Do you ever look back and think about all the mistakes you made, all the stupid things you did in high school? Have you ever quit something you loved to stop being bullied? What is it like being away from home and coming back to find your sibling all grown up? Do you still think …
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Interview with Nectome CEO Robert McIntyre – Brain Preservation, Personal Identity, AGI, and More
Robert McIntrye is an all-around smart and interesting dude, and he’s the CEO of Nectome, a startup devoted to preserving the human brain. Last year, I wrote a summary of Robert’s brain preservation talk at the Long Now Foundation: The Greatest Film Career of All-Time He later read it and reached out to me about …
Elton John Concert Review
As I said, in my Bob Dylan concert review, I’ve been prioritizing seeing aging legends while I still can, so getting tickets to Elton John was a no-brainer. Elton is among the top ten bestselling artists of all time, right up there with the Beatles, Elvis, and MJ. In preparation for seeing him, we …
Coming Out
We’re a bit nervous to share this publicly but we’re taking the plunge: Adriana, Kelsey, and I are all in a polyamorous relationship. For many of you, this will not be news. It’s been kind of an open secret. For some of you, it will have confirmed your suspicions. “They sure are close with Kelsey…” …
The Ice Pack: A Pandemic Short Story
She woke up to damp sheets and a pounding headache. “No, no, no… This can’t be happening.” She did stay up later than she should have. The half empty bottle of Jack told her she drank a little more than she should have too. Maybe she wasn’t sick. She willed herself to sit up and …
Sexy or Beautiful? Brains or Looks? What Compliments Do People Prefer? Results of John’s Compliments Survey
What compliments do women prefer from men and men prefer from women? Would you prefer to be called handsome or sexy? Good-looking or beautiful? Do you prefer compliments on your looks or intelligence? In 2015, I surveyed people on what compliments they preferred from the opposite sex. The results were interesting! The text of the …
What Would You Store to Maximize Value in 100 Years? A Thought Experiment
When I was a kid, I used to not want to take my action figures out of the packaging because I knew it would mess up the collector’s value of it. After all, it might be worth a lot in the future! Beanie Babies, football cards, Pokemon cards – these were precious commodities to childhood …
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Notes on Robert McIntyre’s Brain Preservation Talk at the Long Now Foundation
These are my notes on Robert McIntyre’s talk at the Long Now Foundation: Engram Preservation: Early Work Towards Mind Uploading | Robert McIntyre I stumbled across the Long Now Foundation back in 2011 and heard about their 10,000 year clock, a project to design a clock to keep time for 10,000 years (and bring media …
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Dumped – My Short Sci-Fi Story Published in Waste Advantage Magazine
Note: If you’d like to read it in the fancy magazine layout version, it’s on pages 70-71 in the March 2021 issue of Waste Advantage Magazine. “Back in the truck, Casanova.” Matt flashed a smile at the girl. “Don’t mind him. He’s just hating because he’s ‘happily’ married.” My partner Matt Murphy was a smooth-talker …
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Do you See the Rifles? How to Better Ask and Answer Questions
This is from my series on Optimizing Communication. There’s a great scene in Born on the Fourth of July, Oliver Stone’s second film on Vietnam. (WARNING: SPOILERS) Tom Cruise’s character has been told that the Viet Cong are moving into the area. His commanding officer then asks him if he sees their rifles. The pressure …
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