In terms of the software, supercharging network, and minimalism, TESLA is king. Yet in terms of overall design, it is pretty boring and bland.
As much as I love ELON and TESLA, I would probably prefer a different car.
Category: Posts
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KANYE WEST IS THE GOAT.
Kanye West is the best musician of all-time.
Love the new DONDA 2 album. It is insane — Kanye is the only one always innovating in music.
Let us also consider, he is not only a musician, he is a rapper, he is a collaborator (gets all the best new talent), and also produces his own music!
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RADICALLY DIFFERENT, RADICALLY NEW.
What I desire is something insanely different, something insanely new.
No retros.
One of the problem with YEEZYSUPPLY; re-issuing past designs. They should just create new color ways and keep moving on.
Also the critical flaw of JORDANS — all their sales are retros. Retro is bad.
What I desire to see is completely new form factors; something I have never seen before.
Once its sold out, just keep moving on and make something totally new.
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Very Happy with iPhone SE
Very dissatisfied with iPhone Pro, very happy with iPhone SE.
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Don’t Make it Too Slow.
Trying to make it too slow, as a form of being ‘artsy’ is often plain boring.
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Cut the Filler.
The fatal flaw of many shows:
They intentionally add a lot of filler to just get people to keep watching, instead of keeping all the interesting parts (condensed, like a movie or film).
This is why I often prefer film/cinema/movie (under 3 hours) instead of a 10-show series (each being 1 hour long). Too much filler, not enough killer in shows or series.
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First Person Perspective
The reason we like ‘first person shooters’– we feel as if *WE* are the hero.
Also the popularity of my street photography goPro POV videos.
Thus as a theory:
Try to literally or metaphorically put people into your own shoes.
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Don’t Take Off the Mask!
Or the helmet.
Critical flaw of the new HALO series:
Why would Master Chief take off his helmet?
Might have been a good idea like the Mandalorian (the last episode) when MANDO takes off the helmet as a powerful gesture to Groku (baby yoda). Also the fatal flaw of the Boba Fett series is seeing the face of Boba Fett. We watchers *prefer* the mystery of the face *behind* the mask, not the real face.
Also the upside of Halo Master Chief:
You put yourself into the helmet, and you think *YOU* are master chief, not some ‘real’ person.
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STEEL SPINE
STEEL SPINE
Unwind the twine
Understand your mind
Is rooted in your gut, not your headSTEEL SPINE
Unwind
Rewind
To the past
Keep running forward, you’re never gonna lastSTEEL SPINE
Time to untwie the line
Lime green
Time to go
You’re in first place.ERIC
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Study Your Own Compositions
Self-studying of your photo composition is good because it helps you select/pick/choose your ‘best’ photos, and also as a way for you to figure out *why* you like a certain photo, and *why* you see it as dynamic.
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SELECT A LOT OF PHOTOS.
A new philosophy when it comes to my photo editing philosophy:
Perhaps it is good to select a lot of photos.
Also considering nowadays I make really big iMovie slideshows with my photos with only .5 seconds in-between, photography for me is now like making a stop-motion film.
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Individual People vs Their Interactions
I like all people as individuals, but it is their relationship or interaction with others which bothers me.
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obvious decisions are obvious
If you struggle making a decision, perhaps that decision doesn’t need to be made yet.
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Just throw away the box
Don’t hoard your boxes, or the Apple product boxes. Just throw them away.
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HOW I BECAME SUCH A PRODUCTIVE PHOTOGRAPHER
What works well for me may or may not work for you. Some ideas:
1. Extra small jpeg
Biggest photo hack– shooting extra small jpeg (around 2000px wide). Why? For a blog or website, you can still full screen it to your laptop, and still see all the pixels. I see extra small jpeg (2000px wide) as the ‘minimum viable’ jpeg small size– not too big, not too small, just right.
The upside:
You can shoot more, with less hesitation, and doubt.
RAW is slow. RAW is cumbersome, and not good for photographic productivity.
