In Seattle, there was a peculiar thing that happened in the late 80s and early 90s. The weather was always wet, the skies mostly gray, and the streets slicked with rain and possibility, though neither one seemed to go anywhere. And so it was, in the birthplace of grunge—when the amplifiers hummed with distortion and…
Author: Aiden
Crime as a Service (CaaS)
Governments, in their endless discourse on law and order, position crime as an ever-present social ill—an inherent flaw in the human condition, to be tolerated, managed, and occasionally suppressed. This narrative is comforting in its simplicity. It suggests that crime emerges organically from the social fabric, as natural as disease or poverty. But this is…
The Censorship Machine
The state, in its ever-expanding quest for control, has constructed a repressive apparatus that thrives on the unlimited exploitation of taxpayer money. This apparatus is not designed to serve the people, protect their rights, or uphold the law. No, its true purpose is far more sinister: it exists to censor the truth, to silence dissent,…
Hard and Paranoid
You’ve got to be hard. Life doesn’t hand out participation trophies. Those easy answers you crave? They’re garbage. They’re for the weak, the complacent. They make you soft, and there’s nothing more shameful than settling for mediocrity. If you’re content with half-assed efforts, you might as well throw in the towel now. Real achievement, real…
Hiring Talent
I heard from my buddies in HR that hiring tech talent has become like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But it’s like someone dumped another haystack on top of your haystack. And then they threw in some extra needles just to mess with you. Since Trudeau turned on the labor faucet, it’s…
Tax the Rich
Here’s something that’s been on my mind. You know how when you’re young, you’ve got all this energy and enthusiasm, like a brand new Duracell battery right out of the pack? Well, there are some folks out there, big corporations, government bodies, sneaky intelligence agencies, who look at that energy and think, “Hmm, how can…
Occupation Strategy
Once upon a time, in the tidy, manicured world of Wall Street, where the power-suited demigods of finance strolled to the tune of money-making symphonies, an unsettling rumble sounded. A discordant note had been struck in this harmonious capitalist symphony and was ready to wreak havoc. It came in the form of the Occupation Strategy,…
How to Make $500,000 a year
Hey folks, let’s have a chat about being a social media manager. Now, you’re in your office, maybe a cubicle, making a cool $100,000 a year, managing posts, tweets, hashtags, and the whole social media parade. One day you start scratching your head when you realize something interesting – your work, your efforts, are actually…
Working with Authority
You know, the CIA and I, we have a lot in common. We’re both misunderstood, we both work in secret, and we’ve both made some questionable decisions. But while my questionable decisions usually involve attempting to deep-fry a Twinkie at 3 am, the CIA’s include “enhanced interrogation techniques.” Now, I don’t know about you, but…
Equity
A punk anarchist long ago taught me about equity. He hated anything successful or beautiful. Instinctually he wanted to destroy it so it was made equal to everything broken and ugly. When he saw something well made, he raged inside that something so good existed in contrast to his wretched life experiences, and he revenged…
Passive Tolerance of Whatever
Back when I identified as an anarchist, I would look for ways to get revenge upon my enemies. For example, if someone gave out inferior candy at Halloween, they were sure to get their mailbox smashed. Or if someone was so stupid as to announce they were voting against a politician offering us all free…
Death By Pleasure
Taylor was working in Colombia. Bogotá is a bright city upon a mountain. Combined with its equatorial setting, the weather is crisp, sunny, and identically moderate all year round. Those who like their women surgically enhanced enjoy their time in Colombia. Steve visited Taylor’s hotel room the night before the concert. “Taylor, check out what…