211
Write More, but Shorter
After the "keep it simple" in programming, the "keep it short" for writing.
New
The latest blog posts to take off on Hacker News. 640 posts.
212
213
214
What if I were 1% charged? (2013)
In case you hadn’t heard, the universe is governed by four fundamental forces. But when it comes to understanding nature at almost any level larger than a nucleus and smaller than a planet, …
215
Ok, so you can’t decide
Even if you've checked your work, asked for all the help, and are moving gingerly, there will be decisions where you can't decide. You've considered and reconsi
216
The Problems with Deliberate Practice (2020)
Have you ever tried putting deliberate practice to practice? If you have, it's likely that you'll have noticed just how difficult it is to apply deliberate practice principles to your career. Anyone that tells you otherwise is lying; here's why.
217
Follow boring advice
Most of the advice leading to great results in life is boring. Also, it’s free and has forever been so. In my twenties, I believed that successful people hold secret knowledge leading to their success. I obsessed over “self-help porn”: books, videos, and blogs promising to reveal little secrets that would make me…
218
219
Writing Well-Documented Code – Learn from Examples
Writing Well-Documented Code - Learn from Examples
220
Melatonin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know (2018)
[I am not a sleep specialist. Please consult with one before making any drastic changes or trying to treat anything serious.] Van Geiklswijk et al describe supplemental melatonin as “a chrono…
221
The goal of standards is to improve our future actions
A common failure mode is to consistently set your standards for yourself too high, and to always feel guilty for falling short. I diagnose why I think this is a major problem, and outline some of my tools for overcoming this
222
Writing, technically
Listen in on Jane Street’s Ron Minsky as he has conversations with engineers working on everything from clock synchronization to reliable multicast, build systems to reconfigurable hardware. Get a peek at how Jane Street approaches problems, and how those ideas relate to tech more broadly.
223
224
My House
On the 19th of August 2019, I bought a house with a small garden. The house is what in English apparently is called an allotment. Basically, a small slot meant for vegetable gardening which sometimes has a house or shed. Not really meant for living in. But after nearly a year of work, I moved into mine. It’s legal as…
225
The art of not taking things personally
Why other people’s emotions might not be about you — and your emotions might not be about them
226
227
Clinging Desperately to a Metaphor (2011)
September 2011 Unless the people benefit, economic growth is a subsidy for the rich. —Richard Falk, “Post-Mubarak Revolutionary Chances,” Al Jazeera , 22 Feb. 2011 It’s as silly for me to write about economics as it would be for most economists to write about the use of enjambment in iambic p
228
The open calendar, task and note space is a mess
The last few weeks I’ve been looking into the open calendar, tasks and notes space with the goal of finding or building a privacy-conscious and still practical system. This post is an exploration of the available technology in that space, its problems and how to solve them.
229
I nearly lost the Lightroom catalog with of all my photos
This is what my photos looked like after I moved them to NAS With 50MB RAWs, hard drives fill up in no time. In the last five years I collected enough important photos to start thinking about a reliable storage solution that works well with Lightroom. I opted for Synology DS218 with two Seagate IronWolf drives.
230
New study examines ‘Achilles heel’ of cancer tumours
Ranked among the world’s top medical schools with the fifth-largest MD enrollment in North America, the UBC Faculty of Medicine is a leader in both the science and the practice of medicine. Across British Columbia, more than 12,000 faculty and staff are training the next generation of doctors and health care…
231
This Is Water (2005)
David Foster Wallace's remarkable 2005 commencement speech, This is Water, is a timeless trove of wisdom for living a meaningful life. Here is a full transcript along with audio.
232
233
Computers should expose their internal workings as a 6th sense
Posted on Friday 27 Aug 2021. 776 words, 2 links. By Matt Webb.
234
235
What I'm Up to Now
a short post
236
My love-hate affair with technology
Ten years ago I would have considered myself someone who was excited about new technology. I always had the latest smartphone, I would read the reviews of new…
237
I switched from macOS to Linux after 15 years of Apple
After using Macs for fifteen years, I switched to Linux as my main operating system and I’m enjoying it. Here’s an introduction to Linux that may help you too.
238
Work Hard (2007)
Every mathematician worthy of the name has experienced … the state of lucid exaltation in which one thought succeeds another as if miraculously… this feeling may last for hours at a tim…
239
My Tungsten Cube (2019)
A few months ago I bought a featureless cube of tungsten. It’s 1.5 inches across and cost $130, but I argue it was one of the best purchases I’ve made recently.
240
Burning out and quitting
I'm burnt out. If you're reading this, there's a strong chance you're burnt out too. We're about to have, uh, a moment, so brace yourself.