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the author at 10 years old digging up a time capsule

Someone Stepped on the Y2K Bug

The year 2000 was an eventful year for me, especially in the way of time capsules. I participated in my first time capsule on January 1st, and then on the Fourth of July of the same year, my family and I travelled to the Texas panhandle to meet my uncles and cousins and to unearth a time capsule that my dad and his brothers had buried 24 years earlier in 1976, the bicentennial of American independence.

Now, I realise that reading about time capsules may be somewhat like listening to someone tell you their dreams鈥攎ildly interesting at best. But this post is mostly for my own benefit and reminiscing, so keep reading or not, it鈥檚 up to you.

Where was I? Oh yes, year 2000. Although I was only ten years old at the time, some of my most vivid memories of childhood are from this time period. Digging up the time capsule that my dad and his brothers had buried was fun. All my uncles and cousins were there, even the ones from California, and I remember the sensation of wonder when we cracked open something that had lain undisturbed for 24 years, buried before I was even born! (Although recently I found out that my dad had exhumed it in the 80s to remove some coins that he had included, since he didn鈥檛 trust his brothers not to steal them.) As far as the contents, what I remember most were the firecrackers and smoke bombs from 1976, that amazingly still worked.

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Skinning Cats With AI

Playing with artificial intelligence seems to be the cool thing to do these days, despite the world-changing implications that such technology may bring. And as I was playing around with ChatGPT last night, trying to think of things to ask it, it occurred to me that perhaps it might know the answer to an age-old question: What is the best way to skin a cat? Obviously everyone knows that there is more than one way, but enquiring minds want to know: which is the best? Surely AI would have an answer to this great conundrum.

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My Foray Into Cryptocurrency / 饜懃饜懖 饜憮饜應饜懏饜懕 饜懄饜懐饜憫饜懙 饜憭饜懏饜懄饜憪饜憫饜懘饜憭饜懟饜懇饜懐饜憰饜懄

Today was a normal day. I saw that some of my domain names were about to expire, so I went on Namecheap, clicked “Top-up funds”, and within a few minutes had transferred enough dogecoin to pay for my domain renewals. It always makes me smile when I see the burst of colourful phrases in Comic Sans fly across the screen telling me that my payment went through.

What, not everyone pays for domain names with dogecoin? OK, maybe I am weird after all.

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How to buy a car in Mexico with cash

I am a US citizen living in Mexico as a temporary resident, and after going through quite an ordeal trying to buy a vehicle here, I thought I would share what I learned in case someone else in a similar situation is about to go through the same process.

First of all, I use TransferWise to move money from my US bank account to my Mexican bank account, and when I found a vehicle I wanted to buy, I thought I had all my ducks in a row. I live in a fairly small town, so when I went to the big city to buy a car, I just located the nearest branch of my bank and told the seller to meet me there.

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An open letter to passport stampers everywhere

Dear passport stamper person,

Let me begin by thanking you for your service. I’m sure you serve an important role in the immigration office, making sure that only legitimate travelers are allowed into your country, and that terrorists and suchlike are denied. I also am aware that your job is not necessarily a pleasant one, and that you would probably much rather be at home watching TV at 11 PM instead of stamping passports. So please accept my sincere gratitude for your efforts.

However, I do have a minor complaint. Are you aware that my U.S. passport features 17 pages for you to stamp visas on? I certainly don’t expect you to count them like I just did, but I can’t help but notice that, every time you stamp my passport, you always add your stamp somewhere in the first few spreads, which have been stamped many times before. It’s almost as if, instead of looking for a blank space to stamp on, you are looking for the very spot in my passport that is so overstamped, that no one could possibly spot, much less read, a new stamp! Every time is the same, continuing the vicious cycle.

I know this is an insignificant grievance, but when I look through my passport and see whole blank pages, just longing for someone to stamp on them, I can’t help but wonder what you were thinking when I handed you my passport and you thumbed through it. All I ask is that you look more carefully next time, and give some love to the lonely back pages of my passport before it expires.

Sincerely,

Mashkioya, world traveler