Jose's sort of loosely (un)structured thoughts that are longer and more relevant than a single tweet

  I am extremely tired of sensationalist politics that brainwash people into thinking they are making a difference. Climate change is the most clear case: Climate change is an important issue - a technological one, I believe, because I am techno-optimistic* - and one full of laws that are nothing but sensationalist takes and laws that fool people into thinking they are making a difference. Banning plastic straws, plastic shopping bags, and now all chargers that are not USB C, all while we burn more coal than usual and shut down nuclear power plants. This is what I like to call " story-driven politics ": Devising laws and political discourse based on measures that seem to move the needle rather than ones that actually move the needle. This technique is especially popular because when we are talking about complex systems like the ones politicians have to deal with, telling a good story is often far easier than actually solving the problem. Sitting in the EU parliament in Brusse...

  I've been trying to find a way to recreate the social cohesion of the Portuguese countryside in other places I’m trying to recreate a general vibe, a way of interacting with other people that is very characteristic of the place I grew up in. Defining the vibe to strive for: (I will consciously refer to ways of interacting that are not exclusive to this social group and ignore its shortcomings for the sake of simplicity) Where I am from, people show up for each other and keep their social promises. You need help moving stuff? They show up. You need help building stuff? They show up. You invite them for dinner? They show up. You wanna chill for hours on end? They show up. You wanna play football? They show up. They say they are showing up? They show up. People enjoy each other's company and will prolong the times when they are together to their absolute limit. This is a very important point of this vibe: the prolonging of the times together as a signal of full attention on that...