Ben Mann Monthly 2020.10: gladly losing bets, vaccines, awakening, ice cream, pizza
Purpose
An index for my memory
A menu of topics for my next conversation with you
A faster way to share what I’m excited about without the barrier of writing a complete blog entry on it
A skimmable way to spread content I found valuable
Experiments and experiences
16/8 IF
I felt like I was spending more time and energy on food than I wanted to, so I limited my eating hours from noon to 8pm for a week. I often went down to the wire at 8pm since we're used to eating late. Now that sunset is around 5pm I expect it to be easier. Pretty sure I snacked less, but didn't track it rigorously.Detroit pizza
I'd never heard of detroit-style pizza before, but it's like focaccia: thick, fluffy, moist, rich. We got takeout from Cellarmaker. I loved it! It might be my new favorite kind of pizza.Keto ice cream
Dilan and I made keto ice cream a few years ago. Our goal was to make it as fatty as possible without any carbs. Our version came out creamy and delicious, but we decided we didn't want to start a food company. This month I found some at Gus'. Though they didn't skimp on the fat, it was very crumbly and not smooth even when we let it melt a bit. Still progress to be made.Upgraded WFH setup
I finally borrowed my standing desk and ergonomic chair from the office. It's made a huge difference in my willingness to sit for long hours at a time. Why'd I wait so long? I'm not sure. I also looked into buying a chair. The ErgoChair2 seemed like the best balance of cost and quality. I might get one anyway once I return my office equipment.Indoor rock climbing
Dogpatch boulders is open! They have a reservation system to limit capacity, maximum 2 reservations per week. Everyone must wear a real mask, not a 1-layer fabric thing, the whole time; wash hands on entry; sanitize hands between every route; stay at least 6 feet from other climbers at all times. While I felt pretty safe from a COVID standpoint, it took a lot of the fun out of bouldering, which for me comes from the social aspect of working on a route with a bunch of strangers. As long as SF doesn't surge I'll probably continue to go once a week to rebuild my tendon strength.Foam
Notion was about to start charging me, so I decided to look elsewhere before subscribing. Mobile editing isn't important to me, and Notion's mobile editors were almost unusable. Everyone's losing their shit for Roam Research, but I don't trust their security at all give what I know about their eng team. I'd like to be able to trust my notes, so I'm now committing everything to a private Github repo and editing using Foam. It's surprisingly great! I can use all my favorite keyboard shortcuts. Search is fast and easy to understand. We have crappy backlink support, but maybe I haven't discovered how to use it yet. Migrating from Notion was easy. I exported in markdown and unzipped to my Foam directory.COVID vaccines
Phase 3 vaccine trials have begun worldwide. The AstraZeneca vaccine seems to have 100% efficacy after the second injection, while the J&J vaccine takes only one injection but uses a rarer delivery vector. I expressed interest in an AZ trial, but haven't heard back yet. If I get in, I won't alter my risk tolerance in case I get a placebo. If I get the real thing, then my risk of getting COVID drops significantly, which would make me feel a lot more comfortable. When the real vaccine comes out, possibly as soon as January 2021, I might exit the trial to unblind myself and decide if I need to get it. Reading through the existing reports, side effects seem in line with other vaccines. The method, attenuated adenovirus, seems pretty standard and low risk.
Life updates
New work sprint started, ends Nov 17
WTB road/gravel bike, considering bikesdirect
Happily lost $1k bet made Sep 2019 on Trump winning the election. Nail biter!
Started reading Hold Me Tight
Turned 32 on Nov 5
Got a flu shot (FluBlok)
Content
5 point Likert ratings for “I would recommend this content to a friend”, sorted
Stephen Batchelor on Awakening, Embracing Existential Risk, and Secular Buddhism 4/5
If secular buddhism were like chess, listening to this podcast was like watching two masters play.
"You see living an awake life to be something more like a way of being, a way of engaging with the world, a kind of non-reactivity and a freedom from reactivity and habitual conditioned modes of being and a freedom to act in ways which are ethical and aligned and which are conducive to living an examined and fulfilling life."
I usually don't use Twitter, but Bob Wachter, Chair of UCSF Dept of Medicine, has incredibly detailed weekly posts on the latest COVID developments both locally and across the world.
Inside the Fall of the CDC 3/5
Depressing amounts of interference from the federal goverment.
Cliche monster porn in the vein of Pacific Rim, but a little less creative.
I lost my body 2/5
Great animation, but story felt stale and random; characters flat.
Over the Moon 2/5
Ham-fisted attempt to replicate Pixar magic. Interesting world building and pretty animation.