I had a coworker at my first software job who, despite being a friend, was also insensitive and demeaning on more than a few occasions, not just toward me but also toward others. He was very technically capable, and for that reason it was hard to dismiss his technical criticism. However, one day I was […]
Reflections on Cloud Computing and Monthly Expenditures
A large portion of the software and IT industries have refocused in recent years on “cloud computing”, a term that refers to running things over the internet instead of on premises. I believe this buzzword originated from the practice of representing the internet as a cloud on old network diagrams. I’m not a huge fan. […]
The System is Always Right!!!
These are brief, scattered, cynical thoughts, but I wanted to write them out. I’ve noticed that people who did really well in school are very quick to defend the educational system, and it’s like, “Yeah, of course you enjoyed it – it worked for you”, whereas many other people had very different experiences and consequently […]
Brief Thoughts on Spreading Yourself Too Thin
I’ve been reflecting on what I’ve accomplished this past year, and while I read several books that were great, I also feel that I didn’t focus enough on the books I had, as several remain unfinished. Most interesting of these books were a few I had on the Tibetan language. After my first trip to […]
Digital Clutter
My inbox recently reached 1,000 emails. This is unprecedented, as I’ve always cleaned my inbox around the 500-700 email mark. But I let it get out of hand this time. Cleaning this stuff is no joke. Behind every email, behind every file, is the latent fear that losing access to this one piece of information […]
Thoughts on Shifting Careers
I feel like half the battle of life is just turning up, and the other half is finding the way forward. This isn’t a very philosophical understanding, but it feels pretty real to me. After 9 or 10 month of voluntary unemployment, I’ve finally made the decision to shift careers. Despite being a software developer, […]
Reflections After One Week of Using Linux
I’ve been using Linux Mint on my new (used) laptop for the past week, and I have to say, I’m pretty happy with it. Desktop tooling and options have expanded dramatically over the past five to seven years, or maybe Mint was always this customizable and I didn’t know because I was using Ubuntu in […]
Supporting Businesses vs. Wasting Your Money
One of the arguments against the FIRE community and seemingly radical savings is that if everyone stopped spending money, the economy would collapse. It’s an interesting argument, but it’s not showing the whole picture, and while it’s not wrong for this reason alone, it’s an argument often presented by people who are terrible with money […]
Brief Thoughts on Voting
I’m trying to do my civic duty and fill out my ballot for this year’s Colorado election, but it’s a royal pain in the ass, even after dragging my feet for a solid week or so. Some elections only have one or two items, but this year it’s a laundry list of drugs, alcohol, and […]
Escape Velocity: Getting Your Savings to Actually Work for You
When I was in high school and college, I was “good” with money. I spent very little on myself, never bought things like DVDs or other entertainment media, and rarely bought expensive things. But strangely, this was never enough. Despite saving most of my birthday and Christmas money, my first semester of college wiped out […]