Posts

Posted on

On 9-to-5 after More than a Decade

LIFE IS COMPLICATED

Life is short and complicated and nobody knows what to do about it. So don’t do anything about it. Just take it easy. Let it flow. Whether you roll strikes or gutters, do your best to be true to yourself and others.

“I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Get a good job, good salary, good benefits and bonus. This is supposed to be a funny way of saying, “You shouldn’t get out of your comfort zone. You shouldn’t try to what you want to do. You shouldn’t strive for more. You should not try to make plenty of money.

This is supposed to be a cruel way of saying, “Let other people do what they want to do. You stick with your job.

So many people simmer with chronic despair, stuck in a job for five years, 20, 30, and they think they are doing great.

We are here on Earth to explore. We are here to be curious. Not to argue at a 9:15 meeting.

You are being paid MONEY in exchange for your UNHAPPINESS.

It’s a price on your unhappiness. Not your services. You decide what that price is.

Or you can take the red pill.

A. HYPNOTIZED AND ROBBED

The “lowest rung” on the corporate ladder is actually the person who creates the product that is sent to customers.

The lowest rungs create value. The guy who designs, who experiments, who find solutions are the people who create the product and then hand it over to sales.

Sales job is to lie, cheat, and hustle customers to money for the product. I noticed in strip clubs girls use different types of hustle to sell a dance, e.g. wear him down hustle, pity hustle, suck up hustle, get to know hustle, etc.

Sales persons are like girls on the poles.

I was the lowest rung at my first big corporate job. I had a boss’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss’s boss. Who then reported to a board of directors who reported to shareholders.

Shareholders have to make most of the money or they fire the CEO. The CEO makes a lot of money even when he gets fired. And all the bosses in between me and him also made A LOT more than me.

You know what? You can make tons of money becoming a shareholder. You don’t create value but make money. So I become a shareholder.

As an engineer, out of every one dollar of value I created, I estimated I made about 1/10 of a penny in salary. As a shareholder, I made lots more without creating any value.

B. THE MONEY IS FAKE

On one side is the money. On the other side is this month’s bills.

Like a junior high dance, the boys and girls start on their own side of the gym. Then by middle of month they rush to meet each other. Hoping for one dance, maybe a feel, or a kiss, by the end.

And then it’s over. By the end of the month the dance begins again, the money and bills still anxious to meet. Afraid to touch.

For every dollar you make, 40% goes to taxes. At least 16% of those taxes goes to support wars.

30% on average goes to rent or mortgage and other debts.

A tiny bit left for a few books. A Netflix subscription and Verizon payment plan. Maybe a few date nights. A suit. A car payment. One night of poker where you lose a little too much, too early in the evening. Throw some in the 401k which may go up or down. And if you live to 65 (or 59), you will get it back to spend when you may be too old to spend.

C) SELLING YOUR DREAM

Nine to Five is a myth. It doesn’t start at 9. It doesn’t end at 5.

It’s 6am wake up. Shower, clean, breakfast, then commute. Then quick stop at the coffee cart. Then work by 8:45. First meeting of the day at 9:15.

Counting down the minutes to five. Commute (watching the men and women looking down to the muddy floor on a subway).

I want to create. I want to make stuff up.

The subway is the underground animal kingdom. A shadow of what hell might be like. Filled with mysterious strangers all inches from dangerous intimacy.

I would create sci fi horror stories. What if the Apocalypse happened right now, outside of the subway car, everyone dead except us travelers through this one cave of hell. What a coincidence we were here!

Now I’d have to spend the rest of my life only knowing them. Would that woman be my new wife? Would that man try to kill me or eat me? Suddenly the homeless man, practicing for this new reality for the prior 12 years, just went from the Omega male on the subway to the Alpha male.

I’d better be his friend.

Fantasy over, commute over, get dinner, now I have to relax and de-stress. Because the 9-5 is chronic stress on a “low simmer”. Nothing can quite get cooked but everything is hotter than comfortable. And it never stops.

Now it’s 8, or 9. My favorite show in comedy central. Read a few pages of a book. Fall asleep.

Where did the time go? The time I had set aside to play. Where did I leave the sandbox? When?

Nothing left over. The dream postponed one more month.

D. MONEY IS NOT A REWARD.

Money is a ceiling. It’s a bribe to stop you from doing what you want to to do.

“Take this money so you can do what we want you to do and not what you want to do. Money is compensation for not doing what you want to do.”

And then they put in a false rewards system. A promotion. A raise. The false praise of a boss who has been a veteran prisoner only a few years more than you’ve been.

I get it. We need money. I need money. But…

The money is there to delay you from living your dream and reach freedom.

E. FRIENDS DON’T LIKE YOU

Once, I had a cubicle at my job. Depending on how close your cubicle was to mine, that usually meant you were a better friend.

Cubicle mates are forced friends. When cubicles are moved, I’d often lose touch. And when I left the job, I lost touch with everyone.

If a friend got promoted, I’d get jealous. Maybe they got an office instead of a cubicle. Often that was the end of the friendship.

And where were my real friends? I don’t know. I was too busy with my forced friends to find real ones.

Posted on

How to Get Cheap Travel Tickets

With planning, foresight and a little bit of hard work, you can go ahead and have that dream vacation the economical way. Here’s how:
  • Search the internet, call airline agencies and watch the news to keep yourself up to date on discounts. There are a lot of promotional fares offered by airline companies that are new in the industry.
  • When you do travel a lot, sign up for frequent flier miles.
  • Ask about student fares or senior citizen discounts.
  • Keep a flexible travel schedule. Go with the flow. If the promo states that they only give discounts every Tuesdays, then set your departure on Tuesday. Generally, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are the days that have fewer reservations, so it in on these days that tickets are sold cheap. Monday is usually the busiest day of the week.
  • Do not go ahead and make reservations to the first airline company you see with promotions. Take the time to source out a variety of options. Take the time to find out if the promotion is indeed the cheapest in your area. Ask the clerk about other offers available. When checking through the internet, make sure you check at least five sites before you decide where to buy your tickets.
  • You can have the option of purchasing tickets trough consolidators. These are people who buy a whole block of tickets and resell them at certain discounts. This helps the airline fill up still available seats. The travel section of the newspaper is the place to check for ticket consolidators.
  • Try flying on off peak hours schedule. Usually if you take the before seven in the morning flight or the after seven in the evening flight, tickets are at their cheapest. This too, will be a wise decision since it is at these times that airlines are not overcrowded, thus getting more space for yourself and your luggage.
  • Be sure to inquire if the airline offers travel packages. Some airlines do offer packages such as car rental discount or a hotel room discount that comes with the travel ticket.
  • When you are flying off season, be very sure to ask about certain standby fares.
  • Have an early booking. Promotions are usually offered when one reserves a ticket three weeks beforehand. Remember that due to over crowding during the holidays, you may not use your frequent flier miles. So book in advance if you plan to travel during the holidays.
  • Staying with only one airline on your entire trip may too, give you discounts. Airlines offer special rates to round trip tickets or connecting flights.
Have a safe trip and enjoy!
Posted on

