Mere Mortals Conversations

In this monthly goals check-in, we reflected on October 2026 and mapped out what’s ahead for November. Juan shared a strong month of progress, ticking off all eight of his goals, including rebuilding his strength training, making recovery work more automatic, massively increasing content creation, and wrapping up his monthly review process. He also unpacked his Vanuatu trip with Jas and the girls, where the focus was less on sightseeing and more on slowing down, being present, and creating meaningful family memories through simple moments like pool time, beach games and long conversations without digital distractions.

I also ran through my own October review, touching on getting out to a couple of events, learning more about teaching yoga, improving my systems for tracking kindness and habits, and continuing to refine my fitness despite a few setbacks. We then both shared our November goals, with Juan keeping momentum on his strength and recovery work while preparing for a new job, and me focusing on starting community yoga classes, improving calisthenics form, restarting Bitcoin-related admin, and beginning a new Moonbound podcast venture. It was a wide-ranging conversation on discipline, family, transitions, training, and building a smoother rhythm into the final stretch of the year.

What do you do differently (and why?), reach out and let us know!

Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:10) October goals and a strong month overall
(00:04:13) Vanuatu holiday and family moments with Jas
(00:08:55) Kyrin reviews events, yoga and missed goals
(00:19:36) November goals for training, family and robotics
(00:29:09) Preparing for yoga teaching and community classes
(00:34:49) Moonbound podcast idea and other November plans
(00:39:31) AR glasses, fitness trade offs and training limits
(00:50:14) Wrap up and next episode preview 

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Are you building a better life or waiting until everything is finally sorted to start living it?

After a month of family adventures, broken sleep, grief and unexpected stress, I went back through my daily journal and pulled out five practical life lessons about ambition, overwhelm, productivity and parenting.

In this Mere Mortals episode, I unpack the October Codex: the reminders I'm taking into November, and the gap between understanding an idea and actually living by it.

The five lessons:
• Life is now: don't become so good at building a life that you forget to live it.
• Good doesn't mean easy: a meaningful experience can still be uncomfortable.
• Shrink the horizon: when everything feels too heavy, focus on the next useful action.
• Systems should buy freedom: decide what your saved time is actually for.
• Your reaction is the lesson: what you demonstrate matters, especially when your children are watching.

These are personal reflections from an imperfect month, with ideas you can try in your own life.

CHAPTERS
00:00 A full month: family, grief and broken sleep
00:59 The five lessons from October
01:39 Are you postponing your actual life?
04:42 Why good doesn't have to mean easy
07:16 Overwhelmed? Shrink the horizon
09:22 Are your systems giving you freedom?
11:43 Your reaction is the parenting lesson
14:35 Knowing the lessons vs living them

Which lesson do you need most right now: living in the present, accepting difficulty, shrinking the horizon, protecting your freedom, or changing your reaction? Tell me why in the comments.

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What constitutes a slave in the present day?

In Episode #531 of Meanderings, Juan and I unpacked the idea of modern slavery. I reflected on some early ideas sparked by Debt: The First 5,000 Years, especially the link between debt, money and bondage. We explored how historical slavery was often justified through violence, while modern forms can be more hidden — showing up through debt arrangements, confiscated passports, exploitative labour systems and economic structures that ordinary people inherit without ever truly consenting to them. We also touched on examples like Argentina’s protests, inflation and the way national debt can feel like a burden passed down to citizens who never had a real say. 

From there, we wrestled with definitions: what actually counts as slavery, and what is better described as constraint, obligation or a reduction in freedom? That led us into a broader philosophical setup for a future episode — one that moves beyond humans and into animals, AI, robots and “uplifted” digital beings. If intelligence can be simulated, uploaded or expanded through technology, at what point do turning something off, restricting its choices or forcing it to serve start to look morally equivalent to slavery? This conversation sets the stage for a bigger follow-up on freedom, sentience and the ethics of control in a rapidly changing world.

What are your thoughts on this, reach out and let us know!

Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:13) Debt, money and the roots of bondage
(00:03:16) From war captives to debt based control
(00:06:46) Argentina, the IMF and inherited national debt
(00:10:02) What counts as slavery in the modern world
(00:13:03) Passport seizure, trafficking and covert slavery
(00:17:06) Work, freedom, consent and personal responsibility
(00:21:21) Overt slavery versus hidden modern forms
(00:26:33) AI agents, robots and the ethics of switching off
(00:27:40) Uplifted beings, digital minds and simulation thought experiments
(00:35:56) Preview of the next episode on machine slavery 

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Why give a robot legs when wheels already work?

Humanoid robots promise to fit the world we built for people. But walking, balancing and handling objects introduce engineering challenges—and someone has to pay for that complexity.

In this October episode of Mere Mortals Robotics, I explore why companies build robots shaped like us, where simpler machines could make more sense, and which human features actually earn their place.

