Life – wastedmonkeys

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

Fri, 28 Mar 2014 10:42:19 +0000

An amazing list of 30 things to stop doing to yourself.
Read the article: 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

]]>

The real use of money is to buy freedom

Tue, 24 Dec 2013 15:26:00 +0000

As the founder of a profitable software company, I happen to make more money than most office-goers of my age. There’s no shame or pride in admitting that. I don’t dislike money. Having quite a bit of it is simply a fact. Though there must me many thousands of people who have enormously more money than me, I consider myself lucky to have more than I need right now. However, more than the money, what fascinates me is the nature of money, its ubiquity and how our behavior gets unknowingly influenced by it.

Read the article: The real use of money is to buy freedom

]]>

Lifestyles of the Young, Rich, and Homeless

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 18:31:31 +0000

We arrived in New York City with no real plans. It wasn’t until then that I thought about all the favors my friend must have done for others; all the experiences he must have shared that had allowed him to build up social capital—so much so that he always had a couch to crash on, anywhere he went.

Read the article: Lifestyles of the Young, Rich, and Homeless

]]>

Unconditional Basic Income

Thu, 18 Jul 2013 05:32:01 +0000

The digitization of our economy will bring with it a new generation of radical economic ideologies, of which Bitcoin is arguably the first. For those with assets, technological savvy, and a sense of adventure, the state is the enemy and a cryptographic currency is the solution. But for those more focused on the decline of the middle classes, the collapse of the entry-level jobs market, and the rise of free culture, the state is an ally, and the solution might look something like an unconditional basic income. Before I explain why this concept is going to be creeping into the political debate across the developed world, let me spell out how a system like this would look…

Read the article: Unconditional Basic Income

]]>

What do others think of me

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:43:00 +0000

Civilization, which is held together by a fragile web of tactful phrasing, polite omissions and white lies, would collapse in an apocalypse of bitter recriminations and weeping, breakups and fistfights, divorces and bankruptcies, scandals and resignations, blood feuds, litigation, wholesale slaughter in the streets and lingering ill will. […] Hearing other people’s uncensored opinions of you is an unpleasant reminder that you’re just another person in the world, and everyone else does not always view you in the forgiving light that you hope they do, making all allowances, always on your side. There’s something existentially alarming about finding out how little room we occupy, and how little allegiance we command, in other people’s heads.

Read the article: I Know What You Think of Me

]]>

Consumerism and Investments

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 14:03:51 +0000

Realize that happiness comes from accomplishment and personal growth, rather than from luxury products. Seek out voluntary discomfort as a way to become stronger, rather than running from it. Develop a healthy sense of self-mockery, and acknowledge that you are a wimp in many ways right now (and only by acknowledging it can you improve). Practice optimism. And of course, ride a bike.

Read the article: Meet Mr. Money Mustache, the man who retired at 30

]]>

Life

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 17:38:19 +0000

Last week there were two deaths, close together; one, a class mate of mine from my school and college days; the other, a senior colleague, recently retired. Both untimely and both sudden. When in the thick of work, with the hours rushing by, as I get engrossed in files and meetings, the thought of the fragility of life never enters my mind. And why should it, I wonder: there are certain duties assigned to each of us and performing these duties is at the core of the meaning of life, as I see it. And so I, living life from minute to minute, caught in the moment, ignore tomorrow, ignore the uncertain and the unknowable.

Read the article: Our precious lives

]]>

Power of Simplicity

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 06:46:06 +0000

Blaise Pascal once famously ended a letter with an apology: I’m sorry that this was such a long letter, but I didn’t have time to write you a short one. Computer science has pretty much the same problem. It’s a young field, and young fields are messy. They get weighed down with excess Jargon. There are multiple names for the same ideas and the ideas themselves are often snarled together. It’s a complicated science, because we haven’t had enough time to make a simple one.

Read the article: Pascal’s Apology

]]>

Nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do.

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:04:48 +0000

“Nothing is withheld from us what we have conceived to do.”

Read the article: An Unexpected Ass Kicking

]]>

Procrastination: Thinking about thinking

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:30:28 +0000

Thinking about thinking, this is the key. In the struggle between should versus want, some people have figured out something crucial – want never goes away.

Capable psychonauts who think about thinking, about states of mind, about set and setting, can get things done not because they have more will power, more drive, but because they know productivity is a game of cat and mouse versus a childish primal human predilection for pleasure and novelty which can never be excised from the soul. Your effort is better spent outsmarting yourself than making empty promises through plugging dates into a calendar or setting deadlines for push ups.

Read this article: Procrastination [You are not so smart]

]]>