Economic development on The Canary Islands with “Distributed Teams”

Last month (November2019), I spoke at Nomad City about “distributed teams” as a new approach to economic development.

This was the fourth Nomad City conference hosted in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. There were sessions on building careers while traveling, personal brand building, the challenges/advantages of building a remote business and other topics important to freelancers, “remote” workers and companies willing to tap into remote work. This year also featured a panel session, as well as a longer more in-depth think tank session, on economic development. I was invited to speak at both.

Why a conference about remote work – in the Canary Islands? For background, the Canary Islands are Spanish islands in the Atlantic, physically off the coast of Morocco. In Europe, these islands are most known for tourism – a “recent” focus of the local government. They started encouraging tourism in the 1970s, which required them to spend a lot of time and effort shifting the public perception of beaches from “sunny beaches with families of children making sandcastles” to “adults playing in the surf, sun and all night parties”. It has been wildly successful for decades and has encouraged other nearby sun/beach locations to do the same. At this point, approx ~14 million tourists visit the Canary Islands each year. For comparison, the total population of the Canary Islands is 2 million. At this point, direct tourism and tourism related revenue accounts for 35% of the GDP of the Canary Islands (or 55% of GDP depending on how you count tourism-related construction) and accounts for over 40% of the total employment. The rest of the economy depends on agriculture (~20%) and a diversity of industries. I was personally surprised to find that because of the natural deep ocean water so close to land creating sheltered ports, there is a long history of repair/maintenance of deep ocean going ships – from Columbus and Magellan through to modern fleets of oil exploration ships.

The local economy has been quietly and consistently growing pretty well for a while now, but there are concerns. Having an economy dependent on a single revenue stream is always a concern. After all, a diversified portfolio is more stable than having all eggs in one basket. In this case, their economy’s reliance on tourism has some additional concerns:

  1. Tourism is seasonal, so it is hard to predict accurately. This means that most of the economy literally depends on predicting the weather on the islands, as well as where tourists usually come from. This can cause surprise fluctuations to flights, hotel bookings and local major events at short notice.
  2. Climate change brings concerns about rising waters to these islands, like all other coastal locations around the globe. It also brings risk to their tourism industry. Many tourists come to the Canaries to escape the cold/dark of winter in northern Europe. As those winters become less severe because of climate change, would people decide to stay home or vacation somewhere nearby instead? This is further complicated by the recent closure of a major budget airline and tour operator in Europe, making travel to these islands more expensive. An additional factor is a rising “flight shaming” movement to counter the impact of airplane flights on the environment. The combination of all these raises the question: What happens if these tourists start choosing to stay home or vacation somewhere closer to home instead?
  3. Approximately 50% of citizens under the age of 25 are unemployed. Another 30% are underemployed, meaning they are overqualified for the work they hired for (while here, I heard in-person anecdotes of people with PhDs working as bartenders pouring drinks for tourists!).

To address these issues, local government officials and industry leaders have been looking for ways to diversify the income economy of these islands for a while now. Some impressive steps so far include:

  1. High speed internet: Residential internet connections of 600 Mbs are guaranteed and affordable. For specific business districts, internet connections of 1GBs are considered normal. These numbers were confirmed by my (non-scientific) sampling of internet speeds in various locations while I was there.
  2. Tax incentives: These islands are part of Spain and within the European Union (EU). This means that any company based here can operate across the entire EU. These islands are part of a special EU tax incentive zone to encourage companies to be created and grown here. I am not a tax accountant, and there are small-print-conditions to consider, but companies in the Canaries meeting those criteria have corporate tax rates significantly lower than others in the EU. Also, humans living here pay a lower consumer sales tax of 6.5% compared to an average 21% in the rest of the EU. 
  3. Bike rentals: There are well organized, affordable, bike shares widely available across Las Palmas and a growing network of dedicated bike-only lanes. This makes getting around easier then figuring out car ownership and parking – and cheaper than taxis.
  4. Conservation policies: Because of the geographic terrain, there are protected deep ocean scuba diving areas just off the downtown beaches, walking distances from offices. And preventing light/radio pollution in the high mountain tops has allowed the creation of two space observatories as well as a deep space communication center for the European Space Agency. These unique assets only exist today because of previous forethought creating policies to protect these unique locations.

