Ways of Looking #7 (March '25)
In this issue: blue light, hardware hacking, Buddhism, a wearable air filter, and coup d'état.
Welcome to Ways of Looking. Roughly every month, I send my friends links and summaries for anything I’ve written recently, plus a few things I’m enjoying.
Check out my more regular writing and reply to this email anytime. Thanks for reading.
What I wrote last month
All light is not created equal — ever wondered why some lighting “feels” good and other lighting doesn’t? Or why blue light is bad for sleep and the reason it’s present in nearly every modern bulb? Then this article is for you.
The flawed assumption at the heart of US RFR regulation — radiofrequency radiation (i.e. emissions from cell service, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) is regulated in the US, but there’s a huge flaw. I walk through how we ended up with this broken regime.
I²C + AI = crazy fast simple hardware prototyping — a 30 minute hardware project to build an “office environmental sensor” covering air and light quality. Hardware hacking is getting easier and easier.
Jizo, Instax, and Impermanence — a brief philosophical detour through an experience that put me face-to-face with some Buddhist ideas.
What I’m enjoying
Product: Respiray, a wearable air filter. Yes, it looks ridiculous. But it is truly great for flights and other places where you’re getting assaulted by someone’s cologne/perfume. Highly recommend. (And most people just assume you have a VR headset or weird glasses case around your neck).
Book: The Invisible Rainbow, by Arthur Firstenberg. A compelling history of electricity (from the 1700s through today), arguing that the rollout of electrical technologies may be affecting our health. The stories of electricity in the 1700s and 1800s — and how magical and scary it seemed — are fascinating.
Experiment: the honey diet, created by anabology. I’ve been trying different variants of this diet over the last few months and feel great. My core version: only fruit (whatever is in season) and honey until ~2pm. Then nothing until dinner (~6pm). And for dinner, a big meal, usually ground beef + rice + steamed veggies. I feel much “lighter” during the day and have more energy than when I was having protein for breakfast/lunch.
Article: Power Lies Trembling, by Richard Ngo. “A three-book review on the game theory of political power” — starting with one on coup d'état, primarily in Ghana, which experienced 10 attempted coups in a 17 year stretch. The article has an interesting point of view on how perception shapes reality in politics.
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