Paris After Dark

Paris has layers. The first tier is Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Musée d’Orsay, etc. the Must-Sees, the monuments. This is the easy stuff, positioned across Paris’s geography like giant boulders in a low field. On the second tier are the Michelined restaurants, notable to a different sort of tourist but famous all the same. On the third tier are the special places—restaurants, bars, smaller museums, cafés—that require a little legwork, and maybe some French, to ferret out. And in the fourth tier are the places where locals actually go, the neighborhood spots with bad signage and tattered menus that just happen to be perfect. Here’s the thing, though: If you work hard enough at tackling the third tier, you can start to make it overlap with the fourth.

Many of the city’s best bars are of the “speakeasy” variety, hidden behind unmarked doors or taco joints or pizza restaurants or grilled-cheese shops. Look beyond the gimmick; the Parisians have. The drinking scene here is so revved up, it’s begun to specialize. Take Mabel, for example—that’s the speakeasy behind the grilled-cheese shop. The proprietor of Mabel has dubbed his bar a “rum empire” and stocked it with the city’s best selection of that liquor. Bartender-owner Joseph Akhavan can be found behind the stick most nights, mixing and stirring and eagerly recommending both spirits and concoctions.

Mabel owes at least some debt to Candelaria, the speakeasy behind the taco joint. Though it was founded by two Americans and a Colombian, the bar has become firmly rooted in the city’s bobo drinking culture.

It’s worth the hype, with its Latin American spin on mixed drinks (think: fine mescals; drinks paying homage to Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico; Gabriel García Márquez quotes on the menu).

A few blocks away, the bar Andy Wahloo has a fake-out front door—you enter through a sprawling interior courtyard before ducking back into the street-adjacent barroom. A glowing, kitschy ’70s-Moroccan decor sets the mood—the mood being “how far can I unbutton my shirt before I cross the line from rakish to sleazy”—but the focus here is firmly on the drinks. The bartenders are attention hogs, alternately lighting things on fire, squeezing whole oranges along the overturned blade of a knife, and filling bell jars with infused smoke. It’s a hell of a show, and it makes up for how impossible it is to score a seat in the courtyard during the warmer months.

If it’s still warm out, and outdoor drinking is a must, Hôtel Particulier is the place to find yourself. First, though, you have to find the bar, which is accessible behind a locked gate on a steep drive on a curving hillside road in Montmartre. So cherished is access to Hôtel Particulier’s cascade of terraces that if you hang around its gate during the day, you might hear a tour guide describe it as a kind of holy-grail drinking spot. I hate to ruin the myth, but just press the intercom and wait. The gate will click open. Take a left at the boulder, ring the bell at this gate, and ask the host for a table outside. There aren’t any bad ones.

Perhaps this is all too theatrical for you. That’s fine. Here’s something more straightforward. Enter the Ritz Paris, on the Place Vendôme, and follow the long gallery to the end. As far as you can get from the main entrance are a pair of bars: The Ritz Bar to your right and the Hemingway Bar to your left. Take a left. Here, Colin Peter Field, maybe one of the finest barmen in Europe, mixes classics as they’re meant to be mixed, with precision, a kind of Bond-like lack of stress, and gentle helpings of charming anecdotes.

Across the river, Castor Club, a favorite of the cool-kid set, is hidden, in a very chic way, behind a wood-paneled facade with a single slat window. Depending when you arrive, you may need to wait a bit—the narrow space inside can hold only a couple dozen people, and the doorman doesn’t let it overfill. This can have its perks. As I waited for a barstool, a taxi sped by and clipped its side-view mirror on a metal post at the edge of the sidewalk. The mirror bounced across the pavement, narrowly missing a group of women in line. A man from another group went over to the taxi driver. “You almost hurt those girls!” he yelled in French. He asked the women if they were okay, and the two parties merged. Say what you want, but it’s better than “Come here often?”

For dinner, swing by Hero, a Korean-inspired place on Rue Saint Denis, for spicy fried chicken and kimchi. Restaurants that skew away from things we identify as French are part of the culture too. If you want to know how people eat, go online and see what’s popular for takeout. Over the course of my meal, four delivery guys picked up orders.

If you’re not in the mood for Korean, keep going north to Marrow, a new hot spot helmed by chef Hugo Blanchet. The namesake specialty is baked in pita dough, so the bone itself arrives in a peelable crust. Sinking your teeth into that crust, and chewing it from the bone, may be one of Paris’s most viscerally pleasurable sensations. And that’s saying something.

Most high-end restaurants take a pass on the cocktail list, opting to focus on wine. Not Marrow. Bartender—and partner—Arthur Combe is one of the city’s best mixologists. Combe’s Vieux Rectangle deserves a place in the pantheon of new classics. I ask him where I ought to head next and he rattles off a list that would take a strong drinker a week to accomplish. “What’s your favorite?” I say. He replies: “I spend a lot of time at Castor Club, because it’s near where I live and open late.” I mention the line. “The doorman is renting my apartment from me,” he says. “Tell him you know Arthur.” I make a mental note.

No one has ever accused Paris of skimping on decadence, so why stop at pita-encrusted bone marrow? At Ellsworth, off the Palais Royal, it’s possible to eat a balanced meal that begins with foie gras; progresses to veal sweetbreads; and ends on soft, almost-liquid egg yolk raviolo, topped with truffles. For a less inventive menu—that is, steak—Clover Grill, on Rue Bailleul, is the current contender for the city’s best meat. You can see it dry-aging in a trophy case between the dining room and the kitchen. The play here is to order something cut for two.