Even the most productive wedding photographers I know shoot only JPEG– they select their white balance in camera, and they can quicker shoot, don’t need to post process, and more quickly deliver their photos to their clients.
2. Apple Photos
Apple photos is the killer app for Mac. I see it as better, faster, and superior to Adobe Lightroom, especially if you only shoot JPEG.
Why? Syncing across all your apple devices, also, it is free and open. I hate paying for a subscription; I hate feeling locked in. Granted you’re locked into the Apple ecosystem, but we all prefer our MacBook laptops and our iPhone’s anyways, so this ain’t a big deal for me.
EXTRA SMALL JPEG on Ricoh gr iiix, import to Apple photos, organize into folders, and export on your laptop to a Dropbox hard folder.
3. Photo productivity is a sign of a good life?
The other day I spent all day at UC Berkeley and Downtown Berkeley campus, while Cindy was at a conference, I was exploring with Seneca. I shot 1,000 photos in a day.
To shoot more, become less ‘pro’. Shoot openly, willingfully like a child. Even if you have a 1% feeling of shooting something, just shoot it. Figure out what to do with it later.
4. Small thumbnails
Apple Photos — see your photos as small thumbnails, and don’t look at your photos as full screen (one by one). Instead as a small thumbnail contact sheet view, select and flag and favorite (heart) your favorite photos from a small view. The upside is you can quicker scan, and choose your photos which ‘pop’ out at you.
5. Quit Instagram and Facebook and social media photo sharing platforms
If you want real feedback on your photos upload them to arsbeta.com. If you want to share your photos, share them to your own website or blog.
Lately I’ve been using iMovie to create big slideshows (1000 photos) with each photo being .5 seconds. Or you can share all your photos to your blog as a mega blog post with 100+ images in a ‘Tiled Gallery’ format, or the normal ‘Gallery’ format, and you can choose to not crop your photos.
The upside–
You can shoot a lot, and share a lot.
Go beyond the basic ‘share one photo a day, exactly at noon, to maximize your likes’ on your photos. This is slave mentality.
6. High contrast black and white
I love color, yet color is restrictive. I see there are infinite shades of black, which means–
High contrast black and white affords you more photo opportunities.
With color you’re a slave to reality. When shooting color, typically color photos only work well if the color itself in real life is good. Also light– color photos work best in ‘golden hour’ (sunrise, or sunset) or with a flash. Photos of color shot in the shade look muddy and un-aesthetic (ugly).
RICOH GR III/IIIX in high contrast black and white with the contrast maxed out is best. Best Ricoh technical settings here >
7. Live more
The point of life is to live more, to extract more out of embodied reality.
I say:
Spend less money on your car, your home, your possessions your apple devices, etc… and spend more money on travel, experiences, hotels, airfare, gas, workshops, etc — things that get you outside of your house, and more time out shooting.
The more time outdoors, and the more time out shooting, the better.
ERIC
HAPTIC PHOTO SUPPLY
- ERIC KIM NECK STRAP MARK II (for the #ricohmafia)
- ERIC KIM WRIST STRAP MARK II (what is always on my Ricoh GR IIIX)
- HENRI NECK STRAP MARK IV: Classics never die >
Turbo books
Thoughts on my mind
- HALO universe a good one to think about and explore
- Minimum viable reps for working out (just one rep)
- What would John wick do?
If this sparked any ideas within you, feel free to share or forward to a friend!
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MINIMUM VIABLE REPS (MVR)
With working out, weight lifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting— opt for MVR (minimum viable reps). Often this is just 1. Or 3. Anything more is bad.
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Are Video Games Good or Bad for Society?
Good if the video game expands your mind, your creativity, and your desire and penchant for embodied-reality things. Bad if the world is ruled by micro-transactions, and unfair ‘pay to play’ schemes.
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Human-Centric.
Not thing centric, or object centric, or money-centric, or capital-centric … but human-centric.
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Koreans are the Future?
Specifically, Korean-Americans?
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Don’t Make It Predictable.
