One sentence on each place in Europe that I’ve been, in order of preference. 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway Perfection. 🇳🇴 Kristiansand, Norway Feels like walking through a storybook about mice that run a bookstore. 🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany I will spend the rest of my life angry that nowhere in the US has public transit this good. 🇱🇹 Klaipeda, Lithuania Purchased a book of soviet propaganda art from a woman who spoke almost no English, 10/10, no notes.
Mermaids
Stockholm, Sweden
Tallinn, Estonia
Riga, Latvia
Klaipeda, Lithuania
Berlin, Germany
Hamburg, Germany Neuengamme Concentration Camp
Copenhagen, Denmark
Aarhus, Denmark
Kristiansand, Norway
Oslo
Oslo is, without a doubt, my favorite country in all of Europe. It manages to feel expansive without feeling big. Cozy but not confined. The people were, without exception, warm, kind, and welcoming in a way that many other European countries were not. It’s the kind of place I’d like to imagine I could aspire to live in, and perhaps some day be worthy of. Downtown Oslo Vigelund Sculpture Park
The Crossroads Between Need and Desire
The fundamental question: whether to prioritize security or fulfillment – to “run for office” or “build a rocket”.
Shit's Fucked
“What a week, huh?” “Lemon, it’s Wednesday.” — 30 Rock, S4E2 “Into the Crevasse” Without exception, the smartest people I know are all in agreement that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is on the way in the next three years. That could mean a lot of things. Good things. Bad things. I think it’s reasonable to assume nobody can predict what the world will look like beyond that horizon.
Winter is coming
You might surmise that this is a political post. And it sort of is, but also it isn’t. Because winter has always been coming. And most likely, winter will always be coming. Winter might be Trump, it might be climate change, it might be an asteroid that strikes the Pacific ocean and obliterates all life as we know it. We don’t know when winter will come, nor what form it will take, but winter is coming.
I’ll be moving in roughly 3-4 years. I know what city, but not which suburb or neighborhood. What are some things I could be doing right now to establish a social circle in what will become my new home?
I had the great fortune to spend the last week or so sailing along Alaska’s inside passage on the NCL Jewel. Being the kind of person that I am, I gave myself a side-quest on day one: eat at and review each of the on-board dining options. I mostly succeeded, with two notable exceptions. It turns out a reservation at the Teppanyaki restaurant is incredibly difficult to score, and I simply ran out of time for the steakhouse.
Back at home safely ensconced in my office, wearing the slanket, and it’s time to talk about Hawaii. This is going to be something of a journal post, while also exploring some thought processes out loud. Apologies in advance if that’s not your thing! How Did You End Up Going to Hawaii Anyway? Medium story short, it was originally a work trip. Having never been to Hawaii, or indeed to any “tropical” or “island” destination, I tacked on a short mini-vacation the weekend before the work portion.
I’m about to say something you might find shocking, so before I do I want to make two things clear: This isn’t a complaint post. The purpose is not to vent. I actually consider this a positive and optimistic thought process. Okay. Ready? I don’t like Hawaii I’ll wait a moment for the outrage to subside. Nothing at all against the residents or people. I’ve traveled a lot and my experience is that people, broadly, are kind and welcoming.
I’ve been away from home the last two weeks, give or take, smushing some personal travel together with some business travel to minimize my “suffering per airport hour” statistic as much as possible. If work’s going to pay for me to go somewhere, I’m going to try and get a mini-vacation out of it. I’m home for what feels like seven seconds, before heading back out on another mini-vaction-turned-actual-vacation next week.
Shipwrecked.
Sunset on Baker Beach.
