Life on Earth

A: Home Have you ever experienced a “lost and found” situation in a very busy morning? This morning, amidst the usual rush, I grabbed a rental bike on my phone and sped to a nearby station to catch the train to Seoul. The path was covered with fallen leaves in shades of red and brown, which briefly caught my eye. B: The Station After some quick pedaling and a few daring traffic light crossings, I made it to the station on time and dashed six floors underground to the GTX platform (the 112 mph, 180 km/h high-speed subway). But then it hit me: “OMG, my commute card and ID!” I realized I must have dropped my purse somewhere along the bike path. C: The Autumnal Path Thankfully, I’d attached a Bluetooth tracker to my purse—a trusty gadget I’d used for a decade. I checked the app on my phone and saw that my purse was last detected on the leaf-covered path. Should I retrace my steps and hope to find it, or just let it go? It was my first time testing the tracker outdoors, so I decided to give

Tesla: The Safety Curse in the Headlines At a recent discussion on ESG investments, one member in the group mentioned, “I saw a news story making Tesla sound like a burning hazard, with trapped passengers and all. So, I’m sticking with Volvo—the safest car out there.” Interestingly, he also holds Tesla stock, showing just how persuasive media narratives can make Tesla seem riskier than it really is. Figure 1: One Tesla Fire, Global Headlines by Dawn (Yet Again) Hybrid and Gas Cars Actually Catch Fire More Often Here’s the reality: electric vehicles (EVs) rarely catch fire. In the U.S., only 0.5% of 100,000 vehicle fires involve EVs. On the other hand, hybrid cars—those with both gasoline engines and electric motors—carry more fire risk. This partly comes down to design choices: hybrids are about 90% gasoline-powered but still carry all the added weight of an electric motor and batteries, making them heavier and more complex. As a result, recent studies show that 70% of car fires involv

About the Bakery In the heart of Daejeon, Korea, where trains rumble and dreams are baked daily, lies Sungsimdang, not just a bakery, but a phenomenon. This isn't your average bread shop; it's where every loaf tells a story, and every customer becomes part of a culinary saga. This local bakery brand, which has expanded to six locations in the city and serves 10,000 customers daily, reached a revenue of $95 million in 2023, making it the best-selling bakery company in Korea. Here are what makes it so special. Inside Sungsimdang: where the crowds are as constant as the delicious aroma in the air. The Viral Vortex Imagine bread so good, it doesn't just get shared at dinner tables but across social media feeds like wildfire. Sungsimdang's treats are not just eaten; they're photographed, hashtagged, and posted. "Check out these Fried Soboro breads!” becomes the new "I just saw a unicorn!" on Instagram. Aesthetic Allure In an age where everything must be In

The Mega Cafes and Tax-saving Strategies Recently, I came across an interesting article suggesting that one of the reasons for the rapid increase in mega bakery cafes in Korea is related to tax-saving strategies. There is a system in place that allows up to $45 million in inheritance tax exemptions when small and medium-sized enterprises are passed down to children. In particular, in the bakery industry, if the heir works for the business for a certain period and continues to manage it after inheritance, it is known that the inheritance tax can be significantly reduced. Due to these conditions, mega bakery cafes are being utilized as an effective long-term method for reducing inheritance taxes. Pink Muhly in "Pins Coffee" Perhaps because of this background, mega bakery cafes reminiscent of theme parks, rather than small bakeries, are becoming a major trend in Korea. These cafes offer more than just bread and coffee, providing a romantic atmosphere and unique experiences that

AI Development Model and Related Industries 1. Background With the advent of generative AI, industries and professionals are leveraging this technology to create high-value services and products. According to Goldman Sachs (April 2024), the development of the AI industry is expected to proceed in four stages. The recent spotlight on semiconductor companies like NVIDIA is due to their crucial role in the early stages of AI development. AI Development Model Stage Impact of AI on Industry by Stage Stage 1: AI Semiconductor - Strengthening the dominance of hardware manufacturers producing AI-based computer chips - A significant surge is expected due to the rising demand for generative AI technologies Stage 2: AI Infrastructure - Industry focused on cl

