Search results for: “gear post”
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Alarm Bells
I think that there are few absolute black and white rules which should be followed by everyone. After all, we’re all different with different priorities and resources. What’s right for me may not be right for you, and, in fact, what was right for me ten years ago may not be right for me now.…
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Thinking About Quality
When you travel most of the time and do it with only a small backpack, eventually all of your travel gear becomes very high quality. You buy something nice, love using it, and it retains its utility for a long time. If you buy something low quality, it breaks or frustrates you, and you end…
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Some March 2017 Life Updates
Sometimes it feels like I take my blog a little too seriously, probably because so many people read it and some of the topics I cover are serious. When it started I literally wrote strange rambles about every nap I took, and now I feel like every post has to have some practical use. As…
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How and Why to Switch to Linux
I switched to Linux a few years ago. Four, I think. It wasn’t my first time— I remember driving with my friend Phil to pick up a Slackware Linux CD in 1997, being very excited about how different it was, and then switching back to Windows a couple weeks later when I wanted my computer…
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When to Maximize, When to Suffice
I’m a natural maximizer. Whenever I do something, my natural inclination is to go all the way. For example, I travel comfortably and productively with just one bag that weighs less than ten pounds. My RV has become almost comical, with marble and wood floors, gold leaf, and advanced security and automation systems. The pitfall…
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Just Sufficing Sucks
It might surprise most readers to know that I actually had a pretty great time in school. I learned a lot, made great friends, and had some very good teachers. There are a lot of positive aspects of school that should be preserved even in alternatives. What I don’t like about school, though, is the…
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Things I’m Not Going to Write About Today
Life has been crazy lately, and I haven’t seen my daily writing habit in months. I have a hundred blog posts written, but I forget exactly where they are, and I remember thinking none of them were amazing. So I’m in that position that I created that habit to get out of: it’s the night…
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Why Obsess About Productivity?
A guy on Twitter asked a pretty good question the other day: “Why do you worship productivity so much? Honestly? (I am currently sitting at a ski hill with an ear-to-ear grin from powder turns.)” I gave him an answer, but I think the question deserves an answer longer than one hundred forty characters. Something…
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Comfort is the Opposite of Training
Being comfortable should be a warning sign. It’s not that being comfortable is a bad thing by itself, but if we agree that growth comes from pushing your comfort zone, then any time we’re within our comfort zone we’re not growing. Whenever you find that you’re comfortable, ask yourself what you aren’t training. The answer…
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Think Long Term to Make Good Decisions
I’m on a Southwest Airlines flight right now, heading from DC to San Francisco. The way food works on Southwest is they hold out a big basket full of snacks, and you take whatever you want for free. None of the snacks are healthy; it’s crackers and cookies and chips. I have to admit, I…
