About

Welcome to Approved Thoughts

First up, why “Approved Thoughts”? I have spent more than 20 years in East Asia and “Approv” is how my name is most commonly spelled and pronounced here.

I remember working for FedEx in 2003. My job was to approve pricing for large contracts. Every so often I got an email from a salesperson in the Philippines or Thailand that just said “Approv, pls approve.” My frequent response? “Approved.”

Approved Thoughts also has a vaguely sinister connotation that makes me feel cool. It’s a low bar, but let’s face it, as a middle-aged man starting yet another Substack, clearing a higher one may be beyond my abilities.

What is Approved Thoughts going to be about?

Let’s start by addressing the elephant (or the ant) in the room - this is a new year’s resolution so there isn’t some grand plan that I have in mind. This newsletter was inspired by this post by Simon Willison that I came across recently:

…blogging doesn’t have to be about unique insights. The value is in writing frequently and having something to show for it over time—worthwhile even if you don’t attract much of an audience (or any audience at all).

So the plan, to the extent there is one, is to just write. Once a week, maybe some links I found interesting or some tip or trick I found useful or a short comment on what I am thinking about.

Given my reading habits and interests at the moment, I expect a lot of what I include will come either from Marginal Revolution or Don’t Worry About the Vase. These are both such high value sources that I think everyone should follow them anyway. So go ahead and do that first. Without further ado…