New finds to start your year off right
so many links!
I hope everyone had a great December and New Year’s celebration. I’ve spent the past 2 weeks introducing the fam to skiing. We live just 30 minutes from a ski pass outside of Seattle, so after a couple years of procrastinating, we bit the bullet and spent a small fortune to equip everyone with skis, boots, bindings, coats, etc. It’s great seeing the kids and the wife learn how to “pizza” and “french fry”.
Nothing of major significance in this edition of Rough Terrain, just a hodgepodge of interesting things. One of my strengths is keeping abreast of new and novel things. That’s why I often have a section in my newsletter (Rapid Fire) dedicated to sharing what’s hot. But sometimes when I’m between big articles I send out an edition that’s only Rapid Fire. There’s just so many cool things out there on the interwebz that if I don’t share often, I lose track!
Hope you find something useful below. As always, please subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, please share with your friends! Validation from internet strangers is how I get enough motivation to get out of bed, so I’m basically screwed if you don’t do it. No pressure.
You’re probably pondering New Year’s resolutions. There’s brilliance in just nailing the basics by taking care of yourself first and foremost.
I’ve shilled for Eco a few times (here), as I’m super bullish on these “DeFi Mullets” that are reinventing financial services using crypto payment rails. Eco gives me a 5% savings rate for my cash, which is 20x what you’d get at a regular bank. But now competitors are coming out of the woodwork and offering higher and higher rates. Outlet and ZeFi are offering 8-9% savings. The one I’m really waiting for is Alice, who is going to offer 20% savings rate. Yeah, you read that correctly. I typically don’t keep much cash on hand, but when you’ve got a savings rate of 20%, suddenly your “savings” account is beating your investments. If you want to learn more about the underlying protocol, Terra, that will enable Alice to offer up to 20% APY, here’s a fantastic primer.
My new favorite substack is Pragmatic Engineer. As a PM who’s technical chops amount to being able to print “Hello World” in python, I’m always looking for good teachers that help me better grok the how of software development. Gergely Orosz is great at breaking things down without losing important nuance. I’ve added him to my “get smarter about software” stack, which includes Technically, Pat Kua, and of course the king, Martin Fowler.
When in doubt about a technical issue, it’s a safe bet that Martin Fowler wrote about the subject at great length about 10 to 15 years ago. Absolute legend.
I’d never heard of Som Gor and it’s $21B drug empire. Which is kinda the point from this fascinating deep dive into one of the largest crime syndicate in the world. The head of the syndicate, Tse Chi Lop is likened to other crime lords like El Chapo but this article argues he is more like Jeff Bezos in behavior and strategy. Seriously. Just like Amazon, Som Gor would send free replacement meth if your meth got seized by the cops. Talk about having a customer-centric corporate culture!
Olly Happy Worms. Apparently high doses of saffron has been used for centuries as a mood booster. My PTSD can sometimes really dominate my emotions but as a member of the National Guard, certain mind-altering substances are, cough, off limits to me. When I find myself getting upset and need to reset my emotions, these things really help.
Othership and Reveri. Great apps for calming yourself down. Reveri is self-guided hypnosis while Othership is breathe-centric practices. Both help me recenter myself, clear my head, and set healthy expectations.
Need to cancel your service with some pain-in-the-ass company like Comcast? Just tell them you’re moving to Nepal. More in the thread:
Gigsky. Allows you to get a eSIM for your cell when you travel to other countries. So no more getting a local phone or local SIM or having to mess with your existing T-Mobile/Verizon/AT&T/Whatever.
Trustworthy and Everplans. While I fired my financial planner because it wasn’t worth paying them to “manage” a bunch of index funds, they were immensely helpful setting up my estate planning. Now more of these services are coming online as a service. These aren’t the kinds of things most folks think about, but having a will, trust, designated beneficiaries, etc. is a way to ensure your loved ones are taken care of. Most people don’t do this because (a) we don’t plan for worst-case scenarios so it’s always something we should do but don’t get around to and (b) it’s confusing and overwhelming when you start. These companies are trying to solve that and make sure that even after you’re gone, your family doesn’t lose anything. I know for a fact that if I die tomorrow, my wife won’t know which company we have life insurance with, umbrella insurance with, etc. Gotta clean these things up!
Whiplash. Such a great movie. It’s a story about the pursuit of perfection, no matter the cost. And the cost is high. You won’t like any of the characters in this movie and that’s the point. Perfection requires a “take no prisoners” attitude and has quite the ugly side. The movie is both inspiring and horrifying.
Engineering!
And finally, lest you think I’m a mature, professional person, I give you this beauty:
