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Appearances vs. Experiences: What Makes Us Happy
In the search for happiness, we often confuse how something looks with how it’s likely to make us feel. This is especially true when it comes to our homes. If we want to maximize happiness, we need to prioritize experiences over appearances.
50 authors, 50 science fiction stories shorter than novels
See the updated 80 author version. I've been playing around with re-reading favorite science fiction short stories while also seeing if the...
Pinebook Pro longer term usage report
I bought a Pinebook Pro in the first batch, and have been using it on and off for several months now. Some people I know wanted to know if ...
Ozymandias
Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those…
What is GPT-3? written in layman's terms
Daily, snackable writings to spur changes in thinking. Building a blueprint for a better brain by tinkering with the code.
Consider getting a “DIY” degree online instead of a traditional CS major
As universities are switching to 100% remote teaching in the coming semester, many undergraduate students should strongly consider getting a “DIY” CS degree: take the same courses you would at your own school, but on any one of the online Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms, like Coursera or edX. Advantages…
Medium is not the home for your ideas
Torn between whether to write on Medium or post on your own blog? Here's a cautionary tale.
It's Time to Start Writing (2019)
A blog by Alex Nixon on programming and software
Invert, always, invert
man muss immer umkehren - Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi
Essays on programming I think about a lot
Computers can be understood • Choose Boring Technology • The Wrong Abstraction • Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names • The Hiring Post • The Product-Minded Engineer • Write code that is easy to delete, not easy to extend • The Law of Leaky Abstractions • Reflections on software performance • Notes on…
Ways to think long-term: a cognitive toolkit for good ancestors
None of these six ways is enough alone to create a long-term revolution of the human mind — a fundamental shift in our perception of time. But together — and when practised by a critical mass of people and organisations — a new age of long-term thinking could emerge out of their synergy.
Any claim without a URI should be treated as suspicious
I've recently seen lots of people tweeting this supposed newspaper clipping. An olde-timey warning about wearing flu masks. But is it too good to be true? The first thing to do with any image of a text quote is to search for the text. Look, I'm not saying tumblr isn't great, but… I wouldn't exactly trust it as a…
Feeling unproductive? Maybe you should stop overthinking
In order to get something done, maybe we need to think less.
Tired of note-taking apps
I’m tired of note-taking apps. It’s not because of limited choices. But it’s the other way around. There are so many note-taking apps you could try but end up sticking to none. At…
On Trouser Pockets
UX, ID, and Fast Fashion
How to write technical posts so people will read them (2019)
One of today’s best bloggers in the functional programming space is Chris Penner . Despite this, Chris is criminally underrated—nobody I talk to seems to know of his work. Go check him out as soon as you finish reading this post!
Dealing with Insomnia
A couple of months ago I received a present, a small book titled ‘Why we sleep’ by Matthew walker. It is an interesting book that takes you through the physiological and psychological effects of sleeping and the damage done by lack of sleep. I don’t necessarily subscribe to each and every bit in the book, there are…
How to Understand Things
What we call intelligence is as much about virtues such as honesty, integrity, and bravery, as it is about raw intellect.
This Blog Is Now Running on Solar Power
I've put a solar panel on my balcony, which is connected to a solar charge controller. This device charges an old worn-out car battery and provides power to a Raspberry Pi ~~3b+~~ 4B, which in turn powers this (static) website.