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Make Money Online: Documenting 10 Years of Failure
A candid account of a decade trying to earn online, tracing my path through websites, affiliate marketing, advertising, and business setbacks.
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Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 8,926 posts.
1022
The peril of laziness lost
In his classic Programming Perl — affectionately known to a generation of technologists as "the Camel Book" — Larry Wall famously wrote of the three virtues of a programmer as laziness, impatience, and hubris:
1023
Go is my hammer, and everything is a nail
Always choose the right tool for the job? Nah. I use Go basically everywhere, which either makes me insightful or stupid. Decide for yourself! :D
1024
Seven years later, I bought a new MacBook. For the first time, I don't love it
This article is part of a series: This article How I moved my setup from a Mac to a Linux laptop Fed up with the Mac, I spent six months with a Linux laptop. The grass is not greener on the other side The M1 Macbook Air, one year
1025
"Don't You Just Upload It to ChatGPT?"
Can ChatGPT replace translators? A freelance translator shares a funny Ottawa story about AI translation, professional judgment and why human expertise still matters.
1026
Simple Personal Finance Tracking with GnuCash
*Please see the associated Hacker News comments for some interesting discussion related to this article.*
1027
Maybe you should learn something
You can learn new things. Pixel art, touch typing, 3d modelling, music, calligraphy, wood working, knitting, a language. Whatever is practical and calls to you, you can learn. In the long term, learning new things is fun and makes life richer in ways you can’t even imagine, and it’s a time investment that will pay…
1028
Surviving Depression
Profound sadness is what I have experienced for most part of the last decade...
1029
Selling Tiny Internet Projects for Fun and Profit
How I sold my project Earlyname, how much I sold it for, and how to sell tiny internet projects.
1030
How I learned to stop worrying and structure all writing as a list
We like lists because they are an objectively good way to organize information. They allow readers to quickly and easily get what they want.
1031
Fed up with the Mac, I spent six months with a Linux laptop
This article is part of a series: Seven years later, I bought a new Macbook. For the first time, I don't love it How I moved my setup from a Mac to a Linux laptop This article The M1 Macbook Air, one year later Due to very bad
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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…
1034
Video Games Are the Future of Education
The best educational experiences I had as a teenager were all video games.
1035
I want to lose every debate
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.
1036
The librarian immediately attempts to sell you a vuvuzela
Imagine entering the biggest library in the world. You peer down an incredibly long aisle with wooden bookshelves brimming with books. You can see multiple such corridors, all lit with a comfortable warm light. There’s a rich smell of old paper. You can hear some muted voices, perhaps arguing in a whisper. It’s…
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1038
68 Bits of Unsolicited Advice
UPDATE Several years ago on my 68th birthday I wrote up 68 bits of advice for my adult children, and posted them here. Here are the first five bits: Learn how to learn from those you disagree with, or even … Continue reading →
1039
Toys with the highest play-time and lowest clean-up-time
The worst toy is one with many pieces that my kids dump on the ground and then play with for only 2 minutes.
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How to find a lost phone in a no-cell-coverage camping site?
Or <em>"How to find a lost phone in a no-cell-coverage camping site?"</em>
1043
D4D4
A co-worker of mine (the incomparable Yohei Manabe) was looking at some disassembled ARM code the other day, and discovered something weird. Lots of d4d4 instructions, scattered about. LLVM’s objdump says this is a relative branch to -0x58 . The weird part is that they were always unreachable.
1044
Traveling with Apple Vision Pro
The Vision Pro has quickly become an essential item that I take onto every flight. It’s a fantastic device to travel with—Be it by train or by plane, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to …
1045
Thinkpad X62
Back in January, I used an old Thinkpad while my 12” Macbook was being repaired. I found myself really enjoying some aspects of it. This nudged me down a path that ended with me modding a frankenpad…
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I bought the cheapest EV, a used Nissan Leaf
I bought a used 2023 Nissan Leaf in 2025, my first 'new' car in 15 years. The above photo was taken by the dealership; apparently their social media team likes to post photos of all purchasers. I test drove a Tesla in 2012, and quickly realized my mistake. No gasoline-powered car (outside of supercars, maybe? Never…
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How to get better at guitar
Years ago, I watched a video where guitar teacher Justin Sandercoe explained a way to get better at guitar. It has changed my playing, and it might change yours, too. This isn’t my idea; it’s Justin’s. You should watch his video and visit his website. Why am I writing about it, then? Because I think it’s an invaluable…