Something I learned from psychology and sociology is the notion of thin slicing. Basically the notion of thin slicing is that when you meet somebody, you could get a pretty accurate sense of who they are even the first five minutes. Certainly you will not get a hundred percent depiction of who they are, but in my personal experience, you can get 80% accurate judgment of somebody’s personality based on the first five minutes.

The same thing goes with movies and books, if you’re bored in the first five minutes, most likely you will be bored until the very end. Or in other words, if you’re watching a movie or a film and you’re bored, just turn it off, or leave the theater.

Therefore the practical strategy is if something bores you in the first five minutes, don’t complete it. Life is infinity too short to be bored of boring books, or boring films. And even worse, boring people.

One of the most badass ways to stay fit, and become hard and harder is just have one heavyass kettlebell. That is all you need.

Which designs are the best? The lightest ones.

For example, even with website design, the website that is the lightest in terms of code, and the smallest file size is best. Loads quicker, and has less bloat. The enemy of modern technological design is bloatware. This is why I am very anti-Samsung, because it packages the phone with so much bloatware which is unnecessary. And if you have ever felt stomach bloating, we know that bloating is bad.

Also with traveling and packing for a trip, when in doubt, leave the heavy stuff at home.

Once again, with laptops, phones, camera, always optimize for lightness. Better to have something that is lighter and less powerful than something which is heavier and more powerful.

Or in other words, better to have a McLaren or a Mazda Miata, instead of a heavy muscle car even if it has 1000 hp.

Do not dwarf yourself. Do not make yourself small.

What is the role of modern society? To make you as generic and insignificant this possible. It seems that this preaching of equality of rights is anti-extraordinary individual. It is a disbelief in great individuals.

Why are so many people anti-Elon Musk? Because the critics themselves are small, and they cannot understand how such a great man like Elon Musk can exist.

When it comes to design matters, design for yourself. Design as if you were your own ideal user.

What is it like traveling with a kid or a baby, and doing photography?

Difficult. But maybe not as difficult as you would think.

My new personal metric when it comes to decisions when to buy things, upgrade things, create things, share things, etc:

Is this 1000x different?

For example, don’t upgrade your iPhone unless you think the new version is at least 1000x better. Same goes with clothes, cars (perhaps electric cars are indeed 1000x better than gasoline cars), etc.

Also with your personality, and thinking … strive to become at least 1000x different than others?

Look at your photos as small thumbnails in iPhone, and click and hold a photo to favorite it. Then filter your photos by your favorites, and make a new album with it.

This is the small thumbnail test applied to iPhone.

To become happier, live more boldly.

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Much of the social world is a simulation. Which means, we follow the same old Scripps, and we always talk the way others talk.

Therefore the notion of breaking the simulation is simple: go off script, and refuse to talk like others. Surprise people a little bit, and be fun and clever with your socializing skills.

How to become more extroverted:

Many people think that cryptocurrency is all overhyped, yet I see it as one of the most under exploited opportunities, for us and our future. If anything, I think cryptocurrency and crypto technologies is under hyped, and undervalued.

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In praise of goretex.

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Dear friends, the new year is ahead of us. As 2021 comes to arrive, incipit is 2022.  I have great optimism for the next and upcoming year. Why? Our philosophy as photographers is to make new, and become new.

Therefore the idea is that this upcoming year, we will make new photos, go on new adventures, become new again.

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A thought:

If you got cool shoes, or a cool car, or cool clothes, but nobody is there to witness you wearing it or using it … does it make it still ‘cool’?

No.

Thus, we must have things or use things or wear things as if we were the only one to witness it or appreciate it.

For example, the reason I prefer to wear all black clothing is when I look at myself in the mirror, it is the most aesthetically pleasing to me. When I wear grey t-shirts, I don’t like it from an aesthetics perspective. And I also prefer all black shoes, because it is the least distracting to me when I am walking.

The best clothes are the ones in which you forget you’re wearing clothes, the ones that feel invisible.

