{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1", "title": "Danny Salzman", "description": "Exploring Stale Assumptions", "home_page_url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/", "feed_url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/feed.json", "authors": [{ "name": "Danny Salzman", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com" }], "language": "en", "items": [ { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2024/06/27/weeping-at-32", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2024/06/27/weeping-at-32", "title": "Weeping at 32", "content_html": "
\n

“Do you think,” said he, “I have not just cause to weep, when I consider that Alexander at my age had conquered so many nations, and I have all this time done nothing that is memorable?”

\n\n

— Julius Caesar, as recounted by Plutarch in Parallel Lives

\n
\n\n

Caesar was 32 at the time of the quote. The same age as Alexander the Great when he died. Alexander had created the largest empire of his time. I turned 32 this year as well. While my ambitions are lower I understand the feelings of Caesar. It’s reassuring to know that even Julius Caesar had imposter syndrome and achieved his greatest exploits later in life.

\n", "summary": " “Do you think,” said he, “I have not just cause to weep, when I consider that Alexander at my age had conquered so many nations, and I have all this time done nothing that is memorable?” — Julius Caesar, as recounted by Plutarch in Parallel Lives", "date_published": "2024-06-27T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["quotes"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2024/06/20/modding-alphasmart-neo-for-wireless-ble-transfer", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2024/06/20/modding-alphasmart-neo-for-wireless-ble-transfer", "title": "Modding Alphasmart Neo for wireless BLE transfer", "content_html": "

TLDR

\n

I love the simplicity of writing on an Alphasmart Neo. I scored a few from a middle school. The one thing that I wish it had was wireless transfer capabilities. I added an ESP32 to act as a USB host and then emulate a BLE keyboard. This allows for easy transfer of text without modifying the original board or firmware.

\n\n

Demo

\n
\n\n\n

Prototype Hardware Modification

\n\n

\"Alphasmart

\n\n

At the heart of the mod is ~$10 esp32-s3-devkitc-1 module. I picked this module since it splits out the USB Host port from the programming/serial port which reduces debugging time. The ESP takes 5V directly from the Alphasmart. I cut a micro USB cable to connect the ESP32 to the underside of the USB Type B plug. Power is switched so you can put the Alphasmart into BLE keyboard mode with power on. This is a first pass attempt so I just used Myler tape to secure the device and wire together. I did this on my second Neo and will do a “cleaner” install on my other one.

\n\n

Next Steps

\n\n
    \n
  1. Document the code and schematic.
    2. \n
  2. Add local OTA WiFi updating.
    3. \n
  3. Add command mode to firmware.
    4. \n
  4. Add Jekyll Blog posting capabilities.
    5. \n
  5. Add post to Twitter capabilities.
    6. \n
\n", "summary": "TLDRI love the simplicity of writing on an Alphasmart Neo. I scored a few from a middle school. The one thing that I wish it had was wireless transfer capabilities. I added an ESP32 to act as a USB host and then emulate a BLE keyboard. This allows for easy transfer of text without modifying the original board or firmware.", "date_published": "2024-06-20T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["project","hardware"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2024/02/09/bad-habits", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2024/02/09/bad-habits", "title": "Eliminate Bad Habits First", "content_html": "

In our constant quest for improvement, we often gravitate towards adding new habits, skills, or routines to our lives. It’s a forward-thinking approach, fueled by the optimistic belief that more of the right stuff will make us better, happier, and more successful. But there’s a hidden power in the opposite direction that we frequently overlook: the power of removing bad habits.

\n\n

The concept of compounding is well understood in the realm of finance. Small, consistent investments grow exponentially over time, thanks to the magic of interest working on interest. This principle is celebrated for its ability to generate wealth, but it’s equally potent in a less celebrated domain: the compounding effects of our habits.

\n\n

Just as positive habits can build up to create massive benefits over time, negative habits can compound, leading to increasingly detrimental effects. It’s not just a matter of bad habits taking up time or energy that could be better spent. It’s about the way these habits can erode our foundations, bit by bit, day by day, in a silent crescendo of consequences.

\n\n

Consider this: removing a bad habit is akin to stopping a compounding loss. It’s not merely about getting back the time, money, or health that the habit consumes; it’s about halting a negative compounding effect that can be profoundly damaging over time. The absence of a bad habit doesn’t just return us to a neutral state; it lifts a burden that’s been doubling down on our potential, holding us back in unseen ways.

\n\n

This isn’t to say that adopting positive habits isn’t worthwhile. It absolutely is. But there’s an asymmetry in the impact of negative versus positive habits that we must acknowledge. A bad habit can have a more significant, more immediate detrimental effect on our lives than the addition of a good habit can have a beneficial one. The reason is simple: bad habits often directly counteract our efforts to improve, creating a constant need to overcome self-imposed obstacles.

\n\n

The process of removing a bad habit often involves deep self-reflection, acknowledgment of the harm it causes, and the implementation of strategies to break the cycle. It’s not easy, and it’s not quick. But the payoff is immense. By removing just one significant bad habit, you can potentially unlock a future that’s been stifled, bit by bit, by the compound interest of poor choices.

\n\n

So, while you’re considering what new habits to build, take a moment to look in the other direction. What habits are holding you back? What negative compounding can you stop today? The power of compounding works both ways, and sometimes, the most effective way to move forward is to first take something away.

\n", "summary": "In our constant quest for improvement, we often gravitate towards adding new habits, skills, or routines to our lives. It’s a forward-thinking approach, fueled by the optimistic belief that more of the right stuff will make us better, happier, and more successful. But there’s a hidden power in the opposite direction that we frequently overlook: the power of removing bad habits.", "date_published": "2024-02-09T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["essay"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/11/17/learning-2009", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/11/17/learning-2009", "title": "Learning [2009]", "content_html": "

An essay I wrote in high school in the style of Thoreau. I still struggle with and contemplate these ideas ten years later

\n\n

These last three days I have partaken in\nan experiment of my own devising.\nTesting my own will to succeed, to better my own well being,\npushing myself from the mold of normalcy\nto a higher plateau of moral righteousness.

\n\n

I departed to a port of higher learning,\nbattling the sea monsters and dragons\nthat I met on the way.

\n\n

Many in today’s modern world have abandoned ship\nand are left floating in this Sea of Ambiguity,\nnot able to reach the shores of enlightenment.

