Josh Thompson
Quotes from 'Spare the Child'
Introduction
Here’s quotes from Spare the Child: The Religeous Roots of Punishment and the...
1st Feb 2025
Introduction
Here’s quotes from Spare the Child: The Religeous Roots of Punishment and the Psychological Impact of Physical Abuse, by Philip Greven. It was written in 1989, same year I was born, 35 years ago as of 2025.
It’s sometimes nice to be able to share quotes with people....
Josh Thompson
Change your MAC address with a shell script
For a while, I’ve had notes from Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X saved, so if I am...
18th Dec 2019
For a while, I’ve had notes from Change or Spoof a MAC Address in Windows or OS X saved, so if I am using a wifi connection that limits me to thirty minutes or an hour or whatever, I can “spoof” a new MAC address, and when I re-connect to the wifi, the access point thinks I’m on...
The American Scholar
Medina de Rioseco
The post Medina de Rioseco appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Jul 2026
The post Medina de Rioseco appeared first on The American Scholar.
Josh Thompson
An Open Letter about Golden
2022-06-15 Update
I wrote this document the first time in a very small number of minutes, three...
24th May 2022
2022-06-15 Update
I wrote this document the first time in a very small number of minutes, three weeks ago, on my way out the door on a particularly busy day. I follow “write it now”. I’ve gotten to discuss this letter with a few different people, because I mentioned it in email....
Ben Borgers
The morning of graduation
21st May 2025
Josh Thompson
Climbing in Cuba, 2019
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go climbing in Cuba.
Mark and Dave, walking back from...
12th Apr 2019
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go climbing in Cuba.
Mark and Dave, walking back from climbing outside Viñales
Locals crag, called “The roof of the world”. Stunning routes.
because it was so hot, we spent a lot of time in this cave.
Kristi and I tend to stick...
ben-mini
Commoditize Your Complements
To the man who coined the phrase, “nothing in life is free”… have you been on GitHub...
16th Aug 2024
To the man who coined the phrase, “nothing in life is free”… have you been on GitHub lately?
Open-source is software that anyone can freely view, use, modify, and share because its code is publicly available on sites like Github and Huggingface. My last coding project alone was...
The Marginalian
Gary Snyder on How to Unbreak the World
"What we’d hope for on the planet is creativity and sanity, conviviality, the real work of our hands...
1st Feb 2025
"What we’d hope for on the planet is creativity and sanity, conviviality, the real work of our hands and minds."
Astral Codex Ten
Meetups Everywhere Spring 2026: Times & Places
...
1st Apr 2026
Josh Thompson
A Runbook for Upgrading Your Parent's Junky Old Laptop to a Chromebook
tl;dr: I’m creating a runbook for a very specific, delicate, and potentially time-consuming and...
20th Jul 2020
tl;dr: I’m creating a runbook for a very specific, delicate, and potentially time-consuming and emotionally-charged operation to replace my 70-year-old newly-widowed mother-in-law's ancient desktop computer with a easy-for-me-to-manage Chromebook
Update: I posted to r/ChromeOS...
The Marginalian
William James on Love
"If it comes, it comes; if it does not come, no process of reasoning can force it. Yet it transforms...
3rd Apr 2024
"If it comes, it comes; if it does not come, no process of reasoning can force it. Yet it transforms the value of the creature loved."
sbensu
APIs as ladders
APIs are hard to learn. If you think about the learning curve of your API, you can design one that...
24th Jan 2022
APIs are hard to learn. If you think about the learning curve of your API, you can design one that works for beginners, novices, and experts.
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Grandstand Grant
This year: more people in photos. And more people in photos in landscapes. Cherish the times with...
19th May 2023
This year: more people in photos. And more people in photos in landscapes. Cherish the times with friends in special places. Here, Grant in Death Valley.
Read on nazhamid.com or Reply via email
Escaping Flatland
In praise of insular groups
Last spring, as we were exploring the coastline of our island, Johanna, the kids, and I crossed a...
4th May 2024
Last spring, as we were exploring the coastline of our island, Johanna, the kids, and I crossed a meadow where two men were artificially inseminating a longhaired cow. We stopped to observe the work. When it was done, one of the men came over to where we stood by the electric...
