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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 19th, 2023

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  • “Short enough to finish in a day” seems pretty tough for me, but maybe I read slowly.

    Short story books are good for casual reading in short sessions. Robot Dreams by Asimov, or Welcome to the Monkey House by Vonnegut. I used to carry each of those around and read a short story while waiting at a restaurant or at the DMV or whatever.

    I really liked Altered Carbon. Approachable sci fi with drugs, violence, sex, politics, and of course high tech ideas like flying cars, AI hotels, digital consciousness.


  • Asimov is so, so good. I first got into him by reading his collection of short stories Robot Dreams. It’s really approachable, and because it’s all short stories there’s no long term commitment or sense of letdown if you decide to stop reading halfway through the book.

    Sally was particularly interesting (though not the best story in the book). I was working at a self driving car startup when I read it, and it was amazing that in 1954 Asimov predicted robotaxis that we were trying to build.














  • Lots of good advice in this thread already, but I want to add a few details:

    • that loose hoodie would be even better if the pockets zip up. Losing important items on a plane sucks. Also the pockets work great as a security checkpoint stash: remove your metal and empty your pants pockets all into your sweatshirt pockets, zip them, remove and put in the bin. On the other side you put it back on and have everything easily available.
    • if you can’t find a zippable hoodie, go with a non-hoodie with zip pockets and a beanie that you can pull down over your eyes.
    • for sleep aids, it’s a good idea to wait until after the first meal, which is usually within the first two hours of the flight, but you can ask and make sure.
    • make sure your headphones have a plug, not just Bluetooth. The in-flight entertainment usually does not work with only Bluetooth, though some do.


  • Make sure the bag you bring this stuff in is a beach friendly bag that lets the sand fall out through loose knit threads, like a net. Also if you have clothes with pockets like that, bring them instead of clothes that have pockets made of tight knit cloth.

    Also bring something to put seashells into for the trip back home. Maybe a plastic jar.

    A bucket is always a good idea. You can find collapsible buckets that would be easy to fit inside a bag. Buckets are good for sandcastles and for bringing water to wash sand off of things.