Encouraging non-tourism companies to relocate to these rugged, beautiful islands would help diversify the local economy. The local civic leaders are well aware of the importance of this, so no surprise that it is something they’ve been trying for a while now, with mixed success.

However, if there was a way for humans on the islands to have meaningful work with employers that are not on these islands, that would be a game-changer. My “incentives for humans not corporations” mantra was eagerly agreed with – and some were even already working towards this. There are several co-working spaces on the islands – each with their own slightly different focus. Some cater to tourists or surfers looking for an impromptu place for some professional video calls/meetings before returning to fun in the sunshine. Some cater to digital nomads who will be daily users for a few weeks/months, until they leave to explore somewhere else. (Many of these also include “coliving” – with small apartments or shared accommodations.) Some cater to locals or expats who are now residents of the Canary Islands, usually running their own companies – and need a reliable office-as-a-service to work from outside of their home. Ignacio “Nacho” Rodriguez created a coworking space in 2014 which has been a big success. His mantra of “We work from places we love” is obviously popular.

All this explains why Ignacio wanted me to talk about this new approach to economic development at the Nomad City conference and also at some workshops before/after. Attendees were a mix of digital nomads, company founders, academics and civic/government leaders. This mix of different perspectives made for some very interesting discussions, on and off stage. These discussions have continued gathering momentum even after the official conference ended. It’ll be exciting to see what we end up creating and if more people can start working from places they love!

John.

Now Home

It’s been almost a year since I last had time to blog here.

The work I did at U.S. Digital Service was intense, high stress, all-consuming, incredibly meaningful work – and worth every minute of the bizarre bi-coastal commuter-life I lived. It also meant my ability to blog here was practically zero. More on all of this in upcoming posts.

I returned to SanFrancisco late night on 18jan2017 but it took a few days before I realized I could actually put away my well-worn carry-on bag. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time recharging (some say hibernating?!), decompressing, reconnecting with friends as well as generally figuring out next steps in work and in life. For now, I’ll just say – it is both surreal and great to be back home, with no immediate plans to get on another plane anytime soon. This long weekend included a hill walk in the fresh air, catching up with some friends and watching Karl-the-Fog.

How great is that?

John.

HOWTO use an unlocked Android phone in Portugal

Here what I used in my trip to Portugal in Jun2013, in case others find this helpful:


Disclaimer:

  • In the US, buying a cellphone “out-of-contract” is not the same as buying a cellphone “unlocked”. All of the following only works for an unlocked phone. Make sure your phone is unlocked before you get on the plane.
  • Different cellphone companies have different policies on this. AT&T declared that, despite my being a multi-year customer, with no contract, they would not unlock my phone per policy. T-Mobile said upfront that they would need ~40days from date-of-purchase of “out-of-contact” phone before I could ask to have it unlocked. On the 40th day, when I asked T-Mobile to unlock my phone, they sent me the phone unlock codes within 48hours.
  • Make sure your phone supports GSM. Sounds obvious, but still needs to be said, as most countries use GSM.

  • Buy a “LycaMobile” pay-as-you-go SIM card. I bought mine at the train station in Lisbon, but they are also for sale on most small street corner stores. While there are several mobile companies selling pay-as-you-go, I went with Lycamobile because they had the best price for all-you-can-use data at 4G speeds, great high speed coverage everywhere I went, and no hassle about using your cellphone as a hotspot. Oh, and comparable prices for voice calls and text messaging.
  • Disassemble your phone to swap out sim card, insert new LycaMobile sim card and power up the phone.
  • On the phone, enter “*#123#″ and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This connects you to an automated service that tells you your balance.
  • To find out what your lycamobile phone number is, dial “*#122#”
  • Assuming that all works, you should now attempt to call any local number. By habit, I call the mobile phone of the person at the store selling me the SIM card.
  • Cultural tip: I never setup voicemail – as discovered in my other recent trips, most people dont both leaving voice messages on cellphones anymore – if they cant reach you when they phone, they hangup and send you a text message instead.
  • Now that you can make/receive calls, to make my Android 2.2 phone transmit/receive data, I had to add the following APN settings:
    * on home screen, go into “settings”
    * go into “wireless & network settings”
    * go into “mobile networks”
    * go into “access point names”
    * if there is not already a “data.lycamobile.pt” APN, then create one as follows:
    ** Name = data.lycamobile.pt
    ** APN == data.lycamobile.pt
    ** Proxy == Not set
    ** Port == Not set
    ** Username == impt
    ** Password == impt
    ** Server == Not set
    ** MMSC == Not set
    ** MMS proxy == Not set
    ** MMS port == Not set
    ** MCC == 268
    ** MNC == 04
    ** Authentication Type == Not set
    ** APN Type == Not set
    …hit save, and go back to “Access Point Names”.

