Justin McLemore

Automating my monthly net worth tracker

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

I track net worth every month across more than 20 accounts spread over three countries. Doing that by hand in a spreadsheet meant re-typing balances, occasionally fat-fingering a number, and having no real record of what the sheet looked like before I overwrote a cell. income_statement is a Python script that automates the accounts it can and makes the manual entries it can’t avoid fast and safe.

Automating the boring half of my backup process

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

My critical file backup process has a lot of steps, and most of them are exactly the kind of thing that’s easy to skip when you’re doing them from memory once a month: export the Drive folder, export three spreadsheets, export contacts, then remember to actually check that each file showed up and isn’t empty. backup_process automates the parts that are purely mechanical and leaves an interactive checklist for the parts — password manager exports, KOReader settings, Pleco settings — that genuinely need me at the keyboard.

Synthesizing Obsidian periodic notes with Claude Code

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

I keep a daily note in Obsidian, but I’d never reliably sit down and roll those daily notes up into a weekly summary, let alone a monthly, quarterly, or annual one — it’s the kind of synthesis that’s valuable in hindsight and easy to skip in the moment. periodic_notes uses Claude Code to write that rollup for me, built from the notes one level below it: a week from its 7 daily notes, a month from the weekly notes whose Monday falls within it, a quarter from its 3 monthly notes, a year from its 4 quarterly notes.

My Anki setup for Chinese flashcards

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

I use Anki for practice with readings Chinese words and phrases. Getting a note type and add-on setup that doesn’t need to be rebuilt for every new deck has made it much easier to keep adding vocabulary instead of fighting the tool.

Custom “Chinese” note type

I started with a note type I built for a 50-common-phrases deck, then renamed it to “Chinese” so I could reuse it for every deck going forward instead of creating a new one each time.

Pleco: a power-user guide

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

Pleco is the Chinese dictionary app I use every day, but most people only ever type a word into the search box and stop there. It’s got a search syntax and a set of dictionaries that reward digging in a little further.

Search tricks

Pulled straight from the Pleco iOS Manual and worth memorizing:

Mixed search: you can mix characters and Pinyin in the same search, at least for the first three characters, so you don’t need to know every character to find a word.
? wildcard: stands in for a single character you don’t know.
* wildcard: stands in for up to three unknown characters in a row.
v for ü: Pleco automatically converts a typed v to ü, so you don’t need to hunt for the umlaut on a phone keyboard.
# full-text search: prefixing a search with #, followed by English or Chinese, runs a full-text search across dictionary entries instead of just headwords.
C and E buttons: if the icon is hollow instead of filled in, the result is coming from a full-text search. C or E tells you the entry’s language, and a doubled C or E (CC, EE) means it’s a full-text search result within a dictionary of that same language.

Useful dictionaries you might be skipping

The UNI dictionary is Pleco’s name for Unihan, the Unicode Consortium’s Han character database. It’s a good source for stroke counts, radical breakdowns, and cross-references between simplified/traditional and variant characters that the regular dictionaries don’t always surface.

What is GLP-1?

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I’ve had this post as a task for well over a year now and I’m finally getting around to it

With all of the buzz around GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, I got to thinking how GLP-1 might relate to my own cravings or “addictions”. I wondered if it might be a signal to indicate how my behaviors affect my body function, sort of like understanding how my diet can affect my blood sugar.

My guess before digging in

My guess is that GLP-1 is a receptor that agonists block or occupy preventing other expected molecules from attaching and being detected

Findings

GLP-1 is a hormone, not a receptor
The full name is glucagon-like peptide-1
It’s produced naturally in your gut, specifically by a type of cell in the small intestine and colon called L-cells, and it’s released in response to eating, particularly after carbohydrates and fats hit your intestinal lining
Once released, GLP-1 acts on GLP-1 receptors, which are found in several places throughout the body
The hormone is the messenger, the receptor is the lock it fits into
The primary job of naturally produced GLP-1 is to coordinate your body’s response to a meal. It does this through several mechanisms:
- Stimulates insulin secretion, but only when blood glucose is elevated. This is called glucose-dependent insulin release, which is why it doesn’t cause runaway hypoglycemia on its own
- Suppresses glucagon
- Slows gastric emptying. Food moves out of your stomach more slowly, which smooths out the glucose spike after a meal and also contributes to feeling full
- Acts on the brain. GLP-1 receptors in the hypothalamus and brainstem reduce appetite and increase satiety
Your body’s own GLP-1 is degraded extremely quickly, within about two minutes, by an enzyme called DPP-4 (dipeptidyl peptidase-4). So the natural hormone is real and functional, but it’s very short-lived. This is exactly why the medications had to be engineered. Drugs like semaglutide are modified to resist DPP-4 degradation and stick around for days instead of minutes, amplifying the signal far beyond what your body naturally produces

Etymology

Glucagon
- Green roots
  - “gluco-” from glykys, meaning sweet
  - “-agon” from agein, meaning to lead, drive or bring forth
- So glucagon literally means something like “sugar driver” or “that which drives glucose”. It drives glucose out of the liver and into the bloodstream

Follow-up questions

What’s an agonist?

A molecule that binds to a receptor and activates it. It mimics the effect of whatever naturally binds there. So a GLP-1 receptor agonist is a drug designed to bind to the same receptor that your natural GLP-1 hormone does, and trigger the same downstream effects. The difference is that the drug version is engineered to stick around much longer than the real thing
The opposite is an antagonist. A molecule that binds to a receptor and blocks it without activating it, preventing the natural signal from getting through
- This makes me think of the effects of caffeine on our acetylcholine receptors when we drink coffee in the morning. The caffeine molecules are antagonistic on the acetylcholine receptors, blocking their signal from getting through, making us feel more alert

What is glucagon?

It’s the hormone that tells your liver to dump glucose into the bloodstream. GLP-1 puts the brakes on that

What’s a peptide?

A short chain of amino acids linked together. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and when you string them together you get:
- a peptide - short chain, roughly under 50 amino acids
- a polypeptide - medium
- a full protein - longer and usually folded into a complex 3D structure
GLP-1 is 30 amino acids long, so it’s a small peptide. Many hormones are peptides. Insulin is too, which is why you can’t just swallow it as a pill. Your digestive system breaks down peptides into individual amino acids before they can be absorbed, destroying the signal in the process. That’s also historically why GLP-1 drugs had to be injected, though oral formulations now exist that use clever tricks to sneak the peptide past digestion

What are L-cells?

A type of enteroendocrine cell, meaning they’re hormone-producing cells embedded in the lining of your gut, scattered among the regular absorptive cells. They’re most concentrated in the distal small intestine and colon, which is why GLP-1 release kicks in a bit after eating rather than instantly because food has to travel far enough to reach them
L-cells also produce:
- GLP-2 - A sibling hormone that promotes intestinal lining repair and nutrient absorption rather than appetite regulation
- PYY (Peptide YY) - Another appetite-suppressing hormone. It slows gut motility and signals fullness to the brain, working alongside GLP-1
- Oxyntomodulin - A lesser-known hormone derived from the same precursor molecule as GLP-1 (a protein called proglucagon). It has both GLP-1-like and glucagon-like effects and also suppresses appetite
What’s interesting is that L-cells are essentially multi-signal broadcasters. When food arrives, they don’t send one message, they send a whole coordinated suite of satiety signals at once

Can I use GLP-1 in my daily life?

