241
The hardest working font in Manhattan
A story of a 150-year-old font you have never heard of – and one you probably saw earlier today.
Topics /
Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 7,740 posts.
242
Overkill objects for everyday life
I routinely make a fool of myself when I tell friends I want a Martin Baker ejection seat as a chair in my living room. Of course, with the pyrotechnic charge removed. Seriously, I would totally buy it if it weren't $5,000 on eBay and I've got
243
244
245
246
How I got to 200 productive hours a month
A tested approach to improve your focus and productivity
247
Some things just take time
On friction, patience, and planting trees.
248
My solopreneur story
Today is exactly 2 years since I quit my job and become a full-time indie hacker.
249
Reasons not to become famous
I felt like I somehow needed fame. In retrospect, there was a lot of self-loathing from tough childhood experiences, and I desperately hoped that love from without (i.e., from masses of other people) would somehow make up for hate from within.
250
If you are useful, it doesn't mean you are valued
The difference can be subtle
251
Writing one sentence per line
Derek Sivers official site. Thoughts on philosophy, culture, self-improvement. Author of Useful Not True, How to Live, Hell Yeah or No, Anything You Want.
252
I started programming when I was 7. I'm 50 now and the thing I loved has changed
I still love developing but the shifts that AI have brought are tectonic and are forcing me to re-evaluate my own relationship to building things
253
Plans you're not supposed to talk about
When does talking about a plan ruin it? Marriage, CO2, religion, self-promotion, edgelords, and Chinese medicine.
254
Write more "useless" software
After my last blog post about Hurl, someone asked me, and I quote: "... why?" The simple answer is "for the joke." But the longer answer is that useless software [1] is a fantastic way to explore and experience the joy of computing. Play is an important part of exploration and joy.
255
Teaching my neighbor to keep the volume down
When I moved to a new apartment with my family, the cable company we were used to wasn't available. We had to settle for Dish Network. I wasn't too happy about making that switch, but something on the
256
Just don’t
Sometimes it’s wrong to begin a phrase with the word “just”. I offer as evidence two such situations. I think there’s a common thread to be drawn.
257
Same Stop: Life after 26 years as a programmer for Apple
I retired a year and a half ago after having worked for twenty-six years as a programmer for Apple. I’m not sure which would have been more surprising: if I had continued programming in my spare time after I had retired or if I never programmed again.
258
I switched to Android after 7 years of iOS
Monday of last week I was all excited. I had just gotten the green light to start prototyping a new Progressive Web App for a client I've been working with.
259
The Depression Thing
the depression thing: a neat story about depression and mental health. By Zach Holman.
260
261
Bored People Quit
Much has been written about employee motivation and retention. It's written by folks who actively use words like motivation and retention and generally don't ha
262
I accidentally loaned all my money to the US government
Recently I learned that the US government offers a little gift called I-bonds, and that this is the month to buy them. Depending on your perspective, I-bonds are either free money or the only true money storage. They're zero-risk bonds with an interest rate that always matches or exceeds inflation. The interest rate…
263
Being Raised by the Internet
I grew up relatively poor. I was fortunate enough to have a roof over my head, clean water, electricity, a computer, internet, and cable tv. But food was often harder to come by. This may seem like a contradiction, but when your mom has left to marry her uncle and your dad has schizophrenia, you aren’t really in…
264
Kill your Feeds – Stop letting algorithms dictate what you think
We used to control apps like Facebook and Instagram with our own choices. They became daily comforts, making the world seem a little bit smaller and closer by bringing the people that we cared about together in to one place.
265
266
2026 will be my year of the Linux desktop
The meme will no longer be a dream.
267
How I use LLMs to learn complex topics
LLMs are used for any things. Learning new things is one of the top use cases.
268
The bottleneck might be the air in the room
You gather your most expensive people into a room to make your most important decisions. Then, somewhere in the second hour, the room quietly gets worse at making them. Not the people. The room.
269
My FOSS Story
I’d like to break from my normal tradition of focusing almost strictly on technical content and share a bit of my own personal relationship with Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). While everyone is different, my hope is that sharing my perspective will help build understanding, empathy and trust.
270
My Friends and I Bought an Island
As long as I've remembered, I've wanted to buy a private island. Having a random patch of land somewhere holds almost no appeal, but an island is totally different. An island is li...