Josh Thompson
Isometric Deadlift Holds (for Climbing!)
alternative titles: yielding isometric mid-thigh pin pulls, isometric deadlift 'holds' for fun and...
3rd Apr 2025
alternative titles: yielding isometric mid-thigh pin pulls, isometric deadlift 'holds' for fun and climbing
Introduction
A few months ago, I began some barefoot sprints up a hill at a local park, and discussed also adding heavy kettlebell swings.
My back started feeling great,...
The Elysian
Every country ranked from best to worst
A report card for the whole world.
2nd Sep 2025
A report card for the whole world.
This Space
Blood Knowledge by Kirsty Gunn
"A novel is a kind of lazy way of writing a short story, a short story a lazy way of writing a poem"...
29th Nov 2024
"A novel is a kind of lazy way of writing a short story, a short story a lazy way of writing a poem" said Muriel Spark, adding by explanation: "The longer they become, the more they seem to lose value". We might wonder then if the most value is to be found in the shortest novels,...
Astral Codex Ten
The Colors Of Her Coat
...
1st Apr 2025
Naz Hamid — Journal...
🔗 Rick Rubin on Listening
If it’s music you’re listening to, consider closing your eyes. You may find yourself getting lost in...
15th Jul 2024
If it’s music you’re listening to, consider closing your eyes. You may find yourself getting lost in the experience. When the piece ends, you might be surprised by where you find yourself. You’ve been transported to another place. The place where the music lives.
— Rick...
Escaping Flatland
Thoughts on agency
If anyone is in the mood for a video call, I would like to get a few of you together on Saturday at...
12th Jun 2024
If anyone is in the mood for a video call, I would like to get a few of you together on Saturday at 6 pm CET (9 am PST). Like last time, I’ll prepare a few questions (probably relating to today’s post since that is top of mind) but mostly we’ll just talk about whatever comes up....
Naz Hamid • Journal
SF Zine Fest 2026
The antithesis of slop.
It's been a few years since I'd attended the SF Zine Fest. Friend Scott Boms...
a week ago
The antithesis of slop.
It's been a few years since I'd attended the SF Zine Fest. Friend Scott Boms had a table with his Matter Editions wares, and it's a 10-minute walk from home, so Jen and I had to go.
Held at The Hibernia, it was a treat to actually go into this historic...
Josh Thompson
June trip to the New River Gorge
The New River Gorge had beautiful weather this weekend. The forecast for the weekend was, until...
3rd Jul 2013
The New River Gorge had beautiful weather this weekend. The forecast for the weekend was, until Friday, near-certain thunderstorms.
Typical of the New, the weather proved unpredictable, and we had glorious sun the entire trip.
I was eager to get out to the New, since my last...
Wuthering...
History before Shakespeare - The Famous Victories of Henry V - he hath taken the great raze of...
The establishment in the 1570s of permanent theaters just
outside of the walls of London led to a...
8th Nov 2025
The establishment in the 1570s of permanent theaters just
outside of the walls of London led to a massive increase in the demand for new plays. Every available source of stories was looted. English history proved to be especially popular
or at least easy to adapt to the...
Jim Nielsen’s Blog
Sanding UI
One of the ways I like to do development is to build something, click around a ton, make tweaks,...
3rd Sep 2024
One of the ways I like to do development is to build something, click around a ton, make tweaks, click around more, more tweaks, more clicks, etc., until I finally consider it done.
The clicking around a ton is the important part. If it’s a page transition, that means going back...
This Space
39 Books: 2015
In the Spring of 1997, I visited a friend in Kassel, a city in the middle of Germany, home of the...
24th May 2024
In the Spring of 1997, I visited a friend in Kassel, a city in the middle of Germany, home of the Brothers Grimm and Franz Rosenzweig, and not very far from Weimar, hence the visit to the Goethehaus mentioned in the entry for 1989. I hadn't heard of it before and nor had my...
The Elysian
The third annual Elysian print volume is here
One year of my work, printed for collectors.
9th Dec 2025
One year of my work, printed for collectors.
The Elysian
Cities should own their land—like Vienna and Amsterdam
Land autonomy beats governance autonomy every time.
