Happi first day đ of 2019. I donât have any resolutions this year, but I hope to continue to follow my curiosity, stay excited, and work hard on things I care about.
By the time you are reading on this Iâll probably be on my way up to montreal đ.
This week Iâve mostly just been spending time with family/friends, reading a bit, and playing some piano.
Piano Jam 2
I recently discovered that Kygo (a well-known DJ) is also super talented at the piano. Iâm in love with all of his piano jams, but this one is my current favorite.
300 Club
I also randomly discovered that there is âclubâ in which you must spend ~20 minutes in a 200° Sauna, directly followed by running naked around the ceremonial south pole when the outdoor temperature is below -100°.
The first observation is that this is pretty crazy and pretty dangerousâŠ. but itâs also pretty cool. As travel continues to become easier and more affordable, it will continue to rise in popularity. As part of this, I think the more adventurous folks will seek out increasingly weird places and experiences to get away from the crowds.
As an aside, I think the way travel has been branded over the past ~10 years is pretty interesting. Many people view travel as a healthier alternative to accumulating more âthingsâ. âAccumulate experiences, not thingsâ. But in some ways this is just trading one form of indulgence for another.
To be clear, I love to travel. But my point is that Iâm not sure we should view it much differently than any other purchase.
Facebook, Privacy, Free speech
We can add this article to the ever growing list of reasons not to use Facebook. Despite all these reasons however, I still have a Facebook and canât seem to delete it quite yet. The main reason for me being instant messaging.
That said, I have been experimenting with Signal for a few months. Itâs a peer to peer, encrypted messaging app and itâs extremely well done in my opinion. The main problem is trying to convince all of your friends to switch from Facebook/SMS to Signal.
If youâd like to try it out - send me a message @ +14016137603.
What MDMA Therapy Did For Me
The author of the article is very clear about this but I want to reiterate it as well. I have never tried MDMA, and it is not without severe risks.
That aside, I am happy to see that it appears we are moving towards sanity when it comes to illegal drugs. If you take a hard look at the two largest risks of trying MDMA, they are probably:
Accidently taking a drug that is much more dangerous.
Taking an incorrect dose.
Getting arrested for possession of an illicit substance.
All of these could be solved by making the drug legal.
Now, Iâm not necessarily in favor of making every drug legal (I havenât read enough about the arguments to form an informed opinion), but it does seem crazy that a drug that clearly changed the quality of the authorâs life for the better is illegal.
Last time I checked alcohol has never been used for legitimate therapy.
I should also add that MDMA is still a relatively new substance (invented in 1912) while alcohol has been around for 1000s of years. By the lindy effect, that should make us a bit more cautious about the former.
Quote Iâm Pondering
âIf you want to build a ship, donât drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless seaâ
Podcast: Talent, Tech Trends, and Culture
Success Academy 7: The High School
Still loving this series on Success Academy.
My general opinion at this point is that success is helping set kids up for jobs where they can make good money and not live in poverty (which is amazing!) but it probably isnât doing much (and in some cases could be hurting) the chances that kids will find a job doing something they love.
Super interesting experiment to watch nonetheless.
Thatâs all for this week. Excited to see all the crazy things that no one could possibly predict that will happen in 2019.
-Taylor