Overview
We've set a precedent as consumers by choosing "free" products over paid products. This fosters an environment that caters to startups seeking acquisitions and data collection, rather than dollars directly from their users. It makes for bad products and short-term thinking.
Overview
Honey bees have a highly efficient, resilient social structure. If we take a look at how colonies operate with and without a Queen, we can see how mirroring this behavior with servers results in a highly resilient network with aspects of P2P (resiliency) and a more common, centralized setup (efficiency, speed and control).
I think it's easy, having been born in the United States, to ignore some of perks of being a citizen. Social security, habeas corpus and the right to an attorney are things that almost appear abstract unless you, or someone close, are directly benefiting from them.
Public libraries were completely ignored by myself for the better part of my life. For me, they were synonymous with poverty or, at best, banal frugality. It was almost as if using the library to acquire a book implied I could not afford the book on my own. It was an affront to my status as an employed male.
Overview
YNAB's 3rd rule, "Roll with the punches", can inadvertently create a habit of pulling money from savings to compensate for overspending. By looking at master categories differently, we can isolate our spending money more effectively and reduce our chances of overspending. This setup makes debt and savings what they should be: sacred.
I became a member of Simple about a year and a half ago. Almost instantly, I was blown away. "Finally someone combined a talented startup with a bank!" Their feature set was light years ahead of competitors, including:
- Push notifications for every purchase; this allowed me to catch someone using my card instantly and shut it down
- One button press to disable/enable debit card
- Advanced meta data around transactions, including percentage allocated to tip
- Maps showing purchases
Now, almost a year and a half later, I've moved my primary checking back to my old Capital One 360 account.
In response to the ongoing NSA debacle, I've heard and read a lot of people discussing “going off the grid”. Examples would be using more cash instead of credit cards, not purchasing things online, using encryption for emails, etc.
This all sounds great, and I respect the intention, but it’s futile.
No end in sight
After the Boston Marathon bombings, the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, made an announcement describing how the two men were on their way to Times Square to detonate more explosives. He and Ray Kelly proceeded to explain how imperative it was to have more surveillance cameras installed and more funding for anti-terrorism measures. When arguing the pros and cons of the recently squashed CISPA bill, a few representatives told stories of Boston and how, if hypothetical counter measures were in place, we could have “prevented” such atrocities from happening.
It’s unnerving to think the US government wants more cameras to prevent terrorism when we are already so saturated with them. Ironically, we as a society are often times rallied into an emotional uproar by watching footage of terrorist attacks recorded by the very same surveillance cameras the government claims are inadequate. Regardless, they have no process for determining what is enough surveillance; they could cover the entire country with cameras only to ask for more when another attack occurs.