Saturday-Pentacle – Week 28 – 2019

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Saturday-Pentacle – Week 28 – 2019

A service I’m excited about

Google Fi – Formerly known as Project Fi, Google Fi aims to provide a multifaceted solution to Mobile Network Coverage and Plans.

To make it more understandable – On Joining Google Fi service your device (Fi compatible – most Nexus or Pixel devices) will have access to not only one but three networks and it will automatically connect to the fastest one available. Plus whenever a faster Fi secured WiFi network is available, it will use that to connect you to the network. Plus you can go to other countries as well and easily use Google Fi to connect to the fastest network available there.

The second feature of this is the layer of security you get to prevent you from social engineering attacks.

The article I shared below (3rd point today) on digital security, talks about this service in details, so read that as well.

As of now, in India, the Google Fi is quite expensive (around $70 a month for a user). But hopefully, they’ll bring it down to a reasonable level ($10-20 a month) as Indian markets are already flooded with cheap networks.

Nonetheless, a smart service from Google to look forward to.


My most popular Instagram post recently

Turning back from the hills!
.
…Click the photo below to read the entire story.


An article I found fascinating —

Great Article on Security with Security keys (advance digital security) – If you have a mobile phone, you already have a vast digital life which is knitted in dangerous situations more than we know and think. This article goes to lengths to talk about the dangers and how to prevent them or deal with them if we are exposed to them.

For example – Using a physical security key on your device or using a password manager religiously.

There is a lot to learn from this article and apply immediately to our digital lives.


A video guide I found immediately useful —

A quick guide to CLEAN YOUR CAMERA SENSOR – No non-sense guide to clean your camera’s sensor (a very sensitive and super important piece on your camera). Found it really useful while cleaning my Nikon camera.


Quote I’m pondering on lately – 

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday and avoiding today.

Wayne Dyer

Until Next Saturday!

Thanks for reading.

Himanshu

A couple of things I could use your help with:

  1. Have a relevant topic, which I should be covering? Write to me directly or fill out this form and let me know.
  2. Join my reader’s list – It helps us a lot when you become a subscriber, it smoothens you experience on Lifestyle Architecture Lab. Being on the email list provides you additional benefits like some exclusive content, webinar’s, free goodies and all of it will be FREE. Please click the link above to join now or put your email address in the below box and hit subscribe.


No spam, ever. Only great stuff.

Saturday-Pentacle – Week 28 – 2019

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Saturday-Pentacle – Week 26 – 2019

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Saturday-Pentacle – Week 26 – 2019

A recent episode from my podcast

Episode 9 – Monica Becerril Ugalde – Crossing Borders, Running Mountains and being in the now.

Monica B. Ugalde

In this episode, I’m talking to Monica Becerril Ugalde, who is an ultra trail runner and Head of Marketing at Unived.in. She is a Mexican Immigrant who lived in Oregon in the United States before moving to India. She is the wife of my friend Amit who has also been on the podcast. They are a real power couple.

Monica has done multiple ultra trail races ranging between 50 to 60km of distance. She has won the podium positions for many of these races. At the core, she is a conscious human being and a vegan.

In this episode, we talk about her story. Being a Mexican immigrant in the US and eventually moving to India and now doing what she loves and building a vegan brand along with Amit with their great values. This was like a treat to hear her story.


My most popular Instagram post recently

One tree hill!
.
…Click the photo below to read the entire story.


A Conversation I really loved

How to Cram 2 Months of Learning into 1 Day – This conversation on The Tim Ferriss show really got me hooked. Josh Waitzkin, who is the author of The Art of Learning and also is an eight-time US National Chess Champion and has many more medallions under his belt, shared a lot of insights and mind-boggling stuff. Things which might sound impossible to normal humans, this guy does those things.

This episode was a roller coaster ride. Amazing listen.

Check out this conversation video –


An audiobook I absolutely loved —

11.22.63 By Stephen King and narrated by Craig Wasson – After I listened to my first audiobook “The Graveyard Book”, I was thirsty for more. Then I saw this Stephen King book on audible while exploring the gazillion books. I didn’t notice what I was going to undertake. This book is massive. In a book version, it’s a 700 pager book and the audiobook is almost 30+ hours long.

But when I started listening to it, I couldn’t stop. I consistently listened to this book for almost 20 days, in my morning commute and many times in my evening commute as well.

I got to live through the old United States era where JFK was still alive. From the mobile phone era, the protagonist is transported via time travelling to the JFK era to stop his murder.

A fascinating book which left me wanting for more. A great listen.


Quote I’m pondering on lately – 

Never underestimate the ability of a small group of dedicated people to
change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

Until Next Saturday!

Thanks for reading.

Himanshu

A couple of things I could use your help with:

  1. Have a relevant topic, which I should be covering? Write to me directly or fill out this form and let me know.
  2. Join my reader’s list – It helps us a lot when you become a subscriber, it smoothens you experience on Lifestyle Architecture Lab. Being on the email list provides you additional benefits like some exclusive content, webinar’s, free goodies and all of it will be FREE. Please click the link above to join now or put your email address in the below box and hit subscribe.


