In the age of AI, they say, that's the only way. Be more of your most real self. But what does that even mean? In the context of a medium that, more often than not, rewards conformity over originality. That houses a mob with wifi acting as the Gestapo over who is deemed real and who is fake. I have a love-hate relationship with social media. When I was in high school, Facebook was still a place where the feed was full of pictures shot at awkward angles during a house party the night before. Y...

In the age of AI, they say, that's the only way. Be more of your most real self. But what does that even mean? In the context of a medium that, more often than not, rewards conformity over originality. That houses a mob with wifi acting as the Gestapo over who is deemed real and who is fake. I have a love-hate relationship with social media. When I was in high school, Facebook was still a place where the feed was full of pictures shot at awkward angles during a house party the night before. Y...

Recently, I've been growing increasingly angry and frustrated with As a freelancer with medium income, I'm getting milked by the financial authorities via taxes, and have a big social contributions burden. 40 - 50% of my salary are easily spent on this. At the same time, since it's always based on last year's income, even if I don't have any income for a few months this year, I still have to pre-pay the same amount every quarter - if lucky, I get what I overpaid back in 6 months, if not, much...

Recently, I've been growing increasingly angry and frustrated with As a freelancer with medium income, I'm getting milked by the financial authorities via taxes, and have a big social contributions burden. 40 - 50% of my salary are easily spent on this. At the same time, since it's always based on last year's income, even if I don't have any income for a few months this year, I still have to pre-pay the same amount every quarter - if lucky, I get what I overpaid back in 6 months, if not, much...

On Tuesday, July 27th, at 17:00 CET, the HR person in five words pulled the stable foundation away beneath my feet. After nearly two years of working alongside them, I was quickly reduced to a human resource, measured in the cost that could be saved by getting rid of it, as quickly as possible — presumably to make shareholders happy and not stir emotions in current team members — with the least human touch. Of course, those who made the decisions would hide behind HR, none of them offering co...

On Tuesday, July 27th, at 17:00 CET, the HR person in five words pulled the stable foundation away beneath my feet. After nearly two years of working alongside them, I was quickly reduced to a human resource, measured in the cost that could be saved by getting rid of it, as quickly as possible — presumably to make shareholders happy and not stir emotions in current team members — with the least human touch. Of course, those who made the decisions would hide behind HR, none of them offering co...

You know that feeling when some thing you see strikes a chord in you, triggers something deep inside, resonates, sends vibrations through your inner state? The modern urge is to take out your phone, or maybe, if you're fancier, a camera, and record it. Often, when looking at the so-captured moment, it disappoints. It's nowhere near as vibrant, as visceral as experienced. No filter helps,. In those moments, I often think to myself, 'I should learn how to paint.' Perhaps this explains why human...

You know that feeling when some thing you see strikes a chord in you, triggers something deep inside, resonates, sends vibrations through your inner state? The modern urge is to take out your phone, or maybe, if you're fancier, a camera, and record it. Often, when looking at the so-captured moment, it disappoints. It's nowhere near as vibrant, as visceral as experienced. No filter helps,. In those moments, I often think to myself, 'I should learn how to paint.' Perhaps this explains why human...