The actual lever is what you eat and how, because your L-cells respond to the contents of your intestines. You can’t feel GLP-1 as a discrete sensation, but you can set up conditions that make the system work better or worse for you
A few things that are well-supported
- Soluble fiber (oats, legumes, vegetables) slows digestion and keeps food in contact with L-cells longer, which prolongs GLP-1 release. It also gets fermented by gut bacteria into short-chain fatty acids, which directly stimulate L-cells to produce more GLP-1. This is one concrete mechanism behind why high-fiber diets improve satiety and glucose control
- Eating protein-first or protein-heavy meals produces a more robust GLP-1 response than eating refined carbohydrates first. The practical implication is that eating vegetables and protein before the carbohydrate portion of a meal isn’t just glycemic index folklore, it genuinely affects the hormonal response
- GLP-1 release and satiety signaling take 15-20 minutes to ramp up. Eating quickly outruns the system. You’ve already consumed a lot before the brake kicks in. Slowing down isn’t just mindfulness advice, it’s letting your L-cells catch up
- This is an active research area, but there’s growing evidence that highly engineered foods, designed to be hyperpalatable and digest rapidly, don’t trigger L-cell signaling the way whole foods do, partly because they clear the stomach fast and partly because they’re low in fiber. The addictive quality of those foods isn’t just psychological, it may partly be that they’re engineered to bypass your natural satiety signaling
Rather than thinking “I need to feel GLP-1,” think of it as a system you’re either feeding well or working around. Whole foods, fiber, protein and slower eating all tend to let the system do its job. Ultra-processed food, rapid eating and low-fiber meals tend to let you eat past the signal before it arrives

When did we discover GLP-1?

In the 1960s, researchers first noticed a gap in their understanding when patients injected with glucose had smaller insulin response than patients who took oral glucose. This implied that the gut itself was sending a signal to the pancreas ahead of the glucose arriving. This was named the incretin effect, and they began hunting for the responsible hormone
In 1982-83, researchers sequenced the proglucagon gene, which is the precursor protein that gets cleaved into different hormones depending on which tissue it’s in. In the pancreas it becomes glucagon. In the gut and brain it gets cut differently, yielding GLP-1 and GLP-2 among others
An endocrinologist in 1992 discovered that the Gila monster’s venom contained a peptide (exendin-4) that mimicked GLP-1, but was resistant to DPP-4 degradation, the enzyme that destroys natural GLP-1 in minutes. Exendin-4 became exenatide (Byetta), approved in 2005, the first GLP-1 agonist drug. Semaglutide came much later, approved in 2017 for diabetes and 2021 for obesity

How are oral GLP-1 agonists formulated to avoid digestion?

Peptides are exactly what your digestive system is designed to dismantle, and the stomach’s acidic environment plus proteolytic enzymes would destroy semaglutide before it could be absorbed
The oral version of semaglutide (brand name Rybelsus) solves this with a co-ingredient called SNAC (sodium N-(8-[2-hydroxybenzoyl]amino)caprylate). SNAC is an absorption enhancer that does two things simultaneously:
- Locally raises the pH in the immediate microenvironment around the tablet as it dissolves in the stomach. This creates a small buffer zone that partially shields the semaglutide from acid degradation
- Transiently increases permeability of the stomach lining, allowing the semaglutide to be absorbed directly through the stomach wall, bypassing the small intestine entirely, where most peptide-destroying enzymes live
You have to take Rybelsus on an empty stomach with a small amount of water, not a full glass, and wait 30 minutes before eating or taking other medications. This is because food, extra water, or other drugs all dilute or disrupt the local SNAC environment that makes the absorption work
The bioavailability is still relatively low compared to injectable semaglutide, somewhere around 1% of the dose actually makes it into circulation, which is why oral doses are much higher (milligrams) than injectable doses (micrograms), but it works well enough to be clinically effective

What’s a proteolytic enzyme?

An enzyme that breaks proteins (and peptides) apart by cutting the bonds between amino acids
“Proteo-” refers to protein, “-lytic” means breaking down. So it’s protein-breaking
The digestive system deploys several of these and they work in sequence. The stomach produces pepsin, which starts the demolition job in the acidic stomach environment. Then when the partially broken-down material moves into the small intestine, the pancreas releases a second wave: trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase and others, that finish cleaving the fragments down into individual amino acids or very small peptides that can be absorbed through the intestinal wall

How can I stop mixing up glucose, glucagon, glycogen, glycerin, etc.?

They all share the same Greek ancestor for sweet, glykys. The “gluc-” and “glyc-” spellings are just two transliteration paths from the same Greek root

Word	Root	Suffix	What the suffix means	Net meaning
Glucose	glyk-	-ose	chemical suffix for a sugar	the sweet sugar itself
Glycogen	glyk-	-gen	from genein, to produce/create	the thing that generates glucose (stored form in liver/muscle)
Glucagon	glyk-	-agon	from agein, to drive/lead	the hormone that drives glucose into blood
Glycerin	glyk-	-erin	diminutive/substance suffix	a sweet-tasting oily compound (it genuinely tastes sweet)
GLP-1	glyk-	—	“glucagon-like”	a peptide structurally similar to glucagon (same proglucagon precursor)

A few anchors that might help them stick:

What's the difference between a mainframe and a server?

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

This came up in conversation at a Meetup where someone used “mainframe” to describe a central computer that terminals connect to, which raised the question of how that differs from what we’d call a “server” today.

My guess before digging in

I remember looking this up years ago and it had something to do with transaction-processing speed and the purpose-built, single-task nature of mainframes. I believe they do one thing extremely well and reliably. I recall airports and credit card companies as primary modern users

Findings

Source: What Is a Mainframe? | IBM

What are the common types of cinnamon

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I’ve been making my own spiced drinks lately like masala chai and horchata. They both call for different types of cinnamon stick. I also read that the type of cinnamon most frequently used in [[United States|American]] cooking has a higher concentration of some compound that can be unhealthy for us if consumed regularly and in higher quantities

My guess before digging in

There are probably hundreds of species of cinnamon, but only a handful are cultivated for culinary use. Some may be cultivars that evolved when brought to different regions by various spice trades

Findings

Source: Wikipedia

What's the difference between taro and ube?

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I was chatting with a friend when he said he went to a bubble tea shop. I looked at the menu and they had ube and taro, so it made me think that they might not be the same thing

My guess before digging in

“Ube” might be the Japanese name for taro.

Findings

Ube

Source: Wikipedia

The Latin name is dioscorea alata. It’s also called ube, ubi, uwhi, purple yam and greater yam
It’s a species of yam (a tuber). The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender (hence the common name)
It’s sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato beniimo (紅芋). Ube is also grown in Okinawa
The violet cultivars turn dishes distinctively vivid violet because of the high amount of anthocyanins

Taro

Source: Wikipedia

Horchata recipe

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Types of cinnamon

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup long-grain white rice
1 Ceylon cinnamon stick (canela), broken up
5 cups water, divided (3 for soaking + 2 for blending)
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup raw almonds, blanched
1 pinch ground cinnamon, for serving

Instructions

Toast the rice: In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast 1 cups long-grain white rice for 4 minutes , stirring often, until fragrant but not browned. This deepens the flavor.
Blanch: Bring enough water to boil to cover the almonds. Add the almonds and boil for 1 minute. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Pinch each almond between your fingers to pop it out of the skin.
Soak: Add the toasted rice, 1 Ceylon cinnamon stick (canela), broken up, and 1/8 cup raw almonds, blanched to a large bowl or pitcher. Pour in 3 cups of the water. Cover and let soak overnight in the fridge.
Blend: Pour the soaked rice, cinnamon, almonds, and soaking liquid into a blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until completely smooth and milky.
Strain: Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, into a large pitcher. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.
Sweeten and finish: Stir in the remaining 2 cups of water, 1 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust sweetness.
Chill: Refrigerate for at least 60 minutes until well chilled. Stir before serving, as the rice solids will settle.