You can get surprisingly far by foot in Paris. Les Halles is my favorite center point. Beginning here, a 30- to 40-minute walk could bring you as far north as Pigalle or as far south as Le Jardin du Luxembourg; west to the beginning of the Champs-Élysées or east to the Bastille. You’re looking for pockets of noise, for the bubbling up of crowds outside of late-night bars, for the kinds of cafés that act as quick docks for the sidewalk smokers. Novels and memoirs and screenplays have all been written about Paris at night—there’s a reason. The city doesn’t so much sleep as change shifts. The late-night crowd has its own turf, and you can really only find it by looking for it at street level.

Two pieces of advice. One: Don’t be afraid to wander into and through the city’s green spaces. Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in the 19th Arrondissement is home to Le Pavillon Puebla, which is really more like an old caretaker’s house that happens to serve drinks and play music. Revelers gather on a large terrace nestled among the trees, often right up until the moment it closes, at 1:45 A.M.

Two: If you happen to walk by the Palais de Tokyo, the contemporary art museum along the Seine, know this—it is open until midnight every night except Tuesday; its newest resident is Les Grands Verres, a restaurant and bar from the folks behind Candelaria and Hero, and it serves drinks until 2 A.M.

It is 2AM. Head to La Mano, on Rue Papillon, and try to make it through the line outside. If you do, you’ll be greeted indoors with one of the city’s best dance parties. The crowd here is the sort that likes to overpay for booze as long as the DJ is good—and he really is, spinning Latin-influenced jams and setting the tone by dancing his heart out at the front of the room. But there are other, less crowded options. I found myself in SoPi (South Pigalle) very early one morning, hopping back and forth across its main drag of bars, Rue Frochot. Dirty Dick—a divey tiki place—closes at 2 A.M., but Glass, across the street, is open till 4 A.M. L’Entrée des Artistes, around the corner, is also open till 5 A.M. on weekends.

12 P.M. START ALL OVER. I know how this sounds. Who would waste half the day sleeping? But think about the inverse: Who would waste half the night sleeping? When so many places come alive after midnight, can you afford to doze through it? The deep night handicaps the city for you, thinning out the tourists, closing the attractions, and redirecting the energy toward a few beacons of light and noise. You just have to walk around.

But, sure, we’re not vampires. Any café can fulfill the requirements for petit déjeuner—coffee, croissants, eggs—but my favorite croque madame is at La Palette on the left bank. Vegan spot Café Ineko has the best pregame espresso, and a table out front nabs you a nicely framed view of Rue Gravilliers. There are worse places to spend an afternoon, recharging with coffees and maybe the evening’s first glass of rosé. Just don’t stay too long. There’s a lot left to do when it gets dark.

Posted on

15 Essential Digital Nomads Tools

Today there are more remote workers than ever before in history. People are leaving behind their traditional office jobs in search of adventure, and they’re bringing their work with them. Thankfully, technology is making travel easier. The rise of innovative apps is helping travelers streamline their life on the road. As a full-time traveler myself, I balance my time between exploring local culture and working on a start-up. In this article, I’ll share my favorite budget friendly digital nomad tools for saving time and money while increasing productivity.

1. Trover App

This app is a like Instagram for travelers. It’s a place where travelers can upload and share their favorite destinations with other nomads. The beautiful photo galleries are the perfect way to discover new destinations. What makes Trover unique is the huge network of travelers that connect on the app to discuss their favorite places. You can exchange stories and tips and even create lists of places you want to explore. Trover is the best travel app for gaining inspiration from fellow travelers. If you suffer from wanderlust, this digital nomad tool just might be the cure.

2. Hip Camp

An Airbnb for campsites, this new travel app is transforming the way travelers think about accommodation. For starters, it opens up a whole new avenue that hotels and boutiques haven’t really given much credence to – the great outdoors. This website is quintessential for anyone who enjoys spending a night under the stars with a bonfire by their side. What I like most about this website is I can easily search for land to camp on all around the USA. Hip Camp opens up unique accommodation opportunities that would otherwise not be available. This cool new website enables landowners to keep their space filled with nature, instead of selling or building on top of it. For camping enthusiasts, it’s a dream come true. Campers can pitch their teepees and re-wild in the grand elegance of Napa, Yosemite, Sequoia, Lake Tahoe, and many other locations in all fifty states.

3. Nomad Budget App

Nomad Budget is a personal finance app for travelers. If you’re tired of using currency converters and spreadsheets, you’re not alone. Created by travelers Nathan & Adriana, Nomad Budget is a travel expense tracker that helps you keep track of your spending while abroad and save money. It allows you to create a target daily budget and watches your spending so you don’t have to. Best of all, it works completely offline and has over 150 foreign currencies to choose from. It works seamlessly in every country. Foreign expenses are instantly converted into your home currency using the latest conversion rate. Beautiful charts display your spending by category so you know exactly how much you’re spending on food, accommodation, and sightseeing. Nomad Budget is the perfect budgeting app if you’re going on a trip and you don’t want to overspend.

4. Traveller Stash

Stay in the know with the latest travel technology. This website was built by travel entrepreneurs who wanted to give back to the community. Inspired by the concept of Startup Stash, Traveller Stash curates the very best of trending travel technology and delivers it in one clear-cut space. This website offers sixty top travel resources to help fellow explorers plan their upcoming trips with ease. The key idea here is to make traveling more convenient. Indexed resources include everything from flight hacks to package handling services and backpacker tips. Digital nomads and vacationers alike can now find the best tools and resources for an upcoming trip on Traveller Stash.

5. Trip Advisor

Create epic bucket lists for things to do in new cities. Trip Advisor is a megalithic resource for travel reviews and recommendations. With an ever growing user-base comprised of knowledgeable expats and locals, travelers can find answers to pretty much any question they have about a particular destination. Their comprehensive list of attractions around the world helps itinerants discover interesting sites, tours, and experiences. What I love most about Trip Advisor is the ability to create custom bucket lists for an upcoming trip. I can save all my sightseeing ideas and restaurant picks in one place and then come back to it later. A notable feature is being able to see all of my favorite spots displayed neatly on a map. I can easily pair sightseeing with nearby dining which makes itinerary planning a cinch.

6. Trello

Stay organized with your tasks and team members. Trello enables entrepreneurs to create a fluid workflow that inevitably increases productivity. This is a life-changing application. As someone who has issues staying focused and prioritizing my tasks, this app has completely transformed the way I plan my day. The intuitive design allows me to effortlessly create multiple to-do lists. Users have the ability to create teams and share tasks with their team members. Permission levels allow users to maintain control over project management, delegate priorities according to color tags, apply due dates, and archive completed tasks for accountability. Notable features include being able to drag-and-drop tasks, move lists around, and automatically splices chunk text into separate tasks. This is a life-changing app. After discovering the capabilities of Trello, it has become indispensable to my workflow.

