Top posts
Every blog post that took off on Hacker News, ranked by the votes of its best submission. 669 posts.
We need more of Richard Stallman's ideas, not less
We need more of Richard Stallman, not less par Ploum - Lionel Dricot.
The Deliberate Practice Guide (2021)
Deliberate practice is the key to expert performance in writing, teaching, sports, programming, music, medicine, therapy, chess, business, and more. But there’s more to it than 10,000 hours. Read to learn how to accelerate learning, overcome plateaus, turn experience into expertise, and enhance focus.
You don't have to engage with people on the Internet
Xe Iaso's personal website.
I use cheap notebooks
I've had my fair share of nice notebooks over the years, from Moleskines to Leuchtturms. And I love them: I love their smooth leather covers, thick sheets, a...
Map of Space Invader Mosaics in Paris
The mosaics marked as flashed are stored locally. They are preserved between visits but not synced between devices. You can download and backup/restore them as needed.
I’m an ER doctor. Here’s how I’m already using ChatGPT to help treat patients
There are many futuristic possibilities for how AI might transform healthcare. But it can help doctors do a better job in small, safe ways…
Lie still in bed
One of the most impactful pieces of advice I ever got was just to lie still in bed.
Lessons from a never-ending personal project
I learned things
The teen mental illness epidemic is international – Part 1: The Anglosphere
Why did mental health fall off a cliff at the same time and in the same way in the USA, The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? Part 1 of 3.
A manifesto on shower temperature control
I had a very shower-y shower thought: why does turning my shower handle a tiny bit make such a huge difference in the comfort of the shower? Why are we wasting so much potential control area on water temperatures that no one wants? Who cares about ice...
Forget spaceships; I just want my music
A couple weeks ago, as my kids settled into the car, I asked like I always do, "what songs do you want me to play?" They have a range of favored earworms, from Baby Shark to Babaloo, and usually the songs are tolerable, at least. But a few albums, like Bluey's soundtrack, transcend the children's genre. They're…
On Craft
My grandpa -- my Missouri grandpa, who played slide guitar to me when I got homesick on the rare occasions I stayed with them -- grew up on a farm without electricity. He went past eighth grade, which really mattered to him. He loved that I played harp, which he always called "elegant," in an extremely Missouri…
In praise of blowing up your life
a reminder for the relatively sane
I’ve been single all my life
I’m single. I don’t know if this comes as a surprise to you. Of course, you have yet to hear me talking about a wife or a girlfriend. But I also rarely talk about dating and finding someone. The bigger surprise might be that I’m a lifelong single. In other words, I was never in any romantic or sexual relationship…
Annual EFF Awards: Alexandra Elbakyan, Library Freedom Project, and Signal
SAN FRANCISCO—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is honored to announce that Alexandra Asanovna Elbakyan, Library Freedom Project, and Signal Foundation will receive the 2023 EFF Awards for their vital work in helping to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all...
Things I wish I’d known before fulltime RVing (2017)
Pre-Post Note/ Nov 2017. Although this post was written in 2011 it’s still my most popular post ever (!!), so I’m refreshing it as part of our 8th year on the road. See my updates in it…
Harry Browne’s Rules of Financial Safety (1999)
When you read in the news that a person whom you know as rich and wealthy is in financial trouble or has declared bankruptcy, it is easy to feel a sense of futility about managing your own money. Y…
2022 letter on life in China
Becoming a barbarian; an ideological revelry; lockdown; sweetgrass and banana leafs; crankiness; delightful animals; to the mountains
The Four Hobbies, and Apparent Expertise
Around the end of high school, I started to get really into photography. My friend (let’s call him T) was also into it, which should have been great fun. But it wasn’t. Going shooting with him was never great, for a reason I didn’t figure out till much later. I wanted to take photos. T mostly enjoyed tinkering with…
Does your office have a library?
Let's get weird... here are some questions. These questions aren't special questions or specifically meant as only this set of questions... they are just questions that capture the spirit of 'pause and think on some stuff that you don't'. Fill in your own questions if you have better ones.
Do the weirdest thing that feels right
From "what to write" to "how to live" | Castles in the Sky #35
Gordon Freeman at the Olympic Games
Since the dawn of October 1st 2022 , the world has been plagued by the question:
The Joy of Computer History Books
When I was a child, growing up in the 80s, I read pretty much anything I could find about computers. There was not a lot translated to French. I even read the MS-DOS Version 5 Reference Guide. The cover was dry and the content was not very tasty either.
Chili Oil Notes
I’ve been getting a little obsessed with chili oil. A little…lost in the sauce so to speak. Here’s some notes and general thoughts on chili oil.
A blog post is a long and complex search query to find people (2022)
When writing in public, there is a common idea that you should make it accessible. This is a left over from mass media.