brwong

I learn. I develop.

A new (maybe old) philosophy for personal computing, social media, and communication.

I was listening to an interview of Peter Thiel, and he said something that caught my attention. The quote is, "If crypto is libertarian, then AI is communist." This little nugget of wisdom helped me piece together some stray thoughts I've had, between which I previously had not made any connections....

The problem with having a multi-purpose, do-everything computer is that, just like the clutter on my desk, things in my computer start to accumulate. I use my laptop for work, for personal projects, for entertainment, for paperwork, and everything in between. Programs I've experimented with, temporary files, unnecessary configuration files, abandoned project folders, old photos... If there were a computer virus lurking on my hard drive, and actively wreaking havoc every time I connected to the internet, I might not even know about it. My virtual space gets just as cluttered as my physical space. My OCD tendencies may despair at my desk, but at least there is hope for my desktop.

In my article about creating a script to help process my family finances, I mentioned a spreadsheet function called SUMPRODUCT. Let me explain a little more clearly how it works.

I've been looking for a better way to keep track of my family finances, but - being the picky person I am - I've been having trouble finding one that meets all my needs. Obviously, my software developer mindset keeps telling me to make my own solution, but also, when it comes to my money and spending habits, I am even more privacy-obsessed than usual.