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…
Technologically Facilitated National Divorce
Decades ago, Michael Jordan was not interested in ideology when selling shoes, declining an expected political endorsement by saying “Republicans buy shoes, too.” This was just pragmatic mercantilism, not laudatory upholding of civilization that tolerates public discussion of diverse ideas. The situation today is that popular voices offering alternatives to mainstream storytelling are subject to…
Money Left On The Table
Some people in IT obviously earned good money, but how they earned it was unclear. Top talent was often well paid, but not rich, while those who received millions in stock were often mediocre and seemed to be lucky to get free money because their company was acquired. An organized approach for using talent to…
Antiwork Censorship
I’m all for reforming jobs, offices, and workplace practices. It seemed r/antiwork would be the perfect place to discuss ideas about that and organize with similar minded people. It only took a few days to be banned from r/antiwork. Nothing I said was hostile or inflammatory. My thoughts slightly deviated from their narratives and that…
Corporate Anti-Majority Values
Every company wants more customers. Rather than make a superior product by understanding need and then delivering something of high quality, most opt to expand mediocre offerings to all demographics by appealing to the lowest common denominator. This strategy sabotages success by focusing on the trivial, signaling exodus to those seeking thoughtfully crafted tools. Google…
Living in Triplicate
Because of instability and chaotic reactivity throughout society, you have to operate in triplicate for resilience. In addition to your primary career, you need to keep a secondary career in case your specialty falls out of favor and is replaced. You’ll also need to develop a third career as a backup, one which is midrange…
Flaking In Public
I’ve seen others do this, and now it’s happening to me. A wise man once said “Flake it until you make it.” With two job offers on their way, I know I’ll be moving on soon. There’s minimal pressure to complete any of the expected tasks on my project, yet daily meetings about progress still…
How To Invest
Ideal investment markets are so predictable they are boring. Companies regularly hit analyst quarterly projections. Normal returns obviate speculative plays, constraining economic activity to value. Reminded by current geopolitical events, could you in good conscience tell a young person at their first job to invest in a 401k? No one expects the US to last…
Installing Regimes
Regime change by force is a hard job. You have to send troops and weapons halfway across the world to clear out military leaders. Neighbors don’t understand the opportunity others envision from regime change. It’s understandable that regime change by color revolution operation is preferable. Fund a few people to instigate chaos, make accusations, synchronize…
Fear Not The Delta Variant
When I was diagnosed with the Delta Variant, I didn’t tremble in fear about the possible complications of my illness. The weaker I felt, the more I drew strength from awareness of the potent virus brewing within me, ready for dispersal to penetrate flimsy masks that could never hold back the inevitable. Instead of cowering…
Ask For What You Want
The best lesson for job discussions I ever got was from a prank phone call. The core advice is to simply ask for what you want rather than complying with established norms or accepting something you don’t want. Changing jobs is not a time to compromise and begin a new undertaking that focuses on what…