245 - life update 🐈⬛🌍
And just like that, , we're another 4 weeks gone and it's life update time :D
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I was promoted at work! Woohoo for another milestone - though it's been hard to see through the current project and surrounding hard times, it's a good acknowledgement of progress and effort. The goal is always growth, rather than position necessarily (which is a very privileged take, I know) but it's nice to have anyway :) With (somewhat medium) power comes (somewhat medium) responsibility!
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The upside of Sydney travels is good food - see down below for a quick li'l recommendation on Mumu, but the downside is an empty fridge when I get home, backup of chores to do when I get home, and missing out on GANDALF! Look how snug and pretty he is omggggggg precious li'l boiiii <3
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To ensure I stay sane and have some sort of creative outlet, I upgraded my 3D printer and have been printing up a STORM. I got a Bambu P1S during the latest anniversary sale which was quite exxy, but it has been worth it, as the ease of printing, printing multiple colours, and being able to monitor it online have been spectacular quality of life upgrades that make me love printing stuff. At the moment still pushing the limits of what it can do, but I have a LOT of filament to get through, so I have many big plans ahead for it. I'm going to write something up about it soon, perhaps when I'm back from the UK, but it's just incredible how far 3D printing has got to, even for hobbyists.
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On the topic of the UK, yup - I'm off soon to get some much-needed R&R / it's my long service leave - just like that, it's been 7 years at work! As I mentioned 2 weeks ago, I ain't escaping my problems or anything by traveling away - but just hoping a change in scenery will help me think through things with more clarity.
- On that note my itinerary is pretty open - I want to go to at least Berlin and Porto, perhaps Spain and/or Switzerland, but otherwise I will probably enjoy the UK a lot too! Any recommendations please let me know :D
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Whenever I can, I've been trying to treat myself, especially since recent weeks have been hard slogs. I can see why they work - it's much easier for your willpower when you say 'Okay you've worked hard so here's a little treat' but you keep doing it over and over so your willpower gets lower and lower. It's only when I bought groceries again last weekend for the first time in a while that I was like 'oh shit yeah okay I'm going to have to cook / eat all of this'. The frugal boi in me can't deal with so much waste. In addition, I'm at a stage of my life where I grapple with the could-have-been's and have to find the justification for effort and attention put into what I've got now, as compared to the perceived different paths my life could have gone.
And so I buy fun things to keep myself happy. That's okay, right?
oh...
Chat soon :)
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✔️Real Life Recommendations
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Mumu - as discussed above, another wonderful Merivale place that, while expensive, also featured an amazing Char Siu Chicken which SOUNDS weird but was wonderfully delicious. It had a beef brisket char kway teow (also nice to eat but weird combination) and some wontons which were...fine. Recommended - it's right next to Totti's anyway so you can't go wrong round those parts :D
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Zodiac - I am conflicted about this movie because it's got great acting from some heavyweights (Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal), and it was based on a true story which makes it very real, but...it didn't fully land with me. There's a hurried timeline that it propels you through in terms of the Zodiac killings, to reflect how much time this problem took away from the key player's lives (police, journalists etc.), and the obsession that it created. I appreciated the historical accuracy, but I just didn't get very connected or feel the tension that much in trying to find the killer; perhaps because I know now that it's still unsolved so it wouldn't have a satisfying ending. However...it did keep me guessing and thinking and trying to work out who it was through the whole thing - how the mystery kept unfolding etc. etc. It's still Recommended, but if you want to watch a noir thriller / detective-y type story, I think Se7en is a better version of this that David Fincher made.
🚌 Adventures on the Information Super-Highway
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Should this be one map? Or 500? - it's a fascinating look into how people made maps before we had maps. A spanish geographer in the 1700s sent out a request to a bunch of priests in towns and villages to build some maps for him, and they sent back...well, very localised versions of these maps. I wonder how I'd make a map of my local surrounds without any standardisation!
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I received an AI email - it makes sense that people would think to do this (and it has crossed my mind as well!), but it does throw a question out which is 'what's appropriate for AI and what isn't?'. An ever-ongoing conflict between humanity and efficiency.
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Tokyo government to launch dating app in bid to boost birth rate - The Japan Times - only in Japan :O