My travels

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve visited 29 countries so far.

Americas

El Salvador
Mexico
United States

Asia

Belgium
Cambodia
Hong Kong
Israel
Japan
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Vietnam

Europe

France
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Liechtenstein
Monaco
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
United Kingdom
Vatican City

Oceania

Australia

Nail care routine

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

This is a guide to my nail care routine for those who might not know where to start. It may seem like a lot of steps, but I’ve been building this up over the years. I’ve tried many variations.

I had a professional manicure done and I enjoyed the results, but I don’t see me building that into my routine. I’d rather do that at home as part of my self-care.
I suggest watching Nail Transformation by @abetweene on YouTube for a great video version. The following guide is my rendition based on the video with what works for me.

Tools and supplies required

Cuticle softener
Cuticle trimmers
Cuticle pusher
A brush of some type (Optional)

Prerequisites

Trim your nails with nail trimmers and file them smooth

Frequency

I typically do this about once a month, or earlier if I notice that my nails look particularly poor. You don’t want to do this too often if you’re using a chemical cuticle softener each time.

History and background

Just nail trimmers for most of my life and no attention paid to my cuticles
Manicure in London with electric bit
Manicure in Portugal by medical manicurist

Routine

1. Soak finger tips in warm water

This is to soften the skin of the proximal nail fold

Fried rice recipe

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

(Stock image until I take one myself)

Also known as 炒飯

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 large eggs, whisked
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and black pepper
4 cups cooked and chilled rice (I prefer sushi rice)
3 green onions, thinly sliced
3-4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons oyster sauce (optional)
1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions

Heat 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a wok or large sauté pan* over medium-high heat until melted. Add egg, and cook until scrambled, stirring occasionally. Remove egg, and transfer to a separate plate.
Add an additional 1 tablespoon butter to the pan and heat until melted.
Add carrots, onion, peas and garlic, and season with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion and carrots are soft.
Increase heat to high, add in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, and stir until melted. Immediately add the rice, green onions, soy sauce and oyster sauce (if using), and stir until combined. Continue sautéing for an additional 3 minutes to fry the rice, stirring occasionally. (I like to let the rice rest for a bit between stirs so that it can crisp up on the bottom.)
Add in the eggs and stir to combine.
Remove from heat, and stir in the sesame oil until combined. Taste and season with extra soy sauce, if needed.

Notes

You can substitute other vegetables for the mushrooms, like frozen peas.

Source: Gimme Some Oven

Configure a task manager to get things done

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

I’m using a task manager called TickTick, but this guide should be applicable to most task managers like Todoist, Any Do, and Things. They could probably work for default apps like Apple Reminders and Google Tasks, but I haven’t tried them.
This setup needs three features from your task manager: a kanban-style board view, tags, and a priority field. If your app has those, you can replicate this.
The goal is a single view that tells you what needs your attention right now, so you’re never repeatedly prioritizating items on the fly.

The principles

It’s a pipeline, not a filing system. Someday, Next, and Active Work are stages, not categories. A task advances one stage at a time, only when room opens up below it, until it’s marked done.
Work-in-progress has to be visible in one place. Kanban only works if all your “in progress” items live on one board. Spread across multiple lists, you’re not focused, you’re juggling.
The tool should do the prioritizing, not your brain. If you have to scan five lists every morning to figure out what’s next, the system is failing at its one job.

Setting it up

Set up five lists, all flat and at the same level, no folders or nesting:

How birds produce red blood cells with hollow bones?

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I was looking at a bird and I thought of the common fact that bird’s bones are hollow which is what allows them to be light enough to fly. It then occurred to me that humans produce red blood cells from their bone marrow, so where do bird produce their red blood cells?

My guess before digging in

Perhaps birds still produce red blood cells in their bone marrow, but possibly with a less dense structure, or it’s along the walls of the bone and not filling the inner bone structure, adding weight.

How nutrients pass from soil to plant roots

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I was at a plant nursery and looked at a plant in the soil during a rain storm. It made me wonder about the mechanisms of nutrient transfer.

My guess before digging in

I’m guessing that this has something to do with osmosis or diffusion and the concentration on certain molecules or compounds in the plant roots versus in the wet soil around the roots.

Why I built my own website

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year I was inspired by Isaac‘s personal website. It made me think about building my own website again and how I could do things differently. I know it may seem like I missed the boat on making a blog, by at least a decade, but it’s about more than that. Over the past few years, everyone’s presence on the web has been consolidated under the control of a small number of tech companies, and you don’t own what you put on those sites. I believe in an internet where people have a right to own what they write, create and post. Web technologies have advanced to where there are myriad options for no-code website solutions. I left social media sites in 2017, but I still like the idea of having a presence online and having a place to have a voice.

Organize foreign currency for frequent travelers

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Background

I used to travel for work often and I would go to the same countries from time to time. I used to keep my foreign currency in paper envelopes, but these quickly wore down and were tricky to keep tidy. I also add the ID cards or transit cards for the countries.

My latest method is using plastic sleeve with seals at the top and pockets for labels.

Use an iOS Shortcut to make an Obsidian daily note

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Background

I make a daily note in Obsidian every day, but opening my laptop just to start a note felt like too much friction. So I made an iOS Shortcut that creates the note directly from my phone and populates it with useful context automatically:

Creates the day’s note using my daily notes template
Adds a heading for each event on my calendar
Adds a bullet point for each open tab in Safari

Note: I’ve since switched to the Journals community plugin for generating daily notes, but this shortcut still works well and many people prefer keeping it in iOS Shortcuts.

How to find a private therapist in the UK

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Background

It’s not always clear how to find a therapist in the United Kingdom.

Instructions

Go through directories online, BACP.co.uk for example.
Tick the boxes in the filters for the specific issues I wanted help with.
Read through their profiles and looked up terms you don’t know.
Filter out the ones that aren’t affordable or otherwise don’t look like a match.
Contact one or two and scheduled a phone call with them for a free chat.
Attened your first session and see how things go from there. Pay attention to how comfortable you feel and if they’re a good fit. You’re not obligated to stay with them. You need to feel safe and at ease with your therapist.

Switch from physical books to an eReader

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Instructions for iPhone users

Add this iOS Shortcut to your phone: Search Anna’s Archive.
Open the Shortcuts app and tap Search Anna’s Archive.
Point your camera at the barcode on the back of the book. The shortcut will open Anna’s Archive to the results for that book.
Find the format that you want and download the book.
- The EPUB format converts to KEPUB later on, so I choose that every time. If a book is picture heavy or has charts and formulas, I’ll opt for a PDF version, if it’s available.
- Anna’s Archive limits the download speed of free users, so I donated some money to increase my limit for this project.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’ve scanned all of your books that you want to convert.
Get the books off of your phone the easiest way you can from the iOS Files app. Here are a few methods.
- A) Connect a USB Type-C drive to the phone’s USB Type-C port. If you have an adapter, you could use a USB Type-A drive. If the phone is a model earlier than an iPhone 15, it will have a lightning port and this won’t work.
- B) AirDrop the files to a Mac.
- C) Move them to your iCloud drive in the iOS Files app and download them on a computer from iCloud.com.
- D) Move them to your Google Drive in the iOS Files app and download them on a computer from Google Drive.
Install Calibre.
Open Calibre and add the ebooks using the Add Books button in the menu bar.
Connect your eReader to the computer.
Click Send to Device in Calibre.

