Misc
Ethics in Tech: On an Issue Particularly Sensitive to Germans
When it’s about learning from your country’s crimes.
#168 ·
Connection to the Environment
On that feeling of being one with everyone and everything that we’re all experiencing.
#167 ·
Empathy
Lack of empathy is not a sign of strength, but a liability for all of us.
#166 ·
New Book: Tara (A Utopia)
A human-inspired, AI-generated, human-edited story about refusing to live in a dystopia—and transforming the world instead.
#165 · · books
Where to Put a Mouse or Trackpad
On a setup that is standard on notebooks but that seems unpopular on desktops.
#164 ·
Prisoner’s Dilemma
On “tit for tat” with about 10% more forgiveness.
#163 · · philosophy
A Moratorium on Men Making Major Decisions
On the many news you’ve read today about a woman or a non-binary person invading another country, driving into a crowd, firing workers to maximize profits, raising taxes for low-income people, denying help, cutting benefits, beating someone up, setting a homeless person on fire, raping someone, making the life of a minority hell, endorsing or escalating a genocide, slashing education funding, or doing other WTF.
#162 ·
On Deciding Who We Are
When a country cannot agree to “advancing a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine” (or other countries).
#161 · · philosophy
On Making Sure Everyone Is Taken Care Of
For our own sake.
#160 · · philosophy
The Donkey and the Rabbit
A rabbit goes for her daily run. This day, she decides to try a new route. At an intersection she meets a donkey. When the donkey is about to eat a nail—
#159 · · philosophy
Private Property
A quote, from Daniel Loick, that isn’t new, that isn’t all.
#158 · · philosophy
Google 2025
There are some things I find weird and disappointing about the Google of today.
#157 ·
2024
Professional and personal highlights from the past year. Happy 2025!
#156 ·
Genocide Dilemma
On what it means that we’re still committing and accepting genocides.
#155 ·
What I Learned About That Difficult Childhood
On a changing—and perhaps transcending—perspective on pain.
#154 · · philosophy
When You Are Rich
On what you do as a person who is very rich.
#153 ·
3 Things to Note About Democracy
If we think democracy can do without education, constructive intentions, and quality candidates, I believe we’re not getting democracy—and risk it.
#152 ·
Everyone Can Set You Up for Failure, Not Everyone Sets You Up for Success
On a conscious choice that we can make, and that we best make sure others make.
#151 · · philosophy
Growth
A rant.
#150 ·
What Germany May Not Have Learned From the Holocaust
No matter who is being violated, learning from a genocide means fighting against any genocide.
#149 ·
On Disagreement
From discomfort that can lead to shortcuts to challenges that may yield transformations.
#148 ·
Imposing on Hearing
On the sense that we may be able to defend the least.
#147 ·
We Always Knew Anyone Could Take Our Content
From “I show your content, but you get the click” to “I show your content” to “here’s other people’s content based on your content.”
#146 ·
Why I Don’t Block AI Scrapers
“The Tortoise and the Hare,” human/AI edition.
#145 · · development
Feed Sources 2024
My current feed subscriptions. (Because, what would we be without syndication on the Web.)
#144 ·
Calling Someone “Too Old” Is Ageist
The “too old” thing needs to stop.
#143 ·
On Title Case
Casual thoughts about my experience with title case, a recent switch from AP-inspired to NYT-governed guidelines, and the respective guidelines themselves.
#142 · · design
On Mass Unemployment
Could there be something like an AI employment apocalypse?
#141 ·
3 Good Reasons for Vegan and Vegetarian “Substitute” Products
On acknowledging forms, maintaining connection, and making it easier to live empathically and sustainably.
#140 ·
The Essence of Veganism
On not having anyone suffer or die for us.
#139 ·
Critical Feedback: Four Approaches and One Twist
Feedback is important so that we can learn and improve. Critical feedback is important to expose, validate, and address areas of growth and development. I believe that fundamentally, there are four approaches to critical feedback.
#138 · · management
Declining 1:1 Meetings Without a Message Is Rude
It happens everywhere, but it sets a bad example.
#137 ·
Highlights From “The Psychology of Revolution” (Gustave Le Bon)
“Men judge with their intelligence, and are guided by their characters. To understand a man fully one must separate these two elements.”
#136 ·
Sustainability Trap
On the need to take and at the same time reassign responsibility for consumption and pollution.
#135 ·
Exploitation
What and who is easiest to take advantage of and exploit, how is that being justified, and what can be done about it? On one piece of the puzzle what the fewest things are that need changing, to change everything.
#134 · · philosophy
Julia and Sybil
The early manuscript of a novel I started in 2015, and that will still take a few years to be finished.
#133 · · philosophy
The Next Adventure
On leaving Germany again, and the next big chapter of my life.
#132 · · adventure
How to Counter Provocation and Rumor
Are there effective responses to being provoked, picked on, blamed, attacked? Absolutely—but they’re not all being taught or shared a lot. A few quotes that I’ve found useful.
#131 ·
On the Well Astonishing Verdicts on Social Media
We may speak anything from 470,000,000 to 860,000,000 words in our lifetime. The tiniest fraction may be too much.
#130 ·
2023
My professional and personal highlights from the last year. (Happy 2024!)
#129 ·
Something to Know About Defensiveness
“The first rule of effective debate, argument, or heated conversation is to never, ever, get defensive.” On what we label as defensiveness, and a story that appears more complete and empathetic.
#128 ·
Why Online Communication Is So Not-Great
Why is online communication so, meh? An approach that considers context, training, and world views, for a much more complicated topic.
#127 · · philosophy
14 Tips for Becoming an Indie Author
After a few books with a publisher and a few more as an independent author, some tips and thoughts on how to publish your own books (if that’s what you’re excited about doing, too). From starting with ebooks to not writing overly much to not using AI tools—all sorts of advice you would or wouldn’t expect to get.
#126 ·
Valve, Counter-Strike, macOS, and How Not to Relaunch Software
Yesterday, on September 27, Valve released Counter-Strike 2, replacing the game’s predecessor, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) on Valve’s Steam platform. But.
#125 ·
Website Optimization Measures, Part XX
Definition issues. Aging content. Debugging. Social graphics. CTAs. DNS entries. SVGs. Filler words. PHP. There’s always something worth tending to.
#124 · · development, optimization
Give
On one-things and lack.
#123 · · philosophy
On Working on Vacation
Working while on vacation can be a sign of extraordinary commitment and initiative. But—it can also be a sign of disorganization and poor prioritization. A few thoughts.
#122 · · management
On Ageism
One may argue that the big “-isms” go back to speciesism, the idea that one was “better” than other living beings, or that others were inferior. With that idea warranting a post by itself, there are two things that make ageism particularly stupid.
#121 ·
Highlights From “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” (Max Weber)
“The modern rational organization of the capitalistic enterprise would not have been possible without two other important factors in its development: the separation of business from the household, which completely dominates modern economic life, and closely connected with it, rational book-keeping.”
#120 · · philosophy
2022
Release of my next book, a new apartment in downtown Hamburg, good news from the football club, a political adjustment, some travels, and preparation for a professional change—some of my highlights in 2022.
#119 ·