A record of some of the things that resonate with me on the internet, and why.
What could be better - support more people by doing less work.
However, if you are picking up one of the big beats from this post, it’s that maybe you should write less code and in doing so allow more people do more things.
Fantastic set of rules to guide team leads. Few meetings, lots of autonomy, async and written communication. Brilliantly simple!
It’s all about the vibes! A lot of the stuff I work on just pops in my head randomly. I mean, I do have lists of problems to solve, but every now and then I come across something else. If it feels like a good idea to me, I just go with it.
A bike lover myself, I haven’t yet pulled the trigger on an electric bike. I want one now.
And on and on — bikes. Why? Because as any bike lover will tell you, to be ensorcelled by the bike is to crave one and only one thing: More bike. Each new bike is like riding once again for the first time. Exploring a city on a mamachari is different than a BD-1 is different than a Moulton. All thrilling. The bikes change, and so, too does your relationship to the pavement. My love for bikes has no categorical allegiances; if it has two wheels, and pedals, I’m interested. I want to ride them all.
An excellent write-up of how his year went. Something that inspired me to do my own write-up.
I especially like the mental health section and the description of how his brain works:
The best way I can describe my brain is as a boat with a sensitive rudder. Any thought or suggestion (internal or external) nudges the rudder in a different direction. It’s not uncorrectable, but it does divert course. Whatever I can do to lessen the nudges, the better. This all sounds negative but there’s a lot of positives that come with having a brain like this, as others know. You may forget to eat and show up 10 minutes late to an important meeting because reading a wikipedia article on whale songs took precedence, but I wouldn’t trade it for a neurotypical brain.
It’s nice to recognize oneself in something others write about themselves. I’m not alone in this world.
This quote that he submitted to the Building Beauty course is very inspirational to me, as it’s something I’ve been thinking about lately - why I like the things that I like, and how to make stuff like that myself:
To hone my sense of beauty and deep time. To learn, in community, slower and more sustainable ways of building and making. To create spaces — both real and in my writing — that spark the soul.
Additionally from there, the founding principles of Building Beauty are also very well written as a general life advice to follow.