7. Slack

The easiest way to communicate and share files with team members. Slack is a messenger application that works on your desktop or on your phone. So what makes Slack different from other messenger apps? Founded by tech guru Stewart Butterfield, Slack is a cloud-based tool for team collaboration. When team members want to communicate with one another, they can organize their conversations with custom “channels” that are either open (for transparency) or private (for sensitive topics). Team members can easily drag and drop all types of files including PDFs, images, and spreadsheets. You can even video call your co-workers or set up a digital conference! All downloads, files, and direct messages are cleverly stored for later so that users can search for archived conversations. What I love most about Slack is the ability to preview URL links and GIFs in my messenger window. Instead of sifting through a thousand emails with hard to find attachments, I can just open Slack and have all my business communications in one spot. In summary, Slack has reinvented the way business professionals communicate online with their associates.

8. Sky Scanner

Find the cheapest flights to your favorite destinations. Sky Scanner compares millions of flights from various airlines and offers the least expensive flights from point A to B. Whenever I need to book a flight, I head to this website to find the best deals. Some clever features include being able to type in “Everywhere” into your destination. It allows you to see your options in a multitude of countries and cities along with pricing information. Sky Scanner doesn’t charge any hidden fees, but instead links you directly with the airline to book your ticket. Sky Scanner also has convenient filtering which allows you to sort the results by duration, lowest price, departure time, and even by a specific airline.

Here’s a tip for saving even more money! Once you find a great flight on Sky Scanner, you can then go directly to the website of that particular airline to see if your ticket will be cheaper.

9. Flux

Turn off that pesky blue light on your computer so you can go to bed. If you’re having a difficult time sleeping, the light radiating off your computer screen might be to blame. Studies have shown that blue light can have an adverse effect for sleep patterns. Flux takes care of this issue by eliminating this blue light so that your body can carry out its natural resting cycle without interference. After downloading flux, you can tell the application what time you plan to wake up and it will automatically adjust the lights on your computer. As evening approaches, the light on your screen gradually adjusts to a reddish orange glow. This altered lighting has a drowsy effect which physiologically motivates the user to stop using their computer and go to sleep. Flux is great for digital nomads who need that extra push to turn off their electrical devices late at night.

10. Moom

Easily manage multiple browser windows on your desktop. Creating the perfect workspace is one of the most important ways in which to increase productivity. After-all, having a messy desktop can instill feelings of cluttered thoughts, confusion, and serve as the ultimate distraction playground. Moom helps you to manage all of your windows so you can work better. It’s like playing Tetris with your browser windows. You can easily size them down and position them on your screen with just one click. This is a very valuable tool for programmers who need to have multiple applications open at once.

11. Disk Inventory X

Running out of space on your laptop is a problem almost everyone runs into at some point. Luckily, Disk Inventory X is the solution to a filled hard drive. Developed by a Ph.D student who became obsessed with the idea of visually graphing his hard drive inventory, this app was created to help others save time and energy. Disk Inventory X shows you the files sizes of various folders and applications with helpful “tree-maps” graphics. It allows you to know exactly where your biggest files are on your computer for easy clean up. It sorts your folders by size so you can instantly see which files are taking up the most space. It quickly analyzes any hard drive and provides a visual report within seconds. If your computer has freezing issues, Disk Inventory X can save the day!

12. Work From

Finding the perfect coffee shop to work from while traveling can be quite a challenge. Work From is a comprehensive list of the best coffee shops to work from around the world. This wonderful website collects user-aggregated data in order to suggest cafes in every city around the world. Their motto is “scouted by real humans in over 1,250 Cities.” The requirements are simple. Good wifi and power outlets. This database of work-friendly locations is growing every day and includes bars as well as co-working spaces. The Work From blog also offers inspiration for remote workers and they even have a Slack chat community (#Workfrom) where freelancers can meet potential employers. Work From is the best way for digital nomads to find public places to work from at the drop of a dime.

13. On The Grid

Described as a neighborhood guide for explorers, On The Grid is a curated list of local gems and secret spots put together by creative designers. It’s a place where locals can give their top food & shopping recommendations. Anyone can become a curator and recommend cool spots for visitors to check out on their next trip to far away destinations. Metropolitan areas are cleverly broken up into separate neighborhood guides and the list of cities is growing every day. Los Angeles alone has thirty-eight neighborhood lists! On The Grid has garnered international appeal for its straight-forward approach and lack of pretension. With exotic cities such as Beirut, Bogotá, and Brooklyn, it’s no wonder culture seekers are flocking to this website for the best insider tips of where to dine and lounge.

14. UpWork

UpWork is the largest online workplace for freelancers. It is an incredible platform for digital nomads and creative professionals, but it is especially valuable for programmers. With a specialization in the tech industry, UpWork is transforming the way in which people view remote work. Earning an income while traveling sounds like a dream, but UpWork is turning that into a reality for many. It connects a thriving community of talented developers, designers, and consultants with one another to create the perfect team. Users can either post a job and search for a candidate or hire an expert. The best part is that all payments are handled through their website. UpWork is the go-to place for finding a gig and funding your budget travel adventures.

15. Nord VPN

Did you know Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are all blocked in China? It’s sad but true. Many different countries around the world enforce regional restrictions in order to limit what their citizens can see on the internet. The easiest way to avoid digital censorship while surfing the web is to use a “virtual private network” (VPN) service. Nord VPN is one of the best online encryption and privacy applications out there. With one thousand servers to choose from in over sixty countries, Nord VPN enables its users to override any regional restrictions. Nord VPN allows you to have a safe wifi so you can easily check your bank statements and shop online in communal hotspots. They even boast a no-log policy which is pretty neat. Lastly, they even use a 2048-bit SSL encryption system. This means your data will remain private, even when you use your laptop in the most public spaces.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this overview of the top digital nomad tools for budget conscious travelers. As an itinerant, these apps have had a beneficial impact on my way of life. Working abroad has become easier with the aid of these helpful gizmos. I can now travel non-stop, spend less money, sleep more, locate cheap lodging, and find flight deals – all on the go. The world for digital nomads is becoming more convenient and this is just the beginning.