  • verify that this new “data.lycamobile.pt” APK is present, and is selected.
  • verify that “Use only 2G networks” is not selected.
  • Reboot the phone to see if that helps.
  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls, send/receive text messages, surf the web, use your cellphone as GPS, and use your cellphone as a wifi hotspot.
  • To check your account balance dial “*122#”.
  • When you need additional credits, buy a one-time use scratch-refill “top up” card at almost any corner store, and follow the instructions on the back. You’ll receive a text message with the new balance when the credits are added to your account.

HOWTO use an unlocked Android phone in Malaysia

Here what I used in my trip to Malaysia in Nov2012, in case others find this helpful:


Disclaimer:

  • In the US, buying a cellphone “out-of-contract” is not the same as buying a cellphone “unlocked”. All of the following only works for an unlocked phone. Make sure your phone is unlocked before you get on the plane.
  • Different cellphone companies have different policies on this. AT&T declared that, despite my being a multi-year customer, with no contract, they would not unlock my phone per policy. T-Mobile said upfront that they would need ~40days from date-of-purchase of “out-of-contact” phone before I could ask to have it unlocked. On the 40th day, when I asked T-Mobile to unlock my phone, they sent me the phone unlock codes within 48hours.
  • Make sure your phone supports GSM. Sounds obvious, but still needs to be said, as most countries use GSM.

  • NOTE: You need to show your passport, or national ID card, when buying a pay-as-you-go SIM, or a phone, in Malaysia.
  • Buy a “HotLink” pay-as-you-go SIM card. I bought mine at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, but they are also for sale on most small street corner stores. While there are several mobile companies selling pay-as-you-go, I went with HotLink because they had the best price for data at 4G-LTE speeds, great high speed coverage everywhere I went, and no hassle about using your cellphone as a hotspot. Oh, and comparable prices for voice calls and text messaging.
  • Disassemble your phone to swap out sim card, insert new HotLink sim card and power up the phone.
  • On the phone, enter “*122#″ and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This will connect you to an automated voice service which will tell you your balance.
  • Assuming that works, you should now attempt to call any local number. By habit, I now call the mobile phone of the person at the store selling me the SIM card.
  • Cultural tip: I never setup voicemail – as discovered in my other recent trips to SEasia, most people dont both leaving voice messages – if they cant reach you when they phone, they hangup and send you a text message instead.
  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls.
  • To make my Android 2.2 phone transmit/receive data, I had to add the following APN settings:
    * on home screen, go into “settings”
    * go into “wireless & network settings”
    * go into “mobile networks”
    * go into “access point names”
    * if there is not already a “maxis” APN, then create one as follows:
    ** Name = maxis
    ** APN == bbnet
    ** Proxy == 202.75.133.49
    ** Port == 80
    ** Username == Not set
    ** Password == Not set
    ** Server == Not set
    ** MMSC == Not set
    ** MMS proxy == Not set
    ** MMS port == Not set
    ** MCC == 502
    ** MNC == 12
    ** Authentication Type == Not set
    ** APN Type == Not set
    …hit save, and go back to “Access Point Names”.

  • verify that this new “maxis” APK is present, and is selected.
  • verify that “Use only 2G networks” is not selected.
  • Reboot the phone to see if that helps.
  • Now that the phone is configured correctly, I selected the 500mb-per-day data plan, as follows:
    enter “*100*9*1#” and press dialer
    read menu, enter “2” and click “ok”
    read menu, enter “1” and click “ok”
    …thats it.

  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls, send/receive text messages, surf the web, and use your cellphone as a wifi hotspot.
  • To check your account balance call *122#.
  • When you need additional credits, buy a one-time use scratch-refill “top up” card at almost any corner store, and follow the instructions on the back. Alternatively, their website says you can topup using PayPal as well as credit cards, but I never personally tried that. Either way, you’ll receive a text message with the new balance when the credits are added to your account.

linux on a Boeing 777

Last week, at SFO, while waiting for clearance to pushback from the gate, I noticed that the headrest entertainment system had crashed and was rebooting…and it was linux!