2nd Mar 2026
Land autonomy beats governance autonomy every time.
Josh Thompson
I Once Worked Hard
When I began working at my first job out of college, I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole career...
12th Apr 2013
When I began working at my first job out of college, I knew I didn’t want to spend my whole career there. I was a college graduate (that means something, right?) working at a climbing gym, part time, teaching seven-year-olds how to climb at about $10 an hour.
I had no idea what I...
Escaping Flatland
Reading challenging books with kids is fun and probably useful
I was looking through my diary from the summer of 2020 and found this entry about Maud, then three...
2nd Apr 2024
I was looking through my diary from the summer of 2020 and found this entry about Maud, then three years old, in late toddlerhood. 25th of July 2020. I was doing the dishes. Maud came in. “I have looked a little in books,” she said.
This Space
A fundamental deprivation: Montevideo by Enrique Vila-Matas
Perhaps all novels seek to converge on a single point.
The thought occurred to me as I read...
16th Apr 2026
Perhaps all novels seek to converge on a single point.
The thought occurred to me as I read Vila-Matas' Montevideo, translated by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott. A random thought, apparently, but also the kind of thought provoked by the passion of observation, anecdote and...
The American Scholar
New Year, Old Year
The post New Year, Old Year appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Jan 2025
The post New Year, Old Year appeared first on The American Scholar.
Naz Hamid • Journal
Different Think
I don't write about Apple. I had to this time.
It started with a magazine ad. A musician I admired...
5th Aug 2025
I don't write about Apple. I had to this time.
It started with a magazine ad. A musician I admired was pictured: Henry Rollins, looking as he does, in black, shorts, tattoos visible and holding a computer. An Apple Powerbook.
He appears with Terry Ellis from Imago Records,...
sbensu
Notes on UX and LLM integrations
I analyze 8 apps (ChatGPT, Notion, Perplexity, etc.) that use or integrate LLM and try to break down...
1st Jan 2024
I analyze 8 apps (ChatGPT, Notion, Perplexity, etc.) that use or integrate LLM and try to break down when and why they work well, or poorly.
Idle Words
The Shape of a Mars Mission
This post is the second in a series. Read part one here.
p {line-height:1.6em; }
p.caption {...
20th Feb 2025
This post is the second in a series. Read part one here.
p {line-height:1.6em; }
p.caption { margin-top:0px;padding-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;text-align:center;}
a.fnote {text-decoration:none;color:red}
img {margin-bottom:0px;}
“From a mathematics and trajectory...
Ploum.net
Pas de médaille pour les résistants
Pas de médaille pour les résistants
Si vous voulez changer le monde, il faut entrer en résistance....
26th Aug 2025
Pas de médaille pour les résistants
Si vous voulez changer le monde, il faut entrer en résistance. Il faut accepter d’agir et de se taire. Il faut accepter de perdre du confort, des opportunités, des relations. Et il ne faut espérer aucune récompense, aucune reconnaissance.
Un...
sbensu
How to: friction logs
Friction logs are a technique to improve your own products and understand others. You use the...
12th Dec 2023
Friction logs are a technique to improve your own products and understand others. You use the produdct the way a real user would and write down every single moment you experience some form of negative emotion.
Anecdotal Evidence
'Leaves Must Be Green in Spring'
The Battle of Malvern Hill
was fought near Richmond, Va., the capital of the Confederacy, on July 1,...
1st Jul 2026
The Battle of Malvern Hill
was fought near Richmond, Va., the capital of the Confederacy, on July 1, 1862.
Not as well remembered as Antietam or Gettysburg, it was the last of the Seven
Days Battles in the Peninsula Campaign, and prompted Confederate General Daniel
H. Hill to...
Blog -...
Book Review - Dancing Naked in the Mind Field
Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, the autobiography of Kary Mullis,
published in 1998, is...
26th Jun 2021
Dancing Naked in the Mind Field, the autobiography of Kary Mullis,
published in 1998, is reminiscent of another Nobel Prize winning
autobiography, Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!. Dr. Mullis and Dr.
Feynman had a great deal in common, including their incomprehensible...
The Elysian
Even Christopher Nolan prefers 70mm film
With all the technology in the world, sometimes the more beautiful thing is less of it.