Posted on

3 Ways to Get a Second Passport and 2 Countries to Get It From Quickly

Second passports, and the legal right to exist as a citizen of more than one country, are not a common, every day topic. You might encounter it in the plot of a movie about international financial crime, or in a novel about secret government agents spying on one another.

In fact, although it is not generally known, the legal right to dual citizenship, and with it the right to obtain and employ a second passport, is available to millions of people worldwide.

While it’s impossible to know exactly how many U.S. citizens have acquired a second passport, experts put the number of U.S. citizens who either hold or legally are entitled to hold a second passport at 40 million.

These are the three main routes to acquiring a second passport:

  • By place of birth, where the laws of the country in which child is born make them a citizen automatically, as in the U.S., where the 14th Amendment does this. This principle is expanded by what is known as “sanguinity,” blood relationship, citizenship based on that of one or both parents, or even grandparents in some countries, such as Ireland and Italy. This relationship is perhaps the easiest and fastest route to a second passport.
  • By official naturalization, which usually involves a specific period of prior residence in the country. Almost all countries have a route for foreigners to obtain permanent residence, linked to marriage, a job, starting a business, or other commitment to the country. On average, this means living in the country for five years.
  • By purchasing economic citizenship, which involves a large investment in the country or payment of a substantial fee. Some countries offer this in exchange for investment in real estate, starting a business, or payment to the government. Among these countries are St. Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Cyprus, and Malta. These citizenships involve an extensive due diligence process and investigation.

But for low cost and quick action, there are two countries that stand out, based on the ease of acquiring immediate residence:

  • The Republic of Panama has a special Pensionado law that welcomes foreigners as new residents, especially retirees. Another law grants immediate residence, and later citizenship, to foreign investors who create new businesses and jobs. Panama has a sound banking system, a stable government, and enjoys one of Latin America’s strongest and fastest growing economies.
  • Another good option is Uruguay, an open and free South American country that welcomes new residents. Here any foreign visitor can apply for permanent residence and remain while the application is processed. An established local residence and proof of self-support of about $1,500 a month minimum is needed. Citizenship may be granted after three years, (two years for retirees), during which you must spend most, but not all, of your time there.

These are a few examples of the ways and means of obtaining a second passport, and how you may qualify. At the moment, there are 195 countries in the world. Any one of these may be just the kind of place for which you have been looking.

Posted on

How To Get $5000 for Your Next Vacation

How much money would you like to have saved for the holidays? Or your next vacation? Or your emergency fund? Whatever your goal, the number probably seems overwhelming.

Trying to figure out where several hundred or a few thousand dollars might come from is tough. Instead, break it down. Find ways to set aside just a little bit at a time — you’ll be surprised how quickly you can move toward your goal!

To help you get started with that first step, here is a 12-month strategy to save money and work your way up to $5,000 in savings a year!

Month 1: Open a New Bank Account and Set Aside $5

Open an online savings or checking account and deposit $5. Heck, roll your quarters if you have to.

There are a bunch of great online banks, but one of my favorites is Ally Bank because right now they’re offering an interest rate that is around 100 times what a normal bank offers and there’s no monthly fees.

You can open a savings account at your local bank, but my suggestion is to go with an online bank — you’ll be less likely to withdraw the money.

I know it doesn’t seem worth it to deposit only a few bucks, but getting started is an extremely important first step! Just trust me.

At the end of the, your balance is: $5

Month 2: Earn $100+ in Passive Income From These Websites

Wouldn’t it be cool to make money just for using a website or mobile app?

Some of these companies collect data to better understand web and mobile usage better — what times of day people browse, how long they stay on websites and use apps, and which types of sites and apps are popular (or not). Some others will pay you for interacting with advertisers, whether it’s by watching videos or just seeing actual advertisements.

Check out the following websites

+ Swagbucks – Did you know you could get paid to watch movie previews, celebrity videos, the latest news, along with dozens of other videos? It’s pretty passive work and this company will pay you via Paypal or Amazon gift card. Can you rack up an extra $50?

+ InboxDollars – Google may have become synonymous with “search,” but it’s not the only name in this game. If you’re feeling reluctant to look elsewhere, InboxDollars has a pretty convincing argument for branching out: They’ll pay you to search. They use Bing’s engine, so it’s the same thing you’re used to seeing and you can earn over $50/year.

+ Drop – As an exclusive Drop app user, all you have to do is link your credit and debit cards. When you make a Drop-qualified purchase, you’ll automatically earn points, whether you’re grocery shopping, hailing an Uber or ordering a pizza. The points will add up, and you can then exchange them for gift cards to popular retailers like Amazon and Starbucks.

+ Earny — Let this tool search your email for companies that owe you money. It’s free to sign up for Earny, and once you do, it will scan your email archives for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from Amazon, Target, or one of the other 20+ retailers listed on its website, the tool tracks the item’s price and issues you a refund anytime there’s a price drop! You don’t have to do anything!

Your balance is: $105

Month 3: Consolidate Your Debt to Lower Your Bills

OK, so this one won’t necessarily help you make money to save. But it could substantially lower payments you’re already making on your debt and help you save more money each month.

If you’re being crushed by credit card interest rates that are north of 20%, it might be worth seeing if you can consolidate and refinance your debt.

A good resource is Even Financial, which can help you borrow up to $35,000 (with no collateral needed) and compare interest rates from several lenders.

If you do decide to consolidate your credit card debt, be sure you don’t close your old accounts. A huge part of your credit score revolves around the length of your credit history and closing active accounts can definitely hurt it.

Can you knock your monthly payment down $100?

Three months and you have: $205

Month 4: Let Someone Borrow Your Place for the Night

Have a spare room? Might as well use Airbnb to make some money by renting it out.

If you’re a good host with a desirable space, you could add hundreds — even thousands — of dollars to your savings account with Airbnb.

Taking a few simple steps can make the difference between a great experience and a less-than-satisfactory one.

Here are a few tips:

  • Make your space available during high-demand times in your area. Think: concerts, conventions and sporting events in your area.
  • Be a good host, and make sure your place is stocked with the toiletries you’d expect at a hotel — toilet paper, soap and towels.
  • Be personable. A lot of travelers turn to Airbnb for the personal touch they won’t find at commercial properties.

If you can rent your place for $100/night just five times this year, you’ll bank a cool $500 this year.

And your balance will skyrocket to: $705

Month 5: Sell All Your Stuff With These Apps

Are your closets and shelves packed to the brim with stuff you never use — or even look at?

