Month of July 2024

Brussels Collaboration and Tragedy

Jul 31, 2024

//Proof of Selfie Project at EthCC Brussels

NFT launched and mintable: https://app.phosphor.xyz/clemens/drops/9cef4584-886c-4411-9499-55a64a426228/0b282b2f-928e-48f0-bb41-3f88847e8bca/c0312aa9-217d-4446-9e9f-77499a92be7e

Theme of the Month - Brussels Collaboration and Tragedy

The questions/thoughts that led me to the posts for July 2024 were:

What was on your mind for the past 6 months when clearing your random keep notes?
What are the cool kids saying on those trading sites?
How was your short trip to Malta last year?
What do you think about retirement?
What should I eat while in Brussels?
What digital legacy will you leave behind for the next generation?

I beat the heat dome by hanging out in Brussels. My biggest surprise was that we still saw some twilight in the sky as late as 11PM. The beer and food was delish. I’m a little tired of crypto narratives reviving from 2018, but that’s just what happens when you’ve seen a space grow and crash through a decade of cycles. I feel quite numb to it, but I appreciate the enthusiasm. Let’s just keep building and ignore the price.

I don’t really like talking about politics, but I do have to say that it’s a very volatile market. I can’t help but feel manipulated by the media with extreme headlines posted from NYTimes and Atlantic that literally flips within a weekend. It was within 4 days we saw: “Trump’s gonna win” —> “JD Vance is a tech bro pick” —> “Joe should drop out” —> “Kamala isn’t ready” —> “Kamala has raised $100M+ in a few days” —> “Trump is scared to debate Kamala” —> “JD Vance was a terrible pick” —> “Dems are back, baby!”. Why do I even need to pay attention to this? Not interested.

On a personal note, I’m still at awe of Evie’s advancements and playfulness. I want to keep that joy and ease of making friends quality throughout her life. Could I just slow down time a bit more? How many more family dinners do we have? How many more firsts and lasts? We’re a third of the way there to independence, but just getting started on a lifetime of lasting love (and probably some frustration).

On a devasting note: one of our coworkers, Amanda, passed away in Brussels. She will be missed. Grief, similar to love, is best expressed together. I’m proud to be working for a company that has taken extensive steps to help her family and provide support for everyone. I can only provide words of comfort and personal deep reflection on the fragility of life.

The blogposts I’ve published this month were:

30 Random Q3 2024 Insights - More organic random observations that hopefully AI can’t replicate reliably.
30 WallStreetBets (WSB) Terms - Meme stock investing! Don’t take this group too seriously, but it’s an entertaining read.
[Travel Advice] Malta - From the April 2023 trip speaking at the University of Malta. I can always jam in some adventure time.
30 Retirement Thoughts - Retirement is a state of mind and its concepts will likely change in the next decade.
[Travel Advice] Brussels - EthCC conference and side events were super fun, but I still made time to explore the different delicious treats across Brussels.
Wills, Trusts, and Digital Legacy - This was an oldie from 2021, but still a very relevant analysis of the data you create. This will be extremely important for the next wave of AI.

Some ideas for Aug 2024?

Bootstrapping Web3 with AI Tools Course - I’m considering launching this in a slightly different way with my Clembot AI answering some FAQs.
30 Tips from Beat Bobby Flay - An output of love and drool from watching Beat Bobby Flay episodes on (HBO) Max.
30 New AI Careers - Rethinking our post-labor economic jobs. Let’s all switch to the gig economy.
Reflecting on 10 years of writing lists of 30 - I still love writing lists of 30! It’ll define my whole life.
30 Future Decade Goals - We split the next 30 years into goals per decade as mapped out by Evie’s age. This was a great activity in long term planning for her ages 6-16, 16-26, and 26-36.
30 Ways to Stretch Time - Wealth doesn’t mean money, but time. It’s our only limited resource.
30 Things I do for Self Care - We all need to figure out what restores our energy and keeps us sane.
Kicking off “Her Life in Lists of 30” - I think I have enough material from my monthly lists of 30s to cover this and launch it in 2024. Maybe I’ll find a publisher for this book? I think I’ll be happy with more substack subscribers than a single book defining a decade. If it’s popular, maybe I’ll do a book tour!

Thank you for reading and I hope everyone stays safe!

Please suggest a list of 30 and I’ll write it! I’ve written 260+ lists of 30 and only publish ones that I think other people would enjoy. It’s my fun brainstorming routine.

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