Adam's Blog

Category: Thoughts

  • I’m an Amazon addict, but aren’t most people?

    I’m an Amazon addict, but aren’t most people?

    I’ve become increasingly aware that I’ve become an Amazon addict, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

    I started using Amazon way back in 2001-ish… possibly earlier. It still didn’t have that much of a variety of products back then, but it was the go-to place to get books efficiently (although with very slow logistics versus today).

    Fast-forward to today and Amazon is basically the one place I go to for anything in life apart from grocery shopping (but even some of that comes from Amazon now too).

    The company has built itself up so much in terms of what you can buy, the pricing, and the delivery speed, that it has almost wiped-out all of the competition. It is basically the best service out there, and I am addicted to it.

    I am fully aware that it owes a lot of corporation tax in the UK, and that’s not fair on the competition, especially considering it’s size. However I just keep on using them because there’s no comparable service.

    It would be great to have some form of actual competitor out there, but I’m yet to see it. I think Ebay could take a more impressive slice of the action if it separated out ‘new’-Ebay from ‘used/auction’-Ebay, and standardised delivery/logistics for the ‘new’ side. But until something like that happens I’m most likely going to continue using Amazon like an addict.

  • 2019 Review: Thanks to all!

    2019 Review: Thanks to all!

    Is it too late to review last year and thank everyone? Nah!

    2019 saw:

    • Another great year with my wonderful wife who coped like a champion with EDS, POTS, and our crazy toddler, while studying nutrition.
    • It was amazing to see our one-year-old develop into a fully-walking person from a mostly-crawling thing.
    • It was a serious challenge to carry out 2 x 9 hour TUI flights with a toddler/baby. But it was a great Mexico holiday. Advice to parents: travel with kids between 1 and 6 months, then never again!
    • We enjoyed becoming ‘bad-vegans‘ – staying away from animal products most of the time.
    • Mum’s slightly delayed 70th birthday party was fun. Great to see so many family-friends, and family while our little one was sick!
    • Another hot-tub OJ-barbecue-gathering with school-friends from Belgium.
    • The continued growth of my DJ agency business Storm DJs – who’d have thought I’d be sending DJs to Saudi Arabia?
    • Thanks to the Norwich Vipers basketball team who had to endure my geriatric ball skills for another year.
    • Thanks to the Three phone network for saving my home broadband when BT decided to return to dial-up speeds.
    • Introduction of full-on garden composting. Feels good not to throw absolutely everything away into landfill.
    • The house got a bit ‘smarter’ with Robovac, a few more Yi cameras, and Sonoff connected sockets.
    • I managed to start this blog to empty my head daily (or most days at least).
    • We saw 2 new amusing nephew-babies come into our family within a few weeks of one another!
    • We successfully continued using Airbnb to rent out a studio space in our house.
  • When someone calls up to book a New Year’s Eve DJ… on New Year’s Eve!

    When someone calls up to book a New Year’s Eve DJ… on New Year’s Eve!

    Yes, someone has just called up wanting to book a DJ through Storm DJs for New Year’s Eve, on New Year’s Eve.

    Whether or not this gig is actually going to happen, we shall see… watch this space.

  • Robots taking over coffee shops (baristas)

    Robots taking over coffee shops (baristas)

    It’s an automation that I’ve expected for a while now, (mainly because it’s simplicity as a task)… and now there’s a real life examples of robots taking over barista jobs!

    In fact there are an incredible amount of robot barista companies currently trading! The big players on the scene include: Briggo, Cafe X, GBL, AAbak, Crown Coffee, HIS, Rethink, and ABB.

    Sure the human element is great, but into the future I think having a human barista will be regarded as a luxury while the robots take over!

    Briggo’s real-life example, which still looks more like a coffee machine than a coffee shop:

    https://youtu.be/jpyo5a7QBB8?t=29

  • My Concise Politics Review of 2019

    Politics: I’m not sure what politicians actually did apart from blabber on about Brexit all year. It’s like it was another year off from real work for them.

    General election: The intelligent/informed liberal-ish class underlined that voting for Conservative was going to be disastrous considering the current government and the push for Brexit from their side.

    However, the masses were tipped towards Conservative voting because the Tory advertising and marketing strategies were (unfortunately) a lot stronger than the alternatives. They promised to finalise Brexit ‘fast’ (an easy win for Brexiteers), and convinced the masses that the alternative (Corbyn) was an ‘evil’ person.

    At this stage all we can do is hope and pray that things go vaguely smoothly into 2020 and beyond as we get slowly cut off from the EU.

    PM Boris’ Xmas message by Joe.co.uk sums up his victory:

  • How long after Christmas day can you keep on playing Xmas music?

    How long after Christmas day can you keep on playing Xmas music?

    It’s something I’ve always wondered. Christmas music – should we stop playing it the day after Christmas Day? It seems a bit harsh doesn’t it?

    Is it permitted to play it all the way up until the Christmas tree gets thrown out? And should we decrease the number of Christmas-related songs played after Christmas day until January kicks in?

    I think the reasonable answer is to have it on in moderation until January (moderation being one of my life rules). Best to keep it varied and not too intense to save our souls and keep us from all going mad.

  • Santa meets streetball

    Santa meets streetball

    The Professor presents Santa… playing incredible basketball. Love this guy.

  • Merry Christmas (deepfake)

    Merry Christmas (deepfake)

    Merry Christmas one and all from me and the family! In keeping with 2019, this festive picture is a deep-fake version of Santa!

  • Next level busking

    Next level busking

    This guy takes street busking to a whole new level:

  • Big thanks to Tim Ferriss

    Big thanks to Tim Ferriss

    I have to thank this guy via a blog post as I don’t think there’s a way to thank him in person.

    Basically Tim has been a guiding light over the last 10 years! He has imparted so much life and business knowledge, and so many hacks that I owe him big time.

    Ever since I left the corporate rat-race system and started up on my own, his key publication The 4 Hour Work Week has worked wonders. Not that I work for 4 hours a week, but just that the philosophies and practices within have been inspirational and enlightening.

    Tim has continually pushed the boat out to impart with more and more wisdom and knowledge through interviewing the most powerful and fascinating people in the world.

    So thank you Tim as you have formed a huge part of my learning over the last ten years! Here’s to even more into the future.

    *If you ever want to learn how to DJ or visit the UK again let me know and I’ll sort you out!