Instructions for Android and other devices

Follow the steps for iPhone users, but go to Anna’s Archive and then skip to step 4. iOS comes with a free app for automating things and I haven’t found a free alternative on Android yet.

Background

I’m planning to move from place to place over the next few months and I can no longer justify toting around more than 100 physical books. Some of these have moved with me from two previous countries and they’ve lived in a storage unit for the past year. It’s time to let them go and make the switch to strictly using an eReader.

Brownie recipe

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoons sea salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish (not a 9x9 dish or your brownies will overcook) with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, water, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the dry mix over the wet mix and stir until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it’ll be thick - that’s ok) and use a spatula to smooth the top. Bake for 40 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs attached (note: it’s better to pull the brownies out early than to leave them in too long). Cool completely before slicing.*** Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. These also freeze well!

Credit: Best Homemade Brownies

Congee recipe

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Also known as savoury rice porridge, 粥，or jok

Ingredients

2 cups worth of chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup uncooked white rice, frozen
8 cups water
White pepper
Green onions
Century egg
Salt

Directions

Rice to liquid ratio is 1:8

Prepare the rice for freezing

Rinse the rice just enough to rid it of any impurities while leaving the starch.
Place the washed rice in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for a minimum of 6 hours.

You can freeze several bags for future use. This rice can remain in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Chocolate chip cookie recipe

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

1 cup salted butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar packed
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups chocolate chips (12 oz)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Cream together butter and sugars until combined.
Beat in eggs and vanilla until light (about 1 minute).
Mix in the dry ingredients until combined.
Add chocolate chips and mix well.
Roll 2-3 Tablespoons (depending on how large you like your cookies) of dough at a time into balls and place them evenly spaced on your prepared cookie sheets.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 8-10 minutes. Take them out when they are just barely starting to turn brown.
Let them sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Credit: Laura at joyfoodsunshine.com

California roll recipe

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

2 cups Japanese rice
2 cups water
1 large avocado
5-6 sheets nori (seaweed sheets)
1/3 cup rice vinegar seasoning
11 long one Imitation crab sticks (around 14oz)
2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise (Kewpie)
1 tablespoon Roasted sesame seeds

Directions

Put 2 cups of Japanese rice into a bowl and add some water, wash and rub the rice until the water turns milky. Then, drain the water and repeat washing the rice 2-3 times.
After that, drain the rice well. (You can use a strainer.)
Next, put the washed and drained rice into rice cooker.
Pour 2 cups of water into the rice cooker and level the rice. Make sure the rice is covered by water. Close the lid and set it to cook white rice.
In the meantime, wrap the bamboo sushi mat with plastic wrap to keep the bamboo mat clean.
Cut 11 long imitation crab sticks into shorter pieces. (It is around 14oz.)
After, put the cut imitation crab sticks into a chopper. Chop until the pieces are uniform.
Put the chopped crab sticks into a bowl and add 2 tbsp of mayonnaise. Mix it well and taste.
Peel and slice 1 large ripe avocado.
When the rice is done, scoop it out and put into a mixing bowl. Add the 1/3 cup of sushi rice vinegar to the hot cooked rice a little bit at a time and mix it well. Then, let it cool down before wrapping.
Cut each nori sheet in half so that you have 4 inches on each side. A regular seaweed sheet is 8 inches x 7.5 inches. This makes the rolled sushi the correct size. Otherwise they will be too big. Therefore, the size of the nori sheet is around 4 inches x 7.5 inches.
Take a scoop of the seasoned rice from step 8 and spread on the nori. (Wet your hands a little bit before getting the sushi rice on the nori because it helps the rice not to stick on the hands when you spread the rice on the seaweed.)
Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds (black or white) or roe onto the rice. This is optional as well.
Flip the nori with rice. Now, the rice is facing the bamboo mat and nori is on the top.
Scoop 3 big tablespoons of the crab mix in the middle of the nori, and place one row of sliced avocado along the crab.
Roll up the nori with the bamboo mat. Slightly press it and shape the roll. (Remember don’t press too hard because the filling will come out the ends).
Then, cut the rolls into pieces. (Use a wet paper towel to wipe the knife each time you cut the sushi rolls. This can help you cut the sushi better**.)

Source: Oh My Food Recipes

What is an Overton window?

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I’m late to the party with this, but over the last few years, I’ve been hearing about an “Overton window” shifting in politics.

My guess before digging in

Through context clues, I know it’s about perception or opinion of something shifting over time. I don’t know the scope, as in, can it affect a single person, or does it take a large enough sample to count?

Findings

According to Overton window - Wikipedia, it’s the range of subjects and arguments politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It’s also known as the window of discourse
Overton created a vertical chart of different political ideas that it’s possible to have with a straight line from “most government, least freedom” to “least government, most freedom” and said that the ideas that politicians can get away with supporting are in the middle of it but sometimes where that is changes. The chart was vertical to avoid confusion with the left and right political spectrum

Etymology

It’s named after the American policy analyst and former senior vice president at Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Joseph Overton, who proposed that the political viability of an idea depends mainly on whether it falls within an acceptability range, rather than on the individual preferences of politicians using the term or concept.

Amex Platinum annual fee spreadsheet template

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Use template

The spreadsheet contains placeholder text. This is not my real information.

Maximizing the services that you pay for with the annual fee can be like a game, if you’re into that kind of thing. At the end of the year, you can make more money than the annual fee. This spreadsheet makes easy work of tracking progress.

Where does wax go as a candle burns?

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I’m looking at a candle that’s about a quarter of the way burned and I saw how there’s nothing on the glass wall of the candle and there’s no dense layer on the melted layer of wax. I wondered where the wax goes.

My guess before digging in

The wax somehow vaporizes and diffuses throughout the space the candle’s in.

Findings

When a candle burns, the wax is transformed into carbon dioxide and water vapor, which are released into the air as gases, essentially “disappearing” as the candle burns down; the heat from the flame melts the wax near the wick, which is then drawn up the wick and vaporized, reacting with oxygen in the air to produce these gases and releasing light and heat in the process
Candle wax—whether soy wax, paraffin wax, beeswax, or another type—is composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms called hydrocarbons. Specifically, they are long-chain hydrocarbons, meaning they take a solid form at room temperature. This solid state allows the wax to be formed into flakes and slabs, and burn relatively slowly when made into a candle.
The burning process
- The wax is the candle’s fuel. However, wax cannot burn on its own, even when exposed directly to fire.
- It needs a lit wick to begin the combustion process.
- When a candle wick is lit, the flame’s high heat melts the wax at the base of the wick, transforming it into a liquid state.
- The wick, acting like a straw, draws the liquid wax up into the flame—a process called capillary action.
- The intense heat of the candle’s flame causes the melted wax in the wick to vaporize, turning it into flammable gas vapor.
- Reacting with oxygen in the air, the vaporized wax then combusts into a flame, releasing:
  - Energy, in the form of light and heat
  - Trace soot and smoke
  - Carbon dioxide
  - Water particles

This process continues for as long as wax and oxygen are available.

What are all the symbols on SD cards?

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I need to buy an SD card because my Flipper Zero arrives in a few days. I want to know more about those symbols on SD cards.

