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Cake day: November 4th, 2023

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  • My dad died while I was in grad school (pancreatic cancer). He was the sole breadwinner for our household - it was a real wakeup call, but I also realize in hindsight that he probably negatively impacted my personal growth. I thought, while he was around, that supporting the family business would be a viable career path, but it was mismanaged and I disagreed with decisions he would make. Instead I have had a successful career in consulting and with large corporations. There was an interim period where I did manage the business, but ended up shuttering it/liquidating. It also resulted in my siblings getting full rides to compete their undergrad. I think in our case, experiencing the bottom fall out motivated us to not miss our shot.

    I do miss him, but I can’t help but think it was for the better.











  • The Librem 5 is a Linux phone that the reviewer tried to use as their daily driver for a week. However, they found several issues that made it impractical for regular use including poor battery life, a subpar camera without basic features, and lack of compatibility with many popular apps. The reviewer also noted problems with the phone randomly powering off and convergence mode with the next dock being unstable. While the reviewer thought the Librem 5 was a cool device, they ultimately decided it was not ready to replace their main phone due to these limitations and instability issues. The reviewer expressed interest in reviewing other Linux phones if provided to them.



  • Ai summary because it seems like folks aren’t reading the article:

    The study finds that threatening anti-piracy messages aimed at deterring digital piracy have the opposite effect on men, finding they increase piracy behaviors by 18% in men. However, such messages can reduce intended piracy in women by over 50%. The research also showed educational messages had no impact on intended piracy for both men and women. Notably, those with more favorable views of piracy saw even higher increases in intended piracy when exposed to threatening messages. The findings suggest anti-piracy groups should tailor their messages for different genders and consider alternative educational approaches to avoid unintended consequences like increasing piracy.

    Seems like threatening messages specifically drive piracy up in men, but not for women. If you have a favorable view on piracy then the aggressive ads make it more likely that you’ll follow through.

    It’s pretty much saying that the industry may want to reconsider the way they frame their warnings because it may actually be influencing people to take action.





  • Second video summary:

    The video discusses how disposable vapes reflect the priorities of contemporary capitalism. It explores how industries are increasingly designing products and services to cultivate addiction and eliminate consumer choice. This includes tactics like the razor and blade model, restrictive patents, and subscription services that lock customers into long-term relationships. While governments regulate some addictive products, they often fail to curb exploitative practices that undermine competition. Disposable vapes exemplify how corporations have optimized business models around addiction and behavioral manipulation.

    Something interesting this passage highlights is how companies in diverse industries from vaping to software to insulin have adopted similar strategies originally used by industries like tobacco and gambling. These strategies are designed to establish captive customer bases through addiction, lack of alternatives, and high switching costs.


  • First video summary: The video discusses vaping and analyzes its health effects compared to smoking cigarettes. It explains how vapes work on a technical level by heating liquid that contains nicotine. Nicotine is highly addictive as it affects the brain’s reward system and causes a rapid release of dopamine. Newer vapes use nicotine salts which allow for higher nicotine levels without throat irritation, potentially increasing addiction risks. While vaping may be less harmful than smoking, it still delivers nicotine which can have long term health impacts and is particularly concerning among youth. An interesting point was how nicotine salts allowed vapes to satisfy nicotine cravings more effectively like cigarettes, fueling their rise in popularity.