think horizontal stripes make them look short, fat, and wide.
Perhaps the whole horizontal = wide idea started because of visuals like this one. Which rectangle looks wider?
Horizontal stripes don’t (necessarily) make you look wide
Can’t tidy up? Try changing your life first
I’ve recently taken up the KonMari tidying method. This is my third attempt at following Marie Kondo’s system, and this time I’m finally getting it!
Don’t buy gifts from Lululemon
I’ve been a fan of Lululemon since 2005. I’ve stuck by the brand through all its scandals, including not-really-“seaweed-infused” fabric (Who buys clothes for their seaweed-related properties anyway?), see-through pants (you learn to check carefully in the changeroom’s 3-way mirrors), and the founder’s size-ist comments (he’s since stepped down as CEO).
I can forgive all that. But today – in subjugating me to their atrocious gift-return policy – Lululemon finally went too far.
David Graeber: (excellent) books on what’s wrong with the world
Paul Graham says you can’t try to write about everything that’s wrong with the world. If you did, you’d be Noam Chomsky.[1]
Hanoi (& Saigon): Wildly Fascinating
Hanoi is one of my new favorite places. Everyone told me it would be awesome, and they were right.
Foods I miss in Asia
As a Canadian abroad, here’s what I long for.
In no particular order…
All-day breakfast. I really missed this in Japan. Places stop serving breakfast at 11 am (even McDonald’s!).
6 ways travelling changed me
1. I’m less scared of bugs.
How to make friends as a solo traveler: use Couchsurfing Hangouts!
It seems like most people haven’t heard of Couchsurfing Hangouts. That’s a shame.
Sleepy, dreamy Luang Prabang
A question about randomness
Weather is caused by a bunch of molecules. Since we don’t know exactly how the molecules will behave, weather forecasters make lots of models and then look at the average. That’s why they say things like “There’s a 70% chance of rain”—perhaps they’ve made 100 models, and it rained in 70 of them. (As described by Nate Silver in The Signal and the Noise.)
If we knew exactly what each molecule was, though, we could predict the weather with perfect accuracy.
Now, consider the extent to which the course of your life is determined by prior causes.