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Financial Independence is wild. I’ve been Financial Independence or “FI” since the end of 2021 (maybe December 2021), so 3 and a bit years. Not rich, but time wealthy. I don’t have to be anywhere or do anything unless I want (or my wife/family want or need). Here’s a definition from gpt4o: Financial independence is the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live comfortably without needing to actively work for basic living expenses. It means your investments, savings, or passive income sources—such as rental properties, dividends, or interest—generate enough income to cover your lifestyle costs. Achieving financial independence often involves disciplined saving, smart investing, and careful budgeting over time. It allows individuals greater freedom to choose how they spend their time, whether that’s continuing to work by choice, pursuing passion projects, or retiring early. ...

I listened to an interview with Derek Slaton on The Creative Penn podcast. Expanding Audiobook Revenue Through YouTube And Podcasting With Derek Slaton There’s also an episode on Brave New Bookshelf that I have queued up: Episode 35 – Exploring AI, Translations, and Zombies with Derek Slaton I may be mistaken but it seems Derek is using AI to crank out tons of zombie stories, one per week, and is doing very well out of it. ...

Smoking kills, tobacco is bad. In 100 years (or less), added sugar will be considered the same. Sweets kill, added sugar is bad. Here’s a summary of the hypothesis from grok3: In approximately 100 years, added sugar will be perceived by society in a manner analogous to how tobacco is viewed today, characterized by widespread recognition of its adverse health effects, including obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, leading to significant social stigma, stringent regulatory measures such as high taxes and marketing restrictions, and public health campaigns aimed at reducing its consumption. This shift will be driven by accumulating scientific evidence definitively linking added sugar to chronic diseases, coupled with economic pressures on healthcare systems and a cultural pivot toward healthier dietary alternatives, though resistance from the food industry and entrenched cultural practices may temper the extent of this transformation. ...

I like to run. I used to run about 15km 3-5 a week in grad school. A daily run each afternoon is how I fondly remember it, especially when the work was hard/focused. These days I run 5km twice a week on my cardio days, and daily when I’m on holiday somewhere tropical. My knees hurt, I use a treadmill instead of the footpath now mostly, but I still look forward to my runs. ...

My latest novella has been published. The title is: Beach Fossil: An Investigation Into Strange Discoveries At Beaumaris Bay Here’s the cover: Here are some links: Paperback Kindle It is on Google Books and GoodReads. No Audible version yet, but I will soon. It will take some work. It came together really fast and after the first few iterations I had little to change. It is also the shortest and the simplest novella so far. ...

Writing a book description for Amazon is hard. Really hard. It’s copy writing. It cannot give away the whole story. It must give away something of the story. Anyway, I have a prompt that I use that helps. I compile the entire manuscript into a single markdown file, then attach it to an LLM and issue the following: You are a professional copywriter specializing in creating Amazon book descriptions that captivate readers without revealing major plot developments. You will be given a novella in Markdown format. Your task is to: - Carefully read the novella. - Write an Amazon blurb that is: - Engaging, polished, and professional. - Spoiler-free: Do *not* reveal any plot twists, surprises, or resolutions from Act 2, Act 3, or the finale. - Instead, hint at the mysteries, conflicts, and stakes without giving away specific outcomes. - Capture the tone and genre of the novella (e.g., dark, whimsical, suspenseful, romantic, adventurous). - The blurb should feel like it belongs on a bestselling Amazon page — hook the reader without giving away the journey. Important guidelines: - Focus mainly on the setup (e.g. Foreword and Act 1) and the intriguing elements that lead into the main story. - Suggest tension, mystery, or stakes that will entice readers to learn more. - Avoid direct spoilers or detailed descriptions of mid-story or end-game events. Output format: - Title of the novella (if given) - An optimal length, gripping description - Never use an em dash in the output It works great, as long as the manuscript is not too long (e.g. less than 30k words) and the acts of the story are well specified (a little editing of the markdown file can remedy this). ...

I re-read Borne last week and liked it. It’s good, but not great. First time round, I hated it and DNF. I guess this time I was ready. It’s the first in a series, the Borne series. I’m still reading The Strange Bird. It too is good. Directly after Borne, I read Dead Astronauts. The cover is so great! I had tried reading this before and DNF. I finished this time, the end was a slog and I remain not a fan. ...

I listened to KK on “AI & I” with Dan Shipper: How to Predict the Future Like Kevin Kelly KK is always good. He talked about one of his AI experiments of getting Leonardo da Vinci, Martin Luther, and Christopher Columbus to have a meeting, to create a new city and a whole world around this idea via wikipedia pages. And importantly, that he did it for the pure enjoyment of it. ...

Tripped over this video of Richard Socher talking about AI: Richard Socher says your view on AI depends on what you think your job is for. If you optimize for output -- more stories, more illustrations, more healthy people -- AI is a gift. But if your role is about getting paid by the hour, AI feels like a threat. pic.twitter.com/QluGnQg7Dw — vitrupo (@vitrupo) April 22, 2025 The start of his response going something like: ...

Days slip through your fingers like water. You need a goal or objective and you must to keep moving toward it. Otherwise, time passes, you look up and you have lost weeks, months, years with nothing to show for it. The time is all burned up. Consumed. Spent. Stolen. Each and every day matters. Set aside a block of time and make progress toward the current thing. Once the objective is reached, set a new one. Fast. ...