Introduction These days, we’re so used to checking the time on our phones that smartwatches feel like a nice-to-have, but not a must. But as phones keep getting bigger, taking them out just to check the time is becoming more inconvenient. This is especially true for people who find it hard to read the hands on an analog watch. That’s where a watch with a bright, clear screen (600 nits or more) can make a big difference. I was looking for a smartwatch to gift a friend and ended up comparing the Xiaomi Redmi Watch 4 and Watch 5. Surprisingly, the newer Watch 5 Active was cheaper, which made me curious. In the end, I chose the Watch 4, and here’s why. Features (Watch 4 vs. Watch 5 Active) First off, the Watch 4 comes with GPS. This is handy for people who enjoy hiking or traveling since it also has a built-in compass. But the real reason I picked the Watch 4 was because of its AOD (Always On Display) feature. Like the more expensive iPhone 14 Pro and Apple Watch 10, the Watch 4’s display

One can think of many reasons why to remotely access a home iMac at work, on a train, or in a resort hotel. You can open old storages archived in your iMac. Or, your portable MacBook becomes powerful enough to run heavy processes such as statistics or many years of enormous file databases. Or, you can even use a Window PC for running MacOS. 직장, 기차, 리조트 등에서 집의 아이맥을 원격조정할 수 있다면 좋은 점이 많습니다. 맥에 보관된 오래된 파일을 열 수 있고요. 오래된 맥북에서 무거운 통계를 돌리거나 수년간의 파일 데이터베이스를 접속할 수도 있죠. 혹은 윈도우 PC로도 맥OS 접속해 사용할 수 있습니다. In fact, it is safer and more economic to manage terabytes of documents and audio/video files in your home iMac with remote access from a portable MacBook that is mostly equipped with slower CPUs and smaller SSDs. 느리고 적은 저장공간을 갖는 맥북으로 원격접속을 해서 테라바이트급 문서와 음성, 영상 자료를 관리하는 것이 더 안전하고 구축비용도 절약됩니다. My Mid-2012 MacBook Air has so much smaller SSD 128G so that I always have to access my home iMac that manages the 20-year-old file database for my research works. Below is how to set up the access wit

한국의 알뜰폰에 관심있으신 분들만 봐주세요. This post is for those who are interested in MVNO (Mobile virtual network operator) services in Korea. 오랜 외국 생활을 접고 한국으로 귀국전에 SKT나 KT보다 저렴한 요금제를 찾고 있었는데요. Even before coming back to my dear home Korea, I studied couple of Korean mobile operators such as the SKT and KT. As they charged more than what it should be, I decided to choose one of the MVNOs. 에버그린 모바일은 복잡한 본인 인증방식으로 인터넷상에선 가입을 원천봉쇄해 놓았더라고요. Some MVNO operators have provided stable services in reputation for years (e.g., http://egmobile.co.kr). That sounds good. But, most of them require my cellphone number to authenticate my ID for application, which does not make any sense to me. No cellphone means no new cellphone?? 그렇게 한참 팩스랑 아이핀이랑 씨름하다가 찾은게 에코 모바일 입니다. 여긴 신청서를 작성하고 스캔 뜬 다음에 신분증 사본이랑 이메일을 보내면 바로 개통시켜 줍니다. After many weeks of struggling with the horrible faxing/i-pin/ActiveX/ID authentication/etc, I was luck to find this operator, http://eco-mobile.co.kr, that allowed me to simpl

Note 1. Double-check the required documents listed below including the photocopies . Note 2. Plan well if you wish to use your passport to  temporarily leave Turkey. You must deposit it for 10 days. The procedure is what you do after your arrival in Turkey. It is not explaining the entry visa that you need to obtain in your home country before your departure to Turkey. As I had experienced in other countries, Japan, Finland, and Estonia, I had to register myself in a local office within 30 days from my entry. In Turkey, the office in charge was the police department that is the largest one in Izmir. Location: İzmir Emniyet Müdürlüğü (Izmir Police Department), Vilayet Blokları F Blok - Konak--İZMİR, Tel: 0 232 489 05 00 As always, it's not fun to wait in a queue for a long time. My longest wait was 6 hours when I was renewing my work visa in Finland. Moreover, you can never prepare it enough, when you visit a government office. Call the office beforehand to know which