Posts

Dilluting my work day with frequent minor breaks is important to me, because if I don’t give myself periodic breaks I have a tendency to work myself into a frenzy which leaves me feeling tired and sometimes stressed. Most are well-familiar with the Pomodoro technique which divides the work day into 25 minute focused-work segments separated by 5 minute breaks, and every couple cycles a 15-ish minute long break. The Problem I am a fan of this but find it to be too restrictive. If I only have time in my day between meetings for a long break earlier in the morning, I can’t wait for the 4-5 cycles to pass for my long break to happen. I won’t get one if I try to follow those constraints. ...

Beginners to houseplanting often fall into logical traps on what is required while neglecting other essential principles. I’ve had the chance to research along my houseplant journey and mentally compile some best practices. This post is definitely more useful for a beginner than anyone who’s been doing this longer than I have. I’m reminded and influenced by the principles of agile written in that cabin many decades ago (or however that myth goes): ...

Was so excited to see these show up earlier this week, first time for one of my houseplants to have pups. This aloe probably doesn’t get the light it deserves but I felt satisfied knowing it’s thriving enough to reproduce. And to that point, the fact they’re twins!

In the never-ending quest to balance addictive tendencies toward scrolling on Reddit or watching YouTube I’ve developed an approach that has actually been productive for me, far better than Screen Time ever worked out. I’ve deleted all social media (Instagram, Mastodon) & scrolling apps (Reddit, YouTube, etc) off my phone. I don’t believe that using these is inherently bad – the ability to access them at all times, with no restrictions, and fill every void of the day that otherwise might have contained insightful or critical thought is bad. ...

As I watched my family members trade arguments on the character of Elon Musk, whether robber baron or clever businessman, it occurred to me that my previous worldview of billionaire outlooks had been incorrect. I had formerly mentally assigned these respective viewpoints along political leanings. I thought the robber baron viewpoint, that of billionaires as cruel, manipulative omens of late stage capitalism, as the viewpoint of a leftist, and the more compassionate, awe-filled business-oriented viewpoint as an idea right-wing in origin. And to be sure, I think these views are more typically correlated with these respective political leanings. ...

Anyone familiar with film or television is probably aware of the phrase breaking the fourth wall. It refers to any point where the veil cast between the audience and the events of the film is disrupted, the actors indicating to us that this is all an act they are no longer playing along with. I like to apply this phrase to other scenarios. Humans instinctually create systems, rules, stories, et cetera. To have the capacity to follow these systems as if they were laws of the natural universe is what elevates us from all else. But when an actor participating in a system makes the deliberate action to break its rules, to leap across the barriers and act like they are no longer bound — in a sense the fourth wall of that system has been shattered. ...

I have a habit of compiling a list of my top ten albums at the end of each year. Something fun to look forward to and always enjoyable to reflect back on past lists to see how tastes have changed. Note these aren’t limited to (or even mostly composed of) albums released this year, but rather albums I discovered this year. There is just so much great past music that I come across every year that I wouldn’t want to limit my curation to only the tiny fraction of music only released this year. ...