You can sell virtually anything on letgo This intuitive app lets you snap a photo and upload your item in less than 30 seconds. Not only does it remove a lot of the hassle of selling things online, it’s 100% free to use.

But there are also apps for selling more specific stuff to people who might actually be looking for it.

Have a bunch of movies or CDs collecting dust on a shelf? Decluttr will pay you for them!

Decluttr buys your old CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and video games, plus hardware like cell phones, tablets, game consoles and iPods. Plus, enter PENNY10 at checkout to get an extra 10% for your trade-ins!

For old books from college, you can use Bookscouter. Just type your book’s ISBN into the search bar and the site will connect you with more than 25 of the best-paying and most reputable buyback companies online.

Set a goal to make an extra $100 decluttering your place this month, and add it to your bank account — every little bit helps!

Wow you have amased a balance: $805

Month 6: Lyft Your Way to an Extra $2,400

Need a fun, flexible way to earn money this month? Try driving with Lyft or uber!

Demand for ridesharing has been growing like crazy, and it shows no signs of slowing down. To be eligible, you’ll need to be at least 21 years old with a year of driving experience, pass a background check and own a car made in 2007 or later.

We talked to Paul Pruce, who’s been driving full-time with Lyft for over a year. He earns $750 a week as a driver.

Best of all, he does it on his own time. You can work days, nights or weekends — it’s up to you!

Work 40 hours a week for one month, and you could bank up to $2,400.

Now we are talking money with a balance: $3,205

Month 7: Earn an Extra $100 by Joining an Online Focus Group

We know you’re not going to get rich joining focus groups, but I’ve been able to pocket an extra $10-$20 a month this way, and that adds up.

Start in Month 6, and that be could up to $100 this year!

Two of our favorites are Ipsos Panel and Harris Poll (both rated A+ with the Better Business Bureau).

Your Balance: $3,305

Month 8: Earn a $100+ Bonus by Opening a New Credit Card

As long as you pay down your credit balance in full each month, rewards cards are a great way to make some extra money. We’re not advocating that you open 1,497 credit cards like this guy, but taking advantage of a sign-up bonus here or there can definitely help your bank account!

Check out this list of seven credit cards with no annual fee that offer a $100 bonus or more when you open a new account.

New Balance: $3,405

Month 9: Earn $250 By Opening Another Bank Account

Now that you’ve got some money saved, you could get paid just for putting a few bucks in another bank account.

Check out a list of banks that will pay you just to open one — some will pay you up to $250 for it!

There’s no harm in having multiple bank accounts. In fact, I often find it’s helpful to have multiple places to save (I’m less likely to touch the money), so I have savings accounts for my Christmas fund and my vacation fund.

The top bank bonus is $250 right now — head over to this list to see all of the banks in your area that are offering free cash.

And your Balance: $3,655

Month 10: Earn Cash Back on Everything You Buy

Anytime I shop online, I use a cash-back rewards site like MyPoints. It’s a smart way to earn cash for the shopping you’re doing anyway!

And it works at most of my favorite retailers. Once you sign up for a free account, you can get 2% cash back on purchases at Target and a whopping 4% at Walmart.

There are more than 1,000 stores on the list, so you can purchase nearly everything you need through the cash-back site.

Plus, when you spend your first $20 through the portal, MyPoints will give you a free $10 Amazon gift card.

Try to average at least $10 in cash back for the last three months of the year.

Keep working on Balance: $3,685

Month 11: Ditch Your Unused Subscriptions

We all sign up for stuff. Sometimes it’s easier to put subscriptions on a recurring payment and forget about it — looking at you Netflix.

These kinds of payments can be smart for paying bills and chopping down debt, but getting rid of the subscriptions you’re not using and socking away the savings could help you roll over the $5,000 mark this month.

If you can’t keep track of them all, check out an app called Trim. Once you sign up and connect your bank account and phone number, it analyzes your transaction history for recurring payments.

When it finds one, the app sends you a text and cancels any subscriptions you don’t want to keep.

Just make sure you actually save the savings. Can you save another $100?

Your Saving Balance: $3,785

Month 12: Sign Up for a Clinical Trial to Earn Up to $1,150

Do you live with a chronic condition like arthritis or migraines? They’re a serious pain in the neck… or wrists… or head…

But they may also make you eligible for clinical studies that can really pay off. These studies help medical professionals learn how to better treat chronic conditions.

Payment varies by study, but we found some that offer pretty killer compensation:

  • Cluster Headaches — If a doctor has diagnosed you with a cluster headache, you could qualify for a variety of studies that pay up to $300, depending on the study and number of study visits. You may also receive no-cost study-related care for the length of the study. (Learn more here.)
  • Osteoarthritis: If you’re suffering from osteoarthritis and qualify, depending on the study and the number of study visits, you may earn up to $1,000 for participating. (Read more here.)
  • Crohn’s disease – Have you been diagnosed with this chronic gastrointestinal disease? If you’ve had Crohn’s for at least three months, you could qualify for one of the local studies that may offer payment that varies by study up to $750. Plus, you may receive no-cost study-related care from local doctors for the length of the study. (Learn more here)
  • Sleep – The first step is filling out surveys with information about your sleep patterns and overall health. If you qualify, you’ll be required to complete both physical and psychological exams — and then it’s time to get down to snoozing, er, business. Though it might sound like a perfect gig, Shea notes “it’s not all comfy pillows and sweet dreams,” and cites challenges including isolation, unusual positions and needles or other medical devices. Interested in sleeping on the job? Follow this link to find sleep facilities near you.
Balance: $5,000+
Posted on

The Phone Sex Revolution in India

With the recent developments in technology and smartphone capabilities, do you ever wonder how phone sex will work in the future?

Phone sex has been a huge part of the lives of modern human beings. Communication platforms such as Skype and Facetime have given new meaning to long-distance sex. Although the western world has grown accustomed to phone and webcam sex over the last few years, it will take some time getting used to amongst the local masses in India.

Phone sex still remains a fairly new and interesting concept to the Indian population. Let us look at a few reasons why phone sex is here to stay in India:

Western world versus India: Phone sex is still a new concept in India

In general, Indian parents have always refrained from opening up to their children about sex. With the schools shying away from the responsibility as well, most of the sex education the children in India receive is from their friends and sexual partners.

