SANTI'S MEMEX

Any time I find myself back in Puerto Rico my brain inevitably wanders back to low powered computing. I think it’s partially because all of the machines in the office(s) I visit here have Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) and partially because of how the sunny weather always makes me want to get a laptop with a matte screen. When I used to live here, I found myself drawing up plans for a lower power PC.

We use the phrase ‘youthful optimism’ almost like a linguistic stopgap. It’s weight somewhere between ‘a fleeting thing to be desired’ and ‘a backhanded compliment reserved for when my juniors get out of line’. I’ve been thinking a lot about the phrase recently, since I started wondering where all the optimistic short science fiction I used to read, 5 or 6 years ago, went. There was Motherboard (nee Vice News) Terraform, which had spit out an enormous amount of great short scifi, along with thematically relavant art, every other week or so.

Tasks for Holiday Trip: Learn to use target performance levels review kettlebell form (am getting worse, which is bad for my back/neck/body in general unless I want to look like a caveman) bring kettlebell with me to MD, learn good strength replacements with the kb. (update: I can do mostly everything if I split things like curls and rows in half, lateral raises I’ll just have to find a bottle or something to fill with water to do, since 35 pounds is entirely too much for that) Notes from The First 20 Hours Audiobook “If you’re not willing to commit 20 hours to a skill upfront, it’s not worth learning (for you)”

I decided in the beginning of 2021 that I would start tracking books I’ve read this year and what I thought about them. I know this would likely be easier with Goodreads or similar, but I prefer a text list. Book: Terminal Beach by J.G Ballard Book: An Astronaut’s Guide to LIfe on Earth by Chris Hadfield Book: Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear

A collection of original and flagrantly stolen ideas that are currently or have recently taken up residence in the more organized parts of my conciousness. Interfacing with the World Machine A giant, globe spanning machine that behaves more like a biological organism than infrastructure. Resilent to changes in government, ecological disaster, and limited nuclear exchanges. The world machine occupies real estate in the closest reaches of space and the furthest depths of the ocean.

Here’s a meeting structure I have found to be very useful for weekly update meetings. It’s a little long for a daily meeting, unless you have a small team. Time Activity 10 minutes On a sheet of paper, thoughtfully right out your completed action items from the previous week, and your action items foe the coming week. Identify any potential problems at the end (three sections, 3 minutes per section) 0 minutes Pass the paper to the person to your left 1 minute Review and mentally prepare to pitch and represent your coworker’s week 3 minutes Explain their week to the group.