I couldnt read all the messages – the bootup messages scrolled by so quickly – but there was at least one error message about not finding a config file?!? They had to reboot the system a few times before it finally booted up successfully. And yes, once booted, it stayed up and running for the entire flight to LHR.

Here’s the best I could do with some rushed photos, in poor lighting, while they were telling me to turn off all electronic devices.

(click images for enlarged photos)

Oh, and while writing this post, I found someone else’s photo of linux booting on another Boeing 777.
linux on a Boeing 777

HOWTO use an unlocked Android phone in Ireland

Here what I used in my trip back to Ireland in Oct2011, in case others find this helpful:


Disclaimer:

  • In the US, buying a cellphone “out-of-contract” is not the same as buying a cellphone “unlocked”. All of the following only works for an unlocked phone. Make sure your phone is unlocked before you get on the plane.
  • Different cellphone companies have different policies on this. AT&T declared that, despite my being a multi-year customer, with no contract, they would not unlock my phone per policy. T-Mobile said upfront that they would need ~40days from date-of-purchase of “out-of-contact” phone before I could ask to have it unlocked. On the 40th day, when I asked T-Mobile to unlock my phone, they sent me the phone unlock codes within 48hours.
  • Make sure your phone supports GSM. Sounds obvious, but still needs to be said, as most countries use GSM.

  • Buy a “Three.ie” pay-as-you-go SIM card. I bought mine at a stall in a shopping center in Dublin, but they were also for sale in any of the countless newsagent stores across the country. While there are several mobile companies selling pay-as-you-go, I decided to go with Three.ie because they have unlimited(yes, really!) data at 3G speeds, no hassle about using your cellphone as a hotspot and unlimited text messaging. Oh, and comparable prices for voice calls.
  • Disassemble your phone to swap out sim card, insert new Three.ie sim card and power up the phone.
  • On the phone, enter “1744” and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This will connect you to an automated voice service which will tell you your balance.
  • Assuming that works, you should now attempt to call any local number. A good example is the mobile phone of the person at the three.ie stand who sold you the card. Specifically, you should do this because the first call made on the new three.ie account will not be connected until you are verbally prompted through the remaining setup steps. This includes setting up an access PIN (for later topup/account activity calls) and also setting up voicemail, all of which I did.

    (Cultural note: While some people would leave voicemail, most people would instead send text messages. However, I found it interesting that even people who didnt leave a voicemail would still want to hear my voice on my voicemail greeting, to confirm they had reached the correct number, before they would hangup and send me a text message.)

  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls.
  • To make my Android 2.2 phone transmit/receive data, I had to add the following APN settings:
    * on home screen, go into “settings”
    * go into “wireless & network settings”
    * go into “mobile networks”
    * go into “access point names”
    * if there is not already a “smart” APN, then create one as follows:
    ** Name = 3 services
    ** APN == 3ireland.ie
    ** Proxy == Not set
    ** Port == Not set
    ** Username == Not set
    ** Password == Not set
    ** Server == Not set
    ** MMSC == Not set
    ** MMS proxy == Not set
    ** MMS port == Not set
    ** MCC == 272
    ** MNC == 05
    ** Authentication Type == Not set
    ** APN Type == Not set
    …hit save, and go back to “Access Point Names”.

  • verify that this new “3 services” APK is present, and is selected.
  • Reboot the phone to see if that helps.
  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls, send/receive text messages, surf the web, and use your cellphone as a wifi hotspot.
  • To check your account balance call 1744.
  • When you need additional credits, buy a one-time use scratch-refill “top up” card at almost any newsagent, and follow the instructions on the back. Alternatively, you can buy additional credits by calling 1744 from your phone, enter your PIN and recharge using a credit card. Either way, you’ll receive a text message with the new balance when the credits are added to your account.

