What is the biggest waste of money in your life so far?

Originally posted on Quora.

A glass vase of  €0.50.

I bought it, had to carry it with me the whole day while shopping, then – when I got home I quickly filled it with water and put in the flowers, to leave for the weekend. When I got home, I found out it was leaking as the whole floor was soaked, and the wooden floor was bended cause of the water.

I then put it outside on the terrace, but later, it was blown over by the wind so the whole terrace was covered in glass shards. Cleaned it, but still found bits ‘n pieces of glass many weeks later.

Seriously, that vase was a bad buy.

Latest

The Path and Meaning

The Path and Meaning

“We walk down the path in Xikeng.” Three years ago, I started a note with that sentence. We visited a row of villages in the south of Zhejiang, and Xikeng (西坑) was at the end of the day — the least touristified town of them all. The village had dozens of old buildings, sliced by […]
February 4, 2026
Kunshan Diorama

Kunshan Diorama

Today, I’m visiting Zhengyi Old Street (正仪老街) in Kunshan — a city wedged in between Suzhou and Shanghai. This old street is a leftover slice in between other parts properly planned by the city. On the horizon, I can see construction cranes, as if they are threatening the area; ‘we are coming to you next’. […]
January 17, 2026
Hyperreality

Hyperreality

It’s 06:30 in the morning and I’m driving to the San Gabriel Mountains, north of Los Angeles. I’ve been trying to sleep after an exhausting week at CES, but I’m too excited for this hike and can’t wait to depart the Airbnb we’re in. Every visit to the United States is an adventure. The most […]
January 15, 2026
In Praise Of Writing (And the Case Against AI)

In Praise Of Writing (And the Case Against AI)

If George Orwell, one of the best essayists, were alive today, he’d be firmly against AI. Not because of 1984 or ‘Big Brother’, but because in ‘Why I Write’, he listed four motives for writing; Historical impulse Political purpose Aesthetic enthusiasm Egoism   Neither of these motives survives if you let AI do the writing […]
January 14, 2026