Issue 17
Welcome to a previous issue of The Journal. To get the latest issue delivered to your inbox, once a month, sign up for the newsletter here.
Hello from San Franciso!
More exciting news this month, my wife Darya is due with our first child this coming November :). It will be a big change for us, as Darya points out here, but we’re up for the challenge and excited to be parents.
Be well and have a great month,
Kevin
PS. — I’m on Instagram + follow Oak’s Instagram for inspiration!
OURA ring — heart rate variability and sleep tracking
Dr. Peter Attia recommended I try the OURA ring for heart rate variability and sleep tracking.
Being a ring, the OURA is in direct and constant contact with the finger’s arteries (vs. a loosely sitting wrist strap). Because of this, the OURA is able to receive ongoing high fidelity data. For example, the ring tracks heart rate variability (HRV), which is the measure of variation (time) between beats, no Fitbit or Apple Watch today offers this functionality. Professional sports teams are starting to track HRV in their athletes to gauge fatigue. For the consumer, this means you receive a daily “readiness” score letting you know how hard to push yourself.
The OURA also tracks respiration (although this isn’t exposed in the app), body temperature, and resting heart rate. This allows them to more accurately gauge your sleep state. I recently discovered I’m lacking in deep sleep, so that’s an issue I’m working on fixing now.
To see the ring in action, check out my mini-review video, which also gives you a quick app walkthrough.
I recently had coffee w/ the President of the company, mentioning this newsletter. He’d like to extend to you a 25% off discount. I’m not an investor, nor receiving compensation of any kind. I’m just a fan of the product.
OURA Ring ($299-$499)
Video: The 10 big announcements from Google I/O
Google’s annual I/O conference gives us an early sneak peak into what Google will be launching over the next year. As you’ll see, Google is pushing hard into AI/machine learning/computer vision, as expected. If you missed the coverage give this quick 10:50 video a watch.
10 biggest announcements from Google I/O (The Verge, 10:50 video)
“Everything” is an odd, yet awesome looking game
What an odd odd game… Not sure I can accurately describe this to you. Click through and watch the video. This looks to be a great waste of time (in a good way). I’m also loving the Alan Watts audio track.
I found these mini bonsai trees on Instagram
It will likely come as no surprise that I’ve taken Bonsai growing classes. One of the first things you learn is that Bonsai (except for a couple varietals) are largely outdoor plants. The home environment is too dry and the trees quickly die off if kept indoors. This is a huge bummer to those with dreams (aka. me) of beautiful little trees in the house.
Recently I discovered this cool little (startup?) by the name of @mosslight1955. It appears to be a Japanese company building little terrariums for moss and bonsai. According to the translation, they aren’t for sale yet, but definitely someone to follow if you like little trees like I do.
@mosslight1955 (Instagram)
Entire films condensed into single photographs using ultra-long exposures
(Clockwork Orange)
Jason Shulman creates these single image photographs using a ultra-long exposure of the entire movie.
Science spotlight
The month’s best health and science links worth reading:
Contemplation
“However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.”
~Stephen Hawking
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