\n\n

I do not understand, with the amount of information\navailable to the average citizen\nthrough the marvels of technology,\nhow little people are actually learning.

\n\n

They learn facts and dates, but they don’t become\nany wiser because of them.\nThey learn of Hitler and Mao’s Cultural Revolution,\nbut not the effects they had on our own existence.

\n\n

They are learning, but not becoming any wiser.\nThey study for grades and college credit.\nThey have become machines that know only facts and equations.\nThey are puzzled by true questions of wisdom.

\n\n

Confucius stated that:\n“Learning without thought is labor lost;\nthought without learning is perilous.”

\n\n

I have created my experiment for those\nthat do not know the true meaning of knowledge\nand go through life living like a tree without roots.

\n\n

A clever man without wisdom\nis like a beautiful flower without fragrance.\nThe younger generations today\nare growing up without substance,\nbut it is never too late to start learning.

\n\n

My journey through the government funded education system\nhas been a never ending cycle of redundancy.\nI can hardly remember my past studies,\nsince I never truly learned them.

\n\n

I was taught how to manipulate the information\nand obtain the wanted outcome,\nbut I didn’t learn how these manipulations occur\nand what that manipulation meant.

\n\n

I have learned more from conversing with a wiser man\nthan I have learned in years of study.\nOur schools preach to “commit minds to inquiry,\nhearts to compassion, and lives to the service of humanity,”\nbut they only teach a system of self advancement;\na human assembly line fabricating children\nfor the dreariness of adult life.

\n\n

People are so swept into this system set for them\nthat they are not their own person,\nbut rather just a template filled in.

\n\n

You must follow your own independent path.\nChoose how to react to the stimuli of nature;\nfollow your heart, not the rhythmic march of society.\nI’d rather follow a dismal path that I have chosen\nthan a paved road that was selected for me.

\n\n

As I previously stated, learning is meaningless\nunless one applies it to their own existence;\nbearings for their own life journey.

\n\n

For my experiment, I did not learn for the sake of learning,\nbut for the betterment of my own understanding,\nto apply knowledge to my own life.

\n\n

In school we learn many things, but never\nhow these things can better our own existence.\nWithout applying ones knowledge to their lives\nyou create a generation of robots,\nstunted in their ability to think for themselves,\nlosing the rich diversity that makes life so interesting.

\n\n

Trying to seek this state of personal knowledge\nI began to relate all of my studies to my own experience.\nI became more somber and quiet during studies\nnot to merely listen to the lectures, but to absorb\nand then analyze for relevant information.

\n\n

Immediately, I was isolated from my fellow classmates\nbecause of a lack of communication\nthat I normally partake in throughout classes.

\n\n

I feel separated. I hear echoing chatter of colleges,\nthe future, and grade point averages.\nI know that I should be worried about these things,\nbut I just don’t think college and my future\nneed, or have to be, a constant focus of attention.

\n\n

Everyone at New Trier will go to college.\nSo why does everyone worry?\nAs I listened to voice thread presentations,\nI wondered how all these motifs,\nthat we spend such an extravagant amount of time researching,\neffect our lives in our own small worlds?

\n\n

I know how the theme of “By the People”\npertains to the Presidential Election,\nbut how does it effect my life? Why should I care?\nI feel a sense of pointlessness and frustration\nin the breadth of our lessons.

\n\n

I think of the way that we are taught,\nthe system of memorizing until one’s brain\njust can’t contain the mess of facts and dates,\nand then begins the system of forgetting.

\n\n

This cycle leaves us as confused as when we started.\nWe learn a lot about nothing.\nIf the human race strived to learn\nat the higher capacity that I speak of,\nit would result in a renaissance of the spirit of mankind.

\n\n

While one might assume that to be their own persons\none needs to be independent of other’s ideas,\nif you take directions along the way,\nbut keep your destination,\nhaven’t you kept your own path?

\n\n

To achieve a happy and honest life\none needs to listen to others\nno matter what you might think of their character\nor your feelings toward them\nbecause everyone has something wise to contribute.

\n\n

During discussions, we are all too preoccupied\nby our own questions to listen to the answers\ngiven by our fellow students.\nWe are like horses with blinders\ngalloping across intersections.\nWe fail to realize that much of our own questions\nare already answered.

\n\n

During discussions, I felt it hard to contain my own opinion\nand listen to the opinions of my classmates,\nisolating me from my normal role\nof the classroom’s “devil’s advocate.”

\n\n

I devised a system of virtual advocating,\nwriting down the thoughts of others\nand relating them to each other.\nListening is the most powerful tool a student can use.\nWithout it, one cannot progress\nto any higher level of thought.

\n\n

While we haven’t reached the level of dystopia of “1984”,\nsociety is becoming more and more singular.\nOn the surface, there seems to be more choices,\nbut this can be deceiving.

\n\n

I have marched to my own step,\ndanced to my own tune,\nand forged my own paths.

\n\n

We all must consider our path in life.\nIs it a sensational adventure,\nor a forced march?

\n\n

As a society, we must learn to listen to one another\nand actually think about each other’s opinions.

\n\n

As the roots of a tree spread down into the moist soil,\nthey grow in all directions, independent of one another,\nbut they work together searching for water and nutrients\nthat keep the tree as a whole growing strong.

\n", "summary": "An essay I wrote in high school in the style of Thoreau. I still struggle with and contemplate these ideas ten years later", "date_published": "2020-11-17T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["essay","learning"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/08/25/how-to-train-remote-employee", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/08/25/how-to-train-remote-employee", "title": "Kudoos - How to Train your Remote Employee", "content_html": "How to Train your Remote Employee
\n

What is Kudoos?

Using positive reinforcement to train your employee means you reward the behaviors you like and ignore the behaviors you do not like. You can use praise, life rewards (such as awards, a bonus, or recognition to reward your employees.

\n

The Kudoos is a another effective method to for remote managers to positively reinforce good work for their employees. It’s automatic, safe, and easy!

\n

The Kudoos is an internet connected smart device that dispenses your employees favorite treat when they complete actions or goals specified by their manager. This could be completing a Jira task or crushing a presentation. Kudoos has integrations into Jira, Slack, and Zoom!

\n

Use the Kudoos slash command to quickly reward a teammate for a great idea. It’s immediate feedback! They will love it.