4th Aug 2026
With all the technology in the world, sometimes the more beautiful thing is less of it.
Blog -...
Book Review - Shots from the Hip
In the fields of Taoism, herbalism, and Chinese culture, Daniel Reid is a
legendary author who has...
18th Jul 2021
In the fields of Taoism, herbalism, and Chinese culture, Daniel Reid is a
legendary author who has written books that have changed the course of
lives. His most recent publication is a two-book memoir entitled Shots from
the Hip, a colourful account of his many exotic...
Josh Thompson
2018 In Review & Thoughts on 2019
I find a lot of value in other people’s reviews of their years. It’s the time of year to be...
5th May 2019
I find a lot of value in other people’s reviews of their years. It’s the time of year to be contemplative and reflective on the last 12 months, so here we are.
Note to reader: I’m posting this in May, 2019. I wrote it in late December, 2018, didn’t get around to finishing it up...
This Space
The end of literature, part five
"Stupid" and "a marketing exercise" were the first two descriptions I saw of the New York Times' 100...
25th Jul 2024
"Stupid" and "a marketing exercise" were the first two descriptions I saw of the New York Times' 100 Best Books of the 21st Century polled from hundreds of "literary luminaries" offering ten choices each, and while it is both of those things, "parochial" is the first word that...
Craig Mod — Writer +...
[RIDGELINE] Other Thing, Walking Yamaguchi
Ridgeline subscribers —
Hello! I’m Craig, and this is Ridgeline, and last time I wrote to you (a...
20th Mar 2025
Ridgeline subscribers —
Hello! I’m Craig, and this is Ridgeline, and last time I wrote to you (a month ago), I wrote about garbage.
These last few months have been packed to the max, so I just wanted to update you on some recent walk-related activities (I’ll be sending a bigger,...
Josh Thompson
HTTParty and to_json
I was having some trouble debugging an HTTParty POST request.
A few tools that were useful to...
12th Mar 2019
I was having some trouble debugging an HTTParty POST request.
A few tools that were useful to me:
post DEBUG info to STDOUT
netcat to listen to HTTP requests locally
I had this code:
options = {
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
authorization: "Bearer...
Josh Thompson
On Leaving Evangelicalism And Opposing It
Content warning & summary
This paper talks about ethics, ethical behavior, violence, abuse,...
18th May 2023
Content warning & summary
This paper talks about ethics, ethical behavior, violence, abuse, complicency, domination and oppression. It’s a condimnation of evangelicalism, but not, necessarily, any particular evangelical. There are those within evangelicalism who are ethical,...
The Elysian
Your visions for the next Renaissance
From our May writing prompt.
1st Aug 2024
From our May writing prompt.
ben-mini
Trust and Procedural Fetishism
I recently finished reading Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The book explains the...
14th Jun 2025
I recently finished reading Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. The book explains the various missteps taken by the U.S. government that led us to where we are today: a bureaucratic sludge of policies and regulations that’s caused ambitious projects to go over budget...
Escaping Flatland
Modular life, meaningful work
Highlights from the cutting room floor, pt. 3
5th Feb 2025
Highlights from the cutting room floor, pt. 3
Ploum.net
Offpunk 3.0 "A Community is Born" Release
Offpunk 3.0 "A Community is Born" Release
For the last four years, I’ve been developing Offpunk, a...
9th Feb 2026
Offpunk 3.0 "A Community is Born" Release
For the last four years, I’ve been developing Offpunk, a command-line Web, Gemini, and Gopher browser that allows you to work offline. And I’ve just released version 3.0. It is probably not for everyone, but I use it every single day. I...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Biblioteca Vasconselos
In the Buenavista neighborhood resides this impressive library that spans 409,000 sq ft, designed by...
2nd Jan 2021
In the Buenavista neighborhood resides this impressive library that spans 409,000 sq ft, designed by Mexican architects Alberto Kalach and Juan Palomar. Adored by those that appreciate architecture, and those looking for Instagram fodder, the space feels like you’re in the...
Josh Thompson
The How and Why of BlockValue
I wrote the following post, and built the application in question, in 2017, in my “end of Turing”...
