I was reading an interview one time, with I think Tim Ferriss, and the topic was expensive dining experiences. The gist of the conversation was that he was happy to pay for an expensive drink and food if it guaranteed exclusivity or privacy. The theory was that the higher prices would keep out the general public and therefore the drink and location could be enjoyed in relative peace at a premium price.
I’ve been thinking about this recently. Prices are generally high for everything these days, but there are a few places that seem to charge way more over the average. Discounting those that are obviously fleecing or are in a premium area of real estate and have to cover higher business rates, there are a few places that offer exclusivity and privacy if you are prepared to pay a higher premium for drinks, food, or whatever else it is that they are selling.
In return for a quiet space with ambience (and wifi) I find myself willing to pay the extra as a form of price of admission. Are you?
Category: life
Passing through cold space
I had a weird thought.
I was thinking about absolute versus relative locations and fixed points and how we are all essentially travelling through space on a giant rotating ball. With each rotation our physical bodies are passing through fixed points in space previously unoccupied. Somewhere right now in deep space is a fixed point that contains nothing but extreme cold, waiting for you to physically pass through on a future rotation, occupying it for a brief moment.
Each day we are passing through cold space.
There’s can and should
There’s can and should.
You can drink as much as you want, but you probably should drink, and eat, healthy.
You can watch as much TV as you want, in theory. But you should probably go outside more and enjoy the world and all it has to offer.
Can and should. The freedom to choose what you do. It’s both liberating and a curse. The state of your health and life in general can be broken down into lots and lots of tiny decisions adding up.
You can do whatever you want, but should you?
How long is a piece of string
In the UK we switched from imperial to decimal measurements decades ago. That’s the official line. What actually happened is that we found it hard to switch and even the latest generation are confused.
Stand on the scales and you can report your weight in pounds and stone or kilos. Measure your new carpet in meters or feet and inches. Don’t get me started on how we measure a field.
If visiting the UK and you have a question about measurements, prepare to have a converter at hand.
At what point do you stop spending money on something?
I love my printer.
I took ages buying it. I researched the market, narrowed down to a handful of options then selected the one I wanted. An all-in-one office printer with a discrete loading tray for the paper, quiet operation, flatbed scanner, effortless double-sided printing and cheap ink options.
Then things started to fail after many years of good service. I learned how to clean the heads. Inks stopped working after firmware updates. I had to replace the maintenance box. Inks lasted only a few pages. Money kept trickling through my fingers spent on paper, maintenance tools, and ink.
At what point do you stop spending money on something? When do you decide enough is enough? You are just throwing more money away. If it can be fixed then it’s beyond your skillset or an amount that you are willing to spend.
I hate throwing things in landfills so I’ll probably gift it to someone in the hope they can make use of it. Then disposing of it becomes their problem. Their landfill karma.
I loved my printer.
Home is where my backpack is
I’ve lived out of one backpack or another for many years. As an IT Consultant I had a custom backpack with compartments for laptop, accessories, office equipment, adaptors, chargers, plus overnight necessities, food, water, etc. All waterproof, lightweight, and sturdy. Travelling for pleasure long distance I had a larger capacity bag and a small day bag.
Wherever I was my backpack was my home. Like a human snail. Wherever I stopped for the night or even a few hours, my backpack was my home. You learned to carry only the essentials and nothing else. No luxuries or extras. No backups (that’s what cash and credit cards are for). You have to carry it so you learn to be picky about what you carry. If it can be digitized then do it. A digital copy has zero weight. Books, entertainment, data.
I got homesick a few times. Not just for people I missed but for the familiar. Your own bed, garden, space. It passes though.
These days I still carry backpacks. I have a go-bag for any emergency and a professional backpack for contract work.
Home is where my backpack is.
The team player
It’s a great feeling when you find yourself being part of a great team. Brought together for a common goal, working towards a target, an achievement. Day by day working alongside your comrades achieving each milestone, constantly learning and evolving, enjoying the work.
Time ticks along and friendships grow as you fight on in the trenches together, still delivering, often under tight deadlines with limited resources, yet you hit the targets and the client is pleased. They hired a great team.
But everything must come to an end. Projects complete. Budgets run out. Priorities change. The team is disbanded and everyone goes to the four winds. Temporary ronin until a new master calls, a new team, a new challenge.
Some of us keep in touch. The occasional comms. A brief how are you, where are you working these days? Not the same as when you were in the trenches together working on that fun project up against the clock, delivering, with a happy client.
Nothing remains forever.
Here’s to all those great teams out there. Enjoy the flow while it lasts.
Driving through life angry
Some people drive through life angry
They seem to wake up and are just angry from the outset. Nothing seems to make them happy. They get into their car and just drive angry. Beeping their horn at every opportunity, cutting people up, undertaking and overtaking, often over the speed limit, impatient.
When they get out of their vehicle they remain in the same mood, pushing against the crowd, slamming doors, impolite, angry at life.
It can’t be doing their mental health any good. The constant anger at the world, at life. It must cause indigestion, unease, stress, anxiety, even depression. Never seeming happy. Always rushing to the next thing, to work, to home, to sleep.
We only have one life so enjoy it. Take a leaf out of Ferris’ book and stop and look around once in a while. It’s not all bad. Don’t drive through your life angry.
Making job applicants wait
I’ve applied for a fair few jobs recently and I’ve noticed that companies seem to enjoy making job candidates wait.
For one position the prospective employer was really keen but took a week to do anything. After applying they got back to you after a week. After the initial interview they took a week to let you know you are through to the next round. When no next round notification happened after almost a week and you emailed them, they took a week to reply to your email. The email said they’ll be in touch in a week. WTF? Is there some internal policy around taking seven days to action anything?
For another position the company said that I was the only candidate. Great, what happens next? They need to talk to the board. After ten days of hearing nothing you reach out. Nothing. Radio silence. You mention to someone you know at the company that you are now looking elsewhere and you then receive an email letting you know that they are still keen to hire you and discussions internally are ongoing. You hear nothing for weeks and continue to apply for other roles. You then receive an invite for a second interview. Hold on, I thought I was the only candidate? You are but you now have to speak to other people in the company before your application can be taken further.
Some of these companies are small, less than twenty employees yet they have so much bureaucracy and red tape. How many perfect-fit candidates are they losing due to these processes and lack of communication?
That is what it essentially comes down to: a lack of communication.
If only these companies would let you know what is going on. The equivalent of the in-progress spinning graphical animation that most software uses to let you know that something is happening and that we haven’t forgotten that you are there. To let you know where you stand, that they are still considering you but that this or that is happening and we will be in touch by so-and-so date. But no, nothing. Radio silence and the hope that you will wait on them.
We’ll get back to you, in a week.
Mini retirements instead of actual retirement
Retirement is wasted on the old. I mean, there’s no guarantee that you’ll even reach it, and if you do that it will be long. So I’ve adopted the approach of taking mini retirements throughout my working life.
When I can afford to I take time off from work. A month or two, maybe three. Sometimes 6-months to a year. On one occasion two years. The point being to blend working with enjoying life. Taking time to travel or spend time working on your home, car, or fitness.
If you do manage to reach retirement, at whatever age, and you do get to enjoy a long one. Then congrats you got to have your cake and eat it. For me, I’m taking as many mini retirements as I can while both enjoying life and working as retirement at the end of your lifespan is not guaranteed.