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What I'm thinking about

Welcome to my blog! This is mostly a link blog, where I share links to articles and websites that I would otherwise share with my IRL friends. From time to time, I also write my own posts and longer-form entries. You can also subscribe to this blog in an RSS feed reader.

Here are the topics I tend to cover. → Click on a tag to see all the posts about that topic.


Why men shouldnā€™t control artificial intelligence


šŸ”— a linked post to newstatesman.com » — originally shared here on

We assume that technology must have begun with a weapon (and that the first inventor must have been a man). But as the science-fiction writer Ursula Le Guin pointed out, ā€œthe spearā€ was probably not the original technology. Archaeologists and anthropologists now increasingly believe that sharpened sticks were invented by women to gather foods, and were adapted for hunting only later. If the first tools werenā€™t hunting tools it isnā€™t clear that technology must always seek to crush, dominate and exploit. Female science-fiction authors have often been criticised for not writing ā€œhardā€ science fiction precisely because they have defined technology in this more neutral sense. As Le Guin put it: ā€œTechnology is just the active human interface with the material world.ā€ There is nothing inherently violent about it. Unless we want it to be. But the patriarchal imagination doesnā€™t seem to think it will be up to us to decide this.

There are many justifiable concerns around artificial intelligence, but to say itā€™s all gloom and doom is a severe failure of imagination.

I also loved this closing paragraph:

We talk as if the machines were the active participants in history, and humanity the passive ones. We dance around the machines as if they were deities. Forgetting that we have created them with our own hands. Fed them with data from our own minds. It is a narrative that leaves us both powerless and without responsibility. Owned by our own creations.

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Can you complete the Oregon Trail if you wait at a river for 14272 years: A study


šŸ”— a linked post to moral.net.au » — originally shared here on

Two years ago, Twitch streamer albrot discovered a bug in the code for crossing rivers. One of the options is to "wait to see if conditions improve"; waiting a day will consume food but not recalculate any health conditions, granting your party immortality.

From this conceit the Oregon Trail Time Machine was born; a multiday livestream of the game as the party waits for conditions to improve at the final Snake River crossing until the year 10000, to see if the withered travellers can make it to the ruins of ancient Oregon. The first attempt ended in tragedy; no matter what albrot tried, the party would succumb to disease and die almost immediately.

Filed under ā€œreasons I love the Internet.ā€

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Accomplish One Thing


šŸ”— a linked post to david-smith.org » — originally shared here on

Inertia in my working life is the thing which I find most powerfully motivates and animates my progress. It gives you that sense of inevitability about accomplishing the outcome and desire each morning to keep the ball rolling. Inertia is what will get you through the inevitable slumps, disappointments, and mistakes later on in a project. So I want to get it accumulating as soon as I can.

I have a document on my desktop called BIG THREE.txt. At the end of each day, Iā€™ll write out the ā€œbig threeā€ things I must get done on the following day.

The term ā€œbigā€ is a misnomer, because the effort for the tasks on here are often quite small.

But if I can look at that list at the end of the day and see three Unicode checkmarks next to each task, I will leave work feeling like I was productive that day.

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December 2024 Observations

originally shared here on

  • I feel like I am still trying to figure out who I am. I feel like I can get along with anybody, but in order to do so, I have to contort myself into the shape I think is most acceptable to the other person. There aren't very many places where I feel like I don't need to contort. The internet promises to be that place, but now that the internet effectively has an infinite memory, I feel like any minor mistake I make will haunt me forever, which has a depressingly chilling effect on me.

  • My brand for the past few years was "neurotic, scared nerd." My brand going forward is "kind, confident, and fair nerd."

  • I wore my Windows 95 ugly sweater through the skyway and six different people told me how much they loved it. I think a big part of my purpose in life is to find ways to spread joy, even if it's by doing something as dumb as wearing the most bad ass Christmas sweater ever.

  • I got my son to try eating pizza. This is huge; he does not like pizza and refuses to even try. This is completely my fault, I've been horrible at encouraging my kids to be brave and adventurous with trying new foods. I, admittedly, am not exactly adventurous in that department either. My son told me he needed strength to be brave to try it, so I helped him bring all of his stuffed animals and cars downstairs into the kitchen, and we blased Sara Bareilles's Brave over the HomePod. And guess what? He put a piece of pizza in his mouth and kept it in there for a few seconds! Later that night, to much less fanfare, I bravely tried an Airhead. I didn't like it, but I tried it. It's cool to face scary situations together, even if that fear comes in various forms of high fructose corn syrup.