No spam, ever. Only great stuff.

Saturday-Pentacle – Week 26 – 2019

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Saturday-Pentacle – Week 30 – 2017

Saturday-Pentacle, Week 30 Issue


“Saturday-Pentacle”

Saturday-Pentacle - Week 21 - 2017


App of the week –

Pocket

This is my favourite app for ‘Read it Later’ purpose. For example – If I’m reading any article on the interwebs (internet), so I just need a pocket chrome extension for 1 click save that article to Pocket. So that you can get back to that article later for later reading.

This app is silky smooth and comes with good functionality like dark mode for reading on a pure black screen, brightness adjustment (on iPhone and Android apps) and also other display settings like changing the reading font, font size, line space etc.

Once you use it, you’ll feel like never reading an article on any site, you’ll always want to save it to the Pocket app and read it from there.

Just in case if I got you curious, you can go check out this app –


My most popular Instagram post recently

Turning back from the hills.

As I stood there in the midst of the road leading to the city. The hills were right behind me, it was ethereal the way the clouds were striking into these hills and making the whole atmosphere moistly cold.

Should I turn around and just get lost in the hills and never go back? My heart thought.

You’ll be free from the prison of a concrete jungle where you are chained to the rhythm, cutting your life short day by day in this vicious circle of eat, sleep, work repeat! Heart whispered again inside me.

But taking a deep breath and then exhaling into a sigh, I turned back…back from the hills.


Article(s) I’m enjoying (and pondering)

The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence – If you are interested in what future hold and want to learn in detail about AI (Artificial Intelligence) then this long article is for you. Tim Urban of WaitbutWhy.com has written this article in 2015. But till today it feels like reading something completely mind boggling. There is a lot (like a lot lot) of knowledge put in this article.

Summary of the article This article can’t exactly be summarized because there is a plethora of topics covered, but or a very broad level it argues on how the progress of human growth has always been exponential instead of linear and we might just be sitting at the edge of a curve where a life altering human progress boom might be brewing. Tim also talks mainly about AI and how it can be so intense that serious people like Elon Musk are also terrified by AI. AI’s calibre has three major categories as defined by Tim in this article –

1) Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI): A Weak AI, Artificial Narrow Intelligence is AI that specializes in one area. Think of it as a robot who knows how to defeat someone in a chess game but that’s the only thing it knows.

2) Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Sometimes referred to as Strong AI, or Human-Level AI, Artificial General Intelligence refers to a computer that is as smart as a human across the board. This is where the problem starts and where AI may be a curse in disguise. That’s the point where job cuts may happen and machines start replacing humans in a workplace.

3) Artificial Superintelligence (ASI): Oxford philosopher and leading AI thinker Nick Bostrom defines superintelligence as “an intellect that is much smarter than the best human brains in practically every field, including scientific creativity, general wisdom and social skills.” This is where terms like immortality or extinction come in picture. Either this level of AI makes the human race better (immortal) or it breaks it and we extinct.


What I’m reading/watching/listening to

Elon Musk’s interview with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval at the NGA 2017 SUMMER MEETING – As you guys know already, I’m an admirer of Elon Musk and really appreciate what he’s doing in the world of technology (software & hardware). He is the real Iron Man of our world, literally the version similar to what Robert Downy Jr. played in Marvel Studio version of the Film. He has a vision towards which he works, he loves to solve problems and doesn’t have boundaries of domain when he’s trying to solve a problem. Like Paypal solved a big cross border transaction problem, Tesla solved a fuel problem, SpaceX solved the problem by being able to commercialize the Space Travel (well, still a long way to go, but a very good start) or the Hyperloop, which will be solving the problem of road travel by cutting down the times significantly (think Los Angeles to San Francisco in 35 minutes with an average speed of 600 Miles per hour), even though it’s on paper but recently the actual trial started and it’s a step in the positive direction.

So the point is Elon is solving problems which probably would have been solved after a decade or two and that is really fascinating.

Last week when I came across this interview of Elon with Brian Sandoval (Governor of the state of Nevada), it was a treat.

He discussed a wide range of topics including Artificial Intelligence, Tesla, SpaceX, Solar power etc. What I found intriguing was the fact that Elon Musk was urging the government to regulate the development of AI. Because as good as it can be to human race, AI can also become a danger to the human existence, he mentioned.

Elon also answered a few interesting questions asked by some state Governors and the general public.

Please enjoy this treat of an interview.

P.S.: This is an abridged version of the original interview.


Quote I’m pondering on lately – 

“Optimal lives are designed, not discovered.”

— James Clear


Until Next Saturday!

Thanks for reading.

Himanshu

A couple of things I could use your help with:

  1. Have a relevant topic, which I should be covering? Write to me directly or fill out this form and let me know.
  2. Join my reader’s list – It helps us a lot when you become a subscriber, it smoothens you experience on Lifestyle Architecture Lab. Being on email list provides you additional benefits like some exclusive content, webinar’s, free goodies and all of it will be FREE. Please click the link above to join now or put your email address in the below box and hit subscribe.


No spam, ever. Only great stuff.

Continue Reading