Findings

Type	Meaning	File system	Capacity range
SD	Secure Digital	FAT32 or FAT16	64 MB to 2 GB
SDHC	High Capacity	FAT32	4 GB to 32 GB
SDXC	Extended Capacity	exFAT	64 GB to 2 TB

The bus interface determines the maximum bus speed at which a memory card can transfer data. Nearly all SD cards today have UHS-I or UHS-II bus interfaces. These are marked on the card with roman numerals
Speed class ratings define the minimum sequential write speed of the memory card. This is important for shooting video because a memory card must maintain a certain continuous write speed to avoid frame drops and errors during recording
Speed classes
- Speed Class
  - Marked by a number inside the letter C
  - The number indicates a minimum sequential write speed. So a C10 rating would sustain a write speed of 10 MB/s
  - There are five ratings in this speed class: C2, C4, C6, C8 and C10
- UHS Speed Class
  - Marked by a number inside the letter U
  - This number must be multiplied by 10 to get the minimum sequential write speed. So a U3 would sustain a write speed of 30 MB/s
  - There are only two ratings in this class: UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) and (U3)
- Video Speed Class
  - Marked by the letter V followed by a number
  - The number is the minimum sequential write speed in MB/s
  - There are five ratings in this speed class: V6, V10, V30, V60 and V90

Etymology

Follow-up questions

What is a bus interface?

A Reddit thread had this answer
- A bus moves data around. An interface is the entry and exit to the bus.
An interface is the point of contact between two surfaces
A bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or between computers. It encompasses both hardware and software, including communication protocols. At its core, a bus is a shared physical pathway, typically composed of wires, traces on a circuit board, or busbars, that allows multiple devices to communicate

What is UHS-I or UHS-II?

According to ProGrade Digital, UHS is the specification that deals with how fast data can move in and out of the card via the communication bus. Note that this really is about the speed of the bus and not the speed of anything else in the card. UHS-II improved on UHS-I by adding more pins to the connector.

Version	Max transfer speeds
UHS-I	104 MB/s
UHS-II	312 MB/s
UHS-III	624 MB/s

There are SD Express card that use the PCIe bus interfaces and NVM instead of the SD bus interface

Does the speed class matter for photography?

It does if you’re shooting high-resolution images or recording a lot of video.

When was the Video Speed Class created?

My mom looked into this for her photography a while ago and took away that a C10 was the best at the time
It sounds like the Video Speed Class came out later and surpassed C10.
2016, but that’s when it was “formulated”. It doesn’t mean it reached mass market implementation on SD cards, yet

What does A1 and A2 mean?

They’re the raitings for the application performance class of the card. It measures how well an DS card can run mobile applications

Masala chai recipe

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Types of cinnamon

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup water
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp CTC black tea (heaping)
2 tsp sugar (or to taste)
7 green cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 star anise
1 flat cinnamon stick (roughly 2-inch piece)
1 tsp fresh ginger, diced

Instructions

Crush the spices: Crack open the 7 green cardamom pods pods (discard the husks if you like, or leave them in). Lightly crush them along with the 6 whole cloves, 10 black peppercorns, and 1 cinnamon stick (roughly 2-inch piece) in your mortar. You want them cracked open and fragrant, not powdered.
Bloom spices in water: Add 1 cup water to a small saucepan along with all the crushed spices and the 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, thinly sliced. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes. This extracts the volatile oils before the milk goes in.
Add tea and simmer: Add 1 teaspoon CTC tea (heaping) to the simmering spiced water. Simmer for 2 minutes. CTC tea is robust and extracts fast. Don’t be shy with the tea; it needs to stand up to the milk.
Add milk and bring up: Pour in 1 cup whole milk and 2 teaspoons sugar. Raise the heat to medium and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Watch carefully, as milk boils over fast. Once it reaches a rolling boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for another 4 minutes. This is what gives chai its body and slightly creamy texture.
Strain and serve: Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a mug. Serve immediately. Taste and adjust sugar if needed.

Where Google Maps gets speed limit data?

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I was driving I passed a strip of road that had no speed limit sign, yet Google Maps said “60 MPH” going in both directions. I wanted to know where it got that data if it wasn’t scraping it from Street View photos.

My guess before digging in

That there are government databases that Google can pay to have access to, if they’re not available to the public already as a result of tax payers’ money

Why does it feel like the more you learn the less you know?

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

Is there more to this notion that the more you learn the less you feel you know?
I’ve heard it about scientists learning more about their field and then the humility that follows ask they realize how complex things actually are and how much more there is to learn and discover
I heard about this in a Reddit post about people who go to China. I don’t recall what they said exactly, but it’s as if someone goes there for a week and they leave thinking they understand everything. They stay for a few months and they realize they were wrong and have more to learn, and then there are people who spend their lives there and come to find that they would need multiple lifetimes to understand the vastness of China.

My guess before digging in

Before you get into a topic, you don’t have a way of knowing what all it involves, so you’re starting with your limited assumptions. So it makes sense that you would underestimate something’s complexity.
In my personal experience, the less education and curious people who I’ve met tend to think they “have it all figured out” or know how the world works, when it’s really the opposite. The more I learn about the world, the more I discover exists to go even deeper or wider in topics. I wanted an analogy for this, so I asked ChatGPT
- The Island of Knowledge analogy: Imagine knowledge as an island in an infinite sea of the unknown. When you’re on a tiny island (with little knowledge), your shoreline (awareness of the unknown) is small. You feel like you must know most of what there is to know. As you gain knowledge and your island grows larger, its shoreline also expands. You become more aware of the vast sea of things you don’t yet know. There is a humbling nature of intellectual growth when realizing how much more there is to explore and understand.

Findings

Also known as the Dunning-Kruger effect and the paradox of knowledge
The Duning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities. It was first described by David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999
There’s a general tendency to think that one is better than average. This is called illusory superiority. The Dunning-Kruger effect is a form of illusory superiority
A positive account of this effect is “ignorance is bliss”

Follow-up questions

What is the law of averages?

I confused illusory superiority with the law of averages, but that’s when people think that a number or event is “due” because he hasn’t happened yet, as in gambling

Buttermilk pancake recipe

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups buttermilk
½ cup milk
3 eggs
⅓ cup butter, melted

Directions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Beat together buttermilk, milk, eggs, and melted butter in a separate bowl. Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium-high heat. You can flick water across the surface and if it beads up and sizzles, it’s ready.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture; use a wooden spoon or fork to mix until it’s just blended together. The batter will be a little lumpy which is what you want.
Pour or scoop the batter onto the preheated griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, 1 to 2 minutes; flip with a spatula and cook until browned on the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.

Credit: All Recipes

How does CarPlay or Android Auto work?

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

When I’m driving in vehicle with CarPlay or Android Auto, it connects to wired and wirelessly.

My guess before digging in

That’s not something that the Bluetooth standard can carry, and if I turn off WiFi, I get a message that CarPlay won’t work wirelessly, so that tells me it’s using WiFi in some capacity. I know WiDi from a long time ago.

Findings

“Wireless CarPlay works by having the phone exchange network credentials with a supporting CarPlay receiver over Bluetooth, establishing a two-way Wi-Fi connection.” (Source)
I couldn’t find anything on the Apple Developer site talking about the underlying technology.
The Wi-Fi Alliance has a standard called Wi-Fi Direct
The Wi-Fi - Wikipedia article calls this ad hoc WiFi transmission

Etymology

ad hoc - when necessary or needed

Follow-up questions

What is a “SoftAP” or “virtual router”?

It stands for “software enabled access point”
This is software than can use a wifi adapter to act as a wireless access point
They’re commonly used in headless applications like setting up IoT devices. The Wikipedia article says that this is complex for the mainstream user, so developers are adding BLE, ZipKey, data-over-sound or other technologies to improve the OOBE
This is also how mobile hotspots work. The devices need an alternative source for the internet when the WiFi adapter is being used as an AP

[[What is Bluetooth Low Energy?]]