  • I have this idea to build a mini website which functions as my music library. I have a very specific vibe for a design (bad ass 70s-looking lounge area but with 2025 technology). There would be this record table console with records mounted on the wall such that you could see their faces1, and flanked on either side are the spines of records with the names of the albums on there. Clicking on a record would put it in the record player (maybe having it display some streaming widget dingus in view) along with why I like this record (interesting stories I learned about the production of the record, meaningful memories associated with it, vibes I get from it, recommended similar albums, etm.)

  • There's a fun AI project that I'm working on right now, but I am finding it so difficult to drum up the motivation to work on it. You know why? Because getting computers to do anything useful is so, so, so painful.

  • I watched this video called Why creating is crucial to human existence and it highlights the fact that what we do everyday is who we are. So in that spirit, I started a 100 day sit up challenge this month, because I wanna be the kind of guy who does stuff like that. I'm only a month into this challenge and I'm already able to knock out 100 sit ups without stopping in a little under 3 minutes.

  • The formula for discipline is (1) Create rules and standards for yourself; (2) Never break these promises to yourself; (3) Keep these promises at all costs (so start small!); (4) Build up slowly to a disciplined lifestyle; (5) Be on guard for at least a year.

  • For years now, I've had this recurring nightmare where I am being ushered out on stage in front of a huge crowd for a theatrical performance. I do not know the lines or the blocking or the choreography, and I feel this massive wave of embarassment and shame. This past month, I went to see a musical at my wifeā€™s school, and I was unexpectedly asked to go on stage as a character. I had exactly zero idea what the show was, nor did I know the lines or blocking or choreography.2 Sometimes, life literally presents an opportunity to directly face your nightmares head on, and that rules.3

  • Direct passage from my journal from a year ago: "It's hard to write publicly about the things I am suffering with because it always seems like I look back on it in a couple of years and realize how silly it was to be stressed out about it."

  • I tend to avoid the trance style of EDM. It amplifies my anxiety because of how logical it is; I find myself hyperfocused on the technical aspects of the music, completely ignoring how it makes me feel.

  • The first big snowfall of the year rules when you have kids. The road coming back from the small sledding hill in our neighborhood was still covered in ice and snow, so I put the kids in their sleds and pulled them behind me. It was hard. My heart was pounding. My legs kept slipping on the slick road. But it was easy to continue, because I kept thinking: "why do you work out, if not for this?"

  • Running is more meaningful to me lately. I've been using it more as a meditative period in my day, a moment to disconnect from technology and notice as much as I can in my neighborhood.4 Ten years ago, I would've been mortified if I didn't push my hardest every single time. Now, I will often stop in the middle of a run and stare at the fog traveling across the pond, or watch the color of the sky subtly change as the sun comes up.

  • ā€œFinns det hjƤrterum, sĆ„ finns det stjƤrterumā€ is Swedish for "If thereā€™s heart room, thereā€™s butt room."

  • I love learning new slang. This month, I learned two new phrases: sksksksk and ijbol.

  • Christmas Eve felt particularly bittersweet for me this year. It feels like my parents are getting closer to downsizing their home, so I tried my hardest to soak up the ambiance. And when you're in a "soak up this moment" mindset, it seems like there's never enough time to do it.

  • "It's time to stop researching and start living."

  • Before the sermon on Christmas Eve, my pastor said his words don't matter. What matters is what you hear. Sometimes, the thing you take away from a story is not what the artist intended, but that is okay.

  • The most nutritional part of a potato is its peel. Apple peels are also nutritionally important. Nothing of note is lost in a carrot peel.


Movies I watched:

Knocked Up (2007)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I got 30% of the way through it and decided ā€œIā€™m good here.ā€ It's okay for your tastes to change as you do.
  • Will I watch it again? Nah.

Enough Said (2013)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I heard Julia Louis-Dreyfus say on a podcast that she loved working with James Gandolfini, and it was cute to watch them interact on the big screen.
  • Will I watch it again? Nah. I didn't even finish it.

Yes Man (2008)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I remember watching it in college and thinking it was a nice sentiment. It definitely hits harder at 37.
  • Will I watch it again? Nah. Wait, am I supposed to say "yes"?

That Christmas (2024)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. It was a cute movie, the kids loved it. It's nice to see some traditional ideas playing out in our modern time.
  • Will I watch it again? Yeah, I'd watch this again next year.

Mallrats (1995)

  • Glad I watched it? Meh. It was cool to see Eden Prairie Center in the 90s, but if I'm being honest, I've never "got" most of Kevin Smith's movies. I thought maybe I would now that I'm in my late 30s, but I think it's that I'm not a Gen-Xer.
  • Will I watch it again? Nah.

