In the 2009 book Fear of Nothing, Rick Aster upended the world of clutter clearing by tying clutter to the ideas of suspense and the existential void. Before that release, he had already made a name for himself as an engineer in multiple fields, writing more than 10 books on computer programming, three of which are still in regular use today, while doing engineering, production, sound design, and the occasionally track as a performer on dozens of albums and songs. Now starting to find his way as a featured musical performer, he has released more than 100 songs online in recent years, many of them as part of the regular Acoustic Tuesday feature. As the Shamanic Economist, he combines threads from shamanism and economics to offer timeless advice on topics related to life and work.