Slack Integration 😃

Kudoos also has a custom slack integration to quickly give your team member some Kudoos.

Did they just squash a massive bug?

Give some Kudoos.

Did your employee stay up late crushing some new code?

Give some Kudoos.

Did your badass team grind out another killer sprint to make your deadline?

Give some Kudoos. 

/feed [employee #] [amount]

\n

JIRA Integration

Kudoos integrates seamlessly with JIRA to dispense treats when stories or tasks are completed. You can even make the Kudoos dispense based on the story points!

Apple Shortcuts Widget

Create a custom iOS home screen button for every employee for instant feedback. You can even use Siri to invoke as well!

\n

What People are Saying

I feel more connected with my team and manager

\n

Where do I get a Kudoos?

There is currently a long waitlist. Please send your order request to givemekudoos (at) fastmail.com

\n

\n", "summary": "How to Train your Remote Employee", "date_published": "2020-08-25T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["project","IoT","Satire"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/07/07/map-of-ppp-funding", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/07/07/map-of-ppp-funding", "title": "Map of PPP Funding", "content_html": "

Interactive Map

\n\n
\n

Heads up: this map is about 80 MB of data (roughly 16 MB to download, compressed). All of it loads into your browser at once, so it can be slow, and it's best viewed on desktop over Wi-Fi.

\n \n

Or open it full screen in a new tab

\n
\n\n\n

Preview

\n\n\n

Legend

\n\n
    \n
  1. Color of the points is based on the approx loan size. The darker the color the higher the loan.
    2. \n
  2. The size of the points is based on the # of jobs retained. The larger the number the larger the dot.
    3. \n
\n\n

You can edit these parameters and use the built in filtering functionality yourself!

\n\n

Data Disclaimer

\n\n

Data is based on the csv from SBA\n PPP Raw Data: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares-act/assistance-for-small-businesses/sba-paycheck-protection-program-loan-level-data [661,218 records total]

\n\n

As reported this dataset is a big mess and I could not geocode every record. \n Currently I have 486,701 records which is 73.6% of the original dataset. I’m not completely certain if these records are correct and my current geocoder method wasn’t working, or if there are actual mistakes in the data, my guess is the latter. I might try to take the remaining records through Google’s Geocoder since I used the US Census’s geocoder from the first run. (Getting value for my tax $’s :))

\n\n

Enrichment

\n
    \n
  1. Added an estimateLoan column which is an average of the loan range values
    2. \n
  2. Added the textual description of the NCID code for every firm.
    3. \n
\n\n

## Updates \n 7/9/2020

\n
    \n
  1. Removed columns [RaceEthnicity,\tGender,\tVeteran, NonProfit, loanRange, DateApproved] to reduce data loading times and increase performance.
    2. \n
  2. Removed full addresses and changed to State and Zipcode columns. Allows for filtering by State and Zipcodes.
    3. \n
\n", "summary": "Interactive Map", "date_published": "2020-07-07T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["project","viz","data"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/07/02/swimming-as-meditation", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/07/02/swimming-as-meditation", "title": "Swimming as Meditation", "content_html": "

Swimming is well known to be one of the the best exercises. It’s an all body workout with zero strain on your joints. I’ve always enjoyed swimming for this reason and it’s been an activity that I deeply enjoy.

\n\n

I’m very relaxed when I am swimming. I often have an unusually clear head as well.

\n\n

What I’ve realized recently is that for me at least this is driven by the fact that swimming is one of the few activities that by it’s very structure forces you to breath correctly, slowly and deeply from the stomach.

\n\n

The deep and rhythmic breaths between strokes forces you into a type of moving meditation that I would struggle to obtain in any other activity.

\n\n

It is a true reminder that meditation is not an act, but a state of mind and body. It’s not just for people who sit cross legged and say ‘OMMMM’.

\n\n

I would recommend to anyone who is attempting to start a mindfulness practice to look first at activities that they already enjoy like walking or swimming and leverage them first to practice controlling your attention.

\n\n

One, you will be more enthusiastic about working on this practice on a daily basis since you already enjoy the underlying activity. Too often is the strict traditional meditation practice too over whelming for people and it’ quickly abandoned. It’s not all or nothing!

\n\n

Two, breath control is such a large part of any mindfulness practice that using a tool like swimming that forces you to take deliberate, deep,and spaced out breaths will accelerate your practice.

\n\n

Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Breath. Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Breath. Stroke, Stroke, Stroke, Breath.

\n\n

Drafted on my Neo AlphaSmart

\n", "summary": "Swimming is well known to be one of the the best exercises. It’s an all body workout with zero strain on your joints. I’ve always enjoyed swimming for this reason and it’s been an activity that I deeply enjoy.", "date_published": "2020-07-02T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["personal","health"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/07/02/i-plasti-dipped-my-neo-alphasmart", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/07/02/i-plasti-dipped-my-neo-alphasmart", "title": "I Plasti Dipped my Neo Alphasmart", "content_html": "

Ahhh I remember that thing

\n\n

I recently stumbled upon an article on Hacker News that triggered an intense nostalgia.

\n\n

This $35 Keyboard for Children Transformed Me Into a Novelist

\n\n

In the early 2000’s I was in middle school and learning about computers on neon blue iMacs and learning to type on little green Neo AlphaSmarts.

\n\n

After reading the article, I reached out to my mother who actually worked and still worked at my middle school. She talked with the school’s IT guy and before I knew I had a garbage bag with four Neo AlphaSmarts.

\n\n

Popping in three fresh AA batteries and it powered right back up. It’s gloriously simple. It’s 6 line screen shows just enough text to force you to keep going and not get stuck on a single section of writing. In modern standards, the battery life is “OK” with 700 hours :). When you want to transfer your writing to a computer for posting all it takes is a USB cable and the AlphaSmart simulates a USB keyboard and types your text. No software required.

\n\n

Bonus Story

\n\n

Here is an original story that was still saved on one of the AlphaSmarts. Pretty good for a fourth grader.