Youth in Revolt (2009)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I'm a little embarassed to admit that I identify with Michael Cera in most of the movies that he is in. I like how he created a character to embody when he wants to feel confident.
  • Will I watch it again? Nah.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I don't think I've ever watched the whole thing from start to end.
  • Will I watch it again? Begrudgingly, I'm sure I will. This wasn't my favorite claymation Christmas movie.

Dear Santa (2024)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah, this movie ruled. The kid actors were quite talented, and obviously Jack Black killed it.
  • Will I watch it again? Absolutely.

Arthur Christmas (2011)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I snuggled and watched it with my kid on Christmas Day. It's an adorable Christmas movie.
  • Will I watch it again? Absolutely.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

  • Glad I watched it? Yeah. I forget how much slapstick is in that movie.
  • Will I watch it again? Probably? I feel like that movie is slightly before my time, and because it wasn't on repeat at my house growing up, I don't have the same nostalgic feelings I get from other Christmas movies like Home Alone or Muppet Christmas Carol.

Home Alone (1990)

  • Glad I watched it? Obviously.
  • Will I watch it again? Obviously.

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

  • Glad I watched it? Yes. It made me want to watch Muppet Treasure Island again, too.
  • Will I watch it again? Obviously.

  1. These would be my "current vibes," or albums which I have in a dedicated collection that I play as my default. 

  2. This is embedded in the script for the show. It's supposed to be like a "work/shoot" in wrestling where the real life beef between the actors playing these wrestlers becomes part of the show. Again, I knew none of this until after the show was over. 

  3. I'm glad my nightmares contain public performance anxiety and not, like, a fear of falling from a plane without a parachute. 

  4. Well, as meditative as I can be while ensuring I am not flattened in an intersection by an SUV. 


Frostapalooza: one epic night


šŸ”— a linked post to bradfrost.com » — originally shared here on

Iā€™ve said this throughout this entire experience: Frostapalooza is simultaneously the most and least selfish thing Iā€™ve ever done. On one hand, I threw myself a ridiculously grandiose birthday party and demanded to command the spotlight. Total Ego Fest.

On the other hand, I know for a fact that my ego was not what was driving this. Not in the slightest. Iā€™ve seen so many people struggling and suffering, constantly contending with anxiety, guilt, dread, stress, and overwhelm. I feel an urgent mission to emind them of the wonder, joy, fun, love, and transcendence weā€™re capable of experiencing in our finite time on earth. I want to help people (re)discover their potential as human beings. I want to connect people and lift them up. I want people to feel the boundless love and positive energy that is always there even though itā€™s often elusive in our day-to-day lives. I want to do creative things and help people.

Say, that sounds like some pretty good meaning-of-life shit.

As the heading for this section goes: ā€œgreetings from the top of Maslowā€™s pyramid.ā€

My 40th birthday is in three years, and Iā€™ve also considered doing something epic to celebrate. A big party was what I had in mind, but getting all my musically-inclined friends together to have an epic concert together so much more fulfilling.

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Mistakes engineers make in large established codebases


šŸ”— a linked post to seangoedecke.com » — originally shared here on

As a general rule, large established codebases produce 90% of the value. In any big tech company, the majority of the revenue-producing activity (i.e. the work that actually pays your engineering salary) comes from a large established codebase. Iā€™ve seen multiple cases where a small elegant service powers some core feature of a high-revenue product, but all the actual productizing code (settings, user management, billing, enterprise reporting, etc) still lives in the large established codebase.

So you should know how to work in the ā€œlegacy messā€ because thatā€™s what your company actually does. Good engineering or not, itā€™s your job.

This was a great read as Iā€™ve been immersed inside a large (but not too large) codebase at my new gig for the past few months now.

Itā€™s funny: I never wanted a job as an engineer. But it turns out I kinda actually like this work? šŸ¤”

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Accumulated instinct


šŸ”— a linked post to colly.com » — originally shared here on

Iā€™ve come to trust my instincts. When I see something interesting, I can simply observe, appreciate, and move forward. If something Iā€™ve encountered holds value, it should resurface naturally in the most fitting form when the time is right.

Iā€™ve been approaching my media libraries like this. If an album doesnā€™t interest me now, then why continue to hold up space with it? It should surface organically when the time is right.

Itā€™s why some of my new favorite albums of the past year speak to what I experienced in the past couple years (grieving the past, discovering myself, reckoning with my decisions, simply being, etm.).

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Fabio and the Goose


šŸ”— a linked post to youtube.com » — originally shared here on

Really not a whole lot to add here, other than once again, I am so pumped to get my own 3d printer and make ridiculous art like this.