325 entries for 2024

Create good problems to have

[Start using an approach with obvious shortcomings and use the flywheel of growth to improve.]

[Starting simple creates low-hanging fruit for newcomers to get involved, which helps increase traction.]

all of it.

what was it, aaron?

which atrocity drove your desperation to set your body on fire to match your burning spirit?

was it the baby starving to death on camera?

was it the children eating food for livestock?

was it the artillery shot towards children celebrating at the border?

was it the millionth mother grieving her dead baby?

or was it the silence?

Studying history is important if for no other reason that it makes it harder for people to lie to you. Most of the lies people tell are not new, and the propaganda of earlier times is always easier to see through than modern propaganda which we are always immersed in.

Showing your digital notes graph suffers from the same ‘infinitely expanding list’ problem of most ware: better to break things up around human fuzzy memory limits (maybe 5–12 things).

For my spicier content, follow me on RSS 🌶️

Link in bio 💋

When the butter is melted, add the mountain of onions, a small pinch of sugar, a big pinch of salt, and a branch of fresh thyme, and stir it all well. Cook the onions over medium-low heat, stirring them occasionally. Add occasional sprinkles of water if the onions begin to stick. If they start to sizzle, lower the heat and cover the pot, then uncover it when the cooking has slowed. This will take forty-five minutes to an hour, and the whole mass will look soggy and unconvincing until right before the onions are done, at which point they melt completely into a golden jam and all of their sugars come out to toast.

Berimbaus da Bahia: Camafeu de Oxóssi (1964)

Percussion layer with a few instruments becomes a solid rhythmic foundation for singing. Some tracks of chanting with what I call “vowels of African origin”, followed by some classic songs from the Capoeira tradition.

Collective intelligence with Conor White-Sullivan

[Your past self is another person.]

Substack’s Dilemma

“I will pelt you to death with marshmallows” is not very credible, though it might conceivably be done if one had a great many marshmallows.

How many HTTP requests does it take to read a blog post versus a thread? What does it mean when it matters? What does it mean when it doesn’t?

My Secret Teaching Framework (Revealed)

[Organize your message by: 1) starting with the point up-front; 2) tell a story to demonstrate; 3) make it more relatable with a metaphor; and 4) re-state the point.]

Unlike “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them” this focuses on starting with useful information. I’ve been organizing myself lately to share ’nuggets’, which gives you something without having to read further, and like the idea of progressively adding layers or enriching what was previously stated.

Sustainable Open Source

[Find more contributors by: 1) always recruiting; 2) caring about people first, contributions second; 3) documenting your processes.]

[Sunlight helps your skin produce melanin, which keeps hair black, skin tanned, and influences the amount of hair. Eyes also have some.]

[Lack of vitamin B1 (thiamin) can cause white hairs to appear.]

[Copper is essential for producing melanin and can be found in seafood (oysters, mussels, crustaceans), liver, nuts (cashews, Brazil nuts), legumes (lentils, beans) and dark chocolate.]

[Yanking out hairs can destroy their roots and over the long-term create gaps in your beard. Doing it gently can help keep the root alive. It might produce the same white hair again if melanin production in this particular root stopped for some reason.]

Paying people to work on open source is good actually

Every time a maintainer finds a way to get paid, it’s a win.

Until we have fully automated luxury gay space communism every. single. person. who figures out a mechanism to write free software and still pay rent represents a win and we should celebrate accordingly.

Thinking about GitHub while trying to sleep is kind of like being on GitHub while trying to sleep.

[Make a simple paste from olives, garlic, salt, and oil.]

The very end of a batch of olive paste should become vinaigrette. Whisk in a tiny bit of mustard, a few drops of red wine vinegar, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil, and mix with romaine.

If it’s hot dogs or cinnamon toast that reminds your heart that it can be moved by food, make hot dogs or cinnamon toast.

Seek wisdom, humanity, relational existence, cooperation over competition, and you won’t find much in startups and business.

Sleep is a process. Sleep is a practice.

quick tips for difficult conversations

[Have a difficult conversation by: 1) avoiding small talk or “how are you?” and starting with “thanks for making the time to speak with me”; 2) state that you need help with what to do or feel about the subject; and 3) finish by sharing that you feel settled or like the direction, and then ask “how about you?”]

Adrian Holovaty: Melodic Guitar Music (2023)

Pure instrumental arrangements with guitar and bass. Tasteful improvising over django swing vibes.