Posts

A reader shares brief reviews of six books consumed in 2024, with Joseph Mitchell’s Up in the Old Hotel taking the top spot and picks like Challenger and Judgment at Tokyo earning praise alongside critiques of pacing, detail, and structure.

Mayonnaise-flavored potato chips from Thailand prompt a reflection on whether the flavor adds anything beyond what plain chips dipped in real mayonnaise would achieve, with the more compelling takeaway being that the mayonnaise flavor concept would work better applied to nuts or popcorn.

A decade of flight data (2015–2024) totaling over one million miles is visualized using R, with Bangkok’s Don Mueang airport logging the most activity, while the post also details the technical process of updating legacy mapping code from the deprecated rgdal package to a modern sf-based workflow with the Winkel tripel projection.

A childhood disappointment with granola-flavored ice cream that lasted 40 years was finally redeemed when the author tried Lopez Island Creamery’s oatmeal cookie chip flavor during an unexpected layover after a canceled float plane flight.

A deep dive into the durian trade and the experience of sourcing premium durian and rambutan from a pesticide-free orchard in Thailand’s Chantaburi province, exploring the fruit’s physical dangers, traditional health concerns, and a study finding that modest durian consumption doesn’t affect blood pressure or heart rate in healthy individuals.

A runner describes navigating firecracker-filled streets in a small Chinese town on Chinese New Year’s Eve, then reviews two seasonal Lays flavors: Hong Kong-style dumpling (a one-time novelty) and seafood XO sauce (a surprisingly rich, spicy umami standout).

A reading list of books completed in 2023, with personal notes on each, spanning Japanese literary fiction (Kawakami, Murakami), a travelogue across the British Empire on a single day in 1923, and practical guides to Emacs and SQL.

A recap of the author’s 2023 golf season spans four rounds across three countries, highlighted by an eagle, three birdies, and a memorable pre-dawn round in Thailand played with a lighted ball.

A runner in Japan encounters a warning sign they can only partially read — enough to make out クマ (bear) and an exclamation mark — at a trail fork, prompting uncertainty about which direction to safely continue.

A business trip to Japan unexpectedly included a round of golf near Mt. Asama, where the author—who hadn’t swung a club in fifteen months—managed to score two birdies despite playing with borrowed clubs and street shoes.