What is TDLS?

Tunneled Direct Link Setup is a way to stream media and data between devices on the same Wi-Fi network without involving the wireless network’s router. TDLS-linked devices benefit from an optimized connection and therefore don’t burden the network as a whole.
Google’s Cast protocol used by Chromecast uses TDLS to initiate screen mirroring.

What's the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?

Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I heard the two used almost interchangeably and I want to better understand the differences. I actually hear people using “psychopath” more often, and occasionally someone will correct them and say they’re a “sociopath”

Findings

Both are forms of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)

Sociopathy

Individuals exhibiting this tend to be highly emotional and frequently experience emotional outbursts or mood swings
It’s thought that genetics play a role in sociopathy, but it isn’t caused by genes alone. There’s often childhood trauma and certain individuals have a genetic risk and environmental factors could be a trigger for the condition

Psycopathy

They may pretend to care about other people’s feelings but are unable to form a real emotional bond
They experience very little emotion and pay present themselves as normal to conceal criminal behavior
They lack empathy and may cause someone to be cold and have difficulty recognizing emotional distress in others
A common trait to mimicking the actions of people around them since they can learn from others and mirror their behaviors, they can be very charming and pleasant to interact with
It’s thought that genetics and biology are the primary causes of psychopathy

Etymology

Neither of these terms seem to be used in clinical settings, and they’re more used in pop culture. So the origins aren’t of much use.

Oatmeal raisin cookie recipe

Sat, 28 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup (200g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs*
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (yes, Tablespoon!)
1 Tablespoon (15ml) unsulphured or dark molasses (do not use blackstrap; I prefer Grandma’s brand)
1 and 2/3 cups (209g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups (255g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
1 cup (140g) raisins (see Note below)

Instructions

Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the softened butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and mix on high until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and molasses and mix on high until combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low until combined. Beat in the oats and raisins on low speed. Dough will be thick, yet very sticky. Chill the dough for 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator (do the full hour if you’re afraid of the cookies spreading too much). If chilling for longer (up to 2 days), allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling and baking.
Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
Roll balls of dough (about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie) and place 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. I recommend using a cookie scoop since the dough can be sticky. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. The centers will look very soft and under-baked. Remove from the oven and let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to “set” on the baking sheet during this time.
Eggs: Room temperature eggs preferred. Good rule of thumb: always use room temperature eggs when using room temperature butter.
Raisins: Soak your raisins in warm water for 10 minutes before using (blot very well to dry them) – this makes them nice and plump for your cookies.

Credit: Sallys Baking Addiction

What is a parasocial relationship?

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

The first time I heard the term parasocial relationship was when I was listening to Leo Laporte on one of the TWiT network’s podcasts.

Findings

I found a paper called Podcast Studies that starts to dig into this, but it was written in 2022 and it referred to podcasts as “new”, so that lost me a bit as I’ve been listening to them for over 12 years.
From Findapsychologist.org:

Parasocial relationships are one-sided relationships, where one person extends emotional energy, interest and time, and the other party, the persona, is completely unaware of the other’s existence. Parasocial relationships are most common with celebrities, organizations (such as sports teams) or television stars.

What's the difference between dopamine and serotonin?

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I often confuse these two neurotransmitters, but I want to understand them better to prevent the mix up.

Findings

Dopamine is primarily about anticipation and pursuit, and serotonin is more about contentment and stability
Dopamine fires hardest not when you get the reward, but when you expect it. It’s the drive toward the thing, not the satisfaction of having it, which is why the slot machine pull feels more compelling than the win, and why the scroll never resolves. The subjective feel tends to be activating, forward-leaning and a little restless
Serotonin is less about reward-seeking and more about a baseline sense of “I’m ok, I have enough, I’m safe.” It’s associated with mood stability, social belonging, and the felt sense of completeness, not oriented toward anything in particular. The stillness after a genuinely good meal, being in the sun with nowhere to be
A useful tell is that dopamine highs almost immediately generate wanting more while serotonin highs feel complete. You can ask yourself in a given “good” moment, am I leaning toward the next thing, or does this feel like enough?
They also interact. A dopamine chase can land in a serotonin state if the reward was real (finishing something meaningful, genuine connection), but dopamine loops can be self-sustaining: seeking without ever arriving

Dopamine

Its precursor chemical is L-DOPA, which is synthesized in the brain and kidneys
The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivation behavior.
The anticipation of most types of rewards increases the level of dopamine in the brain
Many addictive drugs increase dopamine release or block its reuptake into neurons following release
Pop culture portrays dopamine as the pleasure chemical, but pharmacological opinion is that dopamine controls motivational salience
Dopamine is one of the ways our brains control our movements

Serotonin

It’s involved in sleep, thermoregulation, learning, memory, pain, sexual activity, feeding, motor activity, neural development and biological rhythms

Differences

Dopamine is released in conjunction with your body’s movement towards acquiring something (food, sex, water, drug). Dopamine is also involved in attention, perception, motor function, and memory formation. This drives you outwards, it increases the feeling of wanting something and helps your body prepare itself for doing what is required to achieve that.
Serotonin is released in response to (simply speaking) a state of satiation. The feeling you get after sexual climax, eating a good meal, etc., is a release of serotonin. This helps you relax and feel content.
While serotonin reuptake inhibitors (antidepressants that stop your brain from clearing out serotonin) are used in managing mood disorders, there is no conclusive evidence that there are any abnormal levels of serotonin in people with depression.

Etymology

Dopamine is a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine
The first name of serotonin was enteramine. The most likely explanation is that it was first synthesized and made available for research by the American drug company, Upjohn Pharmaceutical, who chose the name “serotonin.”

Oral hygiene routine

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

This is a guide to my oral hygiene routine for those who might want to start using an electric toothbrush or interdental picks.

Background

This came about because I unknowingly had gingivitis/periodontitis in my youth. It wasn’t until I had an appointment with a considerate hygienist that I was introduced to interdental picks and angling my electric toothbrush so that its bristles got into the gum pocket that I was free from any gum conditions.

Skincare routine

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Overview

This is a guide to my skincare routine for those who might not know where to start. It may seem like a lot of steps, but I’ve been building this up over the years. I’ve tried many products and pruned the steps that dermatologists deem unnecessary. I also live in a climate with a high UV index, so I use a double cleanse method to remove the sunscreen residue. If you don’t apply sunscreen daily or throughout the day, use discretion on that step. You could just use the gentle cleanser and not the oil-based one.

Travel recommendations

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is a list of Google Maps links to recommendations in cities I’ve visited.

The following links use Google Maps saved lists. There’s an iOS app, Android app, and web version of Google Maps.

Recommendation lists

Location Name	Country	Places in list
Siem Reap	Cambodia	17
El Salvador	El Salvador	19
Nice	France	17
Paris	France	5
Athens	Greece	21
Budapest	Hungary	4
Iceland	Iceland	12
Ireland	Ireland	14
Verona	Italy	10
Milan	Italy	16
Rome	Italy	18
Tokyo	Japan	3
Osaka	Japan	20
Kyoto	Japan	28
Okinawa	Japan	35
Amsterdam	Netherlands	9
Krakow	Poland	15
Warsaw	Poland	34
Lisbon	Portugal	21
Porto	Portugal	3
The Algarve (South)	Portugal	58
Seoul	South Korea	11
Barcelona	Spain	15
Seville	Spain	22
Taichung	Taiwan	15
Tainan	Taiwan	37
Taipei	Taiwan	82
Bangkok	Thailand	22
İstanbul	Turkey	17
Belfast	United Kingdom	8
Brighton	United Kingdom	7
Edinburgh	United Kingdom	5
London	United Kingdom	130
San Diego, CA	United States	12
San Francisco, CA	United States	23
Los Angeles, CA	United States	12
Columbus, OH	United States	12
San Juan, PR	United States	16
San Jose, CA	United States	17
New York, NY	United States	27
Austin, TX	United States	26
Hanoi	Vietnam	13

What's the difference between different frozen treats?

