reflections on 2021
I can go faster than I thought. In fact, I’m happier when I’m going faster. I’m happiest in New York City or San Francisco, then second…
CryptoVag (GPT-3rotica)
Co-written by Andrew, me, and GPT-3. Ali is a model who recently pivoted into web3. You’re in her DMs. I’m — well never mind about me, she…
inside my brain
Sometimes I struggle with the question, am I smart? Probably not; even the question isn’t formulated very smartly. A smart person would ask…
differences between germany and the u.s.
Here are some simple differences between Germany and the U.S.: Germans are thoughtful about waste The lack of waste is apparent in the small…
traveling slowly, affordably, and productively
I’m in Berlin this month. It’s my first trip working while traveling, rather than taking vacation when I travel. My trip is slow-paced. I’m…
montessori parenting
Andrew and I are starting to think about kids, so we’ve been bingeing Montessori youtube videos. Raising your kids “Montessori”-style means…
nyc
I’ve been in New York City for the past few weeks. Here’s what stood out so far: The people are friendlier. Strangers talk to me everywhere…
"founder"
I co-founded a company in April. I’m the CTO, and I feel well-prepared for the work itself, after working closely with the CTO at my last…
mormons <3
In a random twist of fate, all of my partner’s closest childhood friends are Mormon. We went on a cabin trip with them last weekend and it…
how to read an error message
I’m mentoring two new programmers, and remembering what it’s like to learn programming. You follow a tutorial, you write some code, you run…
a tale of two covids
I’m living in Phoenix right now where covid is Officially Over. It’s strange to explain to my San Francisco friends. When I tell them no one…
should I go to a coding bootcamp or self-study?
I went to a coding bootcamp two years ago, so I’m frequently approached by friends and friends-of-friends who are thinking of doing the same…
why blog without an audience?
A friend of mine told me she’s interested in starting a blog, but she’s intimidated because she doesn’t know how to get readers. Her worry…
going viral
I went viral recently. I wrote what I thought was a throwaway tweet, the kind of tweet that gets 3 likes and then disappears into the void…
the technofuturist's oath
There’s a tension in tech, between doing good and getting rich. On the surface, almost every technologist or company wants to do good. The…
complaining is polite
My friend’s dad used to call the waiter over when he didn’t like his food. I was both embarrassed by this and in awe of it. Up until that…
teach your kids to google
I spent an hour Googling with a 10-year-old recently. “What do you want to know?” I asked her. She thought for awhile. “Well, I’ve always…
what i read when i'm sad
What follows are my favorite resources to turn to when I’m feeling depressed. They help me reframe my perspective and interrupt negative…
f*** you
In the early retirement scene, there’s a concept called “FU money”. The prototypical aspiring early retiree works at a boring corporate job…
what's your san francisco age?
0 years old: you arrive in SF with wide eyes and a sense of possibility 1 year old: you learn how to rock climb 2 years old: you stop…
immerse yourself in code
Learning to program is a lot like learning a new language. There’s new vocabulary like regex and ternary and viewset. And there’s new syntax…
how to create timelessness
On our third date, we had a feeling of timelessness. We were lying on my couch and we couldn’t see anything but the walls, and sunlight…
charge your friends
I used to get stomach aches several times a week. I’m lactose and gluten-intolerant, but I’d eat lactose and gluten anyways, because pizza…
my weekly review process
It’s hard to explain how much my internal and external worlds have shifted in the past 5 years. I’m more emotionally intelligent. I have…
take turns being grumpy
Andrew and I take turns being grumpy. If one of us is grumpy, the other person’s job is to be steady and playful and kind, and help cheer…
moods are temporary
I tend to engage in catastrophic thinking. Andrew makes fun of me for it. A day or two after an incident where I catastrophize, he does a…
what co-living feels like
Years ago, I visited my friend Peter at a co-op. I asked him and his roommates what it was like to live in a community. But their way of…
the questions i find most interesting
Here are some of the questions driving my curiosity lately. How do you change culture? Relevant Reading: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali How do…
