As far as politics go, I would describe myself as economically conservative and socially moderate. But what about my meta-politics? See, here’s the thing: forming an opinion about specific leaders is trivially easy. You barely even have to think about it. But forming a coherent philosophy of the nature of power is hard. It takes […]
Author: risky
Protecting Your Data in the Mess of Old Web Accounts
I have over 120 online accounts, which is insane. I’m not even the sort of person who signs up for things on a regular basis – I have a natural aversion to opening these accounts. But all it takes is switching insurance every few years, applying to a handful of jobs here and there, or […]
Corporations Are Not Your Friends
Once every great now and then, I try to do a deep search for my name on Google to see what sort of personal information about me is available on the internet. I did this a month ago and was shocked to immediately see my LinkedIn profile in the top 3 results. This was especially […]
Into the Unknown
January. Everything is a countdown to January. It still scares me to think of quitting my job, and it will certainly be expensive, but for all I know, this could be the only chance I have to take a year off while I’m still young. Yesterday I took my first hike of the season, with […]
Wasted Learning
I’ve read many books over the years, and most of those books were not worth reading. It’s likely I might have picked up a nugget or two of knowledge that I now (ungratefully) carry with me, but one of my greater frustrations is just how little meat some books have. Complicating the matter is my […]
*History Intensifies*
I’m building my own book scanner now. It’s basically a PVC rig that will hold two cameras on each side and allow for a book to be placed in the middle. Both covers will be at a 45 degree angle so each page can be photographed in high resolution without damaging the spine. I’m doing […]
Too Many Projects
There are at least 3 people in this neighborhood who collect old cars. One person has about 3-5 domestic cars from the 70s, another has a few French cars from what looks like the 60s, and another has around 4 French or European cars from the 70s or 80s. All but maybe one of these […]
Support Local Businesses?
I spent a good part of Saturday browsing around a mountain town with one of my friends. It’s been a long time since I explored local shops, and it was a bit of a treat. I naturally found myself thinking about economics, what it means to support local businesses, and whether it really matters. The […]
Penny Wise, Pound Nobody-Cares
When I was first reading about financial independence several years ago, I got excited about saving a few dollars on various things. I stopped using fabric softener and dryer sheets (both unnecessary chemicals), switched to powdered dishwasher detergent, and also switched to powdered washing machine detergent, with a few considerations toward making my own. While […]
The Gray Wars
In the early 2000s, Lego did something that possibly had never been done before: they changed their colors. Specifically, they changed the light and dark grays to what are now often called “light bluish gray” and “dark bluish gray”. There were several reasons for this: there were some changes in philosophy within the company, and […]