Conversation

23) So now that we've looked at OS's and Hardware, let's look at the wetware: your brain. Here are some of the main things that work for me. Eat loads of vegetables. I usually only eat twice a day (I'm into intermittent fasting w/15 hours between dinner & breakfast).
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24) Note that the above is NOT nutrition advice for you. It works for me since I don't have an eating disorder and maintain a healthy body weight. When you're way healthier in your 50s than your 20s, you get to tell others to take a flying leap.
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25) Writing sucks and coffee and booze can increase your output. Figure 2-3 shots of espresso over the morning, and then 1-2 drinks around noon to take the edge off and relax enough to belt out another few hundred words. I'd say these substances increase my daily output 30%.
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27) Rounding out wetware maintenance: I like to walk at least an hour a day. I do around 30 pushups most days. I often sleep 8-10 hours, plus a 30 minute nap around 4:00 PM.
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28) Like most people, I've been doing the same work for years since I'm in the habit and not imaginative enough to drop it for something new & more fulfilling. I probably should end my career as a writer soon.
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29) Two final things on keeping your mind sharp enough to use tech to maximum effect: ice baths and stillness. You can call it meditation if you must but it all boils down to slowing your breath and asking "who am I." See Maharshi's "Who Am I?"
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30) My two main regrets in life are I didn't start traveling sooner and I didn't get into ice baths until a few years ago. Ice baths bring a calmness I've never experienced elsewhere. Again, this is not medical advice. I'm just someone into ahimsa who likes being calm.
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31) Venkat might say I've cheated with this nine-tweet wetware digression, but unless you attend to the wetware you're just going to be drooling over Instagram with your $900 phone made by economically trapped quasi-slaves.
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32) OK, so back to tech. See, Musk is certainly right to worry about the singularity. And any compassionate person can see that much tech is made by people almost as exploited as slaughterhouse workers. So my interest in tech is NOT to own a shiny new toy—hence my iPad Air 2.
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