What do we hate most in TV shows, films, stories? When the drama heightens and there is some sort of predictable thing that happens (heroine watches her father get killed in front of her eyes, etc).
Audiences are now far more advanced. They can handle more unpredictable behavior in shows.
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Do Humans Need to Be ‘Enhanced’?
Thinking about the fictitious HALO universe (Spartan soldiers, Master Chief):
Do we humans need some sort of ‘augmentation’?
In practical terms, the best way to become ‘enhanced’ (naturally) is maximal movement, walking, time outdoors, and sun exposure for the day. Intermittent fasting during the day, only breaking fast for a huuuuuuge massive dinner meal (meat heavy).
For stimulants during the day (prior to noon), black on black on black coffee. When tired, take naps.
To become more hyped up, media which hypes you up. Can be music, show series, films, cinema, etc.
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MORE MUSCLE, MORE STRENGTH.
What we desire.
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The Future is Fake?
Funny– my mother in law calls Bitcoin (oh, the ‘fake money!’). And it seems in today’s world, all is fake. Fake TV (fake social relationships), fake bodies (plastic surgery, unnatural augmentation, steroids, human growth hormone, etc), fake realities (Virtual Reality, VR), and also fake entertainment (video games, MMORPG — massive multiplayer online role playing games). Then if we think about it, the future is fake.
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DYSTOPIA X UTOPIA
It seems that many individuals seek a utopia. Yet, perhaps a dystopia *is* a utopia, and vice-versa.
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Future Landscapes
Why are post-apocalyptic films (in the future) always take place in the desert, or in a world in which there is a lack of water?
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In Praise of Gas Stations
Nobody likes gas stations, but assuming that photography is your passion and life task, gas stations are good. Why? When you’re filling up your car, you can shoot urban landscapes, and also photograph things inside the gas station, and *around* the gas station.
Also, I’ve been noticing more and more BITCOIN ATM’s inside gas stations. Thus the upside of gas stations — being able to stay plugged into modern societal trends.
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What Would John Wick Do? (WWJWD)?
Assuming that John Wick was the uber modern day stoic, when it comes to the way we interact and engage with others, ask yourself: what would John Wick do? How would he respond, not respond, or delay response?
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Lighter than Air
Air over Pro.
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The right size
From a design perspective, you’re trying to find the right size for things, not too big, not too small, just right.
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Progressive Overload
An accurate training theory.
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Gas and hybrid cars are still 1000x more convenient than electric cars
Even with the fastest Tesla supercharger, filling up your gas is at least 1000 times faster than recharging your full energy pack.
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Poor Flex
Better to seem more poor than you actually are.
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Why I hate owning things
When you own something, you feel stuck. I’d prefer to own nothing, to just borrow, lease or rent everything I need.
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Just Buy It For the Design
I really like the design of the Rivian truck even though it may be an inferior car to a Tesla or Toyota truck. Love the cyberpunk looking rear strip light.
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Anti Chimera Design
Anti iPhone Pro — it is a strange chimera, not sure what it wants to be (a camera, a phone, or an iPad Mini Mini)?
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iPhone Mini Pro, iPad Mini Pro
Two good opportunities and device creations.
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Unbranded is Best
I don’t like the Tesla Model S Plaid with the huge “T†nose, or the “TESLA†embedded branding in the back black chrome strip.
Also with clothes in praise of Uniqlo, Muji, Outlier.nyc clothing.
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Purity of Form
Tesla model 3, debadged in all black.
iPhone SE in midnight black.
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INDESTRUCTIBLE.
What we desire to become.
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1,000 Photo a Day Challenge
Shoot 1,000 photos in a single day. Shoot in extra small JPEG mode, high contrast black and white JPEG, RICOH GR III/GR IIIX, and process (select your favorite) photos on your laptop (Apple Photos, default).
With your favorite photos of the day, you can share the photos as a ‘Gallery’ on your WordPress blog, or make an iMovie slideshow with each photo with .5 seconds.
