Writing
- Telegram – This is where I post about entrepreneurship, wealth, health, happiness, and my other everyday observations. I publish best of it here.
- How To Canada – My blog in Russian about immigration to Canada. Not currently maintained but it has a ton of great material.
“What do you do?”
Here’s why this is a terrible question, and why you should stop asking it. I was that person. I used to ask this question, a lot. It was part of my normal small talk, as it is for many people across North America. A cheap way to learn about a person, their hobbies and interests. I stopped recently, when I no longer had a traditional job to use as a placeholder for this answer.
Why Telegram is getting worse
Simply put, stories. And a bunch of other social crap. There’s a reason people call it a messenger — it has to do one job well, message. Imagine a post officer delivering your mail, but on occasion they would start telling you gossips about your neighbours too. Without you consenting, of course. That’s what I think is happening to Telegram. WhatsApp went south. Facebook’s Messenger went south (no wonder, both are owned by Meta).
Guitars + Programming = Guitartonic?
Armaan and I just shipped a new product. It’s called Guitartonic. Here’s how it was born. Idea Genesis This was the day I was practicing my guitar, as usual. The warm-up part is simple. I find a picture somewhere on the internet, let’s say of a natural minor scale. Then I find a backing track on YouTube to play over that scale so it sounds less like I am in a music class and more like I am playing an actual solo improvisation.
Write Something Honest
The Whale, a film by Darren Aronofsky starring Brendan Fraser, provoked me to write something honest. Something I’ve been too afraid to tell. Something I’ve hidden from myself and others. I took a pen, and 20 minutes later there it was, a blank page. Staring at me like a stray puppy on a side of a village road, begging for crumbs. I know how soul-crashing it can be, to betray myself.
How Identity Changes
On Thursday I had a first training with my new climbing team, and quickly into the session I observed what entrepreneurs observe regularly, identity change. I was no longer a random guy from the street who does some climbing. I was now a semi-professional climber who trains with the team. I put on a t-shirt with the gym’s logo on it, and entered the main floor, crowded, as usual, with both familiar and unfamiliar faces.