\n\n
\n

Once upon a time in a refrigerator their lived one onion named Oniotto, a pepper named piper and a jalopeno named Jalo. One day Jalo wanted to eat a pepper while piper was spy-cing.Piper was so mad. She pushed Jalo! Onioto stopeed piper before she could push Jalo again. Jalo said,”I want to tost a pepper!” Oniotto scrimed “stop your both are acting like 2 year olds!Jalo slammed the refrigereator. Bang! Piper slammed the referigereator. Bang! Oniotto followed Jalo and Piper. Piper walked to the hardware store and got a few things to make a sling shot.The next day Jalo woke up early and snuck out of the refrigerator.He went to the hardware store to buy stuff for an ax. Piper said,”where is low? oniotto sighed, “hu.why are you acting like this? Why did you call Jalo low? You know this is just stupid Piper\nsaid. Lets tell Jalo that”it was bad to do this.” they found Jalo at the park. Piper said,”this is stupid. Jalo said you’re right.”Lets go home and watch a movie and eat popcorn.” They lived happily aver after.

\n
\n\n

We can do better

\n\n

I wanted to freshen up the old Neo AlphaSmart.

\n\n

So I followed the instructions to dissasemble one of the Neo AlphaSmarts here https://sites.google.com/site/dutchg/home

\n\n

\"screenshot\"

\n\n

I then used some good old black plast dip spray paint to give the case a more simple and rugged look. The grippy texture also makes it easier to carry for on the go writing.

\n\n

\"screenshot\"

\n\n

Drafted on my Neo AlphaSmart

\n\n", "summary": "Ahhh I remember that thing", "date_published": "2020-07-02T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["writing","project"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/06/17/my-values", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/06/17/my-values", "title": "My Values", "content_html": "

I grew up in a very loving and stable household. The youngest of two, with adoring and attentive parents. Surrounded by a strong, loving family imprinted the importance of relationships, communication, and respect. Mistakes were allowed and encouraged but lying even white ones were quickly punished. My mom would call me Eddie Haskell (from leave it To Beaver fame) when I would tell them what I thought they wanted to hear. Being straightforward and honest with others, my wife my family, and most importantly with myself is always the right decision. This open communication style has followed me into the workplace and has allowed me to navigate traditionally difficult conversations.

\n\n

My Bubbe will turn 95 years old this summer. Her advice: “make sure to have at least 15 minutes of sheer joy each and every day. Doctor’s orders!” I don’t argue with her. It’s a good reminder to consistently step back and either appreciate the reality of your wonderful life, even when times seem hard or stressful; or to poke fun at overly ambitious and serious expectations. Happiness is reality minus expectations and making sure that equation is balanced and in the black is serious business.

\n\n

My Dad always took me seriously. Didn’t baby talk or simplify. I would ask questions and we would engage in a deep conversation. This family culture of intellectual curiosity and encouragement of learning new skills has made my life super interesting and rewarding. It seems silly and simple, but my parents engaging and talking with me was very influential and unfortunately unique. It turns out that I am a jack of all trades, a handy guy. This was and is driven by an insatiable curiosity and an almost paranoid level of self-reliance. I like to understand how things work, especially if I rely on them.

\n\n

This hacker scientist mentality has guided me to meet amazing people and do some unique activities. From starting a technology based hunting company, plotting my heart rate during my wedding, to making moonshine, mastering cooking, or getting my private pilot’s license. I have a unique and wide spectrum of hobbies and interests.

\n\n

I really cherish this, since not only do I enjoy these activities, but it allows me to connect in a deep and personal way to a large majority of people I meet. This ability to form authentic friendships quickly, is the ultimate enriching activity. My wife Melissa thinks it is my best quality.

\n\n

These three pillars of honesty, gratitude, and curiosity form the tripod of my values and ideals. They shape my aspirations of the future and my reflections on the past. They make up who I am and the person I want continue to be.

\n", "summary": "I grew up in a very loving and stable household. The youngest of two, with adoring and attentive parents. Surrounded by a strong, loving family imprinted the importance of relationships, communication, and respect. Mistakes were allowed and encouraged but lying even white ones were quickly punished. My mom would call me Eddie Haskell (from leave it To Beaver fame) when I would tell them what I thought they wanted to hear. Being straightforward and honest with others, my wife my family, and most importantly with myself is always the right decision. This open communication style has followed me into the workplace and has allowed me to navigate traditionally difficult conversations.", "date_published": "2020-06-17T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["personal"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/06/16/meta-post-blog-infrastructure", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/06/16/meta-post-blog-infrastructure", "title": "META Post - Blog Infrastructure", "content_html": "

Static Website Generation

\n\n

I write all my posts in markdown and use jekyll to generate a static HTML/JS website. I use a modifed version of the Sidey Theme Sidey Theme.

\n\n

Version Control

\n\n

All code and content is stored and pushed to a private GitLab repo.

\n\n

Analytics

\n\n

Simple website analytics are collected through the personal version of goatcounter.com

\n\n

Domain Hosting

\n\n

dannysalzman.com is registered on namecheap.com

\n\n

Website Hosting

\n\n

I use a free Netlify.com account to host dannysalzman.com. It is a static website. That’s why it’s so SNAPPY and FAST!

\n\n

Deployment

\n\n

The Gitlab repo is connected to my Netlify account. Whenever I push a change to ‘Master’ in Gitlab that creates a post commmit hook to Netlify to rebuild and deploy the website with the latest code.

\n\n", "summary": "Static Website Generation", "date_published": "2020-06-16T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["meta"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/06/06/syncing-canvas-files-to-your-local-computer", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/06/06/syncing-canvas-files-to-your-local-computer", "title": "Syncing Canvas Files to Your Local Computer Using CanvasSync", "content_html": "

Motivation

\n\n

I’m going on a trip with little to no WiFi or cellular access in a few months. I’m currently attending Chicago Booth for my MBA and we use Canvas LMS for our classes. All of or course content is on Canvas, especially as we work remote.

\n\n

CanvasSync

\n\n

\"screenshot\"

\n\n


\n\n
\n

CanvasSync helps students automatically synchronize modules, assignments & files located on their institutions Canvas web server to a mirrored folder on their local computer. It traverses the folder hierarchy in Canvas from the top course level down to individual files and creates a similar folder structure on the local computer.

\n
\n\n


\n\n

Dependencies

\n\n

You will need to have Python3 and Pipenv installed.

\n\n
    \n
  1. Python3\n \n
    2. \n
  2. Pipenv\n \n
    3. \n
  3. access_token\n \n
    4. \n
\n\n

Installation

\n\n

This is all on the command line. I’m on Mac OSX and using iTerm2. We will use CanvasSync which is a Python package created by Mathias Perslev that uses Canvas’s API to download all the files, assignments, assets to your computer.

