Posts

Based on a journal entry written on September 10th, 2020. I wrote the original during the first year of COVID, so I understand my mindset at the time being affected. Small Is the world as small as I think it is? It seems small for individuals and what they can accomplish in life. Most people don’t seem to have a vision that drives them forward. It seems like people just pick the easiest path they can see. Even with a vision, there is a lot just to keeping one’s head above water. ...

I struggle with wanting to work on projects that are too massive for me to realistically undertake. DNFWS DNFWS is a game I’ve been thinking about for about a decade. It’s themed around the a universe that lies between other universes. Phenomenon in the world of DNFWS would be things like soul streams which are the connection between a soul in the soul universe and beings in the real universe, but in DNFWS it’s a river that flows up from the ground and the player can fish from it and tend to it. It’s an abstract, complex universe that fun to think about. ...

Based on a journal entry written on August 21st, 2020. Sometimes I imagine a world where I focus on projects for a couple months at a time and build a usable product. It would be a prototype most of the time, but it would be something new. I’d take shots at creating new products at a regular pace. They could be simple game ideas, CRUD apps, CLI tools, or art projects. As long as I would put around 20 hours per week into it, something would form. ...

Based on a journal entry written on August 5th, 2020. I’m reflecting on ways to improve my design skills. I’m comfortable building simple UIs with Bootstrap, but leads to a familiar generic look. It’s convenient, but alternative CSS frameworks could stir something up. Perhaps I should dive deeper into Boostrap itself. Customizing core elements or drawing inspiration from public Bootstrap themes. These could bring more personality to my designs. Past Projects Not all my past work has been generic. The original UX of my app Reiterable featured customizable app sizes on a strangly configured dashboard. While imperfect, these attempts taught me a lot about experimenting with layout and interactivity. ...

Based on a journal entry written on July 30th, 2020. Normally, I’m in favor of adopting some form of universal basic income (UBI). However, after reading some comments on a Hacker News post, I came across some potential pitfalls of implementing it. Why I’m in Favor of UBI The reasons I’m drawn to UBI are twofold: Support for the Most Vulnerable: UBI could help those in poverty, the homeless, and the hungry by providing a basic income to cover their essential needs. Opportunities for Unfulfilling Jobs: A UBI could allow individuals in unfulfilling jobs to pursue personal interests, like starting a business, exploring creative fields, or working on other aspirations. The Problem of Wealth Distribution The first reason is fairly self-explanatory. There are likely enough resources globally to house and feed everyone. However, history shows a consistent pattern where wealth accumulates in the hands of a few powerful leaders. In the United States, the concentration of wealth has increased sharply, with the income share of the top 1% rising from about 8% in 1980 to around 17% in 2015, according to the 2017 Economic Report of the President. ...

Based on a journal entry written on June 8th, 2020. Back in May of 2020, I wrote a list of things under the title of “finding meaning is annoying”. Writing is a stretch, since it is just a list of things that I found meaningful in my life. Happy Reading the list makes me happy. The list has 120 lines, with some headers. At that time I could think up over 100 meaningful things to me. ...

Based on a journal entry written on June 8th, 2020. I wonder about what it would take to become a “great person”. I mean someone who is great at what they do. Among the best in the world. Pushing the boundaries of what’s been done before. Thinking of novel ideas or applications. Thinking How much do they think about being great? They must know their skills are elite, but they didn’t think their path to greatness. They were too busy doing the things that made them who they became. They didn’t plot it, because they would have spent too much time plotting instead of doing. ...

I was thinking about what to write a blog post about. I set a weekly goal to at least work on a blog post every night, even if I don’t publish anything. So, I did what I do and DuckDuckGo’d “how to find good blog post ideas”. That led me to How to come up with great ideas for articles, every single time. The #11 tip on that blog says to “Train your idea muscle” with a link to The Ultimate Guide for Becoming an Idea Machine. ...

Reading Lately I haven’t been reading as much. Last month, I read Seveneves, The Fractal Prince, the beginning of The Phoenix Project, and the endings of Cryptonomicon and The Brothers Karamazov. That’s as much reading as I’ve ever done in a month. In particular, I read the Fractal Prince in a single weekend. It was simultaneously invigorating and relaxing. I’m a bit burned out on reading, though. Reading for over three hours a day is tiring. Holding a book or e-reader and sitting for hours is exhausting. I need to move around more. ...