For example when I wear merino wool (very fine high micron), I forget I’m wearing a shirt — which is good!

Or, perhaps the best clothes are the ones that let you be the maximally low-key and stealth?

In order to become more productive, you must do less.

What is progress, and why?

Something on my mind: what will be the Aesthetics of the future? For example, which colors or color combinations evoke the strongest feelings of progress in the future? Maybe hyper yellow, hyper orange?

Or aesthetics that provoke healings of progress? For example, my new favorite camera design is the hasselblad XD II — more so than retro Leica M cameras.

Enjoyed a great two weeks in Mexico City and now I’m back to back to Cali Cali:

Be more clever on how to use or reutilize things you already got than buy something new.

The goals of modernity.

I say the purpose of cinema and literature should be to expand your mind, and to motivate you to new opportunities and worlds. Bad cinema and literature restricts and closes off your mind.

My personal ambition:

To plumb the depths of the soul for photographers, and to expand our opportunities and souls as photographers.

I believe it is possible to live a happy life regardless of where you are. And truth be told, there are certainly certain places and certain cities *more conducive* to living a happy and productive life.

Yet, after realizing that Mexico City is a perfect city (as well as Hanoi, and Saigon), also Kyoto/Osaka/Tokyo — I believe:

You can truly live a happy life regardless of where you are, but it takes skill, a certain mindset, and practice.

Just finished watching the Matrix 4, and I really didn’t like it. Some reasons:

My personal joy and interest: the best design and innovation is thinking about the future, and making a clean break from the past. Perhaps homages and nostalgia are bad.

I’m currently watching the new MATRIX 4 (I love the original), and I really don’t like it. Granted I have not finished it yet, so I cannot make a proper critique or criticism yet. Yet the question that comes to my mind: what is the purpose of criticism or critique?

The only idea I have is this: a constructive critique is the only worth critique given. That is, when your critique something or somebody, you must use that information and knowledge in order to improve yourself, or to not make the same mistake you don’t like.

For example, when I witness or observe certain character traits or actions of others that I don’t like, my personal goal is to not mirror that same activity or behavior. Thus to critique others with uncompromising sincerity seems to be the goal.

Simple– when your income/money outstrips your expenses and costs.

Thus, if you’re ‘net positive’ with money, you’re technically rich. My binary.

Just got back from Mexico City to LAX, and it was a full flight. Good news, everyone who is on the flight tested NEGATIVE for covid (you must have proof of a negative COVID test before boarding the flight). Thus the irony:

Those who travel are a self selecting population, who are most likely vaccinated, and at least have taken a negative covid test.

Thus the irony– you are technically ‘safer’ against COVID on a flight, than even back home at the local COSTCO.

Now that I am a parent and have a kid, my free time is very short. Thus the need for extreme efficiency with processing and going through my photos.

1. SMALL JPEG
2. Shoot and view photos on Apple Photos (laptop), and just flag (pick, favorite) photos as small thumbnail contact sheets.

Even in matters of mental psychology — as Nietzsche said, the irony is that it is the duty of the healthy to keep the sick away from the healthy.

For example, I love the proportions of the high top Air Force one sneaker. It seems the biggest innovations is making it lighter, using the new Flyknit technology, or even making it Gore-Tex.

Also my delight at the new Nissan Z car, which takes the classic car in the classic proportions, yet mix in modern.

Another reason why Tesla Model S Plaid as the best, most innovative and motivational car.

Perhaps the best use of money is for movement. So the question on my mind: how can one use money in order to move more?

Certainly we could use money to travel. To pay for flights, Airbnb‘s and hotels. Also, we could use money to Uber.

Also, the best use of money to buy things which facilitate movement.

Also with crypto currency, the biggest benefit is that you can move money faster. With less restrictions, fewer fees, and fewer boundaries. crypto is money without borders.

Another pro tip when it comes to traveling, hotels or Airbnb‘s: optimize for hygiene, cleanliness, and peace and quiet.

