Movement, Curiosity, and Depth

I’ve distilled what gives me meaning into three themes: movement, curiosity, and depth. Together, they form a lifestyle centred on exploration.
When I make space for curiosity, the other two tend to follow naturally. It leads to a lot of spontaneity and a sense that life is something to keep discovering rather than mastering.

I’ve come to think less about finding a single overarching purpose and more about collecting deep-dive experiences; journeys that keep me learning, moving, and connecting.

Looking back, I think I’ve been doing this instinctively for a long time. While others might choose a beach getaway to unwind, I’ve often found myself drawn to places like Chernobyl, the West Bank, or the Deep South US (in Oct’25), trying to understand stories and perspectives that are different from my own. And when I have quiet time, I tend to get lost in an engineering concept or a piece of history.

The world often seems to run on profit, ease, and illusion…and for a while, I got caught up in that too. But over time, I realised I was more fulfilled by things that can’t be measured by job titles, promotions, or legacy-building. My work now is to stay curious, to experience fully, and to keep moving toward what feels most alive. It’s how I explore meaning and stay engaged with the world.

The human ego hamstrings us all. Especially if you internalise the messages of your culture. However, if you reject that, learn to love yourself, and understand that most, if not all of us, feel inadequate, not good enough, and crave to be loved and accepted for who we really are, then life becomes easier.

We should remove the ability of housing to become an asset class. Perhaps foreigners can co-own property with the government, rather than own it. Or if it’s empty, they have to legally fill it with someone vetted by a neutral organisation, at a competitive market rate.

I think government should maintain a stake in property developments rather than be removed from the equation entirely once the land is sold. The upside can preserve the governments ability to continue funding housing and community developments, repairs and upgrades. Though the private developers should be culpable financially for a set period of time.

Unfinished thoughts. Trying to balance capitalist market tendencies with protections against overreach and exploitation (environmental, societal, cultural, everything)….because capital concentration seems to always be inevitable

Haiti

After Haiti’s independence in 1804, France imposed a massive financial indemnity on the country in 1825. This “independence debt” was demanded by France as compensation for the loss of its colony, which was one of the most profitable due to its reliance on enslaved labor. The payments were framed as restitution to French slave owners for the loss of their “property” (both enslaved people and the plantations they worked on).

Context of the Indemnity
The indemnity, amounting to 150 million francs (later reduced to 90 million), was demanded under the threat of a French naval blockade. France essentially forced Haiti to pay for the privilege of being recognized as an independent nation. The payments crippled Haiti’s economy for over a century, as the country had to take out high-interest loans from French and other European banks to meet the demands. Some of those loans and their interest benefited private French individuals and institutions.

Why Did the French Military Support Slave Owners?

  1. Economic Interests: Haiti was France’s most profitable colony due to its sugar and coffee production, which relied heavily on enslaved labor. The Haitian Revolution, which abolished slavery and declared independence, dealt a massive blow to the French economy. Supporting the slave owners was a way to recover some of that economic loss.
  2. Geopolitical Power: In the early 19th century, colonial powers like France viewed slavery as an essential part of their economic and social systems. Allowing Haiti’s revolution to stand without consequence would set a dangerous precedent for other enslaved people in the colonies. By pressuring Haiti, France sought to reassert its authority and discourage similar revolts elsewhere.
  3. Racism and Supremacy: The French government and military, like other colonial powers at the time, operated on deeply entrenched racist ideologies. They saw the emancipation of enslaved Black people and their ability to overthrow colonial rule as a direct threat to the established social order.
  4. Legacy of Slave-Owning Elites: The French military leadership and political class included individuals who were directly or indirectly tied to the slave trade and plantation system. Their personal interests were aligned with the restitution demanded from Haiti.

Legacy and Reparations Debate
The indemnity and the loans Haiti was forced to take out placed the country in a cycle of debt and economic exploitation that persists in its effects today. While France no longer directly collects payments from Haiti, many of the original French beneficiaries and their descendants enriched themselves at Haiti’s expense.
This history has led to calls for reparations from France to Haiti, both to acknowledge the injustice and to help rectify the economic devastation caused by the indemnity. However, France has largely avoided taking responsibility for this part of its colonial history.

Sources:
Lettres Patentes du Roi Charles X (1825)
Laurent Dubois, Avengers of the New World: The Story of the Haitian Revolution (Harvard University Press, 2004)
Susan Buck-Morss, Hegel, Haiti, and Universal History (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009)
John Garrigus, Before Haiti: Race and Citizenship in French Saint-Domingue (Palgrave, 2006)
The New York Times series “The Ransom” (2022)

A Useful Banking App Idea

What if managing warranties felt as easy as noticing what matters?
What if your banking app lets you mark the important purchases, snap or attach the receipt, set the return or warranty end date, and you’re done. No hunting through emails, no guessing policies, no “I think it’s still covered?” panic.

It solves a quiet, expensive leak: we forget where receipts live, we miss return windows, and we rarely claim warranties we already have. It turns, what was once, scattered paperwork into calm, simple clarity.

The upside is practical and emotional: fewer lost ££s, fewer last-minute scrambles, and more confidence that you can repair or replace when life happens. Light touch, clear reminders, and peace of mind when it counts.

Without advertisements, the internet would only have content worth paying for and content people want to share for reasons other than financial gain.

How awful
/s

The world reflects your own feelings back at you. Reality is neutral. Reality has no judgements.

How much perfume should one use?

Well, it should be a reward for intimacy, not a punishment for proximity.

We only accept, believe, and surrender to the thoughts that are equal to our emotional state.