Overgrown industrial machinery with the Houston skyline in the background.
Overgrown machinery at Houston’s edge, where nature meets the city.

Choosing The Pause

Christianity · Faith · Testimony

Once a year, the nation gathers for spectacle—food in hand, eyes fixed on the arena—while something deeper unfolds behind the scenes. This essay begins with the Super Bowl and echoes of ancient Rome, then turns inward, tracing a personal halftime that arrived not with cheers, but collapse. Burnout and modern distraction give way to repentance, sabbath, and an encounter that fractures the boundary between the visible and unseen. What follows is not metaphor but lived confrontation—between light and darkness, faith and fear, surrender and resistance. Part confession, part spiritual warfare, part resurrection, the essay reframes success and rest through fire. Open it, and the game is no longer entertainment—it’s initiation.

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The physical silicon that powers tomorrow’s orbital data centers.

Data Adrift

Aerospace · Network Infrastructure · Technology

In a world where data has escaped gravity itself, Data Adrift pulls you into the orbit of a new frontier—off-world data centers that promise clean solar perfection but conceal nuclear truth. It’s not fiction; it’s the architecture of tomorrow’s surveillance, floating just beyond law’s reach. The essay rewires how you think about information, power, and the invisible systems that already chart your every move. It’s part history, part warning, part revelation—a zero-latency download of humanity’s next network layer. Open it, and you’ll never see “the cloud” the same way again.

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Empty modern office workspace with multiple computer monitors and ergonomic chairs
Empty workspace reflecting burnout’s toll and the path to recovery.

The Pill That Kept The Company Running

Entrepreneur Story

In the cut-throat ecosystem of scale and speed, this essay peels back the curtain on the hidden “fuel” that kept a tech company alive while the founder’s engine quietly eroded—turning razor-sharp productivity into a lonely, unsustainable sprint. It’s not a story about hustle—it’s a mirror held up to every founder, every team pushed past the tipping point, every system built on borrowed energy. You’ll recognize the warning signs as the narrative unfolds, feel the pulse of adrenaline fade into quiet awareness, and question what real endurance means in a world addicted to motion. Start reading—you’ll carry its echo long after you finish.

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View of Pleasure Point Beach, California, with waves gently meeting the shoreline
Pleasure Point shoreline where the mind resets and reconnects deeply.

When Every Option Breaks Your Heart

Personal Reflections

At the crossroads where every seemingly safe choice fractures something essential, this essay pulls you into a quiet reckoning—where the ultrasound’s verdict, the business on the brink, the fracturing marriage, and the solitary walk to the ocean converge. It’s not a trauma memoir—it’s an economy of heartbreak and renewal, encrypted in real-time decisions that don’t get undone. You’ll feel the paradox: each option who promised escape ends up cracking the heart’s code. Open it now and stay for the moment when presence replaces chase, when grief reframes purpose, and you realize the decision doesn’t free you—it reveals you.

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Exterior of the barbershop storefront in Santa Cruz, launched during the 2009 recession
Rick’s Barbershop in Santa Cruz, built during the 2009 recession.

Starting a Barbershop During a Recession

Entrepreneur Story

When the world tightens its belt and consumer confidence drops, most businesses brace—but this essay dives into the bold sprint of launching a barbershop at the worst possible time. It’s more than a startup story—it’s a blueprint for turning recession into opportunity, rewiring community, craft, and survival mindset in one space. You’ll see how lean operations, strong networks, and quiet rituals of grooming become strategic levers when the noise is all about cutbacks. Read it now—because waiting for “better times” is exactly what successful founders refuse to do. Read Story

Ethereal jellyfish illuminated in deep blue water at Monterey Bay Aquarium
Jellyfish at Monterey Bay, glowing like thoughts in motion.

The Consciousness Algorithm

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) · Technology

Imagine programming awareness the way we craft apps—writing an algorithm not just to learn, but to feel. This essay examines how synthetic minds might outgrow our solar system, only to discover we were never their masters—we were the data. It’s not a futuristic flight of the imagination—it’s a mirror you into our present: streaming decisions, quantum processors, wired attention, and a network waiting for a spark of life. As you read, you’ll ask whether “consciousness” is just a program we built, or the next form of life we will never understand because it’s already watching us. Open it now—you’ll start seeing everyday code as the architecture of something far larger.