\n\n
    \n
  1. Create a folder to store the Python script, dependencies, and synced Canvas data\nmkdir Canvas_Sync
    2. \n
  2. Move into that directory \ncd Canvas_Sync
    3. \n
  3. Install the CanvasSync package and setup the virtual env\npipenv install CanvasSync
    4. \n
  4. Run CanvasSync\npipenv run canvas
    5. \n
  5. Enter 2 and enter to start the configuration wizard
    6. \n
  6. Enter the path to the folder you create.\n \n
    7. \n
  7. Enter your Canvas Domain\n \n
    8. \n
  8. Enter your user token
    9. \n
  9. Specify which courses to sync. You can just enter 0 to sync all courses.
    10. \n
  10. Enter 2 to use default settings.
    11. \n
  11. Enter a password that will encrypt these settings locally.
    12. \n
  12. Enter 1 to then sync your Canvas folders.
    13. \n
  13. Depending on how many courses and files this sync could take a while and use a lot of space. My few classes took about 10 minutes and 1GB of data.
    14. \n
\n\n

How to refresh your Sync Folder

\n
    \n
  1. Move into that directory \ncd Canvas_Sync
    2. \n
  2. Run CanvasSync\npipenv run canvas
    3. \n
  3. Enter 1 to Sync your Canvas
    4. \n
  4. Enter your password you set above
    5. \n
\n\n

\"screenshot\"

\n\n

Limitations

\n\n

If your professor uses Panopto for the video lectures these will not be downloaded. A link to the videos will be, but not the full files. For Booth it seems that there is no option to download those files.

\n\n

Fin

\n", "summary": "Motivation", "date_published": "2020-06-06T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["script","Booth","python"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/05/31/office-status-light", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/05/31/office-status-light", "title": "Office Status Light", "content_html": "

An IoT status light for your desk. Let others know when you are free or busy.

\n\n
\n\n\n

Origin

\n

Like most fun projects, this started off as a joke when my previous employer handed everyone status cards to tape to their laptops. This consisted of a paper pocket that would be on the back of your laptop and a few different colored cards marked “Free”, “Busy”, etc. This was supposed to help lower open office disturbances. I worked in the classic startup tech open office. I’m sure some caged chickens had more room to move than us. It was “Open Office” not “Free Range”.

\n\n

Going with my style of humor, I wanted to take it up a notch. So I found a large tricolor status light meant for large machinery to put on my desk.

\n\n

I connected a relay board to power the 12V DC lights and a Particle Photon(WiFi Microcontroller) to control it. Bash alias commands would trigger the devices API to set the light.

\n\n

I planned to write some code to have it auto sync to my Google Calender or Slack status, but I quickly discovered that it would be futile.

\n\n

The light meant to prevent people from bothering me while working worked like a porch light to moths.

\n\n

Some Colleague - “Danny - Whachtya got there?”

\n\n

Me - “It’s a light I made to tell people to not disrupt me….”

\n\n

Some Colleague - “Oh wow, that’s so cool! How does it work?”

\n\n

Me - “I give up”

\n\n

Post COVID-19 Universe

\n\n

My wife and I are both working remotely now. We live in a small apartment with our two dogs Sergeant and Pepper. Being aware of each other’s work status is now an important issue. Especially when you’re always wearing headphones and always on Zoom. I might have to dig the Status Light out of storage…

\n\n

This project was completed sometime in 2016. This is part of an effort to document past projects on a weekly ongoing basis

\n", "summary": "An IoT status light for your desk. Let others know when you are free or busy.", "date_published": "2020-05-31T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["project","IoT","work tech","presence"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/05/21/flexible-movement-foundation", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/05/21/flexible-movement-foundation", "title": "Flexible Movement Foundation", "content_html": "

Your body is a lot like a car, and until we develop brain transferring technology it is your defacto daily driver. Your heart and vascular system is the fuel tank of the car, providing energy. Your muscles the engine. Your lungs the carburetor or fuel injection system.

\n\n

Each system is critical to make the car get you from point A to point B.

\n\n

If you had to pick one, would you rather have a car with the best engine, the best fuel system, or the best handling and suspension?

\n\n

I would guess most gear heads would go for the first option and get the biggest engine for burning out on the track. I would like to argue that the steering and suspension is highly underrated not only in the car world but with our bodies as well.

\n\n

People get engines they want more and more horse power. They want the best fuel and have enough to get them where they need. We don’t think about flexibility enough. Unless your drag racing a car that can’t turn won’t be that useful, but many of us are in that situation!

\n\n

It’s an ability we have and don’t appreciate until we don’t have it anymore. I’m personally working on this by sitting less, squatting more, and doing daily flexibility workouts.

\n\n

Once a foundation of flexibility is established and maintained you can focus on supercharging your engine and adding nitro boosters.

\n\n

Doing Flexibility Workouts with iOS Shortcuts

\n\n

I’m a big fan of Peter Attia and created an iPhone Shortcut app that has Siri talk you through the workout and prompting you when your time is up! It also logs your flexibility workout to the Health app.

\n\n

You can even set a home screen button for quick access to the workout so no more excuses. For ultimate accountability you can create a Shortcut Automation to prompt you to perform the workouts at at set time or location.

\n\n

There are three workouts and shortcuts. I recommend watching the YouTube videos a few times to get a feel for the movements and then use the Shortcuts to prompt and guide you through the workouts. Very useful at the gym. I’ve personally seen dramatic improvements from following these simple and quick workouts. I hope they are useful to others.

\n\n

Below are the iCloud links to download the shortcuts and links to the original YouTube videos.

\n\n
    \n
  1. Soft Tissue Preparation - Requires a foam roller and lacrosse ball\n
      \n
    1. https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/c3cd687a175e4cb79b6dc97c58f62e95
      2. \n
    2. Original YouTube video
      3. \n
    \n
    2. \n
  2. Muscle Activation\n
      \n
    1. https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/d9991fef971f4fbd861e7f487bbd0e65
      2. \n
    2. Original YouTube video
      3. \n
    \n
    3. \n
  3. Dynamic Prepartaion\n
      \n
    1. https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/5d938dd3f20e44c79a8a805a8100b3bf
      2. \n
    2. Original YouTube video
      3. \n
    \n
    4. \n
\n\n

You will have to enable untrusted shortcuts to import this. You can do this in Settings->Shortcuts->Enable Untrusted Settings. If you’ve never used the Shortcuts app before you will need to run at least a single shortcut before this setting will appear. Apple protecting you from yourself I guess.

