tech, startups, internet

Amazon: a new kind of antitrust risk

I’m always on the lookout for things that might knock Amazon’s flywheel off balance. After all, it’s (pretty much) the only public company stock I own. Here’s a good one: “Amazon is the company most at risk from antitrust action, […]

oh, chicago

Are people really leaving Streeterville?

Well, yes. But for how long? “Ald. Brian Hopkins warned of a mass exodus following looting on Michigan Avenue. But it may take more for people to flee the utopia built by Mayors Rahm Emanuel and Richard M. Daley.” | learn more

fun facts

Space mystery: the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua

“In 2018, our solar system ran into an object lost in interstellar space. The object, dubbed ‘Oumuamua, seemed to be long and thin—cigar-shaped—and tumbling end over end. Then, close observations showed it was accelerating, as if something were pushing on […]

fun facts

Pure skill minesweeper

In my teens and 20s I played a lot of minesweeper (the old school Windows game). I’d use it to occupy my “System 1” brain while I did some of my best thinking. “A common situation is that you get […]

on the blockchain

Newsweek in 1995: Why the internet will fail

This isn’t about blockchain, but it’s a must-read complementary pairing to the article above about blockchain being good for (almost) nothing. “They speak of electronic town meetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shift from offices and malls to […]

on the blockchain

Blockchain, the amazon solution for almost nothing

Factually accurate and I think wrong in the most meaningful sense. Sharing anyway! “Blockchain technology is going to change everything: the shipping industry, the financial system, government … in fact, what won’t it change? But enthusiasm for it mainly stems […]

big ideas

The blood of an entrepreneur

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were only 2.5M people here in 1776… and many of those people (or their parents or grandparents) came here from somewhere else.” | learn more

big ideas

An open letter to Paul Graham

A few weeks ago I shared The Four Quadrants of Conformism where Graham writes about independent-minded people and the institutions they tend to inhabit being less hospitable over time. He ended with hope, for the “independent-minded are good at protecting themselves.” This […]

thoughts of food

The top 20 nutrition myths of 2020

Published by examine.com, I think this does a great job of building on scientific literature with a fair and reasoned approach. “So many myths it’s hard to know where to start. Covering carbs, (saturated) fat, protein, eggs, and a lot […]