30 Lessons, Carpentopod, Flag Stories & How to Cold Email
#53 of 10+1 Things | Kochi
I had a very hectic last couple of weeks, which is why I missed sending out an edition last week. I spent some time with a friend in Mumbai, then traveled to Nagpur to attend a wedding. After that, I went to Chennai and took a short road trip to the ancient city of Thanjavur. Back in Chennai, we were greeted by Cyclone Fengal. After some much-needed rest, I finally made it back to my home near Kochi.
Being in India feels so liberating, especially when it comes to mobile data and the overall digital payment infrastructure. Here, I get 3GB of data per day, whereas my plan in the UAE gives me only 6GB for the entire month. Did you know that the UAE has some of the most expensive mobile data in the world, ranking 211th out of 237 regions globally?
Also, a huge thanks to everyone who bought me coffees($1 or ₹75) last week. Your support ,keeps me inspired and helps fund all my writing!
Without further ado, here are 10+1 Things worth sharing:
🎂 30 Lessons
I forgot to mention this, but I turned 30 last week. I feel quite old and fresh but grateful for the experiences and privileges I’ve had throughout these years. I pen some lessons over the course of the year and finally combine them, usually a week after my birthday. So this year, it’s 30 lessons! It's a fun exercise to see my evolving interests and learnings. #2 was one of the biggest learnings I had this year. Which one did you like the most?
⚛️ Fusion Ladder
As you might know, nuclear fusion is often talked about as a technology that could drastically change our future. I found this great guide by Ben James that explains the journey to making fusion a reality. He breaks it down into simple steps called “The Fusion Ladder,” covering everything from how fusion works to the big challenges like fuel shortages and cost. It’s a fascinating read that balances hope for what fusion could achieve with the reality of how long it might take. Definitely worth a look if you’re curious about what’s next for energy!
🐜 Carpentopod
Found this cool project where someone built a walking coffee table called the Carpentopod. It has 12 legs that move smoothly, inspired by intricate designs similar to Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests, which I had shared a few years back. The table is crafted from laminated bamboo, giving it a natural yet futuristic vibe, and houses motors and electronics in a curved central compartment. It’s controlled remotely and can walk around carrying items—imagine it bringing you a drink! The creator has shared the leg mechanism for DIY builders but has kept the unique table design protected. It’s a fascinating blend of art, engineering, and functional creativity!
🛠️ Most Interesting Tech
I had bookmarked this discussion from last year, but I finally got around to browsing through it. People shared the most interesting tech they’ve built for personal use—one created a system to help their grandmother with dementia by rerouting repetitive calls to different relatives, while another fixed their EV’s clunky interface with a custom app. A blind developer built tools to improve screen reader navigation, and someone else made a site to discover hidden travel gems using a huge destination database. I loved this one! So many crazy yet unique ideas to solve personal hurdles—it’s inspiring to see what people come up with.
📚 Chasing the Monsoon
While I was in Chennai last week, it got hit by storm 'Fengal.' Being a rain lover, every time it rains, I feel a wave of nostalgia for the monsoon rains of my childhood. While technically not monsoon, it led me to pick up Chasing the Monsoon by Alexander Frater again—a fascinating travelogue about his 1987 journey chasing the Indian monsoon, from its dramatic arrival in Kerala to its end near the Bangladeshi border. I haven’t seen this book mentioned much, not sure why—maybe it’s the nostalgia it brings—but I love the sentences and quotes in it. It makes me feel like I’m in Kerala when the monsoon hits, ironically while living in a desert city most of the year.
“As a romantic ideal, turbulent, impoverished India could still weave its spell, and the key to it all - the colours, the moods, the scents, the subtle, mysterious light, the poetry, the heightened expectations, the kind of beauty that made your heart miss a beat - well, that remained the monsoon.”
~ As always, resurfaced by Readwise, a FREE tool that let's you remember what you read!
Last Week's Read: How Buildings Learn (Still Reading)
🚩 Flag Stories
I had so much fun exploring this interesting visualization called Flag Stories by Ferdio. It dives into the design and history of national flags, showing trends like the most used colors, layouts, and elements across continents. There are sections on how old flags are, how often they’ve changed, and even comparisons of similar flags. My favorite part was the "Flag Tetris" and the breakdown of dominating flag colors worldwide—it reminded me of Fun with Flags by Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory!
🗂️ Brick My World
I came across this cool project on Kickstarter called Brick My World that turns real-world objects into buildable LEGO models. The app uses your phone to scan objects and transforms them into designs you can build with classic LEGO bricks, complete with step-by-step instructions and a parts list. It’s perfect for anyone who loves LEGO but finds custom designs too tricky. The team behind it is a mix of LEGO fans and tech experts, and they’re planning to add even more creative options in the future. It’s a fun way to bring everyday objects to life in LEGO form!
✍️ How to Write a Cold Email
I enjoyed reading this small piece by Sriram on crafting effective cold emails. He emphasizes keeping them short and engaging, introducing yourself clearly with either your credibility or a body of work, and offering value through thoughtful ideas or relevant responses. He also highlights the importance of having a specific, low-effort ask to make it easy for the recipient to respond. A simple and practical approach to making cold emails impactful!
🌶️ Tarri Poha
I was in Nagpur last week for a wedding and had so much fun eating a breakfast dish called Tarri Poha. While most people assume Indian food is just curry and naan, India has an incredible variety when it comes to regional dishes. Tarri Poha is a flavorful combination of poha(flattened rice) topped with a spicy, tangy, and savory tarri (a thin, spicy gravy made primarily from black gram or sprouted moth beans). It's a staple breakfast dish where the mildly spiced poha pairs beautifully with the fiery tarri, giving you a perfect balance of flavors. It can be a bit spicy, but if you're an Indian food lover, you’d absolutely enjoy it. I even found a decent recipe online if you want to give it a try!
📸 Collective Waste
This week, I’m exploring an art project titled ‘Collectives’ by artist Cássio Vasconcellos, who creates stunning digital collages of abandoned planes, shipping containers, and scrap metal. Using thousands of aerial photos, he pieces together surreal landscapes that reveal the massive scale of human waste. His work, like Collective 11: Airplanes, shows how discarded things don’t disappear—they stay, outliving us and reshaping the world in eerie, timeless ways. These images feel both fascinating and unsettling, reminding us of the impact of what we throw away.
"These photos may look like post-apocalyptic scenarios, but they could be our future. We still have to learn that by throwing things away and taking them out of our sight, we don’t make them disappear. In fact, they keep existing somewhere else, outliving us most of the time.”
🎬 I Typed a Dog
I saw this interesting 1min animation by Japhy Riddle—a delightful creation where everything happens on a typewriter page. It features a dog-like critter brought to life through clever text art, with overlapping characters adding depth. Really wonderful stuff!
🖱️ Worth a CLICK!
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That’s 10+1 Things for the week!
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See you next week!
With Love,
Rishi
“Over the long term, the future is decided by optimists.”
- Kevin Kelly