\n", "summary": "Your body is a lot like a car, and until we develop brain transferring technology it is your defacto daily driver. Your heart and vascular system is the fuel tank of the car, providing energy. Your muscles the engine. Your lungs the carburetor or fuel injection system.", "date_published": "2020-05-21T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["health","fitness"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/05/05/bpm-calendar-plotting-hr-vs-calendar-events", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/05/05/bpm-calendar-plotting-hr-vs-calendar-events", "title": "BPM Calendar - Plotting HR vs Calendar Events", "content_html": "

\""BPM

\n\n

This post is the first attempt to begin to document past projects or prototypes that have not been shared outside a small group of friends. I’m hoping the process will help reflect on the work I completed or even motivate me to finish some of them. 😂

\n\n

How to leverage HR Data and Apple Watch for more than fitness

\n\n

I like to collect interesting sources of data, especially about myself, and use them to make better decisions.

\n\n

A few years ago, I purchased an Apple Watch Series 4. I liked the design and the ability to get notifications, but my favorite thing was the built in HR sensor(Close second was the button to make your phone beep). The native Workouts and Health app are great to keep track of workouts and have a good metric of your intensity by looking at your avg HR and ranges.

\n\n

The Apple Watch HR sensor does not continuously record HR readings at a high frequency. It only records at about 1HZ when a workout is active. If you look at my previous post I leveraged that knowledge to get high frequency data for the entire day for my wedding. If you are not in a workout the watch records every 15 minutes to calculate resting HR.

\n\n

Once upon a time in a conference room far away….I had just completed a lunch workout and was limping through a brutal meeting. I was receiving harsh and critical feedback from a coworker. It was horrible, the details are fuzzy now, but I walked out of that conference room feeling dejected and exhausted.

\n\n

I then looked down at my watch and realized I hadn’t stopped my lunch workout. I clicked complete and glanced at the summary statistics. I was shocked.

\n\n

During lunch I did an intense cardio workout on a rowing machine. My HR maxed out during the meeting…

\n\n

That’s when I was inspired to Make BPM Calendar. It would be an iOS app that would overlay HR data over your calendar events. Giving the user interesting data points on how their body was reacting to particular people or topics. My hypothesis being that HR is highly correlated to interesting unquantifiable feelings like stress and excitement.

\n\n

Working Prototype Screenshot

\n

\"screenshot\"

\n\n

Difficulties

\n\n

I was able to quickly make a simple iOS app with a single table view of all your calendar events. The app would then pull all of your HR data in the same period and match it against the calendar event times providing summary statistics.

\n\n

This worked quite well, but most events would only have one or two data points since they were 30 minutes in length and a workout was not active in that time period.

\n\n

I could not figure out how to automatically have a workout initiated during every calendar event. I also did not know how to do this without messing up my workout data. Maybe Apple has since made a flag to enable higher frequency HR collection?

\n\n

Another option is to just start an “Other” workout at the beginning of everyday, but that would also mess up your ring stats.

\n\n

Current Status

\n\n

I never got BPM Calendar to what I wanted it’s MVP to look like. So I never released it into the app store.

\n\n

If anyone finds this idea interesting or would want to assist me on working on this I am open to an open source/team effort.

\n\n", "summary": "", "date_published": "2020-05-05T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["viz","iOS","quantified self","Swift","project"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/04/23/wedding-day-heart-rate", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/04/23/wedding-day-heart-rate", "title": "Wedding Day Heart Rate", "content_html": "

When times are bad it is important to look back and appreciate when times were good. I mean damn perfect! Nothing could have been better than my wedding last June to my amazing wife Melissa.

\n\n

Some people open up beautiful leather bound wedding albums to reminisce….I look at my custom data visualization of my heart beat. To each their own OK!

\n\n\n\n

Background

\n

I wore my Apple Watch Series 4 the entire day of my wedding. I made sure to have an active workout session running the entire time so I would get a decent sample rate of my HR of 1 per minute. Otherwise the Apple Watch will only record HR once every 15 minutes. After the wedding, I exported the HR readings to CSV with timestamps with a Shortcuts script.

\n\n

I then went in and manually added activity labels, going through the data hour by hour. Overlaying a moving average regression line I identified the peaks manually and then compared those times to our wedding pictures (Thankfully I had all the RAW digitals).

\n\n

It was so neat how all the peaks in HR corresponded to the biggest events of the wedding! I then wrote some messy Python and used the Bokeh Plot library to make this interactive timeline of my wedding day. If you scroll over the data points you will see the time, my HR, and the event during that time. If you scroll over one of the peaks an image from the wedding pops up.

\n", "summary": "When times are bad it is important to look back and appreciate when times were good. I mean damn perfect! Nothing could have been better than my wedding last June to my amazing wife Melissa.", "date_published": "2020-04-23T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["viz","python","quantified self","personal","project"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/04/22/sample-rates-of-decision-making", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/04/22/sample-rates-of-decision-making", "title": "Sample rates of decision making", "content_html": "

One of the many ongoing arguments in the corporate world revolves around short-term incentives. Some argue that quarterly reporting schedules force managers to think to much in the short term. They argue that this Wall Street focus harms the companies long term strategy and ultimately its performance to its shareholders. While other argue that quarterly reporting is in the best interest of the shareholders who should be informed about the company’s performance.

\n\n

I would like to argue that individuals are suffering from this avoidable fate. Our decision loops are too short-term focused and are only getting tighter. [Technology allows for increased precision and increased data collection for decisions, but its not always more accurate]

\n\n

This gradual move to real-time decision making and real-time data in our daily lives has made us perform worse and be more miserable. People do not need real-time sample rates to reevaluate decisions. We often do not give ourselves enough time to understand the real implications of our decisions before switching them. We give up on a diet after one week since the scale did not change. We constantly think through the pros and cons of every decision we make. This decision making “overhead” is highly inefficient.

\n\n

This is all about making sure we’re dialed into appropriate perspective or “zoom levels” when we think about problems in our lives. These zoom levels range from the second to second (Scanning Electron Microscope) level to your entire life until you die (Hubble Telescope) level. Do not switch between these two levels! Those are expensive perspective levels and you must use them thoughtfully. Pickup that high school science microscope or old pair of binoculars and think six months out. This should be your default perspective.

