Beeminder's an evidence-based willpower augmention tool that collects quantifiable data about your life, then helps you organize it into commitment mechanisms so you can keep resolutions. They've also got a blog about what they're doing here
Metaculus is a platform for generating crowd-sourced predictions about the future, especially science and technology. If you're interested in testing yourself and contributing to their project, check out their questions page
Substack is a blogging site that helps writers earn money and readers discover articles they'll like.
Altruisto is a browser extension so that when you shop online, a portion of the money you pay goes to effective charities (no extra cost to you). Just install an extension and when you buy something, people in poverty will get medicines, bed nets, or financial aid.
Support Slate Star Codex on Patreon. I have a day job and SSC gets free hosting, so don't feel pressured to contribute. But extra cash helps pay for contest prizes, meetup expenses, and me spending extra time blogging instead of working.
Dr. Laura Baur is a psychiatrist with interests in literature review, reproductive psychiatry, and relational psychotherapy; see her website for more. Note that due to conflict of interest she doesn't treat people in the NYC rationalist social scene.
Giving What We Can is a charitable movement promoting giving some of your money to the developing world or other worthy causes. If you're interested in this, consider taking their Pledge as a formal and public declaration of intent.
Jane Street is a quantitative trading firm with a focus on technology and collaborative problem solving. We're always hiring talented programmers, traders, and researchers and have internships and fulltime positions in New York, London, and Hong Kong. No background in finance required.
80,000 Hours researches different problems and professions to help you figure out how to do as much good as possible. Their free career guide show you how to choose a career that's fulfilling and maximises your contribution to solving the world's most pressing problems.
The COVID-19 Forecasting Project at the University of Oxford is making advanced pandemic simulations of 150+ countries available to the public, and also offer pro-bono forecasting services to decision-makers.
Seattle Anxiety Specialists are a therapy practice helping people overcome anxiety and related mental health issues (eg GAD, OCD, PTSD) through evidence based interventions and self-exploration. Check out their free anti-anxiety guide here
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AISafety.com hosts a Skype reading group Wednesdays at 19:45 UTC, reading new and old articles on different aspects of AI Safety. We start with a presentation of a summary of the article, and then discuss in a friendly atmosphere.
MealSquares is a "nutritionally complete" food that contains a balanced diet worth of nutrients in a few tasty easily measurable units. Think Soylent, except zero preparation, made with natural ingredients, and looks/tastes a lot like an ordinary scone.
B4X is a free and open source developer tool that allows users to write apps for Android, iOS, and more.
Ever any plans to have a Berkeley/Oakland/San Francisco meet up between 7AM and 4:30PM Monday to Friday?
(It’s easier for me to get away from the job than from the family).
I think your preference is rare enough that it’s pretty unlikely I’ll ever do that, sorry.
What sort of timing is reasonable to expect here? Are there frequently post-meetup activities? I’m in the convenient position of scheduling fights that would be very easy to route through Oakland on Sunday afternoon without much extra cost, but I don’t know what kind of length of layover I should be aiming for here. (The marginal time spent back at my destination is way lower-value than potential time spent doing something cool in the Bay Area for me, since I’m not often around there, so I’m fine targeting the 90th percentile for possible meetup duration.)
The meetup proper usually goes on for at least four hours. I don’t know of post-meetup activities; I assume that would mostly happen if you really hit it off with a few people and want to go to dinner together. Given the travel time from OAK I’d give yourself a full hour before and after the meetup to get to and from the airport, to be safe.
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Forecast looks like rain. Any indoor venues in the area?
Thanks for the heads up! I think we’ve found an indoor venue; waiting on confirmation from Scott 🙂
Will you be in the same (unannounced yet) place for the whole time? Is it ok if I join an hour later?
Yes.