Spent the day cooking, baking, and cleaning. The immediate fruits of my labor. 🥖🍞🥐

[Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html)

I still think data is going to quickly move from being an asset to a liability. Especially as people become aware of just how easily your entire life can be reconstructed from a couple of datasets.

Checked in at Ootoya (大戸屋). I should have add Natto.

[Finland is a Capitalist Paradise](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/opinion/sunday/finland-socialism-capitalism.html)

> Finnish capitalists also realized that it would be in their own long-term interests to accept steep progressive tax hikes. The taxes would help pay for new government programs to keep workers healthy and productive — and this would build a more beneficial labor market.

This article true for me as well. Dealing with the US healthcare system as DINKs was stressful enough, couldn’t imagine doing it with kids.

Made some cream cheese kolaches for a taste of Texas. Shouldn’t have quartered the recipe. Will have to try again soon with deeper wells or less filling.

[How millions of French shoppers are rejecting cut-price capitalism](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/04/french-shoppers-rejecting-cut-price-capitalism-nicolas-chabanne)

I’ve said it before, I love the French.

Seeing this awakening of consumers is such a breath of fresh air. For an extra 5 bucks a year, your farmer isn’t going bust and is able to make a living. Totally worth it. No brainer.

> He pictures the brand’s archetypal target customer as “perhaps the couple in their mid-30s, working parents, young kids, highly conscious of the climate crisis, the need to eat healthily, of animal welfare, single-use plastics in packaging, the plight of the farmer … but maybe unable to afford full organic. Well, we’re the answer.”

Guilty on all counts. Great customer analysis.

Back when Macs came with modems built in, the one feature that I thought was super cool but never used was the Print to Remote Fax feature. It was one of those features like "Duh, of course. We can create PDFs. Naturally we can send them over the modem for printing."

Each year around thanksgiving I like to reflect on the year and think of all of the things I’m thankful for. From there I keep a mental note of the "but if only" thoughts I have and use them a base for the next year's goals.

## Family

My family is generally healthy. We’re exhausted chasing a toddler around all the time, but healthy. Before being a Dad, I couldn't imagine the amount of joy this little guy would bring into our lives.

Even though I'm halfway around the world in Japan, I still keep in pretty regular contact with my family. I'm not on Facebook proper, so most of it is actual text messages and phone calls.

I'm also thankful my older in about a month. It's been about 3 years since I last saw him.

## Health

I’m still young-ish and have my health and I’m thankful for that. But I know that my habits aren’t entirely healthy and that will eventually catch up with me as I get older.

## Work

I’m thankful to have a job that pays well enough, is forward thinking, and flexible. I have about as much freedom as when I was freelancing / contracting without any of the stress of doing sales and riding the feast or famine rollercoaster.

While I still really want to have a successful product and “do it all myself” one day, one of the main motivators for wanting that was to have flexibility in how I work. With those nerds met, putting out my own shingle lost some of its luster. Even Johnny Ive has (or had) a job.

## Sense of Place

This year is the first year in my life where I have a sense of place. I moved every couple years as a kid, so I learned to never get too attached to any one place.

This year I got my permanent residence in Japan, which has allowed us to buy a house in Yokohama - in a neighborhood where I feel relaxed when I go home at night. It's super quiet at night and still less than an hour to Shinjuku.

It’s the first time in my life I’m actually planning to be in the same physical location longer than 2 years. I'm thankful to be in the position to be able to buy a home and make a place that Leo can "come back to" when he's older.

2019 has been a good year for us and has given me a lot to be thankful for. I hope that 2020 is as nice to us as 2019 has been.