I’ve always been obsessed with automation. When I had a house I had automatic robot lawnmowers to mow my lawns and a matrix of motion detectors to control my lights. These days I have a simpler life that doesn’t necessitate such extreme solutions, but I still benefit from automation. There’s a saying among programmers: if…

I think that bitcoins are a big deal. Maybe not this year or next year, but within the next five to ten years, I believe that there’s a good chance that they will revolutionize online financial transactions. So I bought some a few months back with the intention of holding them for many years, selling…

I’m always starting (and ending) new habits and campaigns. I tend to write about them when I first start or first see results, but I’m not always good at follow up. Sometimes, too, the progress isn’t really exciting enough to warrant special mention. Today I thought that I’d follow up on all of those that…

I work to be a perfect writer, a perfect friend, a perfect programmer, a perfect son and brother, a perfect motorcycle rider, and a perfect violinist. I also want to have perfect discipline, be perfect at picking where to focus my energy, and be perfect at things I don’t even know how to do, like…

It’s been a long time since I’ve shared book recommendations, but I’ve been reading a lot and have stumbled upon some great books recently. I normally read non-fiction, but I’ve been integrating some fiction as well. I used to think of it as a less worthy use of time, but I’ve since read that reading…

When I was a freshman in college, MP3s weren’t all that easy to come by. I had about a hundred of them, five of which were Eminem freestyles. His freestyles were amazing, but my favorite was one where a DJ would throw him words like “Peanut Butter” that he had to rhyme a few bars…

I’ve had a few friends who’ve gone through quitting smoking. The hard part, they say, is that certain things trigger wanting to smoke. Stressful situation? Time to smoke. Driving a car? Time to smoke. Drinking at a bar? Time to smoke. The reason that bad habits are so hard to quit is that we have…

I have two seemingly conflicting beliefs. The first is that whenever possible, it is best to know the truth. By default I think that we sometimes avoid the truth, and we sometimes avoid giving the truth. In almost every case, though, having a clear picture of the truth will allow you to operate more correctly.…

I’ve talked a lot before about priorities in a macro sense– that it’s a good idea to have one large overriding first priority. In my case, that priority is SETT. So when another really exciting project comes across my desk, I can easily turn it down and just focus on SETT. On a daily basis,…

I have a really strong desire to be the best person I can be. Not in the Army reserves sort of way, but eliminating weaknesses and building strengths. I think it’s a ridiculous privilege to be alive, and I want to make the most of that. I have a human mind, so I want to…