About

Hi, I’m Otis.  Over the years, like most people, I’ve accumulated a lot of thoughts and opinions about different topics.  However, I’ve never really tried to organize them all into any sort of coherent worldview (except unsuccessfully inside my head).  We’re living in a pretty confusing and complex place and when you sprinkle in the rise of misinformation, echo chambers, and propaganda, it feels downright bewildering.  Therefore, this website is my quest to make sense of it all.

Most of my mental wanderings tend to boil down to a common question: how do we live our best lives before it’s too late (aka we die)?  I believe that by trying to live the best version of our life, whatever we define that to mean, we can make those around us, our community, our environment, and ultimately the world a better place too. To do this, we need to harness our most precious resource, our time.  Hence, the name of the website: Hourglass.Quest.

Here's a couple more reasons why I created this website:

  • I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing.  What better time than now?  I’m not saying anything you’re going to read is going to be original, riveting, or innovative, but I’m going to give it a go and see where the journey leads me.  TBH, if writing is a muscle, mine is pretty atrophied.
  • To share what I’m learning and have learned with you all.  Will anyone read this?  Who knows, but at least it’s not locked away in a musty desk drawer.
  • I’m a nerd and have always loved the internet (and before that, BBSes).  I’ve always wanted to create a website but never had the time.  Just like writing, it seems magical to me to create something out of the ether that can reach other people through space and time.  
  • Our modern internet is a mess.  It contains less and less organic human-created content and more and more siloed, paywalled, and extractive (aka corporatized) BS.  Compounding this, the meteoric rise of AI slop and bots makes things even worse.  This website is my very small way of rebelling against the downward trend.  You’re gonna get content by a human, for humans…warts and all.

Why trust me?  Well, you shouldn’t.  I’m just a random person on the internet offering up my thoughts and opinions on life and the world.  I do my best to be honest, truthful, and to check my sources.  Am I perfect, heck no.  That's why you should never take anyone's word as gospel, including mine.  I hope that what I write speaks to you and that you want to follow along.  If it doesn’t, I hope you happily move on, find something positive, and do great things that benefit the world.

What makes this website different?  Well, maybe a few things:

  • There are no conflicts of interest.  Nothing I write on this website is or will ever be bought or biased by anybody.  There are no paid content, endorsement articles, or advertising.
  • I’m offering up this website to you with no strings attached.  Free, you say?  If you’re not paying, you’re the product, right?  Nope.  I have nothing to shill like webinars, coaching courses, newsletters, or paid members-only areas.
  • I don’t need this website for my income.  In fact, it’s a money sink.  It’s just a passion project, plain and simple.
    • To be clear, it would be nice if the website eventually stood on its own two feet.  If it ever becomes a financial burden, I’ll look into non-sleazy ways to make it self-supporting.  Rest assured, eye-melting intrusively placed ads will not be one of them. 
  • Lastly, I value your privacy just as I value my own.  I don’t collect any personal information about you as a website visitor.  Read more here.   

Is Otis your real name?  Nope, Otis stands for Our time is short. ⌛