Weekly Review #126 - VR talk shows, collapse of the gig economy, and Real Disney Princes
Did my taxes this week. Taxes are so damn hard. Why isn't there a startup that solves this yet? There's 99 Deductions for freelancers and Death and Taxes, but neither fits my simple young unlanded self. Sigh. HR Block swindled me out of $120 with myfreetaxes.com (surprise! not free) but at least they took it out of my reimbursement. Clever business!
I tried Kava this week, a bitter root from Polynesia that apparently is like alcohol without all the bad side effects. Except it tastes like dirt bark, so you have to chase it with pineapple, which is actually kind of pleasant! I'd recommend trying it.
Also visited the Vichy Hot Springs two hours north of SF, which are apparently untouched from when Jack London and Mark Twain used them. I have to say, the carbonation effect is....novel, but not nearly as warm as one would like.
Tech
Weird foot thing that hangs under your desk and keeps you moving. Apparently it's better than a standing desk, which does not!
A virtual reality talk show! Interesting to see if that's any more engaging than a normal one...
The price points always fall in the Uber model, and without VC money, many companies can't survive. You get what you pay for, and hourly help is no exception. Hard to keep your supply up when demand is so fickle. But if we're nice to our sharing economy denizens and treat them like real works, things might change!
The Future of Algorithmic Dating — Medium
No duh, Okcupid programmer. My Facebook feed and everything else I put online is a better measure of who I am than the random questions I answer on your site. Stop talking about it and make ExcellentCupid happen!
Lifehacks
Teaching Men to Be Emotionally Honest
Men can't deal with their emotions. And it's a big deal. Nothing new, but still bad.
A Never Nude’s Guide to Northern California Hot Springs
Speaking of hot springs, here's all the good ones in Norcal.
Put all your tabs into OneTab! And recall them whenever you like
Fun
Real Life Disney Princes/ses by Norwegian artist Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen are hilarious and cute
Renaissance paintings titled by modern programmers? Hilarious
Waterparks make equally good skate parks! So cool.