151
TODOs aren't for doing
Some teams require that every TODO comment in a codebase gets logged in the bug tracker. Others automatically delete any “stale” TODO that has been in the codebase for over a year. Don’t do it!
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Life, Learning & Writing
The most popular blog posts about life, learning & writing on Hacker News. 668 posts.
152
I drank every cocktail
The International Bartenders Association, or IBA, maintains a list of official cocktails, ones they deem to be “the most requested recipes” at bars all around the world. It’s the closest thing the bartending industry has to a canonical list of cocktails, akin to the American Kennel Club’s registry of dog breeds or a…
153
The email they shouldn't have read
A real-world horror story about contracts, control, and the dark side of managed open source.
154
Try the Mosquito Bucket of Death
The Mosquito Bucket of Death is a safe and environmentally sound way to rid your yard of mosquitoes. Here's how you make them.
155
The Illustrated Guide to a PhD
There's a bit more below, but I also wrote a follow-up 5 years after the illustrated guide which may be of interest -- HOWTO: Get tenure .
156
Where do the children play?
On the need for a world without us
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A server that wasn't meant to exist
A story from 16 years ago - trust, tech, and a server that had to disappear. They offered me a blank check. I said no.
159
Learn electricity and electronics fundamentals without taking a formal course
A website supporting the books of author Simon Monk.
160
Write to Escape Your Default Setting
Writing serves as a foundation for clarity in thought. It can help you engage more deeply with your ideas.
161
Troubleshooting: A skill that never goes obsolete
Much of what I do, in multiple fields, could be reduced to one skill: troubleshooting. I’ll define troubleshooting as systematically determining the cause of unwanted behaviour in a system, and fixing it. Troubleshooting is often learned tacitly, in the process of explicitly learning “the skill”. Troubleshooting is…
162
Lessons in creating family photos that people want to keep (2018)
As a consequence of scanning thousands of slides, I learned quite a bit about taking photos that capture a family’s life. Here’s a personal…
163
Hashcards: A plain-text spaced repetition system
Announcing my latest open-source project.
164
I deleted my social media accounts
Retrogames revised.
165
The Moat of Low Status
It hurts, but less than you think
166
A Love Letter to People Who Believe in People
Tina on the transformative power of enthusiasm When I was eight, I made a big, hand-drawn poster that said, “Do you want to join my fan club?” and put it up in the small Swiss town where I grew up.…
167
How big a solar battery do I need to store all my home's electricity?
I have a modest set of solar panels on an entirely ordinary house in suburban London. On average they generate about 3,800kWh per year. We also use about 3,800kWh of electricity each year. Obviously, we can't use all the power produced over summer and we need to buy power in winter. So here's my question: How big a…
168
I wrote a book called “Crap Towns”. It seemed funny at the time
In 2003, I wrote a book called Crap Towns. It seemed funny at the time. But plenty of people say it would not be possible to publish it today. Is that a problem?
169
The untold impact of cancellation
Warning: towards the end of this post are references to suicide, which may be distressing to some readers. Discretion is advised.
170
When flat rate movers won't answer your calls
Back in 2023 I went through an inter-state move with Flat Rate Movers, LTD. , a.k.a. Flat Rate Moving, US DOT 488466, MC 254356. They bungled the job, damaged my stuff and my house, and then refused to talk to me or their own insurance company. I placed dozens of calls, wrote letters, emails, nothing worked. I finally…
171
Endometriosis is an interesting disease
5k words, 23 minutes reading time
172
Finding Shawn Mendes (2019)
In this day and age, celebrities have a lot of influence over our politics. Garthwaite and Moore estimated that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement of Barack Obama in 2008 netted him an extra 1 milli…
173
Attacking My Landlord's Boiler
How it took several months for me to get warm...
174
As an experienced LLM user, I don't use generative LLMs often
But for what I do use LLMs for, it’s invaluable.
175
We can’t circumvent the work needed to train our minds
Debunking the myth that search engines and AI eliminate the need for memory. Building deep knowledge through active learning remains essential for critical thinking, despite promises of instant information access.
176
Owning my own data, part 1: Integrating a self-hosted calendar solution
The first part of what I hope to be an ongoing series about repatriating and owning my own data and tech. In this post, I describe how I integrated my own self-
177
You Have to Feel It
You see a series of checkboxes checked. Schedules met. Requirements satisfied. Demos delivered. It's a good day. Good job, you, good job! A promotion is in sight.
178
The future of Rebble
Today we’re excited to announce several developments which will affect the future of Rebble. Let’s get straight into it, starting with the big one…🎉 Google O...
179
Confessions of a Software Developer: No More Self-Censorship
I haven't published since April because I've been afraid. What was I afraid of? In this post I detail every single thing I've avoided admitting on this blog.
180
Facts don't change minds, structure does
Why do facts bounce off some people? It’s not about logic; it’s about structure. Your worldview isn’t a list of opinions—it's a living network. And right now, it's at war.