The Dann Chronicles: January ⛄️
Hobbyist horology, some self reflection, more on web3, dying with zero, and tangled-up seals.
January 2022
Hey all,
Welcome to the future. The year, 2022. Unfortunately, all the worst predictions were correct. There are no flying cars nor space elevators. All that's left is a strange dystopian society where rich billionaires explore space while lowly plebs fight amongst themselves due to different perceived realities.
But it's not all bad, right? I've decided that in 2022 I want to achieve Inbox Zero in both my work and personal accounts every Friday. And after week two, I'm on track to hit that goal.
Everything's coming up Milhouse.
-Dann
🤔 Self-Reflection
Every year, I like to take some time and reflect on the year past and think about the future. There are two outputs from this exercise, one that I keep private, and one that I publish on my website.
This year's post, My Best of 2021, was published late December, but didn't make the deadline for inclusion in last month's newsletter. So I wanted to share it with you in January.
Aside from a look at my top-performing published content, I also share my favorite books, movies, and TV shows (among other things). Mostly, it's fun for me to review old posts every year to see what I was up to. But maybe you'll like something from there, too.
⭕️ Centrally decentralized
Grab your popcorn. There's a passionate debate raging over web3.
It started with a tweet from Jack Dorsey (co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, currently CEO at Block), arguing that despite the messaging, at the end of the day, web3 is still just owned by Venture Capitalists and Limited Partners. Others have chimed in to support this claim, including the very smart (and very angry) Scott Galloway. His post is worth a read.
Not long after, Patty McCormick (of Not Boring) clapped back with a calculated rebuttal.
It's interesting. McCormick frames the conversation correctly IMHO (both sides of the argument are acting like it's after-school debate club). But Galloway's concerns with web3 are quite hard to ignore.
Is web3 a net positive? Conceptually, I still think so. In practice, well...ask me again in ten years.
⏱ Keeps on slipping
One of the things I've noticed about myself is that I'll get acutely interested in a topic for a period of time (usually ranging from a couple weeks to several months) and I'll really dive in and try to learn everything I can. Past obsessions have included cast iron cooking, UAPs, web3, and Personal Knowledge Management. You'll probably recognize some of these topics from past newsletters.
My current interest-of-the-moment watch repair. It's absolutely fascinating. The first video that truly captured by attention is this restoration of a vintage Rolex Datejust from Wristwatch Revival. Marshall, who helms the channel, is a self-taught hobbyist horologist who completely disassembles mechanical watches, gives them a good wash, and puts them back in working order.
Watching is both calming and meditative. At first the processes seemed so alien to me, but when you watch multiple videos all the pieces start to fit together. Hell, I might even start getting into it myself.
🪦 The most out of life
Most financial planning advice will set you on a path to accumulate the maximum net worth by the age of retirement. That's certainly a safe bet, but it also comes at a cost. Is it possible to save too much and in return miss out on valuable life experiences?
That's the main thesis of Bill Perkins' book Die With Zero. It's an interesting thought experiment: how much money can you actually spend in retirement? And are there things in life you want to experience that you physically can't once you hit retirement age?
He presents a way to both plan for worst-case scenario and also get the most out of life. You can be both the ant and the grasshopper. It's a refreshing take in the world of personal finance.
🦭 Oh that sweet release
This month, I want to introduce something special: a guest post from my wife Avi. When I asked her if she'd be interested in a little space in my newsletter, she immediately said yes and immediately knew what she wanted to write about: animal conservation. The topic needs no further introduction (she covers it well) so with that I'll just hand it over to her:
Namibia, a country in southwest Africa, boasts an impressive 975 miles of coastline, and that coastline is home to an even more impressive 1.2 million fur seals. Unfortunately, in recent years, these fur seals are facing a significant challenge. The Namibian coastline is also home to a large fishing industry, and more and more seals now emerge from the ocean with plastic and metal fishing wire tangled onto their necks, bodies, and fins.
Enter Ocean Conservation Namibia. Founded by the truly remarkable Naude and Katja Dreyer, this organization uses guerrilla tactics to temporarily catch, untangle, and release fur seals that are literally wrapped in debris. Their small team has now helped free more than one thousand seals, and they are doing important work to not only help the seals themselves but to also spread awareness about less harmful fishing practices.
I initially discovered OCN through their gripping Instagram account, and I encourage you to give them a follow. There's also a documentary about them coming out later this year called Cutting the Line, — you should definitely check out the trailer.
End note
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Also, if you find anything interesting, send it my way.
Thanks for reading. Until next time,
Dann