Exile Lifestyle

I probably use my laptop, a 2021 MacBook Pro, more than any other tool I own. It enables and amplifies my efforts in countless ways, and as a consequence I consider the few thousands dollars I paid for it to…

Some of the most incredible creative output of the past ten years (and arguably before that, too) has been created in support of video games and similar cultural artifacts; if you ever need aesthetic inspiration, google around for concept art,…

It’s impossible to know what a future version of ourselves will want, need, and prioritize. But we make assumptions about our future selves (and the world they occupy) all the time. Unfortunately, many of these assumptions are knee-jerk and superficial,…

One way of thinking about being a conscious, cognitively capable being is through the lens of agency. In this context, “agency” refers to our capacity to take action and implement change, usually to our environments, and usually purposefully—but also internally…

It’s not a bad idea to know how to take a punch. I don’t mean that in the literal, someone punching you in the face sense (though that’s arguably valuable, too), but rather in the sense of getting hit with…

One of my primary aims in life, since I’ve been old enough to think about such things, has been increasing my range of options: upping the level of freedom I enjoy, basically. That can mean a lot of things, and…

Some beliefs are technically untrue, but still useful. I tend to believe I can do anything if I really want to, and if I’m willing to fully invest myself in it. This is almost certainly not true, as we’ve all…

Predictability is great because it allows us to make plans and investments, and to feel some degree of security. If we know where we’ll be living for the next handful of years, we can invest in nice furniture and buy…

The more years I’ve accrued, the more obvious it’s become that I can’t take anything for granted. My physical capacities, my mentality clarity, the way I look, the things I crave, the activities and inputs that fuel me—all are prone…

I’ve had some good discussions with friends, recently, about what we make and how we spend our time. There was a period in which you could make one thing, and just one thing, and that thing would stand a decent…