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I’ve wondered this many times and I’ve looked it up, but I don’t remember the details. I was eating ice cream with a friend in Taipei and I said there was a good gelato place down the street. They asked the difference between ice cream and gelato and I didn’t have a good answer, so I looked it up on the spot and it still wasn’t very clear.

Findings

Ice cream

A custard made of milk, cream, sweetener, and often egg yolks.

How does tea brewing work?

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

I brew tea almost every day, yet I don’t understand the mechanism through which tea polyphenols, flavonoids and caffeine leave the leaves (haha) and enter the water. Why does the water have to be hot? I know there are cold brew methods, so what’s the difference?

My guess before digging in

It’s probably related to diffusion.

Etymology

Osmosis: Latinized form of obsolete osmose, extracted from endosmose, exosmose, from French, equivalent to end- end-, ex- ex- 2 + Greek ōsm(ós) “a push, thrust” + French -ose -osis
Turgid: Latin turgidus, equivalent to turg ( ēre ) to swell + -idus -id

Findings

This question immediately led to more questions, so the answers are in the Follow-up questions section below.

Get free PrEP in London

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Background

It’s not always clear how to start taking PrEP in London.

Prerquisites

You must live in one of the following buroughs of London: Camden, Islington, Haringey, or Barnet.

Book the appointment to start PrEP

This is where I go, so I know the process best. Dean Street is the most popular clinic though.

Open online booking for Central and North West London
Tick the box to accept their terms
Click Continue
Choose an appointment slot
Click **Continue
Fill in the required information
Click Continue
Confirm

Where you should go

Mortimer Market Centre (the other locations are far. Archway and Edgware)
- Walk in and go left to the counter. Tell them that you have an appointment. They’ll send you upstairs one floor to the pink zone where they’ll give you your paperwork to complete.
They also have two other clinics; Archway and Edgeware.

What to expect during the appointment

You’ll be given a paper form to complete. It’s important to list an address in one of their qualifying buroughs to be eligable for PrEP.
When they ask if you have condomless sex, say yes. This is a requirement to qualify for free PrEP under the NHS.
They’ll perform an HIV test and optionally a set of STI tests, if you ask. They’ll also take blood to test your kidney function.
Don’t wee one hour before the appointment as you’ll need to wee for them.
They will give you a 3 month supply by default. In the future, you may qualify to get 6 months at a time.
On average, I wait about 45 minutes at this location. They typically only have one person on the rota for handling all PrEP appointments at any given time.

What is liminal space?

Mon, 20 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

This came up in a few of the career coaching webinars that I took. They were describing the “messy middle” of a career transition.

Findings

The source website listed the COVID-19 pandemic as an example of a liminal space because we were leaving our old ways of living and we didn’t yet know what the future looked like.

Liminal spaces are the thresholds between two states. As we’re not currently in a destination, we can fully relax. We’re still in transition from somewhere to somewhere. Until things are settled, calm, sorted we don’t know how they’ll turn out.

Why do the public fountains in Italy flow all the time?

Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiration

Each time I’ve been to a city in Italy, there are public fountains on the streets with constantly flowing water. My gut reaction is that this is wasteful of valuable drinking water.

My guess before digging in

Maybe this came about during the Black Plague, or for other reasons that might prevent the build up of bacteria in stagnant water.

Findings

The page I found first says that the fountains are called nasone, or plural nasoni, and that they’re only in Rome. Maybe they’re not in more cities. They’re also known as fontanelle.
They were first introduced in the early 1870s.
Aside from offering free water, they also prevent water from stagnating in the pipes.
The fountains were turned off in 2007 during a severe drought.
There were around 5,000 at the peak of their popularity. Now there are around 2,500 to 2,800.

Source: Wanted in Rome

Fin ops combined spreadsheet template

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Use template

The spreadsheet contains placeholder text. This is not my real information.

This is a unified spreadsheet that contains all of the other financial spreadsheets on this site. Having the sheets together allows for quick access to your financial information.

This spreadsheet contains the following tabs:

Personal budget spreadsheet template

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

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This is a starting point for creating a budget. It has some common groupings for expenses and it uses formulae to sum using the 50-30-20 method. It also has a section to help save for an emergency fund.

Income statement spreadsheet template

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

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It’s good practice to keep an eye on your account balances to notice any big changes. This spreadsheet can act as a checklist to make sure you don’t miss an account.

Travel history spreadsheet template

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

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The spreadsheet contains placeholder text. This is not my real information.

It’s nice to be able to look back to recall when you went on a certain trip, or to see how many times you visited a place over the years.

Column	Description	Examples
Trip ID	Used in other systems when referring to the trip	`TRIP001`, `TRIP002`, `TRIP003`
Date	When the travel occurred	`2025-04-11`
From City	City where the travel started	`St. Louis`, `Lima`, `Antananarivo`
From Country	Country where the travel started	`United States`, `Peru`, `Madagascar`
Conveyance	Mode of transportation	`Car`, `Flight`, `Foot`
To City	City where the travel ended	`St. Louis`, `Lima`, `Antananarivo`
To Country	Country where the travel ended	`United States`, `Peru`, `Madagascar`
Details	Who the trip was with or what it was for	`Trip to see John Doe`
Transfer	Connecting flight? Let’s not count as a visit	`TRUE`, `FALSE`
Purpose	Work or personal trip to be able to filter later	`Personal`, `Work`

Tips

Add upcoming trips and the conditional formatting in the sheet will grey them out until the date passes.
The Country column has a grey fill because it has a formula to pull from the Validation sheet. Add missing cities by adding a new row for the country. Look at the Validation sheet to understand the existing cities.

Trip planning spreadsheet template

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

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This is a great way to plan your annual leave to make sure you use all of your paid time off, as that’s a part of your compensation. Take the days off that you have in the year and fill those into the spreadsheet, then move them around as you plan your travel.

Old fashioned pancake recipe

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted then allowed to cool slightly
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ cups milk

Instructions

In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Then, add the wet ingredients and mix everything together. Be careful not to overmix, though…just stir until everything is mixed together. Then, and this is important, let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes. I know…it’s difficult. But this is important for two reasons (and yes, I’m getting all scientific about pancakes):
By letting the batter rest for a few minutes, this allows all of the batter to become hydrated by the wet ingredients. No one wants clumps of dry flour in their pancakes.
Gluten is what makes our doughs and batters hold together. The more you stir (or knead) a batter or dough, the more gluten develops. If you let the gluten develop a lot, you’ve got an elastic, chewy bread. Not at all what we want in a pancake. By letting the batter rest, the gluten also rests and takes a few minutes to calm down from being mixed, and our pancakes come out light and fluffy. This is also why we barely mix the batter, so as to not “overwork” the gluten (if you’re a science nerd like me, this article by King Arthur Baking will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about gluten).
In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.
Then, add the wet ingredients and mix everything together. Be careful not to overmix, though.
Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes.
Heat a non-stick pan or skillet over low-medium heat. Let it heat up for a minute or two.
Pour about ¼ c of batter into the pan.
Let your pancake cook for a minute or two, until the underside is golden brown and a few small bubbles appear on top.
Gently but quickly flip over your pancake and cook for another minute or so until that side is also golden brown.

