Learn From My Mistakes

Short story of how I break life chaos into small, solvable problems - 3 min read.

I have been living in the U.S. for years and still feel like an exchange student who forgot the homework.

I watch, I take notes, I try not to laugh out loud in public.

Not because I am cool. Not for that reason, anyway.

People keep telling me there is a “way things are done here.”

Cute. Here is what I still do not get.

Self-storage

We live in a “rural” area with zero public transport. Translation: homes are not shoeboxes.

Yet new storage facilities keep multiplying like AI startups in 2024.

• Demand dictates supply.

• Consumerism dictates demand.

• Generous credit limits feed consumerism.

Our response:

• Our counter-move is simple. If it costs more than $25, my wife and I get mutual buy-in. This is why I still do not have a home server for media, Immich, Plex, and my tiny army of AI agents. She wanted “delicious coffee every morning” instead… As you may guess, now we buy beans, not ground. I lost the server and won “Alex, make me a coffee” every morning. Marriage math.

• We also run occasional “stuff audits.” If a thing is not used, it gets one of three fates: sell, give, or trash. I also believe in one in, one out. It is not tidy. It works.

High-speed Internet

I am still shocked by U.S. prices.

Internet here costs 10 times what I paid in Eastern Europe.

Years ago I made peace with a half-gig Google Fiber plan for $55 per month. It was average until I discovered that the bottleneck was not the pipe.

It was the Wi-Fi inside the house. A decent mesh system fixed everything. I run video calls while the family streams Netflix and outdoor cameras stream squirrels all day.

No dropped frames.

Then the upsell emails started.

“You need at least 2 gig for $100/mo.” Very urgent.

This upgrade would be an extra $540 per year, roughly $3,000 over five years. I politely decline while sipping my cafe-level latte from freshly ground beans at home.

Honey, reading this, can we revisit the home server veto? Look at all the savings. I’ll name it “cappuccino” for team spirit.

Corporate swag.

In America, many companies sell merch to their own employees.

You pay to be a walking billboard.

I came from the land of “take a free hoodie and a mug, please.”

I am now spoiled by generosity. I have never bought corporate swag and plan to die undefeated.

If you see me in a logo shirt, either it was free or I lost a bet (or it is just Nike - does not count).

Huge water bottles.

The logic feels airtight.

• You want fewer diseases and better health.

• You need hydration.

• Hydration needs lots of water.

• Therefore, carry a portable aquarium.

I see gallon jugs everywhere, sipped every 60-90 seconds like a ritual.

Observation from my unscientific field notes: I have not yet met a very fit person carrying a gallon bottle.

Correlation is not causation.

It is just hilarious.

Pet boutiques.

Pets have nicer healthcare than most of us.

Did you know that Americans spent about $152B on pets in 2024?

• That is roughly Morocco’s economy. Pets ≈ a country

• Bigger than NASA’s 2024 budget ($25–27B). Pets are the real space program.

• 17× the U.S. box office in 2024 theaters pulled in about $8.6B. Pets > popcorn.

If you needed a mental model: pets are a mid-sized country, a rocket agency, and every movie ticket combined, with money left for chew toys.

Our Yorkie’s response is firm.

• We do in-house grooming. Stress falls to zero. For both: the Yorkie and my wife.

• We serve Royal Canin Adult Dry every time. No caned food. Ever. Dry food scrubs teeth. No dog breath. No $300 cleanings. By the way, those dental cleanings often require total anesthesia. Twice a year, if you let them.

Tipping culture.

A small theater at every checkout.

At an airport self-checkout, I bought water and chocolate (stop shaming me) and the screen asked me for a tip.

Default was 15 percent. I chose zero.

Not out of stinginess. Out of principle. I tip for service, not for software.

I do tip.

Baristas, servers, hotel room service staff.

If a human did real work for me, they get thanked. Sometimes this includes the controversial coffee counter. I am not there daily or even weekly, it will not wreck my budget, and there is a nonzero chance it softens someone’s shift.

I am not anti-tip. I am anti-guilt pop-ups.

My rule is simple:

• Hands helped, tip given.

• Screen asked, probably not.

One day I will visit Japan, where tipping is confusing or rude. Until then, I spin the American tip flywheel on purpose, not by default.

Till next time.

Our favorite digital finds

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Short & Sweet

Short articles worth your attention

Why We Crave the New iPhone - 4 min read.

Short, clear tour of upgrade culture. This explains how novelty spikes your reward system and how “don’t get left behind” pressure does the rest. Useful if your thumb keeps hovering over pre-order.

Believing you only have one option is dangerous - 11 min read.

Think you’re “forced” to stay in the job/relationship/plan? This explains when that’s true, when it’s your brain tunneling, and how to create more exits. My marriage test: plenty of options, but the winning one usually involves me making the coffee and taking out the trash. No exits.

When Procrastination is Productive - 5 min read.

If you think productivity means burning your life to chase one big goal, this is your friendly intervention. Choose what matters, organize the rest, and stop calling priorities “laziness.”

Add this to your shelf

If you're looking for something to read, this book's worth considering

Like a mini Stanford course, minus tuition. The author turns real-world experiments into a 3-step “Learning Sprint” so you stop nibbling and actually learn in focused bursts.

Insight: if learning feels too easy, you’re decorating knowledge, not building it.

A Workspace I Envy

A handpicked desk setup that caught my eye this week

Future me gets this desk with white legs (I’m particular like that). Current me is confused. The desk is in the middle of the room. Where does the power plug in? Goodbye, sleep.

Behind the Persona

A deep dive into the quirks, habits, and backstories that shape icons

Cool Facts About Franz Kafka

Night Shift Novelist: After full days at the Workers' Accident Insurance Institute, he wrote late at night, often starting around 10 p.m. and going until 1-3 a.m., trading sleep for quiet hours.

Constraint as Engine: The day job forced him to think in sprints. He drafted scenes in bursts before work or after midnight, then stitched them later.

Diaries as Lab Books: From 1910 onward he kept dated journals to test voices, images, and story seeds. Many finished pages trace back to these trial runs.

Read Aloud Feedback: He read drafts to Max Brod and friends at Café Arco and watched for laughter or silence. Audience reaction acted as his accept-rewrite meter.

Bureaucrat's Precision: Legal casework on factory accidents trained a concise, report-like style and a habit of noting concrete detail. He reused that clarity when building uncanny scenes.

Energy Budgeting: Tuberculosis forced strict routines of walks, rest, and restricted social time. He guarded voice and breath by speaking less and writing in shorter windows.

Delegation Paradox: He ordered Max Brod to burn his manuscripts, offloading the final decision. Brod refused, a single delegation choice that preserved The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika.

Body Maintenance as Tool: He favored vegetarian meals, daily exercise, and cold-water swims in the Vltava to stay clear-headed. He treated physical rituals as inputs to the writing day.

Watch-worthy clips

One video that got us thinking, and we think you'll like it too.

Legal Disclaimer: Mild souls, avert your eyes. The jokes get a bit dark.

“2 Hours of German WW2 Officer to help you Study/Work/Focus”. Nothing to add. I am obsessed.

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