14th Sep 2017
I wrote the following post, and built the application in question, in 2017, in my “end of Turing” project, before I’d ever been hired as a software developer.
I really enjoyed the app that I built, and I keep wanting to get around to cleaning it up and making it work again. Maybe...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Boy Meets Girl
At the request of my much loyal readership (I’m looking at you Lacey), the story of how I came to be...
26th Oct 2004
At the request of my much loyal readership (I’m looking at you Lacey), the story of how I came to be with girl seems to be of interest. I know, I know. I disappear for a bit from writing and then I return smitten, enamoured and very much exploring a journey I’m quite glad to be...
ben-mini
Things to be Happy About & Perfect Software
Happy to share a new project: Things to be Happy About - things.ben-mini.com. It’s a daily blog...
27th Dec 2025
Happy to share a new project: Things to be Happy About - things.ben-mini.com. It’s a daily blog where I simply write five things to be happy about.
Back in college, I had a tiny whiteboard outside my dorm where I did the same exercise. I also brought it to my cabin as a camp...
Idle Words
Effective Political Giving
With less than two months left before the election, this is an explainer for the politically...
3rd Sep 2020
With less than two months left before the election, this is an explainer for the politically panicked. You're anxious, you feel the need to do something, and you have a little money to spare. Who should you give it to?
My goal here is not to sell you on specific candidates...
Josh Thompson
Trader Joe's Parking Lot
Hey Trader Joe’s,
This is a bit of an open letter, inspired by a recent visit to the local Trader...
13th Dec 2023
Hey Trader Joe’s,
This is a bit of an open letter, inspired by a recent visit to the local Trader Joe’s. I just moved to this part of Denver, and now for the first time am living within like a 3 minute scoot of a Trader Joe’s.
I know that some people like to complain about...
Ben Borgers
Winter break project list [2024]
21st Dec 2024
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ On Racism
On May 31, 2020, I wrote these words (on Instagram) days after George Floyd was killed:
I am a brown...
18th Mar 2021
On May 31, 2020, I wrote these words (on Instagram) days after George Floyd was killed:
I am a brown person. I am an immigrant. I am Southeast Asian. I am Malaysian. And I am an American.
I’m a third culture kid. I came to the States at 19, alone. I’ve lived here for 22+ years,...
This Space
No safe landing
A review of A Winter in Zürau and Partita by Gabriel Josipovici
Gabriel Josipovici has said that...
5th Oct 2024
A review of A Winter in Zürau and Partita by Gabriel Josipovici
Gabriel Josipovici has said that as a critic he is conservative but as a novelist he is radical. The second claim may not be controversial but the first will come as a surprise to those who remember what he said...
Josh Thompson
Waking Up Early, Part 3
I’ve written about my attempts to
wake up early before.
Most recently, I
promised to take a sleep...
2nd Aug 2013
I’ve written about my attempts to
wake up early before.
Most recently, I
promised to take a sleep log, to track trends. Fortunately, I did not intend to try to wake up early, because I didn’t.
Here’s what I learned in the last three weeks:
Benadryl messes with your ability to...
This Space
On the Calculation of Volume 1 by Solvej Balle
The premise of this multi-volume novel is simple: a modern-day French woman called Tara finds...
9th Jun 2025
The premise of this multi-volume novel is simple: a modern-day French woman called Tara finds herself stuck inside the eighteenth day of a November. The nineteenth never appears. On the 121st iteration of the same day she begins to write by describing the sounds made by her...
Anecdotal Evidence
'Give Thanks for All Things'
“It is the province of
poems to make some order in the world, but poets can’t afford to forget...
1st Mar 2026
“It is the province of
poems to make some order in the world, but poets can’t afford to forget that
there is a reality of things which survives all orders great and small. Things are.
The cow is there. No poetry can have any strength unless it continually bashes
itself against...
Salish Wolf
#94 Jay St. Charles on Project Quiver
Jay St. Charles is a legendary bowyer based in Fall City, Washington. While
he was born into the...
a week ago
Jay St. Charles is a legendary bowyer based in Fall City, Washington. While
he was born into the world of archery and grew up in his father’s archery
shop, Jay eventually became a master bowyer, carving bows under the brand
of Pacific Yew Longbows. He lives on a small...
