Ben Mann Monthly Dec 2023
Year review, climbing shoes, self expression, recipes, Vancouver, The Idea Factory
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
Ended up aborting double duloxetine dose in Oct due to nausea, but decided to resume on Dec 16. Pushed through this time and feeling good. Night sweats are still at bay thanks to glycopyrrolate half dose. Overall side effects minimal, will stick with this for a while.
New climbing shoes - La Sportiva Kubo
Since my extremely comfortable 5.10 Rogues got a hole in the left toe, I was forced to look for new shoes. I considered getting them resoled, but the gym desk told me it's often hardly worth doing. I wanted to try slightly more aggressive shoes anyway, since the old ones are about as squishy as they come. To my surprise, at Dogpatch Boulders, REI, and Sports Basement, it was hard to find any shoes bigger than 45, and I'm 46, with very wide feet. I failed to find the Scarpa Drago, which Outdoor Gear Lab said is the best for wide feet. I did find this extremely helpful shoe chart, which has a vertical axis for foot width and a horizontal axis of aggressiveness. In the end, I noticed some shoes for sale at a Hive gym in Vancouver, asked the desk for advice, and ended up loving the first one they suggested - La Sportiva Kubo. I've now climbed 3 times in them and can tell the difference. They're much more precise, and I can feel the holds better. I'm still getting used to them, but I think they're a good fit. Diana said I should go even more aggressive, but this feels like a nice compromise between comfort and performance to me. Lesson learned: always buy your shoes at the gym!
Dad life, month 14
Euda's capabilities are suddenly exploding. She's started to walk more, says tons of words, and perhaps most importantly has begun asking for what she wants. She crawled up to me, pointed at my jacket, and pointed at me, to signal that she wanted to take a walk outside. When she's in her crib and she's done sleeping, she says "out!" She asks to be flipped upside down by saying "up down." Her molars are coming in, which has destroyed her incredible sleep schedule. She's got pretty bad atopy, but we're managing it by keeping her skin covered as much as possible with a onesie under long sleeve shirt and pants tucked into socks, and using vaseline whenever we bathe her. We also discovered she hates snow. Perhaps exposure therapy will work 👹.
New year's goals
Like last year, Diana and I did an abbreviated new years review. For each of us, Euda, and the family, we wrote what went well, what could've gone better, and goals for the next year. We graded goals from last year. Looking back on what could have gone better in 2022, I noticed some similarities especially around fitness and scrolling. Even though I'm at my maximum weight, I feel more fit than a year ago and I'm sending some of the hardest problems I’ve climbed. Something makes me feel more optimistic about 2024. Maybe it's the duloxetine 😅.
2023 review, scored 🔴 to 🟢
🟠 Read books instead of scrolling media
🌕 Exercise 7d/w, 30-60 min workout 3d/w
🟢 Get back into climbing
🟢 Become eng director OR become floating staff eng - did both, sequentially!
🟢 Baby still alive
🟢 Find a good rhythm with parents + child care
2024 goals
Exercise 7d/w, 30-60 min workout 3d/w
Read books instead of scrolling media
Replace my current role 2 more times
Visit Max in Finland
Send Euda to daycare
Go out somewhere >= 1/wk
[redacted] x2
Life updates
🇨🇦 Vancouver for 3w
⛸️ Went ice skating
🔬 Exploratorium
✅ Email, Slack, and tasks -> 0
📖 Started reading It. Goes. So. Fast.
Content
5 point Likert ratings for “I would recommend this content to a friend”, sorted
Old-fashioned latkes recipe 5/5
I haven't eaten that many latkes in my life, but these were the best. I've now made this recipe 3 times and it's perfect every time. Highly recommend using an oil thermometer to make sure your temperature is right.
Klaus 4/5
I expected this to be just another Christmas movie, but I loved the world design, and the plot was fun and original.
The Idea Factory 4/5
Lots to love about this book: the history of technology, the character bios, and the interplay between politics, war, tech, and business. Some little things:
Although Bardeen and Brattain created the first working transistor, it was basically unusable until Shockley remade it.
Claude Shannon basically created information theory, but he also could only work well on things he was interested in. After his primary work was done, he mostly languished in the latter part of his career, spending most of his times on games and gadgets. Reminded me of Steve Wozniak in some ways.
Video phone effort was a giant failure.
Many of the scientists and engineers came from tiny farming towns in the midwest, and were inspired by a local teacher to apply to the local university.
The other side of the coin to The Chip War, which emphasized that the war effort was the driving force to switch from vacuum tubes to transistors. This book didn't really discuss the motivation, just the R&D process.
Sad ending: the lab disintegrated, then everyone got cancer, parkinsons, alzheimers, and died.
Ecclesiastes 4/5
I read this for a philosophy class in college. Rereading it, I like it less, but still a classic of course. My secular reading is that it's a paean against novelty seeking, and instead seeking contentment in the simple pleasures of the routine. And the imagery is great: "I have seen slaves on horseback, while princes go on foot like slaves." Also reminds me of my favorite Chinese proverb 塞翁失馬，焉知非福
Oatmeal chocolate chip pecan cookies 4/5
Skipped the orange zest, used a 1/2 cup less sugar, add dried cranberries, replaced pecans with walnuts. Didn't cream the butter and sugar because I didn't have a mixer. Came out very flat but A+.
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. 3/5
Very cute coming of age story. Good reminder for parents to let your kids figure things out for themselves.
This is going to hurt E1-4 3/5
Woof, trauma.
Astral codex ten
Book review: Man's Search for Meaning
Provided a lot more context than you get out of just reading the book. A+.
Defying Cavity: Lantern Bioworks FAQ
The end of tooth decay?
Huh, I guess the FDA does a lot.
Wow he actually donated his kidney!
Ali Wong live show 2/5
While there was a lot to like about this, and I was impressed by her craft, the comedy was just a bit too mean for my tastes.
Dumpster fire.
