Some things, unfortunately, are present everywhere. For the non-Cyrillic readers among you, that's L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, advertised on the side of a bus stop in Almaty.
February 29th, 2008
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elepsis.org
The "official website" of Arcadiy Kantor, trying to justify its existence.
Archive of February 2008
Some things, unfortunately, are present everywhere. For the non-Cyrillic readers among you, that's L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, advertised on the side of a bus stop in Almaty.
February 29th, 2008
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Oops
Did not quite make it to Kazakhstan yet as my flight got cancelled. Rather, spending the night at a hotel in Frankfurt. No major complaints, though. More when I do not have to type on a German keyboard (i.e. not today, since they do not have free internet). February 20th, 2008 / 1 Comment / TrackbackPacking list for Kazakhstan
As I leave for Kazakhstan in the very near future, I've decided to "open-source" my packing list. If you have suggestions, edit them at the above link. (Note that it may be in progress and whole sections might be missing!) February 16th, 2008 / 0 Comments / Trackback"We are imperfect. And loathing yourself or bemoaning your lack of work ethic isn’t actually doing anything, either. It’s just another way to do what you really want to do, which is obviously to do nothing."February 12th, 2008 / 0 Comments / Trackback
Relative Expenditures
Last night, I spent nearly $15 on dinner with a group of friends. The food was delicious but it seems like the expenditure is remarkably large considering that it was probably less than healthy and all it did for me was fill me up. From the perspective of having an impact, what did I gain from spending that money?
I'm not saying this from the perspective of being a cheapskate; rather, it made me muse about the things I have consciously avoided spending money on that could make a lasting improvement in my daily life. If I added up my monthly expenses for going out to eat, I could buy maybe 10-15 pairs of "nice" socks. So why am I still putting up with ones that are uncomfortable and, in some cases, developing holes?
Likewise, my laptop battery life has been disgustingly bad lately. An eBay search showed that I could buy a third-party battery for roughly $40. The utility of better battery life for me is significant; I feel like run into battery life-related annoyances several times a week. For the cost of two and a half dinners, I could remove a regular annoyance.
And yet when it comes down to daily actions, it's always a lot easier for me to convince myself to spend money on dinner than on a new laptop battery. I would make a terrible economist.
Meanwhile, I've finally ordered that new laptop battery after all.
February 11th, 2008 / 1 Comment / Trackback