Monday, February 29, 2016

I don't need a Kindle, just a portable charger



Why I thought I needed a Kindle:
  • I will be traveling to places without internet access
  • I want to inhale books
  • I want to travel as light as possible
  • Kindles are so COOL

Amazon's Kindle claims 6 weeks of battery on one charge based on an average of HALF AN HOUR OF READING A DAY at a brightness of 10. That's 21 hours on screen on time (SOT).

My current One Plus One phone (OPO), gives about 6 hours of on screen time on a single charge. (3100 mAh battery size).

Instead of shelling out $190 for a Kindle Paperwhite 3G, I'll buy a portable battery charger for $30 (e.g. a beefy 16800 mAh one). This about quintuples my 3100 mAh cell phone battery and bumps it up to 30 hours of screen on time. And I needed to get a portable charger anyways.

And all that stuff about e-ink and better for sleeping after reading? Whatever, I'll be sleeping in cots on farms.

Ultimately, this thought won out the above thoughts:
  • I want to be as minimalistic as possible

I had a hard time deciding how big of a charger to get. This post how I eventually decided on the charger to get.


Portable chargers I was thinking of:

ZILU 16800mAh Portable Charger

http://amzn.com/B00K64WR9C

HyperGear 16000mAh

http://amzn.com/B0188WLTI8

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Ah shit moments - feeling burdened

From glances at the news that make me whisper "damn":

  • 2015: Migrants flooding into the EU
  • 2015: Over production in oil, race again oil users vs environmentalists
  • 2015 11: Northern White Rhino dies: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34897767
  • 2015/11: Seaweed bloom on the beaches of the Caribbean, which can potentially destroy it's tourism industry
  • 2016/2: 150,000 penguins die: http://www.cbs58.com/story/31218599/150000-penguins-perish-after-giant-iceberg-traps-colony

Monday, February 8, 2016

Levels of small talk and deep conversations

I've noticed there are the following types of small talk and conversations. From easiest to hardest to do. It's hard because it's most likely to offend the person you're talking to and most likely for it to cause you to lose a friend, but also most likely to deepen a friendship.

1) Third person - Talking about others
There are three categories to this:
-People - e.g. the Kardashians
-Events - e.g. US Invasion of Iraq
-Ideas - e.g. Christianity vs Islam

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
https://www.quora.com/What-does-this-quote-mean-Great-minds-discuss-ideas-Average-minds-discuss-events-Small-minds-discuss-people

2) First person - Talking about me, and my values
E.g. About my porn addiction, about what I want out of a relationship, about what I want in the future

3) Second person - Talking about my feelings towards you
E.g My feelings about your porn addiction and why it bothers me, about what I want from you out of our relationship

Good article about skipping the small talk:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/fashion/dating-the-end-of-small-talk.html?_r=0

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Fuck the GOP

Gathering a list of reasons:


  • Quick to launch a war, slow to support veterans. Republicans vote down a bill for supporting veterans:
    • https://www.facebook.com/senatorsanders/videos/10154532147042908/
    • "...whether we're gonna commit to a promise that's bigger than what our kids can fulfill... my colleague pointed out that most of the veterans organizations support this bill, he is correct"
    • 41 of 45 republicans voted against bill.
    • "If you think it's too expensive to take care of veterans, don't send them to war." -Bernie Sanders