Ways of Looking #5 (January '25)
In this issue: my run-in with Stanford IT security, how Silicon Valley and Washington's elite reading tastes differ, and what it's like to go on TV.
Welcome to Ways of Looking. Roughly every month, I send my friends a few things I’m enjoying — content, products, and experiments — and summaries of anything I’ve written recently.
Check out my more regular writing and reply to this email anytime. Thanks for reading.
What I wrote last month
The death of Nor Eply: a Stanford security story — a fun recounting of the decade when I owned an-apparently-very-important Stanford email address (and why I don’t anymore).
So, you're going on TV? Here's your media training — friends being interviewed on TV for the first time often ask for advice. Here it is — hopefully it can save you from hiring a PR firm for “media training.”
What I’m enjoying
Article: The Silicon Valley Canon: On the Paideía of the American Tech Elite by Tanner Greer. Especially in this moment when Silicon Valley is bursting into Washington, it’s worth revisiting this treatment of those two regions’ elites’ reading preferences. The nut graf:
“I often draw a distinction between the political elites of Washington DC and the industrial elites of Silicon Valley with a joke: in San Francisco reading books, and talking about what you have read, is a matter of high prestige. Not so in Washington DC. In Washington people never read books—they just write them.”
Site/App: Perhaps I need a new category here: “model.” I bit the bullet and got o1 pro from OpenAI. I was underwhelmed at first, but then I read this article: o1 isn’t a chat model (and that’s the point) from Ben Hylak and Latent Space. And after that changed how I was prompting it, I have been blown away. I still prefer Claude 3.6 for most daily things, but correctly-prompted o1 pro on its appropriate subset of of tasks is on another level.
Product: US Global Mail. I never thought I’d have rave reviews for a virtual mailbox service, but these guys are really great. If you’re looking for more privacy or are moving around a bunch, try it out. Super smooth experience, great customer support, and just a great service overall. Referral code: ANDY-LZSYAGTG.7WS
Book: Unsong, by Scott Alexander. I read it off-and-on as a web series, but it’s better in book form. Imagine an alternate history from the 1970s onward involving a lot of Kabbalah & theology, a bunch of characters that will sound familiar to San Francisco-based readers, and plenty of absurdist humor. (Thanks Kevin for nudging me to pick this back up.)
About me: I’m a three-time founder (Eco, CoinList, Sidewire) based in Austin, TX. I’m currently spending time on: Eco, exploring the home health & environmental toxins space, supporting FreeWorld, hacking on a few products, and investing in and advising great companies and founders.
Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next time.
— Andy