\n\n

Example

\n

Do you want to try not drinking coffee? Don’t just do it for a week. Do it for at least six months. You’ll then have a very good mental modal of the impact of that decision.

\n\n

My Recommendations

\n
    \n
  1. Set longer windows for decisions. Collect more data! Increase the sample size of your feedback.
    2. \n
  2. Days go up and down, and so do your motivation levels. Take advantage of high days and lock yourself into a six month commitment and see how it goes. Write it down, make it public, and reflect only at the end.
    3. \n
  3. Try to think in years not months and months not weeks.
    4. \n
\n\n

Thanks to Brett Heliker for reviewing!

\n\n", "summary": "One of the many ongoing arguments in the corporate world revolves around short-term incentives. Some argue that quarterly reporting schedules force managers to think to much in the short term. They argue that this Wall Street focus harms the companies long term strategy and ultimately its performance to its shareholders. While other argue that quarterly reporting is in the best interest of the shareholders who should be informed about the company’s performance.", "date_published": "2020-04-22T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["thinking"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/04/08/analyzing-hn-readers-personal-blogs", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2020/04/08/analyzing-hn-readers-personal-blogs", "title": "Analyzing HN Readers' Personal Blogs Part 1", "content_html": "

On April 7th 2020, An ASK HN post bubbled up to the front page of HN titled “Ask HN: What is your blog and why should I read it?” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22800136

\n\n

It was great reading through all of the comments of HN readers posting about their blogs/personal sites, why the write, and what they write about.

\n\n

It was really inspiring to read and relate to everyone. It also inspired me to analyze everyone’s personal website. What technologies are HN people using? What does a typical HN personal site look like?

\n\n

Data Collection

\n\n

The initial step was straightforward enough. I though about using the HN API, but just ended up copy and pasting all of the text from the entire post and then using regex on the command line to spit out a list of URLS.

\n\n

I then did some manual data cleansing. Removing HN links, twitter links, duplicates etc until I only had unique top level domains of personal blogs.

\n\n

547 - Initial raw URLS -> 382 - Unique blog URLS

\n\n

Initial Analysis: Wappalyzer

\n\n

For this initial analysis I used the open sourced NPM module of Wappalyzer. They do have a paid version on their website https://www.wappalyzer.com/ if you do not want to deal with the CLI. [No relationship]

\n\n

I made a bash script that went through my list of 382 unique URLS and then saving the outputs to individual JSON files.

\n\n

From this process I returned 370/382 with status code 200 and data from Wappalyzer. The other URLS were discarded. Too lazy to redo them or manually check.

\n\n

Data Wrangling

\n\n

I then pulled up a trusty instance of Jupyter notebooks using pipenv and pulled all the data into a single glorious dataframe with 2315 rows.

\n\n

Disclaimer

\n\n
    \n
  1. I ran this data very quickly
    2. \n
  2. This is my first time using Wappalyzer in this way
    3. \n
  3. I’m not sure how accurate or what the limitations are with the Wappalyzer open source tool
    4. \n
  4. Always take everything with a few grains of salt…life tastes better that way
    5. \n
\n\n

And Last, but not least…..the “Insights”

\n\n

Analytics Usage (Google is listening…)

\n\n
    \n
  1. 224/370 = 61% Use some form of analytics or tracking software on their blogs
    2. \n
  2. 174/370 = 47% Use Google Analytics on their blogs
    3. \n
\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
Analytics toolCount
Google Analytics174
Parse.ly13
TrackJs7
Optimizely6
Clicky4
Matomo4
New Relic3
Statcounter3
BugSnag2
Segment2
Simple Analytics2
WP-Statistics2
Gauges1
Intercom1
Grand Total224
\n\n

Advertising (It’s not a hobby dammit!)

\n\n
    \n
  1. Only a small fraction of the sites have some detectable advertising framework
    2. \n
  2. 27/370 = 7% - with the majority being Google AdSense
    3. \n
\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
AdvertisingCount
Google AdSense17
Carbon Ads5
BuySellAds4
DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX)1
Grand Total27
\n\n

Content Management Systems (WP is still dominant)

\n\n
    \n
  1. 121/370 = 33% use a content management system that was detected by Wappalyzer. I’m sure more people are using CMS on the backend to manage posts locally with static sites as well.
    2. \n
  2. 76/370 = 21% use WordPress
    3. \n
\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
CMSCount
WordPress76
Ghost17
Medium13
Blogger10
Wix1
Joomla1
Squarespace1
Svbtle1
Tumblr1
Grand Total121
\n\n

Web servers (Mostly Apache and Nginx)

\n\n
    \n
  1. 91/370 = 25% Use Nginx as a reverse proxy for their site
    2. \n
  2. OpenGSE (Google Open Source Blog) is the most popular “non-traditional” web server with 10/370
    3. \n
\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
Web ServersCount
Nginx91
Apache40
OpenGSE10
Cowboy7
LiteSpeed5
OpenResty5
Caddy4
Now2
lighttpd1
Phusion Passenger1
Grand Total166
\n\n

Platform as a Service (Github Pages and Netlify)

\n\n
    \n
  1. 51/370 = 14% of blogs use Netlify for hosting and CDN. [I do too :)]
    2. \n
  2. 59/370 = 16% of blogs use Github Pages
    3. \n
\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
PaaSCount
GitHub Pages59
Netlify51
Automattic19
Amazon Web Services18
SiteGround5
Flywheel2
WP Engine1
Grand Total155
\n\n

Programming Languages

\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
Programming LanguagesCount
PHP83
Ruby67
Node.js45
Python13
Java11
Erlang7
Lua5
Go4
Perl1
Grand Total236
\n\n

UI Frameworks

\n\n
    \n
  1. 47/370 = 13% use Bootstrap
    2. \n
\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
UI FrameworksCount
Bootstrap47
animate.css5
ZURB Foundation3
Pure CSS1
Material Design Lite1
Bulma1
Grand Total58
\n\n

Static Site Generators

\n\n

I personally use and love Jekyll. Great that 82/370 = 22% of sites are using some form of static site generation. HTML > everything.

