How to Start a Group Chat for Your NYC Apartment Building

Large apartment buildings are a paradox of potential: a bunch of people live in extremely close proximity, but often completely closed off from one another. What could be a perfect setup for community, connection, and mutual aid often ends up being awkward greetings in the elevator and hurried head nods in the foyer as everyone […]

A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluating any Business Idea

I’ve been helping a friend evaluate a list of business ideas. At first glance, all of the ideas sounded viable, so to dive in further, I wanted a framework that we could use to differentiate between each idea based on key metrics and eventually choose one to work with. I did some research and found

Modding Social Media to Win The Attention War

There’s no need to spend a bunch of time restating the obvious: it is not possible to use the stock version of any social media experience in a healthy way. The only healthy way to use social media involves you battling it constantly for your attention. Many have chosen the path of abstinence, deleting profiles

Too Much of a Good Thing: What Mania Feels Like

In 2018, I was diagnosed with unipolar mania, a rare form of bipolar disorder where my brain experiences only the positive cycle of the bipolar curve — mania, with little or no depression present on the downswing. If you’ve followed the Kanye West news stories of late, he’s undergoing a particularly severe and extended episode

My Surprise Nasal Endoscopy, or the Case for Healthcare Price Transparency

The story starts, like all great stories, with a nasal endoscopy. There I was, sitting in an otolaryngologist’s office, complaining of copious mucus, sinus pressure, and occasional headaches. In my state of sickness, I didn’t have the bandwidth to do more research than simply figuring out that this particular doctor was in-network. I figured it

Ed Charrier Rating

Ed Charrier (second row, orange jacket) was an Austin-based ultimate (frisbee) player in the early 1990s. (Those familiar with contemporary ultimate may recognize the last name in Ed’s niece, Diana Charrier, a national champion and USA Under-24 National Team member). If you’ve played any sort of skill game, you know that there are three types

Building the Bauhaus, a semi-intentional coliving space

In 2015, I founded the Bauhaus, a purposefully non-ideological, (semi)intentional living community here in Oakland. I was given the opportunity to write a case study about it for Supernuclear, a new Substack newsletter about community living: Supernuclear Case Study: the story of Bauhaus

I Biked Every Single One of Oakland’s 12,942 Streets

Prior to mid-March I had spent the six years I lived in Oakland either playing competitive team sports, going to the gym, or doing some other group outdoor athletic activity. With the shelter-in-place order, everything I knew was taken away. I responded by doing the only thing I could: ride my bike. I had been

10 Months to 10% – GiveDirectly

(Note: if this is your first time hearing about 10 Months to 10%, check out the main page for more context on the project.) For the second month of 10 Months to 10%, I’m starting a monthly donation to GiveDirectly! I’ll outline why they provide an innovative, simple “cash transfer” approach that improves economies in

10 Months to 10% – Against Malaria Foundation

(Note: if this is your first time hearing about 10 Months to 10%, check out the initial post for more context.) For the first month of 10 Months to 10%, I’ve chosen to donate to the Against Malaria Foundation. I’ll make the case for why they’re one of the world’s most effective charities, providing one

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