The western world, on the other hand, has always found new and improved ways of teaching sex education to their children. Sexual tension, confusion, and awkwardness is more prevalent amongst the Indian youth when compared with the western youth. Up until recently, not many people understood or practiced phone sex. Since a lot of people are now trying their luck with phone sex, their experiences can help other people understand and enjoy this activity.

Interactive phone sex

The sudden outburst of sex toys in the Indian market has seen a lot of changes in the way people practice sex. Women find themselves lost in the astounding new world of sex toys. These toys come in handy when two lovers are far away from each other and wish to indulge in phone sex.

Interactive phone sex basically involves either one or both partners using sex toys such as vibrators, dildos, male masturbators, etc. to masturbate while talking with their partner on the phone. This is a fairly new activity and is a seductive way of getting each other off over the phone.

Another exciting innovation is a sex toy that can be controlled remotely by your partner, from anywhere in the world. Knowing you can control your lover’s orgasm from that far away is a big, big turn on.

Adult sex chat websites

The online market of sexual products and services has been booming in India over the past few years. A lot of new companies are coming forward with innovative tools, toys, and hotline services designed to satisfy people and achieve sexual satisfaction.

Several new sex chat websites have also made their way into the Indian markets with some of them offering options with local girls/guys who speak regional dialects.

One such website, Indian Sex Talk [NSFW], offers many phone chat language options for you to choose from like Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, along with English. They are also the only website that offers you the option to call from mobile to mobile in addition to the standard web calling options other phone sex services offer. Enhanced technology ensures better, more enjoyable phone sex experiences.

Massive upgrades in the communication infrastructure of the world have resulted in an even more enhanced experience with phone sex. As the quality and performance of smartphones continues to increase, advanced innovations such as virtual reality will soon make their way into the world of phone sex.

Virtual reality, along with 3D mapping will revolutionize phone sex in the future. The day is not far away when you will have a seductive hologram of your lover pop in front of you to help you masturbate. Remote controlled sex toys that are controlled by your partner have already made their way into the market. The future of phone sex looks delightful to say the least.

Phone sex is easy and intimate

Webcam sex has been making a lot of headlines in the recent times, but to many people, phone sex is still more comfortable and feels more intimate. A majority of the population will not like the way they look on that shabby computer screen and it gets in the way of having a good orgasm. You will never find the ideal camera angle that makes you look as hot as you hope to look. It can be really awkward and difficult to touch yourself in front of a computer screen with someone staring at you.

On the other hand, phone sex is smooth and less awkward, and it feels like you are having a really hot conversation with your partner. With no webcams or cameras involved, you are not constantly worried about your looks and can focus on getting yourself and your partner off with some sweet and sexy dirty talk. It also allows for people to fantasize and create their own images. Each conversation can be another story in itself. This is where phone sex becomes way more intimate than regular webcam sex.

In conclusion, although technology has taken over the world, traditional phone sex still offers a very unique and personal experience that is hard to find in the modern substitutes. To singles, paid phone sex offers the opportunity of hiring someone experienced and professional to help get them off in style. For couples, phone sex is less stressful and comfortable and you tend to get better after every session. Feel free to experience what your preferred way is.

Posted on

Future Of Sex – State of the Art

Remote Sex: Sex between two peopple in different places. They are connected through internet using electrnic sex toys and transmit sensations through touch sensors to arouse partners in real time.

Technology: Super-connected sex toys, interactive sex shows, participatory porn, teledildonic virtual sex worlds.

Expectation: Long-distance sex, pan-sensual social networks, remote sex workers, holographic lovers.

Virtual Sex: People connect through communication devices to share sexual contents, including text messages, videos, 3D computer worlds, and avatars.

Technology: MMO sex games (MMOSG), alternative sexual community, DIY erotic play grounds, hyper realistic avatars.

Expectation: AI lovers, total immersion with virtual lovers, Neurological interfaces for untethered sexual gaming, long-distance relationships and hookups.

Robots and Gynoids: Robotic and sensor advances will take machines into more complex domains of sex, emotions, and love

Technology: Hyper-realistic sex dolls, chat bots, humanoid robots and gynoids

Expectations: Seductive AI, Augmented robotic reality, therapeutic sex bots, simulated genitals, robotic sex gurus. uncanny valley

Immersive Entertainment: Initially wearing a headset, people will enter simulated 3D environment generated by computers to feels part of the environment.

Technology: Live VR show, multi-sensory sexperineces, augmented adult entertainment

Expectation: holographic partners, immersive sex education, personalized erotic adventure, full body experiences.

Bio-Augmentation: Pushing the limits of pleasure using implants and wearable.

Technology: Lab grown genitals and sexual prosthesis. bio hacking, innovative contraceptives, wearable for sex performance.

Expectation: brain-brain sex interfaces, augmented reality, sexual cyborgs and super human, sex net of things, pleasure implants

 

Posted on

Drive Me Wild: Self-driving Cars and the Future of Sex

Before we get to the juicy parts of this article—and, absolutely, autonomous vehicles promise a lot of sexual fun—we first need to talk about what a self-driving car is, and what it isn’t.

What’s a truly autonomous car?

While there has been a lot of press over the last few years about autonomous vehicles and their potential impact on everything from advertising to rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, what is out there now is not, technically, self-driving.

Certainly, the higher-end technologies, like those taking part in The DARPA Grand Challenge, are pretty close to not needing any kind of human operator. But there’s a huge difference between what billion-dollar labs and major universities are doing and what is actually being tested on our streets and highways.

Semi-autonomous vehicles

It would be much more accurate to call them limited self-driving, or semi-autonomous, as they don’t quite have the computerized brains to deal with the reality of handling traffic, bicyclists, pedestrians, as well as other cars.

Even if the current crop of semi-autonomous vehicles did somehow become truly autonomous, it would no doubt be years, if not decades, before they’d be allowed to operate without someone behind the wheel.

When true self-driving cars do appear

It’s when real self-driving vehicles hit the road, and the law no longer requires a human operator to be present, that things are really going to change.

Trucks, more than likely, will be the first true autonomous vehicles; they will change everything about national transportation and shipping, putting thousands of people out of work. Next could very well be ride-sharing services: both Uber and Lyft are pouring millions of dollars into research, which will likely cost many if not all employed drivers their income.

But the jobs won’t be the only major change that will come from truly autonomous cars. Shipping costs will fall, the number of deaths from auto accidents will hopefully plummet, personal car ownership might become rare, and—as the current self-driving cars are electric—have far less impact on the environment.