With design matters, clothes, and things in general, optimize for ultrathin.

Midweight things are a compromise. A bad compromise.

Ultra thin phones, ultra thin laptops, ultra thin clothing (ultra thin shoes, with ultra thin soles, ultra thin socks), ultra thin devices, and of course ultra thin condoms.

Maybe even with bodily physiology, we prefer the ultra thin, yet muscular.

To be always and constantly on the road is not that efficient. Sometimes we need to spend a little bit of time in one spot. That’s the goal isn’t to always be on the road, but to be semi nomadic. For example, living in one city, or a foreign place for three months or six months at a time, and then onto the next place.

Don’t on anything that hold you back. Don’t on your home, don’t own a desktop, don’t own a car, and don’t own a lot of things which prevents you from packing up and going.

Not the best, but the most beautiful?

In life, there are certainly things which are the ‘best’. But … what is most beautiful is often not the ‘best’. Thus, perhaps best to optimize for beauty … instead of optimizing for the ‘best‘?

For example when it comes to certain design things and design objects, certain objects or designs are more *beautiful*, but less functional. Typically that which is maximally functional is the best.

But, perhaps better to get thing which are sub-best, but the apex in beauty?

I like living on the streets

I think this is why I love street photography so much. My ideal lifestyle.

The best way to gain muscle mass, and lose body fat.

For ‘vegetables’, no starchy veggies (cauliflower, broccoli etc). Only bitter dark leafy greens (kale, spinach). Also, fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut.

My design ideal: to create or discover designs which are 1000 times more unique and different and interesting.

Or creating a certain design or product that does not yet exist. For example, my Eric Kim line of products, which are optimized for Ricoh GR cameras. No other straps are compatible with Ricoh GR cameras.

Become fascinating to yourself, or become fascinating to others?

With fashion, the question I have on my mind is this: the desire to wear certain clothes or fashions is to become more fasting to others, or to become more fascinating to ourselves? (more…)

Better to risk boldness than triviality

A saying from Peter Thiel (Zero to one) I love.

My personal passion and lust is a lust for subtraction. I actually get greater joy when I try to get rid of things, than to add things.

A random thought of today: is there a form of capitalism or consumerism that is based on notions of subtraction, rather than addition?

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What I learned after coming back to Mexico City: the city is just as good as I remembered, yet I have changed so much.

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In spite of the downsides. In fact, I think more intelligent and educated people should have kids.

A way to think how to compose black and white photos:

What do I desire to be the distribution or the *ratio* of black vs white in my photos?

To dream new dreams, and to aspire anew, better to widen yourself and broaden yourself, rather than specialize and focus.

Composition means to figure out what to add to your frame, and what to subtract from your frame. Some practical thoughts:

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Photography is our content.

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Innovate the content, not the technology.

Polarize. No need to disguise your thoughts or your intent. Better stick to your opinion than be bent by others and their thoughts. You want to own your own opinion, you don’t want to be bought.

Stay stern, don’t be swayed. Follow your own morals and ethics, no need to get paid.

Cross pollinate and braid your ideas, and just share them. Your ideas are golden, not silver. Share your thoughts openly and widely, uplift others.

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We typically think about advertising as a bad thing. However, to advertise yourself means to simply market yourself, or to put yourself out there. The sole purpose of advertising isn’t always to make money, but often to simply promote a certain message, idea, or your images.

Some customization, not too much customization: (more…)

Life in Mexico City is good. Photography Paradise. Ideal place to escape the cold for us east coasters.

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Just because you spent money on it, doesn’t mean you should feel forced to use it. If anything, just move on.

With iPhone or Mac, prioritize native apps for better sync and use. For example Apple Maps over Google Maps, Apple Music over Spotify, Apple Mail over Gmail, etc.

Why are Google app icons so ugly? A big reason why I delete Google apps from my iPhone.

Also, better to use Apple photos than Adobe Lightroom.

My aesthetic ideal.