Sunday Seven No. 006
Personal Site, Butterflies, and a Campervan
Hi everyone,
Welcome to this week’s edition of Sunday Seven — 7 things I’ve learned and loved.
Last month I shared a few questions from my journal. I have been spending a lot of time thinking about one question in particular:
What is this an opportunity to do that you would otherwise never do?
For me, it has been 3 things so far (and more that I am excited to share soon). The first is writing this newsletter. Seriously, it has quickly become my favorite thing to do. The others include:
Building a personal website
Searching for a campervan
I dive into these in this week’s email.
Last week’s email had an 84% open rate. The top links were Farnham Street’s How to Read a Book (read, 7min) and this song by Susso (listen, 5min)
New to Sunday Seven? Welcome. You can view the archives here.
Without further ado…
No. 006
PERSONAL SITE — This week I launched yashar.is. Let me know what you think. It was built in a day using three simple tools:
Notion to build the site. I’m a Notion superfan and use it for work and life, including planning my recent trip to India.
Super to link to my custom domain.
Namecheap to buy the domain.
Total cost: Notion is free or $4/mo, Super $8/mo, Namecheap $33/year.
Most people build a personal site using Squarespace or Wordpress. I did not need all the functionality those platforms provide, at least not for now. If you’re thinking of building a personal site I highly recommend Notion + Super.
CAMPERVAN — A few weeks ago we started pondering the idea of buying a campervan. Like any hobby it's easy to quickly go down the rabbit hole. Purchasing a campervan is now a question of when rather than if. This 1962 Mercedes-Benz L319D is for sale and an absolute dream (though I am unlikely to buy it). The campervan boasts a 1.8-liter diesel inline-four engine with a 4-speed manual transmission and tops out at 90km/hr. Just fast enough for the highway, though the dashboard compass would suggest you take the roads less traveled. It comes fully equipped with a kitchen, fridge, living quarters, and a lavatory. The wood-finished interior is more akin to a sailboat than a campervan.
Before buying a campervan, I highly recommend renting as we did last year. You can use this referral link to get $50 off on Outdoorsy.
PODCASTS — News of Joe Rogan’s exclusivity with Spotify sent shockwaves through the internet this week. These two articles explain why it’s a problem:
The Open Podcast Ecosystem is Dying by Nathan Baschez (@nbashaw)
Joe Rogan Got Ripped Off by Andrew Wilkinson (@awilkinson)
JOURNALISM — High profile journalists are leaving major publications to start their own. The list is long and includes Polina Marinova’s The Profile (formerly of Fortune), Henry Abbott’s TrueHoop (formerly of ESPN), and Matt Taibbi’s Reporting by Matt Taibbi (formerly of Rolling Stone). Many of them are moving to Substack (the same platform I use to send these emails). What’s next for journalists (read, 10min) by Hamish Mackenzie (@hamishmckenzie) does an excellent job of explaining what is happening in the industry.
QUOTE — “Luck favors decisiveness”.
BURT REYNOLDS — Listen to this short clip of the legendary late actor (2min). Reynolds starred in many films including Boogie Nights, in which he was nominated for an Academy Award. I am surprised to learn that Reynolds turned down playing James Bond, saying "An American can't play James Bond." He also turned down playing Han Solo in Star Wars and a role in Magnolia.
BUTTERFLIES — This is startling. Drones disguised as hummingbirds capture incredible footage of half a billion monarch butterflies (watch, 3min).
Final Words
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Until next week,
Yashar