Ross Hori

writer | designer | photographer

The Library

The complete archive of my blog posts, photos and updates. You can find out more about who I am and what I do here

When the Earth and Moon fall into sync

Notes
Monday, November 27th, 2023

Eventually we'll reach a state where the same bit of Earth stares at the same bit of Moon. Just like we only see one bit of the Moon, stand up there and you'll only see the same bit of the Earth.

So if it happens the Western Hemisphere gets stared at by our only satellite, in the East they will never see the Moon in the sky. Just hear stories about it. Maybe flickering [keep reading...]

Graphic showing the Earth and Moon looking at one another

The trail guide said “Difficulty: Medium.” I’d like to disagree.

Play: photography, road trips, art etc
Monday, November 20th, 2023

It started off as what I was used to for a "Medium". Steep, not amazingly well made, the odd chain or [keep reading...]

Steep climb up a mountain in Japan

Please stop sharing fake news for “likes”

Update
Monday, November 13th, 2023

Photograph of a blonde woman with a comment about fake news.

If you’re going to share an inspiring quote from a celeb, or a wonderful feel-good story, a couple of words of advice…

  • Attribute it. Tell people where you got it from.
  • Don’t change it to suit your narrative. If the quote was about oranges it was about oranges, not your consulting services.
  • Fact check it. So many fake stories running around, from an autistic kid sorting bins to Steve Jobs composing an essay on his death bed.

You can go for a quick hit and a few likes by sharing the essay Steve Jobs didn’t write on his deathbed. Problem with that is the fact checkers are on your case. Sooner or later the SEO bots and social media algorithms will catch up.

At which point all your quick hit fake shares will work against you.

I hope you’re ready.

Link to content

Is the iPhone SE a worthy replacement for my Android Nokia?

Work: writing, research and design
Monday, November 6th, 2023

My much-loved Nokia 7.2 finally died. It was time to get back on to iOS.

I live most of my life on my MacBook and iPad, so the latest-greatest iPhone wasn't a big draw. All I needed was a phone to carry around and act as a window into my Apple world. The [keep reading...]

Graphic of an iPhone next to a dead android

Crumbling houses are a blight on Japan

Work: writing, research and design
Monday, October 30th, 2023

At some point, Japan must deal with its crumbling housing problem.

You see them from time to time in the cities. Houses (mostly) where the owner has died and either hasn't passed it on or the heir doesn't claim it. Around where I live, they're not empty for long. They get snapped up, flattened [keep reading...]

The first Hyogo Prefectural Office: a beautiful recreation

Play: photography, road trips, art etc
Monday, October 23rd, 2023

One of the local museums recreated the original Hyogo Prefectural Office. The craftsmanship that went into it is stunning, and while it has that beautiful "new wood" smell, I'm sure it will season beautifully in the years ahead.

Hyogo as an administrative region dates back to the 19th Century. It takes its name from the old Hyogo Port, which was subsumed into what became Kobe. The museum's compound is [keep reading...]

Photograph of the inside of a museum with a modern desk and people looking on

Why I still play with Lego

Play: photography, road trips, art etc
Thursday, October 19th, 2023

I bought a Lego Classic set. One of the big ones in the yellow box that looks like a brick.

Every couple of days I dig in and slap something together. No particular purpose to it. It's just a random collection of bricks that slowly take shape. I rarely [keep reading...]

A Lego airplane with a blue body, grey wings and red jet engines

Calvin and Hobbes: bucking the merch craze and staying special

Notes
Tuesday, October 17th, 2023

I love Calvin and Hobbes because it meanders effortlessly between keenly observed commentary on human nature and farce. Sometimes it makes me think, and sometimes I snigger just because it's funny.

But while Bart Simpson had a hit record and you can stay in a Charlie Brown hotel (no, really, there's a Peanuts hotel here in Kobe), the naughty boy and his tiger never appeared on merch. Not official stuff anyway. If you've got a Calvin and [keep reading...]

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I now write notes on my iPhone. Lots of them…

Update
Saturday, October 14th, 2023

Black and white photograph of a Landscape. In the foreground are white apartment blocks partly obscured by trees

Half a dozen alone this morning while I sat in a park. All typed with my thumbs in Apple Notes. They were curated when I got home to a bigger screen and a keyboard. A couple merged, one discarded. This is my new normal based on the past month.

I haven’t decided whether this is a consequence of setting aside “work” for a while to focus on creative writing or the iPhone connecting me directly to my usual repository of ideas (aka Apple Notes).

I shall continue to observe…

Link to content

Why “do nothing” sells your business case

Work: writing, research and design
Thursday, October 12th, 2023

A business case tells a story. It starts with how your world isn't as great as it could be. The hero (you) goes on a quest to make changes to working practices, products, tools and people. Along the way are some challenges, but at the end everything is so much better than it was before.

The story we need to tell isn't a single plot. Not only do you need to show how much better things will be, you also need to show how [keep reading...]

Graphic implying steady improvement overlaid across a solid decline
Photograph of a paddy field in Japan, drained, cleared and with the supports used to dry the rice still standing

Image
Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

After years of looking out my bedroom window at the empty paddy fields, I decided to track them down. [keep reading...]

Is a 15 second attention span really a Gen Z thing?

Notes
Tuesday, October 10th, 2023

Confession: I've been watching scenes from films and TV shows on YouTube.

Not the whole show, just a few minutes. Like the bar fight in Jack Reacher, or the coin trick two-hander between Patrick Jane and Dr Steiner on The Mentalist. It's a condensed hit of entertainment where I know I'm going to enjoy it. 5 minutes well spent, not 2 hours [keep reading...]

Illustration of a black woman sitting in a chair watching a TV show on her phone

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