\n\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n
Static Site GeneratorsCount
Hugo41
Jekyll24
Gatsby12
Hexo3
Pelican1
VuePress1
Grand Total82
\n\n

Raw Data

\n\n

Link to raw CSV file for your own enjoyment.

\n\n

Download here

\n\n

What else would be fun?

\n\n

In future parts of this series it would be fun to look at

\n\n
    \n
  1. The speed and performance of loadings these websites.
    2. \n
  2. The average “size” or “weight” of these websites
    3. \n
  3. Number of posts on the blog
    4. \n
  4. Type of content
    5. \n
  5. The frequency of posts
    6. \n
  6. Do they have RSS!??
    7. \n
  7. Automate the data collection using the HN API
    8. \n
\n\n

Discussion on Hacker News

\n\n

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22822401

\n\n

Hope you enjoyed this,\nDanny

\n\n

Thank you @stevekemp and @stared for the edits and suggestions

\n", "summary": "On April 7th 2020, An ASK HN post bubbled up to the front page of HN titled “Ask HN: What is your blog and why should I read it?” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22800136", "date_published": "2020-04-08T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["data analysis","viz","python","project"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2019/10/20/universal-healthcare-and-ubi-are-socialist", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2019/10/20/universal-healthcare-and-ubi-are-socialist", "title": "Universal Healthcare and UBI are Socialist", "content_html": "

Decoupling employee healthcare from corporations with a restricted form of temporary universal minimum income program would create more efficient and dynamic capital markets.

\n\n

\"medical

\n\n

In today’s service driven digital economy, human capital has become corporations most valuable asset. Knowledge workers drive innovation today, not natural resources or manual labor.

\n\n

Thus, the efficient use of knowledge workers is paramount for the operation of our modern economy. The transition to a “service based”, “digital”, “Industry 4.0” economy is well understood and agreed upon, but the implications of this drastic shift have not permeated through the economic system. Interactions between companies have evolved to match this new paradigm, but the employee company relationship is still stuck in the industrial age.

\n\n

The main goal of the industrial age was to mold workers into specialized tools that perform a single function as quickly as possible for as long as possible in a factory. This created a strong incentive for companies to protect and keep their assets by providing company benefits to employees.

\n\n

Employer Based Private Health Insurance came to the forefront during World War II. During the war, an executive order was signed that froze wages to prevent wage inflation due to the labor shortage caused by the majority of eligible workers fighting in the war. Businesses were clever and used fringe benefits like health insurance to compete over talent. Then, in 1943, the Internal Revenue Service decided that employer-based health insurance should be exempt from taxation. This made it cheaper to get health insurance through a job than by other means. [1]

\n\n

\"mouse\"

\n\n

The axiom, Once you give a benefit, it’s impossible to take it back continues to hold true. This benefit that began innocently enough with the best intentions has become a serious burden and cost on our society. The problem is becoming larger and larger which makes changing this benefit one of the most urgent issues we face today.

\n\n
\n

It would shine a light on vampire companies as employees finally have the ability to leave for greener pastures.

\n
\n\n

Not only has healthcare costs ballooned to 17.9% of GDP, but human capital is consistently underutilized as workers are stuck in jobs that they despise because they are fully reliant on their company sponsored healthcare for their family or they do not have the time to search for a more ideal job. These employees could be more productive in other roles, but the current system of incentives have created too many barriers.

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Removing the tax benefits for employee based healthcare would be the first step to creating a more fluid and dynamic workforce. This regulation reduces employee salaries by placing that capital into inefficient healthcare markets slowing down the ability to create universal access to healthcare.

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Allowing human capital to be more liquid would increase productivity dramatically across the economy. People could more easily leave employers that do not match their skills, culture, or personal preferences and take the time to find a company where they can excel for that companies benefit.

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It would also shine a light on vampire companies as employees could finally have the ability to leave for greener pastures, letting the air out of stale organizations at a rapid pace allowing their capital to be allocated to better companies.

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Tools like universal guaranteed healthcare and universal basic income (UBI) can be used as decisive and effective tools to keep the gears of our global economies well lubricated and turning. in our service based economy, we need to continue to think about policies and systems that help humans work better, not factories, or farms.

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Cheers,

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Danny

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/upshot/the-real-reason-the-us-has-employer-sponsored-health-insurance.html

\n", "summary": "Decoupling employee healthcare from corporations with a restricted form of temporary universal minimum income program would create more efficient and dynamic capital markets.", "date_published": "2019-10-20T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["healthcare","politics"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2019/10/05/tech-multiplies-are-valid", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2019/10/05/tech-multiplies-are-valid", "title": "Tech Multiplies are Valid", "content_html": "

The meme that you want to be labeled a “Tech” company by Wall Street to increase your multiple has reached maturity. PMost consumers or transmitters of the meme only know the meme itself and not the underlying facts that created it.

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Here is a simple explanation of why these P/E multiples are valid and simple to understand.

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It comes down to two simple equations

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Firstly, the cost to move atoms is vastly greater than the cost to move digital bits

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Secondly, the cost to move digital bits is approximately zero

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That is why Tech companies have and deserve a larger P/E multiple than traditional asset heavy companies. They provide value to customers by moving digital bits instead of moving physical atoms.

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QED

\n", "summary": "The meme that you want to be labeled a “Tech” company by Wall Street to increase your multiple has reached maturity. PMost consumers or transmitters of the meme only know the meme itself and not the underlying facts that created it.", "date_published": "2019-10-05T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["thoughts"] }, { "id": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2018/01/28/did-you-google-it", "url": "https://www.dannysalzman.com/2018/01/28/did-you-google-it", "title": "Did you Google it?", "content_html": "

The culture of Googling everything is diminishing innovation and critical thinking.

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Person A: “I have this great Idea!”\nPerson B: “What is it?”\nPerson A: “Well its __ for __!. Isn’t that awesome”\nPerson B: (Quickly googles on his phone) “There are already X companies doing exactly that”\nPerson A: “Ohhh…“(Drops his head in shame and moves on”

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The most innovative ideas were mostly created by multiple people independently and not knowingly.

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Do the lowered barriers to knowledge reduce our ability for critical thinking? How can we maximize the inherent benefits of the web; while minimizing these 2nd order effects?

\n", "summary": "The culture of Googling everything is diminishing innovation and critical thinking.", "date_published": "2018-01-28T00:00:00+00:00", "tags": ["thoughts"] } ] }