January 2026

13 posts

Book Reviews • January 31, 2026 • 13 min read

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by Admiral William H. McRaven

I listen to Admiral McRaven's commencement speech every week. Not every day. Not randomly. Every week. The book expands on that famous University of Texas address, but the speech is what hooks you. Ten lessons from Navy SEAL training distilled into something almost too simple to be wisdom: start your day by making your bed, and you have already won. That simplicity is precisely why it works.

motivation discipline habits +4 more

Thoughts • January 30, 2026 • 9 min read

I AM AI SLOP: Confessions from the Forge

A confession and a manifesto: living in the pages where AI-assisted content is forged, choosing intentionality over accident, and discovering why the difference between "slop" and craft has nothing to do with the tools.

artificial intelligence creativity philosophy +7 more

Free Writing • January 29, 2026 • 5 min read

The Line Continues: Motion, Witness, and the Craft of Space

From Goonies wisdom to cosmic motion, a stream-of-consciousness journey through the craft of writing. On being witness and scribe, the sacred line, motion in space, unscheduled symphonies, and the practice of staying focused while the universe moves forward. Wrestling with penmanship, meaning-making, and the role of recording consciousness.

free-writing handwritten consciousness +12 more

Free Writing • January 28, 2026 • 2 min read

Stay Out of the Way: Being a Scribe to Consciousness

Organic, bubbling energy. Return to the practice: breath work, loose hands, posture. Stay out of the way but in focus, capturing transmissions as beautifully as possible. A scribe to the process, exploring channels and levels while sailing across the page.

free-writing handwritten consciousness +7 more

Book Reviews • January 28, 2026 • 13 min read

The Man Who Solved the Market: What Jim Simons Actually Built

Jim Simons returned 66% annually for 30 years by removing human emotion from trading. A working options trader's take on what he actually built.

finance trading Quantitative Analysis +12 more

Thoughts • January 28, 2026 • 7 min read

On Threads: Where Attention Should Go

Time was never the constraint. We just lacked the language to describe what was. A meditation on attention, collaboration, and where the threads of a life should go.

attention ai collaboration productivity +7 more

Journal • January 24, 2026 • 19 min read

Decan 31: When the Shoulder Draws the Bow

On learning that creative eruption happens not as single explosion but as multiple parallel convection cells, discovering four domains where power deploys, and traveling 172 million kilometers while the red supergiant teaches conscious direction of energy

consciousness reflection self-improvement +27 more

Book Reviews • January 23, 2026 • 9 min read

The Tao of Pooh & The Te of Piglet: Eastern Wisdom Through the Hundred Acre Wood

Benjamin Hoff uses Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet to explain Taoism in a way that actually sticks. The Tao of Pooh introduces wu wei (effortless action) and pu (the uncarved block), while The Te of Piglet explores inner virtue and the power of the small. Together in one volume, these books offer an accessible, charming introduction to Eastern philosophy that has stayed with me for years.

philosophy taoism eastern-philosophy +3 more

Book Reviews • January 22, 2026 • 11 min read

Genius Makers: The Inside Story of the AI Race That Built ChatGPT

The inside story of how ChatGPT happened. Genius Makers traces the researchers and rivalries at Google, OpenAI, and Meta that built modern AI.

ai artificial-intelligence agi +5 more

Free Writing • January 22, 2026 • 2 min read

Hormesis, Universe, and Late-Night Flow

What constitutes hormesis. Nobody told me it was broken! A 1:38am exploration of stress and adaptation, the Universe vs God, AI minion work, and the meditation of handwriting. From philosophical declarations to the pursuit of perfect penmanship and true flow.

free-writing handwritten consciousness +8 more

Book Reviews • January 22, 2026 • 6 min read

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

A flashlight. Morse code. Two friends signaling across the dark. From these humble origins, Petzold builds the entire architecture of modern computing. This book strips away the mysticism and reveals what computers truly are: layers of simple ideas, stacked with care.

computer-science technology engineering +3 more

Journal • January 13, 2026 • 13 min read

Decan 30: Finding Direction Through Clouds

Ten cloudy days learning to navigate by feel when you cannot see the star. On discovering that direction lives inside you, not in the sky.

consciousness reflection self-improvement +21 more

Journal • January 5, 2026 • 21 min read

Decan 29: When the Crown Replaces the Severed Head

On learning that leadership emerges through crisis not comfort, discovering that service means presence not perfection, and traveling 172 million kilometers while carrying the weight of a crown through the washing machine blur

consciousness reflection self-improvement +22 more