Category: Life
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My Disillusionment with Science in Business School
I recently read an article written by a political science professor. Professor Liu Jianjun makes a compelling case for his disillusionment with his discipline. Being a former academic myself, I struggled with the same thing before I eventually dropped out. Reading his account, I related to it deeply. I meant to write about my disillusionment…
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Irfmeister’s Minimalist Workout Routine
I worked out through my college, master’s, and PhD years. I started with weightlifting, gym-bro style, with a lot of bro-science thrown in about everything: breathing, pacing, loading/deloading. My life changed for the better when I discovered the Bodyweight Fitness (BWF) subreddit. I started following their recommended routine (RR) sometime during my PhD, and it…
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What Kind of Idea Is Nation State?
I loved Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. It resonated with me strongly, being an immigrant, an exile, as someone uprooted from my tradition. I think the greatest takeaway from the book for me was: “How you act in victory reveals your character.” We see the characters in the book in various situations: where they struggle…
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Camino Didn’t Fix Me
My ex met her ex on the Camino… I always thought it was the most romantic thing ever. So, about a year and a half ago, I started planning to do the Camino. I figured out my leave from work, bought plane tickets, gathered the equipment I needed over time, and trained with weighted backpacks…
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Reverse Management Tips from CIA
For your edification and pleasure, I present the CIA Sabotage Field Manual from 1944. Section 5, in particular, lists suggestions for civilians working under Nazi occupation on how to harm the war effort. Some of them are devious, out right devilish, like forgetting to provide paper in toilets. Others unfortunately remind me too much of…
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Co-dependency in Stereo
This will be a rambling, semi-incoherent post. It’s hard to put into words what I want to write, so I’ll get at it sideways: I’m turning my heartbreak into a playlist and talking about the songs (instead of talking about my feelings like a grown-up). The period from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025 has been…
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The Anarchist’s Guide to Corporate Change
Listening to the Ecology of Ideas Podcast with Alexis Shotwell, I got inspired to write this post. The episode is about getting around purity politics to affect political change, and it has some obvious anarchist inspirations. I found it ironic that I use pretty much the same principles to get things done in my corporate…
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Cake and Taxes
In Denmark nothing can be said to be certain, except cake and taxes.
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Midlife Crisis 3D Printer Saves Memories of Youthful Love
Most men buy a motorcycle or a convertible in their mid life crisis, maybe get a young girlfriend. I opted for a 3D printer. Then proceeded to ask: “What do I do with this thing?” I did have a few projects around the house, but eventually it became clear that the 3D printer was a…
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The Mind is Its Own Place
I learned about Paradise Lost in my twenties when I came across this quote in a Whitewolf manual (I think… or maybe it was an issue of FRP & Magic?). Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell; And in the lowest deep a lower deep, Still threat’ning to devour me, opens wide, To…