He claimed to think that, because of the starry wisdom that his new favorite drug (Ecstasy) has given him, he had this superhuman ability to tell when people were trying to use him, and when they were really his friends, so that he would not be in danger of attracting sycophants. He understood people so much better now, you see. He also thought that this incredible chemical empathy also let him have friendships in a tenth the time of other people (``why does it have to be about hours logged?'' he asked.) So the fact that he would be flitting all over the world and only ever hanging out with people for a few days or weeks and then not seeing them again would not mean that he wouldn't have lasting friendships. They would be deep, lasting friendships that happened to only last a few weeks.
I've read a lot of hype about how these crazy young kids make their millions and then keep living in the same hovel they did before, and never actually spend their money, and so on -- I'm sure you've read articles like that too. But you know, in my experience, it's just not true. I've known dozens of instant-millionaires so far (from Netscape as well as other companies), and basically, I don't speak to any of them any more, because the money changed them and turned them into fairly creepy people. People who spend $10k on a wristwatch and then brag about it (while trying to aloofly sound like they're not bragging about it.) People whose sense of self-worth has gone nonlinear, because when they look at their brokerage statement, they forget that, while skill was certainly a component of why they got to where they did, luck was also a huge component. Most of these people have never worked for a company that built a good product and failed anyway. They don't have any understanding of the fact that skill is often necessary, but always insufficient. They believe their hype.
And I've come to realize that I just don't like rich people.
Trying to publish artefacts from the things I work on. Mostly design and software, focused on interfaces that are practical and flexible.
Also a reading log.
By Judah, one of the creators of streams.place.