Lots of people want to be the noun without doing the verb. They want the job title without the work. "Forget about being a Writer," says novelist Ann Packer.
One of the most underrated things in the industry, especially when you’re working as a full-time developer, is the power of keeping a “knowledge stash” handy. There’s this perception that knowledge comes through experience, time, or simply osmosis, and, while that can be true over a long enough period of time and for the more superficial knowledge, there are just too many layers in a professional codebase that it’s impossible to grok it immediately.
There’s a profound moment in Episode V of Star Wars in the midst of Luke Skywalker’s jedi training. After trying to get his ship out of the water with the force, Luke gives up (“I…
Here are John Maeda’s ten laws of and three keys to simplicity. Ten laws Reduce The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction. Organize Organization makes a system of many appear fewer. Time Savings in time feel like simplicity.
After many years of writing for big companies, a few universal truths have emerged from hundreds of projects, no matter the budget: Having a clear audience is critical for creation, promotion, and sales. Having a clear goal is existential for the project and ultimately the company. It’s rar
I didn’t consider myself creative until my mid-twenties. I played sports my entire life and failed at school. What has helped me—and continues to—is to look at creativity as a daily practice. To do something repeatedly until I change who I become.
No notebook is perfect, but the reMarkable comes really close
The reMarkable is a premium e-ink notebook. Imagine a Kindle, but you can write on it. It has become my daily notebook. I take all my meeting notes on it, dump my ideas and designs, and carry it with me everywhere. As a bonus, it also has replaced
Some folks think of marketing as something that is done to people. A hustle, a hype, a stealing of attention. We need a name for that, but I don’t think that’s marketing. On the other h…
The reason I keep this blog is so I have a place to write freely and creatively without having an outcome attached to it. Having a blank page to express myself on is very important. Not just for me, but for everyone. Butcher and Photography I was texting back and forth with Josh yesterday. Josh is one of my best friends. He lives in Ohio.
There was a time when liberal ideals of self-determination, self-regulation, and free-range independence naturally extended to parenting as well. Such ideals were seen in stark opposition to conservative parenting based on obedience, discipline, and reverence. Today it seems like these roles are often reversed. The strictest parents I ...
Why Podcasts Are My New Wikipedia —the Perfect Informal Learning Resource
In this article, I explain why podcasts replaced a lot of my Wikipedia usage for informal learning. I also talk about how I listen to five-plus hours of podcas…
A number of friends have been asking us how to buy crypto assets. This is not the first time we’ve gotten this question and it won’t be the last. When I first started getting this question, my answer was “open a Coinbase account and buy Bitcoin.” Then there was a period when my answer was […]