HOWTO use an unlocked Android phone in Cambodia

There are now 9!!?! different mobile phone companies in Cambodia and a great summary of them all is on khmerbird.com. They all offer different pay-as-you-go SIM cards, and of course, there are lots of different Android phones, but here what I used in my recent trip back to Cambodia, in case others find this helpful:


Disclaimer:

  • In the US, buying a cellphone “out-of-contract” is not the same as buying a cellphone “unlocked”. All of the following only works for an unlocked phone. Make sure your phone is unlocked before you get on the plane.
  • Different cellphone companies have different policies on this. AT&T declared that, despite my being a multi-year customer, with no contract, they would not unlock my phone per policy. T-Mobile said upfront that they would need ~40days from date-of-purchase of “out-of-contact” phone before I could ask to have it unlocked. On the 40th day, when I asked T-Mobile to unlock my phone, they sent me the phone unlock codes within 48hours.
  • Make sure your phone supports GSM. Sounds obvious, but still needs to be said, as most countries use GSM.

  • Buy a “Smart Mobile” pay-as-you-go SIM card, with the “Fresh Internet+” plan. I bought mine at the airport in Phnom Penh, but they were also for sale in any of the countless green “Smart Mobile” stores across the country. While each of the 9 cell phone companies in Cambodia have different voice prices, this company seemed to have the best data plan, which is what I cared about most. Oh, and the staff at their booth were great fun and their ad for “Fresh Internet+” data-plan looked fun!

  • Disassemble your phone to swap out sim card, insert new SmartMobile sim card and power up the phone.
  • On the phone, enter “*888#” and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This should send you a text message within a few seconds containing:
    * your mobile number
    * remaining balance on your SIM card
    * expiry date of the credits on your SIM card
    * whether or not you have a data plan set up (the default is “not”).

  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls, and check your account balance.
  • Dont bother setting up the voicemail. Like in Hong Kong, no-one seems to use voicemail; if you dont answer the phone, callers simply try again later or send you a txt msg.
  • To enable your phone for pre-paid data, you need to setup “Fresh Internet+” plan, as follows:
    * To verify data plan status, enter “*093*0#” and press dial. It should tell you that you have no data plan.
    * On the phone, enter “*093*3#” and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This cost me USD$5, and gave me 2GB data limit for 30days. (Click here for list of codes for different prices and different data limits.). All the SmartMobile plans are 30day duration, the only difference is how much money you want to prepay, and what data limit that gives you.
    * You should receive an SMS confirming the amount paid, and the data plan.
    * To verify data plan status, enter “*093*0#” and press dial. It should tell you that you have a data plan, days to expiry, and how much of your data plan allowance remains.

  • The following APN settings were enabled automatically on my Android 2.2 phone, so I did not set these manually. However, I’m listing them below in case it helps others debug problems transmitting/receiving on their data plan:
    * on home screen, go into “settings”
    * go into “wireless & network settings”
    * go into “mobile networks”
    * go into “access point names”
    * if there is not already a “smart” APN, then create one as follows:
    ** Name = smart
    ** APN == smart
    ** Proxy == Not set
    ** Port == Not set
    ** Username == Not set
    ** Password == Not set
    ** Server == Not set
    ** MMSC == Not set
    ** MMS proxy == Not set
    ** MMS port == Not set
    ** MCC == Not set
    ** MNC == Not set
    ** Authentication Type == None
    ** APN Type == default
    …hit save, and go back to “access point names”.

  • verify that this new “smart” APK is present, and is selected.
  • Reboot the phone to see if that helps.
  • When you need additional credits, buy a one-time use scratch-refill card at almost any roadside stand (they are literally everywhere, and all have the distinctive green “Smart Mobile” logo or beach umbrella!).

HOWTO use an unlocked Android phone in Hong Kong

While there are different pay-as-you-go SIM cards available in Hong Kong, and a multitude of different Android phones, here what I used in my recent trip to Hong Kong, in case others find this helpful:


Disclaimer:

  • In the US, buying a cellphone “out-of-contract” is not the same as buying a cellphone “unlocked”. All of the following only works for an unlocked phone. Make sure your phone is unlocked before you get on the plane.
  • Different cellphone companies have different policies on this. AT&T declared that, despite my being a multi-year customer, with no contract, they would not unlock my phone per policy. T-Mobile said upfront that they would need ~40days from date-of-purchase of “out-of-contact” phone before I could ask to have it unlocked. On the 40th day, when I asked T-Mobile to unlock my phone, they sent me the phone unlock codes within 48hours.
  • Make sure your phone supports GSM. Sounds obvious, but still needs to be said. Also, while in Hong Kong, I could only find pay-as-you-go SIM cards that supported 2G or 3G. The only 4G or faster that I could find were as part of monthly contracted plans; if you know of any that I missed, please let me know.

