The Secret app — the most meaningful and authentic travel guide created by doers and creators
I am pleased to become one of the doers/creators of The Secret App, which is composed of amazing people curating nice places in cities where they are based in.
Mental capital
Of course I am not a sociologist so I can't justify the idea of mental capital, but I will regard it as a reminder for me to not care too much about money and productivity, which are very important but only the SECOND most important, as mental health is always my top priority. Without it, you can't have money and productivity.
Drawing the sky view of London in Horizon 22 again
There are a lot of viewing platforms in London, and some of them are free. Of them my favourite is Horizon 22 which is now the highest in the city. I made the second visit and sketched the same view again.
A flight without entertainment and internet
Don’t forget we have choice: don’t let technology replace offline lifestyle, and we can have both.
17 April 2025
The key message is that when we are more willing to aware of the surrounding environment and ourselves, we will never lose the ability to learn and adapt, and see life is full of options.
Curiosity instead of restriction to deal with “addictive” social media
The approaches of restricting or banning the use of social media make sense, but can’t fix the root cause because we will be vulnerable to social media again.
A trip to Portsmouth, Gosport and Bognor Regis
Under such the perfect weather in early April, I had a trip which was a little bit different because of visiting more than one place/town at once instead. I started from Portsmouth and ended in Bognor Regis.
Why Apple Notes (2)?
A good app does not need you to do extra things while your life can continue as usual. It won’t undermine your ability but will make you better instead. Apple Notes can really achieve that.
Four Mothers
Four Mothers is an Irish movie about an author called Edward who recently published a fiction about two men reflecting some current social structures. His publisher wants to arrange him for a book tour in the US.
The comedy movie also reveals some social phenomena that I can think of.
_____ and sketching
As a sketcher for more than decades, I would like to share some of my thoughts and observations regarding drawing.
On the myths of writing
Writing should be a part of life for everyone, especially if you are not good at it and even a professional author.
On iA Writer and Microsoft Word; as well as Apple Notes
I am a Word hater who is tired of every kind of formatting, user interface, app crash which made me keep clicking SAVE frequently, endlessly saving a lot of versions because of FOMO….. I got rid of it many years ago because I met another app called iA Writer.
Why Apple Notes?
I used to be an Evernote user to record my ideas, collect information, writing and figuring out what I should do next (sorry I don’t want to use the term “planning” because I am not filling my schedule and I am a flexible person) until 2020 when they released an unusable update. I am only using an app which is preinstalled on all my devices: Apple Notes.
Public transport should as comfortable and convenient as your cars
Good public transport is good for all people including the rich as its network and service quality shapes a place enhancing its vibe and promoting meaningful human activities.
On the idea of daylight saving time all year round
I always wish the clock wouldn’t go back and stay in the summer time throughout the year. Believe it or not, I already have this idea without googling.
Trips to Myanmar, 2016
I made my first Myanmar visit when I was visiting Chiang Rai, the border of Thailand in early 2016, realising that there were a 24-hour walk-in visa (I called it the "entrance fee" because no papers or documents were issued, and the border officials only took my photo with an iPad.) After a 2-hour walk in Tachileik, I had a rough idea of having another trip which came true in September the same year.
On uncertainty
When the earthquake strongly struck north Myanmar, many of us were shocked that Bangkok, the capital of Thailand with increasing number of skyscrapers, was also greatly affected. Tall buildings oscillated and even collapsed. People there escaped to outdoors to stay safe.
“When I am productive, I am no longer creative!”
Is productivity the enemy of creativity? As we know if we can live 80 years, we will have 4,000 weeks. As we ain’t robots, it’s impossible to keep the best performance throughout our life. We, of course, can reach the peak performance, and it’s okay our performance can drop to an unacceptable level.
Chatsworth Hotel in Worthing — a detailed review of the oldest hotel in the town
Chatsworth Hotel is the oldest hotel in the seafront of Worthing, which is a bit close to Brighton. The family has owned it for more than 200 years, and the Georgian building has already become Grade II listed.
Mickey 17 - we can choose to create a better world
I am about to publish an article about the boundaries of how to use technology, but I think I need to talk about a movie I just watched first: Mickey 17, which is a quite relevant.