I just found this video one of my group-mates took that illustrates one of North Korea’s benign oddities — they make amazing scale models of things. Their museums are full of them. This video shows a model train. I’m not sure the value of showing these models. What do they convey besides model-making skills? I don’t quite get it. You also hear at the beginning one of our funniest running[…] Keep reading →

Here’s the first of two podcasts of four of my travel-mates made on our August 2011 visit to North Korea. The original is here. Jordan, who produced the podcast, runs a dating school, which is why you’ll hear ads for it in the podcast. Neil runs a dating school too, among other things. Gabriel is a writer, among other things. Joseph took the most amazing pictures of North Korea I’ve[…] Keep reading →

I like to improve my life, but I don’t do it non-stop. Personal development usually requires challenging yourself (“going out of your comfort zone,” is the cliché), which can be hard. So I alternate between challenging myself and relaxing. When I challenge myself I learn. When I relax I enjoy the fruits of my labor. Here I plot my personal growth over time, schematically. I do it in stages, alternately[…] Keep reading →

Here’s an old story that comes in many versions (here are seven), but I learned from Srikumar Rao‘s book Are You Ready to Succeed (text from this blog). An old man lived in a valley with his son, a handsome and dutiful youth. They lived a peaceful life despite a lack of material possessions. They were very happy. So much so, that neighbors began to get envious. One day, the[…] Keep reading →

A friend once put American values in perspective for me. He grew up in Romania. I met him in graduate school. He came to get a PhD in physics, became one of Columbia’s top students during our time, and ended up working on Wall Street. I asked him if he originally came to the U.S. to study physics or if he always knew he would go to Wall Street. He[…] Keep reading →

Working hard does not mean you get things done. Getting things done doesn’t necessarily require working hard. I waste time and I find myself often inefficient, but people say I’ve achieved a lot. Whether I’ve achieved a lot or not is opinion, but if they’re right, it’s because I know my priorities. I allow myself inefficiency on relatively unimportant things. The important things I don’t slack on. The important things[…] Keep reading →

I expect to log into Facebook once more — to message my connections there that they won’t be able to find me there, why, and where to find me instead — then I’ll leave for good. Why leave? I knew I wanted to leave after Facebook made its privacy policy too intrusive for my tastes. I felt they had too much control over my personal data. Facebook is creepy, getting[…] Keep reading →

Everybody agrees nobody is perfect. We all have our faults. Yet some emerge as leaders and outstanding successes. I’ve come to believe leaders lead and successes succeed not in spite of their faults or weaknesses, but because of them. The things themselves don’t matter as much as the emotions we attach to them. Attach shame to something inherent about you and people will see a part of you as shameful.[…] Keep reading →

Nearly everyone who has eaten with me in my neighborhood knows Benny’s Burritos is my favorite place (though they took my favorite dish off the menu again — the bowl of vegetarian chili). Spring must be here because they put the outdoor tables out. This patron, Winston, was too cute not to take his picture. Maybe it’s not what I normally blog about but can you really complain?