  • At any 7-11 store in Hong Kong, buy a China Mobile pay-as-you-go SIM card. In my case, I bought the “IDD Talk Card“. It looks like the “Super Talk Card” has better rates but they were sold out.
  • Disassemble your phone to swap out sim card, insert new ChinaMobile sim card and power up the phone.
  • On the phone, enter “*#130#” and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This should send you a text message within a few seconds containing:
    * your mobile number
    * remaining balance on your SIM card
    * expiry date of the credits on your SIM card
    * whether or not you have a data plan set up (the default is “not”).

  • At this point you should be able to make/receive calls, and check your account balance. If you dont get this text message, go back and check your work.
  • Dont bother setting up the voicemail. No-one seems to use them; if you dont answer the phone, callers simply try again later or send you a txt msg.
  • Once you have verified that basic calling works, the next step is to setup “Mobile Data & WiFi Package”, as follows:
    * On the phone, enter “*#130#” and press dial (typically, the green handset button). This should send you a text confirmation prompt asking what duration you want the data plan.
    ** for 1 day, press “1” and hit ok
    ** for 7 days, press “2” and hit ok
    ** for 30 days, press “3” and hit ok
    * to verify data plan status, enter “*#103#” and press dial.
    * to cancel data plan, enter “*103*02#” and press dial.
    * Note: be careful of letting data plan expire, yet continuing to use data, because the usages fees jump significantly.
    * (I found these, along with a full set of commands, on www.hk.chinamobile.com).

  • Next, to make sure that your android phone is correctly configured for 3G data, I had to do the following manually on my Android2.2 phone:
    * on home screen, go into “settings”
    * go into “wireless & network settings”
    * go into “mobile networks”
    * go into “access point names”
    * if there is not already an “cmhk” (peoples.net), then create one as follows:
    ** Name = cmhk
    ** APN == peoples.net
    ** Proxy == Not set
    ** Port == Not set
    ** Username == Not set
    ** Password == Not set
    ** Server == Not set
    ** MMSC == Not set
    ** MMS proxy == Not set
    ** MMS port == Not set
    ** MCC == 454
    ** MNC == 12
    ** Authentication Type == None
    ** APN Type == default

    …hit save, and go back to “access point names”.

  • verify that this new “cmhk” APK is present, and is selected.
  • In my case, I had to reboot my phone one more time, but that was it.
  • When you need additional credits, buy a card at 7-11 (they are everywhere!) or online at http://www.hk.chinamobile.com.

Aikido in Hong Kong

After 15hours non-stop in an economy row seat from SFO -> HKG, some Aikido training seemed like a great way to help fix the jetlag, and also get moving again.

There’s a few Aikido dojos in Hong Kong, but after searching the internet, and then sending some emails in advance, we decided to train at http://www.aikidodoyukai.com. (If you are curious, use google translate to read the “training diary” written by Hitoshi Nagai Sensei after every class.).

Students had a wide range of skill levels, all the way from multiple adult yudansha to young children with white belts. There was no way to fit a gi into the carry-on-only bags, so we went to class in borrowed sweatpants and tshirts. It was really great to see how everyone, from a wide range of ages, races and cultures all intermixed, enjoyed learning together and everyone was very welcoming of the jetlagged strangers. The influence of the personality of the Sensei was obvious, the class was great exercise, fun and educational.

This turned out to be one of the highlights of Hong Kong for me. In fact, we made time to go back for another class later in the week, bringing friends who live in HK to introduce them to the art. Only while chatting after the 2nd class did I discover that Sensei had spent a lot of time training at Hombu dojo in Tokyo – another place where I’d enjoyed visiting to train!

If you find yourself in Hong Kong, even for just a few days, I highly recommend this dojo. I’ll definitely be going back again next time I visit Hong Kong.

Food experiments in Japan: continued in California

(long overdue post; found these photos while writing another travel post for my website.)

Immediately after I returned from Japan last year, I was really happy to find these fruit flavoured, gummy chews also available in SF. Weirdly addictive, and I’ve made specific trips out to buy more from the only shop I know that sells them in SF.

In the same week that I returned to California, someone else (who shall remain nameless by request!) brought the following back from his trip.

These tasted awful, and the flavour lingered for hours, despite vigorous toothbrushing 🙁