Notes

Let the batter rest: By letting the batter rest for a few minutes, this allows all of the batter to become hydrated by the wet ingredients. No one wants clumps of dry flour in their pancakes.
Don’t overmix the batter: Gluten is what makes our doughs and batters hold together. The more you stir (or knead) a batter or dough, the more gluten develops. If you let the gluten develop a lot, you’ve got an elastic, chewy bread. Not at all what we want in a pancake. By letting the batter rest, the gluten also rests and takes a few minutes to calm down from being mixed, and our pancakes come out light and fluffy. This is also why we barely mix the batter, so as to not “overwork” the gluten.
Patience is a virtue: Don’t rush the process. Yes, pancakes cook quickly, but don’t rush it. Keep the temperature of the pan at low-medium. Turning it up too high will just result in pancakes with a burned outside and a raw inside.

Credit: Maplewood Road

Critical file backup process guide

Tue, 19 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

A step-by-step guide for backing up important personal files to an encrypted USB drive.

Overview
Step 1: Configure backup computer
Step 2: Configure USB drive
Step 3: Unlock USB drive
Step 4: Gather backup items
Step 5: Back up files to USB drive

Platform note: This guide is written for Linux (specifically Fedora). Other operating systems can follow the general structure, but Steps 1 and 2, Pika Backups and LUKS-based disk encryption, are Linux-specific and will need platform-appropriate alternatives on macOS or Windows. I recommend VeraCrypt for encrypting a USB drive for use with macOS and Windows.

Sweet potato & lentil soup recipe

Sat, 29 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

2 tsp medium curry powder
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions
grated
1 eating apple
peeled, cored and grated
3 garlic cloves
crushed
20g pack coriander
stalks chopped
thumb-size piece fresh root ginger
grated
800g sweet potatoes
1.2l low-sodium vegetable stock
100g red lentils
300ml milk
juice 1 lime

Instructions

Put the curry powder into a large saucepan, then toast over a medium heat for 2 mins. Add the olive oil, stirring as the spice sizzles in the pan. Tip in the onions, apple, garlic, coriander stalks and ginger, season, then gently cook for 5 mins, stirring every so often. step 2

Address history spreadsheet template

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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Often times applications will ask for the last few addresses where you’ve lived. If you’ve only live on one place for quite a while, this may not be of much use to you. If you’ve moved a lot, then this will come in handy.

Asset tracking spreadsheet template

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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It’ll help you determine how much personal property coverage you need for your belongings. You’ll also be grateful you made one if you ever have to file a claim with your insurance provider. Not only will it help you remember exactly what you have in your home should you lose multiple items in a break-in or a house fire, but it’ll also ensure you can get the full value of your items when filing a claim.

Employment history spreadsheet template

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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Many applications ask for your employment history. You can include as much detail here, as opposed to online job listing platforms where you may only want to display certain information.

Column	Description	Examples
Company	Employer name	`Costco`, `Accenture`, `Sony`
Department	-	`Finance`, `Operations`, `HR`
Title	Job title	`Event Planner`, `Food Scientist`
Type	-	`Part-time`, `Contract`, `Full-time`
Start Date	Beginning of employment	`2025-04-11`
End Date	End of employment	`2025-04-11`
Duration	Calculated field	`3.5`
Employee Number	-	`61568435`
Street	-	-
City	-	-
State	-	-
ZIP	-	-
Country	-	-

Life ops combined spreadsheet template

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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The spreadsheet contains placeholder text. This is not my real information.

This is a unified spreadsheet that contains most of the other spreadsheets on this site. Having the sheets together allows for surfacing useful information on the Overview tab.

This spreadsheet contains the following tabs:

Subscription tracking spreadsheet template

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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It’s easy to lose track of how many services and subscriptions we sign up to. This spreadsheet can help us see where our money is going to each month and where some services could be dropped.

I recently used this spreadsheet to decide which subscriptions to drop before I took on a new, pricy subscription.

Vaccination history spreadsheet template

Sun, 13 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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The spreadsheet contains placeholder text. This is not my real information.

Doctors often ask during medical exams what your vaccination history is. Rather than trying to remember, it can be helpful to have a record like this.

Column	Description	Examples
Vaccine	Name of immunization	HPV
Manufacturer	Which company developed it	Pfizer
Date	Date of administration	2025-03-31
City	-	-
Country	-	-
Location	-	-

Okonomyaki recipe

Sat, 22 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Ingredients

For the Base Batter

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp baking powder
5.6 oz nagaimo/yamaimo
¾ cup dashi (powder in boiling water)

For the Okonomiyaki

½ head green cabbage (large; 1.4 lb, 640 g)
¼ cup pickled red ginger
4 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
½ cup tenkasu/agedama (tempura scraps)
Neutral oil

Instructions

Before You Start: If time allows, let the batter rest for at least one hour (and up to overnight) for a fluffier okonomiyaki. Now, gather all the ingredients.

About

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Hey there

I’m Justin, a mid-thirties American currently based in San Diego. I spent six years working as a Technical Operations Engineer at Google, first in Taipei and then in London. Before that, I lived in Taiwan independently for a couple of years, working at a local tech company. I moved out of London in 2024 and have been traveling while in a deliberate career reset since then.

I left social media in 2017 and haven’t missed it. The tradeoff is that most people who find my writing don’t have much context for who I am, which is part of why this page exists. I care a lot about who owns what on the internet. The slow consolidation of the web under a handful of large, mostly American, platforms is something I find genuinely alarming, and it’s part of why I built this site rather than posting to someone else’s platform. I’m increasingly drawn to digital rights and technology accountability as areas I want to spend more time thinking and writing about.

Justin McLemore

Automating my monthly net worth tracker

Overview

Automating the boring half of my backup process

Overview

Synthesizing Obsidian periodic notes with Claude Code

Overview

My Anki setup for Chinese flashcards

Overview

Custom “Chinese” note type

Pleco: a power-user guide

Overview

Search tricks

Useful dictionaries you might be skipping

What is GLP-1?

Inspiration

My guess before digging in

Findings

Etymology

Follow-up questions

What’s an agonist?

What is glucagon?

What’s a peptide?

What are L-cells?

Can I use GLP-1 in my daily life?

When did we discover GLP-1?

How are oral GLP-1 agonists formulated to avoid digestion?

What’s a proteolytic enzyme?

How can I stop mixing up glucose, glucagon, glycogen, glycerin, etc.?

What's the difference between a mainframe and a server?

Inspiration

My guess before digging in

Findings

What are the common types of cinnamon

Inspiration

My guess before digging in

Findings

What's the difference between taro and ube?

Inspiration

My guess before digging in

Findings

Ube

Taro

Horchata recipe

Related posts

Servings

Ingredients

Instructions

My travels

Americas

Asia

Europe

Oceania

Nail care routine

Overview

Tools and supplies required

Prerequisites

Frequency

History and background

Routine

1. Soak finger tips in warm water

Fried rice recipe

Ingredients

Directions

Notes

Configure a task manager to get things done

Overview

The principles

Setting it up

How birds produce red blood cells with hollow bones?

Inspiration

My guess before digging in

How nutrients pass from soil to plant roots

Inspiration

My guess before digging in

Why I built my own website

Organize foreign currency for frequent travelers

Background

Use an iOS Shortcut to make an Obsidian daily note

Background