We discuss:
• Why human environments and demonstrations make humanoids appealing
• Different approaches from Atlas, Digit and Figure
• How carrying a load changes balance and centre of mass
• Why reaching farther demands more torque
• How small failure risks compound across a complete job
• Cost per completed task versus the cost of adapting a building
• Human preferences, the uncanny valley, privacy and trust
• Why the next few years could favour a mixture of humanoids and arms on wheels

This is an approachable exploration for curious people. I’m learning alongside you and working through the questions in plain English.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Why humanoids?
01:11 Why copy the human body?
05:00 Atlas, Digit and Figure: different engineering bets
06:27 Fixed arms, wheels, quadrupeds and humanoids
08:10 Balance and the centre-of-mass problem
10:31 Reach, torque and power
11:52 Why long jobs compound failure risks
13:00 The economics of a completed task
14:06 A more complex robot—or a redesigned room?
15:40 Do people want human-looking robots?
16:36 Privacy, trust and responsibility
17:59 My outlook: a mixture of robot bodies
19:20 Which human features earn their place?

Subscribe for more Mere Mortals Robotics: useful questions about machines, physical AI and the future of work.

Which would you choose for your home: a humanoid, an arm on wheels, or several specialised robots?

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Building strength, staying calm under pressure and being present with the people I love. These are the ideas I’ve been working through over the past month or so.

In this Mere Mortals Learnings episode, I share five lessons from my monthly notes and personal codex: developing physical and mental strength, bringing warmth home after difficult days, making creative habits small enough to repeat, appreciating ordinary family moments and taking action on what I can influence.

There’s also a bonus observation about technology and the skills we lose when we stop practising them.

These are lessons I’m putting into practice through training, parenting, relationships and creating Mere Mortals content.

Which lesson connects with your life right now? Let me know in the comments.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Monthly learnings and the personal codex
00:56 Bonus: skills fade without practice
01:39 Get strong, stay useful
03:54 Lift heavy, land soft
07:12 Make it small, make it happen
09:06 Ordinary today, irreplaceable tomorrow
11:31 Take the step, drop the loop
13:15 Turning reflections into a personal codex

Subscribe to Mere Mortals for more conversations about practical philosophy, personal growth and living deliberately.
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Everybody NEEDS compute, but what are you willing to pay for it?

In Episode #530 of 'Meanderings', we unpacked what it might actually take to finance the robotic future, starting with the current AI boom, looming IPOs and whether we’re approaching a classic bubble moment. We explored the idea that even if some of the biggest AI companies stumble financially, the underlying value of compute, models and automation won’t just disappear — it may simply get cheaper and become even more useful. Along the way, we dug into inflation versus deflation, why so much capital is pouring into data centres and memory, and how falling compute costs could create the next wave of practical adoption rather than signal the end of the trend.

We also got into the more grounded question of where AI is already useful today. We compared model intelligence with the real unlock of agentic workflows and integrations, and discussed why the biggest near-term gains may come less from “smarter chatbots” and more from systems that can actually do things end-to-end. From there, we zoomed out to robotics, cybersecurity, privacy, physical-world constraints, and what kinds of jobs or human experiences may be hardest to replace. The big theme running through the conversation was this: digital AI may be close to a temporary overbuild, but that same excess could end up fuelling a much bigger shift once robots, real-world applications and human adoption catch up. 

What are your thoughts on this, reach out and let us know!

Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:30) Setting the scene for financing the robotic future
(00:03:20) Anthropic IPO talk and signs of an AI bubble peak
(00:06:01) Debt, inflation and whether AI could be deflationary
(00:10:45) Have large language models already peaked for daily use?
(00:17:00) Productivity gains, media workflows and why jobs remain
(00:24:38) Privacy concerns, open source tools and cybersecurity limits
(00:37:24) AI personhood, digital labour and robot ethics
(00:43:18) Compute costs, overbuild risks and the next wave of agents
(00:53:20) Why robotics adoption may lag despite huge AI demand
(00:57:33) Who benefits most from AI powered workflows next year
(01:09:07) Which careers are resilient in an AI heavy world
(01:14:13) Digital life, parks, and hopes for human connection 

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It's time for our monthly check in where we review our goals from last month and see what's coming up for the next.

Do you set yourself monthly goals and if so, how many do you set? Juan and I on the first week of every month go over our progress from the previous month and where we are heading for the next. Emphasis as always is on the shortcomings; what we didn't achieve in the previous monthly goals and how we will fix that for the month that comes. We hope you get some value from this series, showcasing our own methodology. 

What do you do differently (and why?), reach out and let us know!

Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:45) Fitness wins, nutrition and creative consistency
(00:03:14) Courting Jas and the flat battery-flower story
(00:07:37) Choosing a physical boss battle: powerlifting comp
(00:13:45) The one unfinished goal and spring energy
(00:15:00) Serenity, yoga and friendly social progress
(00:17:30) Finances, crypto security and renovation trade-offs
(00:27:32) October goals: power, recovery and more creation
(00:36:09) October goals: events, yoga, BTC and long-term plans
(00:45:31) Connecting habits, antifragility and spring momentum
(00:49:30) Wrap-up and plans for more live episodes 

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The robot boom is attracting big money. But who actually gets paid when the machines get to work?

In this Mere Mortals Robotics episode, I explore the robotics money map: the market’s size, the major players, and the economics that could determine what gets deployed between now and 2029.

From NVIDIA, Alphabet and Amazon to Figure, Unitree and Boston Dynamics, we look beyond humanoid headlines to industrial robots, warehouse automation, autonomous machinery and robots working in our homes.This is me learning in public, testing ideas and trying to understand where robotics becomes genuinely useful.

Recorded in September 2026. Company valuations and market figures reflect the discussion at that time. Cost examples and deployment scenarios are illustrative assumptions, rather than company quotes or guaranteed forecasts.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction: mapping the robot economy
01:36 Industrial robots versus humanoids
03:13 What counts as the robotics market?
04:08 Factory robot growth towards 2029
05:42 China’s role in robot adoption
07:17 Service robots and transport
08:09 Automation and global supply chains
09:31 Big tech and the robotics money map
11:06 Specialists, humanoids and autonomous machinery
13:22 Who pays for robots to learn?
15:12 The potential AI–robotics feedback loop
16:20 Can robots learn before arriving?
17:46 Getting more from existing robots
19:13 Why reliability compounds across a job
21:29 The cost of a useful robot hour
23:16 Human support and fleet failures
25:23 Obsolescence and resale risk
26:16 Who keeps the savings?
27:35 What could actually be deployed by 2029?
29:36 More robot output, less supplier revenue?
31:13 Insurance, risk and deployment plans
32:30 Home robot subscriptions and useful hours
33:20 Different countries, different opportunities
34:06 Five metrics that would change my mind
35:03 What needs to happen next?
36:20 Closing thoughts

Where do you think robots will become economically useful first: warehouses, factories, mining or our homes? Let me know below.

Subscribe for more Mere Mortals conversations exploring robotics, AI and the future of work.

#Robotics #HumanoidRobots #RobotEconomyConnect
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This should keep me busy for a while.

In Episode #529 of 'Meanderings', I unpack the “midlife crisis” I’ve been hinting at for months and explain how finally reaching a one-arm handstand left me asking, “what now?” That question, mixed with a rough patch of illness, renovation stress and my brother being away, pushed me into a deeper reflection on meaning, direction and long-term goals. Looking up at the night sky sparked an old fascination with space, and while I briefly entertained becoming an astronaut, I realised the lifestyle and trade-offs didn’t match the life I actually want to build.

So instead, I’ve created a new framework: a set of big, interconnected 10,000-themed goals that I want to pursue over the long term. They span every major area of life, from giving 10,000% effort in love, teaching 10,000 people yoga and aiming to become a top 10k hand balancer, through to 10,000 acts of kindness, 10,000 days without porn, 10,000 hours of live streaming, and the wildest ones of all: becoming one of the first 10,000 people to step on the moon and a top 10k holder of BTC. It’s a conversation about building a life with cohesion, choosing goals that reinforce each other and setting a direction big enough to carry me well beyond the next yearly review. 

What are your thoughts on this, reach out and let us know!

Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:01:15) After the one arm handstand, what comes next?
(00:03:21) Looking at the stars and dreaming of the moon
(00:05:31) Why becoming an astronaut is not the real path
(00:08:55) Building a 10,000 themed framework for life goals
(00:12:51) Partner, relationships and teaching 10,000 people yoga
(00:19:26) Financial, fitness and spiritual goals at scale
(00:27:03) The big moon goal and the path through storytelling
(00:32:20) Character, mind control and 10,000 days without porn
(00:35:48) 10,000 hours of live streaming and final reflections 

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I'm plotting my takeover of Juan's wife.

In Episode #528 of 'Meanderings', Juan & I discuss: the famous “36 questions that can lead to love”, what these sorts of prompts actually reveal about a person, whether these questions help build genuine intimacy or just speed-run a connection that may not be viable in the real world, why it can sometimes be more useful to find the deal-breakers early rather than trying to fall in love with “anyone”.

What are your thoughts on this, reach out and let us know!

Timeline: 
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:02:13) Dinner guests and what the answers reveal
(00:09:15) Keeping the mind or body of a 30 year old
(00:14:01) Secret hunches about death and odd dreams
(00:17:26) The first 12 questions and first date practicality
(00:20:01) Deeper questions, maturity and emotional timing
(00:28:11) Set three, vulnerability and building understanding
(00:40:46) Filtering for compatibility versus forcing love
(00:51:53) Would these questions help with courting a spouse
(00:54:24) Wrap up with goals, travel hints and crypto banter 

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