Hamilton and musicals
Jing’s continuous evolution
Mom’s health
Trump, Musk, and Big Tech
AI
Tide Free and Gentle
Hamilton and Musicals
We went to the UK in the summer. I came back after a week, and they stayed another three weeks. It was a sunny and eventful summer. Jing went to two summer schools. One was an art-related day camp, and the other one was a theatre overnight camp. They also went to see a lot of musicals, and they caught the Hamilton bug. When they came back, they played the songs non-stop, and I caught on to it as well. It is a fantastic piece of art and ingenuity. I love having its songs in my playlist. My favorite is My Shot.
Jing’s Continuous Evolution
Relatedly, Jing has developed an interest in acting and dancing. I don’t know how long this fad will last, but it is good to witness her musicality evolve and blossom.
Mom’s Health
Mom had two surgeries on her neck and back. The anesthesia probably affected her brain quite a bit. Her mental capacity has deteriorated dramatically, particularly when it comes to her short-term memory. Her reasoning is still sharp, and she remains opinionated. Her physical capacity has also deteriorated. She can no longer get out on her own. She is also depressed and emotional. It is sad to see her wither so quickly. We have hired a driver and an extra helper to assist her. I feel torn that I might need to leave her. It certainly doesn’t help when my brother is also going through turmoil.
Trump, Musk, and Big Tech
It’s gut-wrenching to see how Trump got re-elected. Biden’s delay in letting others run played a big role. But most critical was how many of the big tech notables sided with him. Some, like Musk, even helped Trump campaign and probably impacted the results significantly. I am confused that the industry I consider myself a part of could choose to side with values that were so immoral and shortsighted. I considered these people wise and mostly righteous. Now I am confused.
AI
AI continued to improve at a staggering pace. AI can now talk to us and see us. They can make videos. They can do a lot of things, and I use AI daily in my life–from asking it to help me plan school visit trips to testing my retail market mapping strategies. It is remarkable, and it really feels like there is no turning back. Sometimes I wonder if I am being irresponsible for not doing anything at all to help humanity avoid destroying ourselves with AI. I guess in a way we are? I guess we can say that through IWS, we are offering alternative education to kids that aims to give them human-centric experiences and skills?
Tide Free and Gentle
Finally, the best buy of the year–Tide Free and Gentle. After we began using it, my wife was no longer irritated by her clothes, which was a significant life-enhancing change. She used to get itchy daily. We weren’t sure why. We tried changing her bedsheets, adding bedbug covers, and washing our towels differently. We tried so many different kinds of creams and lotions. Nothing really worked. Then, I learned about Tide Free and Gentle on the Wirecutter podcast. Somehow, I’ve always resisted Tide because I felt it was one of those exploitative big FMCGs, even though even Malcolm Gladwell (in addition to Wirecutter) had done investigations into Tide and gave strong fact-based approvals to the brand. We found parallel imports of the product on HKTVMall, bought it, and the rest was history. Every morning when I do my laundry, I look at the monstrous clunky white bottle and secretly congratulate myself on making this decision.
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