Hey guys and gals, my name is Aki Ranin. I like to think of myself as a sort of poor man's Elon Musk. Trying to make a dent, however infinitesimal, on the future of humanity by working on problems I find interesting enough to obsess about.

Currently working on two startups in Singapore. Because tax & weather. Missionready to solve health & fitness using technology, Bambu to solve saving and investing using technology. I believe technology can solve any problem, and that A.I. can make increase the power of most technologies by orders of magnitude.

Why I'm here

I've been writing on LinkedIn the past few years as a highly enjoyable creative outlet for all the ideas I find interesting, if not original. I've found writing to be a great way to deepen my understanding on any given subject, since writing is a form of teaching. You can only teach something you can explain. So it comes full circle.

The reason I'm now on Steemit, is that I'm seeking a new home for my take on long-form content. LinkedIn is doing it's thing, which seems to change frequently, and clearly isn't long-form community content. I've taken a close look at Medium too, but I find the future-forward concept of Steemit difficult to resist.

I'm not that interested in the commercial aspect of my writing, but more in the creative process itself around topics that interest me. The inherent nerditude of Steemit is appealing to me. Going from writing in pre-formatted HTML within a browser window to hacking together my own open-source Atom editor setup. Oh yes.

I have a feeling this could be a good match. I haven't been high on blockchain up to this point, but the use-case for controlling your own content makes immediate sense to me.

What to expect from me

If you like reading about geeky topics synthesizing technology with sarcastic humor, you've come to the right place my friend. I have a rolling list of around 100 writing ideas, which I slowly develop. Some will die off, some will end up here. Most ideas come from a combination of reading books and listening to podcasts. And just thinking about stuff.

Topics I focus on

1. Artificial Intelligence, particularly advances from narrow to general intelligence. No, an A.I. didn't generate this post. Unless this is a simulation.
2. Space, mainly relating to space exploration and multi-planetary life. Saving for a family ticket to Mars.
3. History, specifically the transformative periods such as emergence and destruction of great civilizations. Swords are a plus.
4. The future of humanity, as it relates to the above.
5. Startups, as a means to achieve the above.
6. Odds and ends, like trading technicals and human longevity.

List of defining principles

• Interesting ideas > What most people care about
• Original > Different > Iterative > Derivative
• Value > Ambition > Instant gratification
• Long-term vision > Short-term optimization
• Startup > Non-profit > Corporate > Government
• Investing > Saving > Trading > Hope > Pension
• Wikipedia > Blogs > Twitter > ... > News
• Thinking > Doing > Talking
• Future > Past > Present
• Comment > Share > Like
• Star Wars > Star Trek

Other places you can find me

I'm usually pretty active on LinkedIn on a daily basis, in case you want to get in touch.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akiranin/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/aki_ranin
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22234353-aki-ranin