the story of Dear Abby
There were once twin sisters named Pauline Esther Friedman and Esther Pauline Friedman. Aside from having basically the same name, they…
my polyphasic sleep experiment
I’ll write about this more in-depth soon, but wanted to get a quick post out while my polyphasic sleep experiment is still top of mind. I…
permission to speculate wildly
I once described Ribbonfarm as “permission to speculate wildly”. At the Ribbonfarm conference last year, I listened to talks on how…
observations about being sleep deprived
I started a polyphasic sleep experiment last week. The final sleep schedule (which I’m now on) involves sleeping from 11 pm to 2:30 am every…
my 30 day vegan experiment
In January, I did a month of veganism. I don’t believe in factory farming, and I’ve tried to switch to ethical meat in the past but found it…
programming feels like writing
Sometimes programming is lumped together with math and science. Apparently, it’s for people who are logical and ‘brainy’. While logical…
book summary: 'open' by andre agassi
I recently read “Open” by Andre Agassi. Agassi’s father was obsessed with tennis, and tried to raise a tennis champion. He made his four…
how to write more
I’m trying to re-establish a writing habit. Here are my techniques: I start my day by writing non-stop for 5 minutes, using Squibler’s…
the origin of the lone programmer stereotype
I gave the non-engineers on my team a tutorial last week, with the goal of helping them make a small text change to our website or app. I…
easy ways to contribute to covid19 efforts
Although I’ve been worried about coronavirus, my focus had been on taking precautions to keep myself and those close to me from getting it…
how do animals work together? (how do humans work together?)
I went whale watching recently and we came across a super pod of dolphins. We sped across the water in our speedboat to create a wave, and…
what beliefs do you hold too tightly to?
Thanksgiving exposes us to opinions that don’t usually penetrate our carefully curated filter bubbles. Therefore, you can use Thanksgiving…
how to concentrate
A few years ago, I switched careers from market research consulting to software engineering. As a consultant, I was constantly in meetings…
you should host a party
In the past year, I’ve started hosting parties regularly. I’ve come to really enjoy hosting, and I’d recommend it to anyone, even if you’re…
my favorite slice-of-life documentaries
I love slice-of-life documentaries that give you a peek into a different culture or sub-culture. They help induce this-is-water moments. We…
intro to ribbonfarm
Looking for an entry point into Ribbonfarm? If you’re worried about having your attention hacked by social media platforms, read Against…
intelligence simplifies
Thinking on Sarah Perry’s idea that when we see a drop in complexity, we are seeing the results of intelligence. For example, a trail is…
the police address society's newest problems
A friend from college is about to start police academy. She described the role of police as dealing with society’s newest problems…issues…
why do we sign receipts?
Why do we still sign receipts? Does anyone ever check those signatures? The reason credit card companies still insist on requiring…
twitter is a global brain
I think of Twitter as a giant brain, where each tweet is a node, and can be connected to dozens of other tweet-nodes, which continue…
you should tweet
I had dinner with a friend who is interested in becoming active on Twitter. (Yay! I’m always trying to get my friends to use Twitter). I…
good tools hide complexity
Good tools hide complexity until the complexity is necessary to the user’s needs. I call it “just-in-time exposure” (a corollary to “just-in…
short PRs are better
Short PRs are better. My coworkers throw several tickets into a single PR. But the shorter the PR, the easier it is for the code reviewer to…
can cryptocurrency replace banks?
A long time ago, when we lived in small tribes, everyone was expected to contribute to the group and ‘pull their own weight’. It was easy…
honesty is kindness (and white lies matter!)
This year, like every year, my best friend bought me a thoughtful Christmas present. I’d been trying to update my wardrobe, so she bought me…
book summary: ‘lying’ by sam harris
Everyone lies frequently, in the form of exaggerating and ‘white’ lies to avoid hurting someone’s feelings or to avoid social conflict…
excerpts from my road trip to Nashville, 2016
I moved from California to Nashville in August 2016. Here are some journal excerpts from the cross-country road trip to my new home Amarillo…