Photo taken by TWL in Lisbon on Tagus River, 2024

There is a saying: “You are what you eat.” And my variation on that is: “the world is how you sample it.”

Our perception of the world is built upon the information we and stimulus we receive and absorb - the article we read, the Youtube video we watched, or the podcast we listened to. The keyword here is “absorb”, because the amount of information in this modern world of 2025 is abundant, and you are only doing a sampling of it – a fraction of the available information.

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Photo taken by TWL in Joseph, Oregon, 2024; text produced with help from Grok AI

Elon Musk’s 5-step Engineering Process

Source: Everyday Astronaut Interview at SpaceX Starbase, July 30, 2021

During an interview with Tim Dodd of Everyday Astronaut at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, Elon Musk outlined his 5-step engineering process for optimizing design and manufacturing. These steps, which must be followed in order, are designed to streamline innovation and reduce unnecessary complexity at SpaceX and Tesla.

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This year I started several projects for my personal growth.

Learn about cryptocurrency

I played with mining crypto during Covid-19 purely just for fun and the technical aspect of the blockchain. After a few month I got bored and later the entire crypto fever was cooled down. Until recently I was inspired by my cousin who had bought bitcoin and had crypto exchange account for many years. Then I tried to educate myself and understand the logic behind owning bitcoin. It all makes sense now, although I am a little too late in the game. I am still excited about the technology of the blockchain, but now I also see bitcoin as a way to preserve my purchase power and other blockchain as a new way to do transaction with lower cost.

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Oregon beach is cold even in summer. There is often strong wind and the sea water is freezing. Nevertheless, the sand is very soft on Oregan beaches and I still enjoy walking on the beach and dipping my feet into the waves, even in the winter.

This photo is taken by PJ with a disposable Kodak film camera. Nowadays shooting with a film camera is becoming a niche hobby the same way that poeple listen to music with vinyl records. People even look for digital camera brand such as Fujifilm, which has its unique film-like color profiles.

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I have been to many countries in Europe since I was a kid, but somehow I did not think about visiting Portugal. The closest thing I have done that links me to this beautiful country is a book titled “Cork Boat”, which I bought during my time in the grad school.

Fast forward to last year, I was watching Eugene Levy’s TV show “The Reluctant Traveler”. In the show, Lisbon has a relaxed lifestyle with an artist vibe. In addition, I love the Pastel de Nata a lot. So I decided to see Lisbon as my first city after my last trip to Europe 12 years ago.

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Maui is the second island I visited in Hawaii. Driving up to Haleakala National Park and watch the sunrise. At 10,023 feet, it is the highest peak in Maui. Reservation is required to enter the park.

The sunrise moment is the highlight of this Maui trip. As people are waiting for the sunrise, a park ranger sang the Hawaiian sunrise chant “E Ala E”, meaning “awaken”, to welcome the sun.

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I got my first “real” camera in 2024 - a camera with a detachable lens and adjustable aperture and shutter speed; it is a Sony a6700 mirrorless. I used point-and-shoot camera growing up when films were the only way to record photos. I remember that people would worry about their films getting exposed under X-ray luggage scanner. Entering the digital age, I owned a golden Sony CyberShot point-and-shoot. Then I skipped the entire the DSLR age by exclusively using iPhone to take photos. Perhaps it is the first time I felt that the photo can be aesthetic, in addition to being the practical recording media that captures an event.

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I live among tall trees in Oregon. Conifers in my backyard are easily taller than a 3-story house and I am so used to seeing and walking amongst these tall trees. The trees in the Redwood National Park, however, are beyond my imagination.

Dean Creek Elk Viewing Area. We saw a large group of elks here. This is on Umpqua highway along the Umpqua River, near Reedsport in Oregon.

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I was in Chicago again! The city that I visited so frequently holds a lot of memories. It has been 4 years since my last trip to Chicago. Everything felt both nostalgic and fresh at the same time. P and I stayed in Chicago Athletic Club over the weekend. This stylish hotel sits right across the Millennium Park and has a vintage, sporty theme.

Then we spent the entire week working from a hotel room in the West Loop neighborhood. We finally had a chance to visit Girl and the Goat.

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Visiting Saguaro National Park is like visiting another world - it is beyond my imagination. It took a decade for a Saguaro cactus to grow a few inches tall, and yet there is a forest full of giant, 3-story tall Saguaro in front of me. Think about how long does it take to grow this vast landscape of cactus.

Saguaro cactus has a wax-like texture skin with deep groove on its surface. When it takes more water in, the body will expand and the grooves become shallower. It is a very delicate mechanism to store water.

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