Then there’s the fun bit. The reason you’re more-than-likely here: sex.

The portable bedroom

A few people have been vocal about the dangers of fooling around in self-driving cars. For example, Barrie Kirk, the co-founder of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence warned that sex and autonomous vehicles were a bad combination.

To be fair, he’s right. What he was concerned about wasn’t so much the danger of sex inside of truly self-driving cars. Instead, his fears stem from people thinking their cars were truly autonomous when they’re not anything close to that, and then: taking their hands off the wheel to put them somewhere else—to be cute about it.

But when we have the technology right, when you can safely do more with your hands, that’s when all kinds of possibilities open up.

Love hotel on wheels

When you think about it, a truly autonomous vehicle is a room on wheels. You get in, you tell it where you want to go, and then it drops you off. Naturally, a lot of people are going to be bored just going along for the ride. It’s safe to assume that when we have real self-driving cars, we’ll also see fines for public masturbation. Until, that is, the designers smarten up and tint the windows.

One thing a lot of people do in any kind of room is fool around. Don’t have a lot of privacy at your place? Then hire a robot car to take you on a nice long drive with your partner of choice. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to envision these kinds of vehicles becoming a rolling version of Japanese love hotels: a roving bedroom where couples can have some privacy. It’s safe to say that many people will be losing their virginities in self-driving cars.

Imagine a highway full of autonomous vehicles, including a few with not only completely opaque windows, but also festooned with ads promoting their vibrating beds, complimentary condoms, and mini-bar.

New forms of sex

It’s even possible that there could be a new form of sexuality around these vehicles. If you can see outside but no one can see inside, we might have people who enjoy the thrill of self-pleasure while driving next to the unawares. This also brings up serious concerns about consent: if no one is aware has a crime been committed? Questions we might have to deal with as they come up—hopefully with wisdom and sensitivity.

It’s also possible that self-driving cars will change how we find sexual partners. Combine self-driving cars with something like Tinder or Grindr, and compatible couples could have a safe, and totally neutral space, for meeting up. If anyone does something non-consensual then a panic button could take the car to the nearest hospital or the police.

Dating and self-driving

On the negative side, we might see a lot more people engaging in risky sex. Not needing to stay sober to drive, or even ride the bus, it would be far too easy to hook up with someone and then recklessly jump into a robot car.

Back to positive changes, autonomous vehicles could offer those who feel unsafe taking other forms of transportation, or whose disability requires special services. Being able to summon a car that will take you anywhere you want, safely and efficiently, without judgment or comment would open a huge world to a great many people, including being able to travel to meet other people for sex or have some much-needed privacy.

A mobile playspace

It’s even possible that autonomous vehicles could become a portable sex playspace. Let’s say you want to have a good, old-fashioned orgy but don’t have the room. Hire a special bus, one with all the love hotel amenities but also very discreet on the outside, and it will go to each of your participants’ houses to pick them up, and then drop them off again once the party is over.

Highways of tomorrow

We will definitely see a lot of changes when we actually have truly autonomous vehicles. Transportation, the environment, how we work, how we play, even the fundamental structures of our towns and cities. Everything will change.

And, human beings being who they are, once we have those little portable, private spaces, you know that we’ll also be seeing a lot of changes to that most basic of things: how and where we make love.

Posted on

Top Ten Transhumanist Technologies

As we gain ever greater control over the atomic structure of matter, our technological goals become increasingly ambitious, and their payoffs more and more generous. Sometimes new technologies even make us happier in a long-lasting way: the Internet would be a prime example.

1. Cryonics: Cryonics is the high-fidelity preservation of the human body, and particularly the brain, after what we would call death, in anticipation of possible future revival. Watch Star Trek “The natural zone”

2. Virtual Reality: Computer graphics are already beginning to approach photorealism. Sometime in the 2020s, reality simulations will become so high-resolution and immersive that they’ll start to get indistinguishable from the real thing. Star Trek Holodeck can become a reality

3. Gene Therapy: Replacing bad genes with good one and rewrting our genetic code. Because of the experiences with genetic engineering, the Federation had banned it except to correct genetic birth defects, though Julian Bashir is a notable exception to this. Despite the ban, the Federation allowed the Darwin station to conduct human genetic engineering, which resulted in a telepathic, telekentic humans with a very effective immune system.

4. Space Colonization: Space colonization is closely related to transhumanism through the mutual association of futurist philosophy, but also more directly because the embrace of transhumanism will be necessary to colonize space. The only reasonable solution is to upgrade our bodies. Not terraform the cosmos, but cosmosform ourselves.

5. Cybernetics: Cyborgs already walk among us, and they look just like normal people. Many cyborg upgrades which will become available in the 20s and 30s, such as hearing and vision enhancement, metabolic enhancement, artificial bones, muscles, and organs, and even brain-computer interfaces will be invisible to the casual observer, implanted beneath the skin.

6. Autonomous Self-Replicating Robotics: A landmark NASA study, “Advanced Automation for Space Missions”, found that robotic self-replication is just a matter of engineering, and that no fundamental theoretical breakthroughs are needed. The study proposed sending a 100-ton package to the Moon, with a self-replication time of 1 year, and letting it self-replicate until the desired level of development is attained.

7. Molecular Manufacturing: If self-replication is the Holy Grail of robotics, then molecular nanotechnology (MNT) is the Holy Grail of manufacturing. Molecular nanotechnology would use massive arrays of nanometer-scale actuators (produced initially through self-replication) to manufacture macroscale products with atomic precision. This concept is known as the nanofactory. In Michael Crichton’s Prey, one such factory turns into a deadly entity.

8. Megascale Engineering: Typically, megascale engineering refers to building structures at least 1,000 km in length in one dimension, such as a space elevator, Globus Cassus, or Dyson sphere or the fictional death star of Star Wars

9. Mind Uploading: We don’t want to accept that we’re just data structures implemented as computational automata on bilogical nerons. The brain can’t tell if it’s made out of biological cells or entirely nonbiological neuron-equivalents: the computation is the same. Sometimes this notion is also referred to as an application of the Church-Turing thesis.

10. Artificial General Intelligence: The way the world would be impacted by the arrival of general AI is too extreme to discuss. If raw materials such as sand can be converted into computer chips and then into intelligent minds, eventually the majority of material in the solar system could be made intelligent and conscious. The result would be a “noetic Renaissance”: the expansion of intelligence and experience beyond our wildest dreams.