Simulated Annealing

programmer's log // epoch time // writing on software, creativity, and good books.

Best of ✨

Outdated vs. Complete

In defense of apps that don’t need updates
Sep 25, 2022

Patterns of engineering disasters

An incomplete collection of failed rewrites, refactors, and other engineering mishaps
Jan 01, 2022

Deconstructing digital gardens

How we can build better knowledge systems
Oct 18, 2020

Recent posts ⌚️

Can it Creami?

The history and design of the ultimate ice cream machine
design
tech
Apr 01, 2024

The office

Designing the house machine for working
life
work
design
Mar 10, 2024

Architecting happiness

Working on home improvement projects
life
design
Mar 10, 2024

From thought to theme

Brainstorming yearly theme names
life
writing
Feb 04, 2024

An ongoing list of great books

My holiday book picks over the years
reading
Dec 15, 2023

Do things fast

Why you should practice moving quickly
life
work
writing
Sep 10, 2023

Coming into focus

Finally seeing myself as a runner and good engineer
life
work
Jul 23, 2023

The app review experience from hell

Misadventures in working with Chrome extensions and Google OAuth
tech
Apr 30, 2023

Building the Recite Chrome extension

Rediscover your reading gems in new tabs
tech
life
Apr 02, 2023

Holiday book gifting

How to recommend books so people will actually read them
life
reading
Jan 16, 2023

Friends & fist-to-five

Making lightning-fast decisions about where to eat dinner
life
Dec 19, 2022

Stacking PRs

How this technique levels up engineers
tech
work
management
Dec 04, 2022

Outdated vs. Complete

In defense of apps that don’t need updates
tech
Sep 25, 2022

Great reads for eng managers

An ongoing list of resources on being a good manager
tech
work
management
reading
Sep 11, 2022

Juggling software projects

Changing your work mindset to level up your career
tech
work
management
Sep 04, 2022

Engineering growth expectations

Open-sourcing my version of an engineering ladder
tech
work
management
Apr 02, 2022

Working without an engineering ladder

Advice for engineers and managers at early-stage startups
tech
work
management
Mar 11, 2022

An existential essay by GPT-3

How an NLP model feels about NLP models and the human condition
tech
writing
Feb 04, 2022

Clarity, grace, and humor

How a book about the elements of writing is really funny
writing
reading
Jan 26, 2022

Patterns of engineering disasters

An incomplete collection of failed rewrites, refactors, and other engineering mishaps
tech
writing
Jan 01, 2022

High-leverage architecture

The business impact of documentation and exploring architecture automation
tech
writing
Mar 01, 2021

Baseline bodies

Loving your aging body and fixing a sedentary life
health
life
Feb 15, 2021

Deconstructing digital gardens

How we can build better knowledge systems
writing
Oct 18, 2020

Learning to build better software from maps

Applying cartographic concepts to tech
tech
reading
Jun 16, 2020

The amateur's guide to making a podcast

My first time making it out of the German forest alive
travel
podcast
May 06, 2020

Compensation 101

What I wish I knew before I started my job search
tech
work
interviews
Feb 16, 2020

2019 in numbers

Reflecting on going there and back again
work
travel
life
Dec 31, 2019

How I applied to 40+ tech companies and (mostly) survived

Quitting your job to search for a new job full-time
tech
work
interviews
Dec 09, 2019

Saving time with React Native

Actual developer data from launching a React Native mobile app
tech
Sep 17, 2019

Simulated annealing: a life framework

Making good decisions despite being biologically bad at making them
life
work
travel
Jul 12, 2019

Zen and the art of handstands

or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Body
health
life
Feb 22, 2019

Part 4: Matriarchy meets the modern world

How can a centuries-old culture deal with Communism and increasing exposure to the modern world?
matriarchy
travel
Sep 03, 2018

Part 3: Three-step guide to falling in love

How does love work in a matriarchal society? We find out how to court a Mosuo woman and when couples are considered officially married
matriarchy
travel
Sep 03, 2018

Part 2: The (family) future is female

How the definition of family is radically different in matriarchal society.
matriarchy
travel
Sep 03, 2018

Part 1: What I learned from “Women’s World”

Notes from my journey to visit the Mosuo, China’s last matriarchal minority
matriarchy
travel
Sep 03, 2018

3 tips to outsmart Disney theme parks

The local’s guide to 'The Happiest Place on Earth'
disney
Jun 01, 2018

How Disney World solved the user tracking problem

disney
tech
Feb 12, 2018