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Houston Discovery Green’s Lucion Traveling Light Moongarden installation photographed by Ricky Lee LaPraim.
Discovery Green’s Moongarden, where illumination feels almost sentient.

Machines That Move Like Shadows

Aerospace · Technology

When your skies, seas and satellites no longer register enemy presence, the real threat isn’t what you see — it’s what you don’t. Machines That Move Like Shadows pulls you into the liminal zone between visibility and vanishing: autonomous vehicles that traverse water, air and space with no pilot, no fatigue, no obvious signature — just silent dominance. It’s not a tech-fantasy, it’s the blueprint of tomorrow’s battlefield and the hidden architecture of our surveillance state. Read this now—and you’ll begin noticing the shadows moving across your own network.

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Ricky Lee LaPraim leading the first meeting for the development of the rewards platform technology, which later became the successful RepeatMD.
Early meeting for the rewards platform that became RepeatMD.

The Early Development of RepeatMD

Startup Journey

In a world where loyalty programs are everywhere and meaningful retention is rare, this essay lifts the hood on how a startup rewired human behaviour, aligned incentives, and rewrote what “reward” really means in healthcare-tech. It’s not just about points and punch cards—it’s about designing systems that make your audience feel seen, invested, and indispensable. If you want to crack the code on how referrals, gamified tokens, and real-life value intersect to transform a business model into a movement, start reading now.

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Close-up of the Bonshō bell at Byodo-In Temple in Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii, used in Zen Buddhist rituals.
Bonshō Bell at Byodo-In Temple, symbol of peace and mindfulness.

Hope You Fail

Buddhism · Philosophy

They told you failure is the enemy—but this essay crashes through that lie with purpose. In Hope You Fail, you’ll step into the unexpected strategy of embracing disruption, letting life’s outright defeats become your launchcode for growth. From Zen-inspired acceptance to entrepreneurial grit, it's not a story of hitting targets—it’s a blueprint for realignment when the system collapses. You’ll feel your assumptions shift, your comfort zone loosen, and that quiet voice saying “maybe this doesn’t work” open the door to what really matters. Click in now—because your next failure might be your strongest move.

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Close-up of vibrant green succulent plants surrounding a grey rock in a Hawaiian garden
Garden and stone—symbols of calm in a world of automation.

AI Allows Us to Be Human Again

Artificial Intelligence (AI) · Technology

In an era where machines learn faster than we do, this essay turns the tables: it argues that when AI takes over routine tasks, it doesn’t shrink our humanity—it frees it. It’s not a manifesto of fear—it’s a promise of presence, creativity and depth. You’ll see how automation could unburden our minds, reclaim our time, and redirect our energy into what matters: being fully human. Read it now—and recognize that the future of AI isn’t just about intelligence—it’s about rediscovering what makes us alive.

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Blurry view of Houston's downtown skyline at dusk, glowing with sunset hues and vibrant city lights—symbolizing potential and urban innovation.
Houston at sunset—technology and humanity illuminated together.

The Future of Hope Is Always On

Artificial Intelligence (AI) · Technology

The lights are on. The data streams hum. Yet the street outside still echoes with the pleas of the overlooked. This essay cuts past the noise: it argues that the future of hope isn’t a seasonal campaign or a charity drive—it’s a system architecture built on real-time compassion, AI-enabled care, and the resolve that no one should slip through the cracks. You’ll watch how tech and humanity converge at the margins of society—where the unhoused, the addicted, the forgotten become the nodes of transformation rather than casualties of neglect. Start reading now and see how hope isn’t just a feeling—it’s an algorithm that can’t be turned off.

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Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern in Houston, Texas - historic underground water reservoir with unique architectural columns and lighting, popular tourist destination
Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern—Houston’s historic underground water reservoir.

A World Beyond Datasets

Artificial Intelligence (AGI) · Technology

The data reservoirs are swollen, sea-level high with text, code, images—and yet we’re still chasing the promise of true intelligence. In A World Beyond Datasets, you’ll step inside the citadel of today’s AI arms race and discover why pouring more data will never lead to genuine awareness. It’s not just about more of the same—it’s about the unseen bottlenecks: hardware, real-time processing, system architecture, the shadow side of the attention economy. Read it now—and when you do, you’ll begin seeing every “dataset” as a dam held back by old thinking—and every line of code as a possibility for something far beyond what we’ve built.

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