Some Sunday reads : I've been curious on the benefits of fasting and the impact on your body and hormone balances. 1. Autophagy is an interesting concept of fasting that benefits the body by eating up your junk cell/old cell and promote new cell growth. Sugar, dairy and caffeine can block autophagy, hence might be best to just maintain hydration and electrolytes during this fasting period. Nobody really knows the time required for autophagy to kick in, but most suggest >12 hrs , the longer the better. 2. Fasting for women might be slightly different based on menstrual cycle. For example : Day 1 - Day 10 : Rise of Estrogen. Fast like a Queen, prolong fasting works best here. Day 11 - Day 15 Fertile period - ovulation starts at day 14. Estrogen peaks and slows down, progesterone increases. The recommended fasting period I’ve seen here is <15 hours a day Day 16 - Day 19 This is the rise of progesterone. Some say fast as you please but I’d be wary as if your progesterone is low, you can trigger a higher chance of being insulin resistance. Day 20 - period Peak progesterone and rapid decline. This is your no fast zone. 3. Balancing hormones do wonders. Estrogen improve your skin smoothness. Too much estrogen leads to cysts, fibrosis, cancer cells, weight gain etc. Progesterone is also called your calming hormone. Pregnancy emotions are due to higher estrogen. PMS - pre menstrual syndrome happens on your week before menstruation as progesterone is on rapid decline. Progesterone also crave sugar which is why we crave chocolate etc during this phase but risky as it it goes below estrogen, it can trigger insulin resistance. Food that are best here are your Omega 3 rich food and good fats. 4. As I was reading on autophagy and hormones, here’s one on releasing happy hormones : Endorphin - Exercise everyday to release endorphins. Other than the well-being benefits, it gives from a "high" from the workouts and feeling relaxed and an optimist. Dopamine - Cross off some items of your to-do list. If you are paralysed on a particular job, do something else - you will get a sense of accomplishment and also have satisfaction and motivation. Seratonin - Do something nice for someone. The act of giving boosts Seratonin which is a hormone that influences learning, memory, happiness, sleep, sexual behavior, hunger. Not enough of it leads to depression, anxiety, mania etc. Oxytocin - hug someone today. Or head to Nostr conference and hug everyone irl. The touch releases oxytocin which can reduce stress and anxiety. 5. Insulin resistance, estrogen dominance are all interesting read and can help you prevent a lot of unnecessary issues. 6. Men produce estrogen and progesterone as well, and women produce testosterone. The ratio of each is diff between men and women. 7. Then there is something on mTor and activating testosterone in men through high impact exercise. I don’t know enough but I read that it’s day and night compared to autophagy and while both are good, it has to be done at diff times for best impact I am not a doctor, these are through online reads and videos and summarised, but I have always been curious on ways to hack health. Feel free to share your input if you have more info.

It’s better to be a pirate than to join the navy. - Steve Jobs,1983

A couple of years back when I took on my first job, one of the first things I did was to buy my dad a new car. My dad has only driven old cars. I remember when we were kids, he had this old Morris Marina and on the way to church there was a thunderstorm, the wiper stopped working and the bonnet flew up covering the window. I have no idea how he managed to pull over and close the bonnet back, but that was probably the best car we had growing up. And so it was really nice to get him a brand new car. He was so happy. After a few months, the new car had a small dent (it happens) so my dad sent it to a workshop for a paint job. Unfortunately at the workshop, a 3 tonne lorry smashed into the car. Coincidentally the workshop claimed to represent the car manufacturer and the police were there recognizing the credibility of the workshop. They claimed to be able to replace all brand new parts as the car was under manufacturer's warranty. I agreed to the repair. Unfortunately they half-cut the car and patch it with another junk car. It only cost them 10% of the insurance amount they filed for the repair. It was fraud and an illegal move but they paid off the car legal inspection to claim it was safe. There are certain angles that you can half cut the car so that it won’t split open, but they did not abide by any engineering rules either. I refused to take the car and filed a police report but they also paid off the cops. I filed 11 reports, and no actions were taken. There was a time I remembered the cops just laughed. And all throughout this time I served the car loan for my dad’s car (and my car) so that my credit scores didn't get hammered. And I also had to pay off the numerous summons under my name and parking tickets the workshop caused me as they were using it. I asked the bank to repossess the car but they could not enter private premises. I spoke to the car insurance and that’s when they told me they had many cases like this and it was a massive car scam. Eventually I took the case to court. I won the case, and was awarded a very decent sum of money as reimbursement. My dad passed away before this so he never knew I won the case. But I soon learned that winning a case and getting the money is two different things. The workshop filed for bankruptcy, as they also defaulted payments to the banks. There is a gov’t insolvency agency who is in charge of liquidation and after 4 years of me following up on the money, they sent a letter 2 weeks ago saying the workshop has no assets and they will not be pursuing liquidation. I don’t know if they were paid off too but corruption is so common here, it won’t be surprising to me. The workshop is humongous, with a lot of tractors and big machinery. Ironically, they are still in operation, just registered under a diff company name. A lawyer friend of mine asked me to go down the path of engaging the courts to hire private liquidators instead. It would be nice to have the money but the thought of another legal process is just overwhelming. I have not been able to decide. Sometimes I want to stand for what I believe in, but sometimes I’m so beaten down I just want to give up and move on.

A splatter a rumble, Bumbershoot barrels of rain

Cosy rainy morning, some bossa nova jazz, a cup of coffee and a very sleepy dog 🤍

Spoke to a bunch of entrepreneurs around the world yesterday for a research I am working on. I was very uplifted by their passion and determination. They come from rural and underserved areas and had a chance to sit in a workshop that taught them a bit of makers skillset and finding value of creation within the community (Makers skillset is both HW and SW). Many failed their first startup but went on to establish different ideas, experiment market penetration, different countries and culture. The fear of failure both kept them grounded and freed them in exploring and learning what they didn’t know. The creations they are working on now are all pretty spectacular, all deep techs that they learnt on their own. I had back to back video calls, and that passion they had in their voice was truly uplifting. If you are stuck in a zone of negativity, if you are struggling, go out there and talk to people who are building out of passion. The humble ones. The smart ones. The resilient ones. Absorb any positivity that you can, to keep moving forward.