I used to want every new device and cool gadget. I watched keynotes, preordered things, scouted Kickstarter for the latest and greatest. Now my iPhone is 3 generations behind and I have no intention of upgrading until it dies. I’ve lost count of how many generation behind the iPad I’m writing this on is. I … Continue reading How my relationship to technology has changed in the past decade
Category Thoughts
How I Approach Social Media
On a recent episode of Office Hours, a listener asked about the purpose of social media. Isaac and TK recommended taking a pragmatic approach. Here is my take on what that looks like. Bonus: The blogs I read, newsletters I subscribe to, podcasts I listen to, and magazines I read.
What work/life balance means to me
I have a certain capacity for creative output. That level may increase or decrease over time, but it stays relatively constant day-to-day. You can think of this capacity as tokens that I have available to spend each day. I can either spend these tokens at my full-time job, at a side gig, or on a … Continue reading What work/life balance means to me
Notes on Office Hours: Debate and Unmotivated Friends
1: The Value of Debate, Is Self-Improvement Overrated, and Dealing with Haters Notes: The question: Is debate valuable? I side with TK here on the value of debate. Most debates suck, but there is some value in the format if done well. The Sam Harris/Jordan Peterson debate is a great example of this. There were … Continue reading Notes on Office Hours: Debate and Unmotivated Friends
Series are eclipsing movies
Cameron Sorsby asked the Praxis staff today what our top 3-5 favorite movies are, off the top of our heads. I came up with 3 easily, but none were recent. Then I realized that no movie I’ve watched for the first time in the last four years is memorable. Series are getting so much better … Continue reading Series are eclipsing movies
Sometimes you have to stop what you are doing and climb out on the roof to take a #ManhattanSkyline photo because the sunset is so beautiful. #nofilter
On Jury Duty
I’m very torn on jury duty. I despise politics, I don’t vote, I rarely follow the news, and I think that most laws should be nullified. I’d prefer to be rid of the whole business. On the other hand, I deeply believe in justice and want reasonable, thoughtful people on juries. I’ve so far avoided … Continue reading On Jury Duty
Building a Wide Base of Knowledge
Someone I’m advising asked me this morning how to build a wide base of knowledge across many subjects and disciplines. Here was my answer: The short answer is that you need to be curious. Specifically: Read widely. Ask people what they are working on and dig in to understand. Ask lots of questions. Spend lots … Continue reading Building a Wide Base of Knowledge
They used to make elevators here. Now it is where they make NYC’s subway cars.
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Garden garlic! 👨🌾
Finding Wilderness Within Civilization
I read this article from The Guardian about an ophthalmologist who is spending his retirement living out of a backpack and hiking all around the US. Most of it is only mildly interesting, but I loved this part: The next night, we slept in a copse of gnarled oaks beside a graveyard, a shady grove … Continue reading Finding Wilderness Within Civilization
I was having trouble connecting to my Karma Go device on my iPad. Wasn’t auto connecting to the website to authenticate. So I tried the old http://192.168.1.1 trick (happened to be the device’s IP) and it worked!
Why I Canceled My Medium Membership
I jumped on-board the Medium Membership train back in March, as soon as I could. I was excited about it. I couldn’t wait to see the great content behind the paywall and to see what new features they were going to roll out just for members. Well, three months later I’m cancelling my membership. Here’s … Continue reading Why I Canceled My Medium Membership
Giving to beggars: My policy, reasons, and recent outcomes
I have a policy when it comes to giving to people who come up to me in the street and ask for money to buy food or some basic necessity: I tell them that I do not carry cash (this is the truth, I do not carry cash), then offer to purchase for them what … Continue reading Giving to beggars: My policy, reasons, and recent outcomes
Answer to Logic Quiz
Here is the answer to the logic quiz I posted a week and one day ago. The original statement took the form “If p, then q” where p: “the red car is broken” and q: “John drives the blue car.” The only statement in a)-g) which is equivalent to that is statement c, which is … Continue reading Answer to Logic Quiz
Logic Quiz
Here is a little logic quiz for you: Given this statement, which of the following is correct? List your answer in the comments. (The answer can be any combination of the statements.) Statement: If the red car is broken, then John drives the blue car. a) John drives the blue car only if the red … Continue reading Logic Quiz
Palindrome Dates
I didn’t have time to post about it yesterday, but yesterday’s date was a palindrome! (For those of you who don’t know, a palindrome is something that reads the same backward as it does forward- Yesterday’s date was 01022010.) It was only the second palindrome date of the 21st century. The first was 10022001 (October … Continue reading Palindrome Dates
Day 363 – New Year’s Resolutions
I did a little thinking on New Year’s resolutions today, and they do not make much sense to me. Why resolve to do something that you think will better your life in some way starting at a future date? Whether what you are doing is trying to break a bad habit (smoking, drinking, overeating, procrastinating, … Continue reading Day 363 – New Year’s Resolutions
Day 355 – Calendar Question
I visited my friend David Wagner today, and we drove all around the Huron/Sandusky/Port Clinton area this afternoon. David just got home for Christmas from his teaching position on Bordeaux, France. I haven’t seen him since the beginning of September, so it was wonderful to spend all afternoon and evening with him. If everything goes … Continue reading Day 355 – Calendar Question