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This video reached me via a good friend on Signal, a fresh and more secure alternative for Whatsapp. Journalist and researcher for the Tor project, Jacob Appelbaum talks about technology, freedom and resisting surveillance at the World Forum for Democracy.

I truly was astonished by his ability to explain what happened and what need to happen in such a clear and easy to understand matter. 

Last month I visited the Museum of the Image (MOTI) in Breda for the first time and I have to say I was very much impressed by the quality and selection of their exhibitions. My interest in cryptography and privacy led me to the Design my Privacy exhibition and I advice you to go check it out.

Design my Privacy is on display until March 16th 2016 @ MOTI, Breda (the Netherlands).

In order to keep things not too serious, I will shuffle in some good looking stuff, that seriously: you just want to have. Hence the title Sparking materialism.

Recently I’ve been diving into the topics of the universe and space travel. All inspired by the beautiful night skies I’ve encountered while traveling the US last summer. These wooden magnetic toys by Huzi are simple and beautiful. A great reminder of the fact ‘theres more out there’.  Also, check out their Lost in Sofa.

“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” Robert Greene in Mastery

I am nearing the end of this read by Robert Greene and already I am making it my suggestion for your (I hope) extensive book list. Robert Greene made me aware of possible paths to mastery; from apprenticeships to daring to fail. 

Greene’s main point is that we are all born with an essentially similar brain, with more or less the same configuration and potential for mastery. In this book he tries to answer why is it then that in history only a limited number of people seem to truly excel. All this told by beautiful and inspiring stories about ‘real’ masters like Darwin, Tesla, Mozart, Da Vinci, that makes the book a pageturner from time to time.

Or as I read in an online recommendation: “This book is like a curated version of 1000 biographies all under the guise, 'how to become a master at what you love'”.

As the weekend was approaching with every minute I travelled the train, my ears and mind were drifting away. Earlier I had decided to give an older Tindersticks album a digital spin. The opening track, Chocolate, is a beautiful narrated song that I’ve heard before. However all those times I must have lacked the focus, since now I was really into the beautiful lyrics of the song. But then those last few lines, the song already 8 minutes into existence, came in. Give yourself 9:04 minutes of peace and listen to this song. Here’s the lyrics.

Recently I have re-read this article by Ashlee Vance (who also authored Elon Musks bio). It feels so strange (and maybe even alarming) that an article about a bubble is still relevant 5 years after it’s first publication date. This Tech Bubble is Different was written in 2011 and nothing has changed. 

During my visit to San Francisco some of this things became eminently clear; If there is a capital of this gold fever, it must be this town…

I believe the path towards self-driving vehicles is very interesting, not only from a technological perspective, but also from a UX perspective. It asks for a deep level of interaction not only between car and driver but also between car and ‘other traffic-participants’. This concept by Nissan shows some nice examples of that (next to a crazy Transformers-like dashboard).