Ploum.net
La première Madame Pipi de l’espace profond
La première Madame Pipi de l’espace profond
Outre la première victoire au Tour de France d’Eddy...
3rd Apr 2026
La première Madame Pipi de l’espace profond
Outre la première victoire au Tour de France d’Eddy Merckx, 1969 fut une année qui marqua trois événements très importants.
1. Le premier homme sur la Lune
Deux de ces événements ont encore aujourd’hui un impact quotidien dans votre...
Ploum.net
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3)
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3)
Previously in "20 years of Linux on the Deskop": After...
8th Mar 2025
20 years of Linux on the Desktop (part 3)
Previously in "20 years of Linux on the Deskop": After contributing to the launch of Ubuntu as the "perfect Linux desktop", Ploum realises that Ubuntu is drifting away from both Debian and GNOME. But something else is about to shake the...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Music is Memory
Stone Temple Pilots’ “Kitchenware & Candybars” comes on, and suddenly I'm 17 again, driving...
3rd Sep 2024
Stone Temple Pilots’ “Kitchenware & Candybars” comes on, and suddenly I'm 17 again, driving underneath the amber glow of late-night deserted streets in Kuala Lumpur. I can feel the sharp air conditioning in the car against my skin, keeping the tropical heat and humidity outside...
The Elysian
Hackathon: Let's build a profit-sharing platform for writers
Creatives and developers—join us this Friday!
1st Oct 2025
Creatives and developers—join us this Friday!
Naz Hamid • Journal
Beyond Curiosity
I'm not sure he meant it that way.
We were walking together in the shopping center. The central...
15th Jul 2025
I'm not sure he meant it that way.
We were walking together in the shopping center. The central escalators made you loop around on the floor on the short side to proceed to the next set. As we neared the ground floor, headed to the food court sub-level, my father posited a...
Josh Thompson
2023 Annual Review
It’s that time of the year. I often enjoy reading other people’s annual reviews, and I’ve always...
27th Jan 2024
It’s that time of the year. I often enjoy reading other people’s annual reviews, and I’ve always found value in writing my own, even as there is a few years I’ve missed, since I started the habit way back in 2015.
for a long time, I did annual reviews. 2020 was late, and then for...
The Elysian
Maybe an exowomb is better than pregnancy
The Pod Generation’s near-future satire pits nature against technology. Which is the better curator?
2nd Jul 2025
The Pod Generation’s near-future satire pits nature against technology. Which is the better curator?
Josh Thompson
Do Not Neglect The Needful Role of the Witness
Introduction
Elsewhere I’ve mentioned “the role of the witness”, been sitting on this as a draft (in...
7th Jul 2025
Introduction
Elsewhere I’ve mentioned “the role of the witness”, been sitting on this as a draft (in my head) for a long time.
I absolutely cannot move away from the phrasing:
Do not neglect the needful role of the Witness
I capitalize Witness, as this is a real “role”, and it’s...
Idle Words
Sara Huddleston on the Latino Vote in Iowa
Last week I spoke with Sara Huddleston, candidate for Iowa state house in district 11 (Storm Lake)....
8th Aug 2020
Last week I spoke with Sara Huddleston, candidate for Iowa state house in district 11 (Storm Lake). A longtime community organizer and three-term city council member, she was the first Latina elected to a city council in the state of Iowa, and would be the first Latina to serve...
Josh Thompson
Redefining Success
It’s been pretty quiet around here lately. It’s been almost a month since my last entry. I thought...
6th Nov 2013
It’s been pretty quiet around here lately. It’s been almost a month since my last entry. I thought about writing something here almost every day, but here is why I didn’t:
I want to produce “content” that is helpful and relevant to those who might read it.
I felt like nothing I...
Josh Thompson
Denver Botanic Gardens - What, How, Why
I recently got access to a delightful amenity, based on where I live. I’ve been sharing it with...
2nd Jun 2024
I recently got access to a delightful amenity, based on where I live. I’ve been sharing it with others as quickly as possible, because they too have access to it.
From here on out, when I reference “botanic gardens” or “the gardens”, I’m referencing the Denver Botanic Gardens,...
sbensu
Love's Executioner (book)
Countertransference applies to regular conversation.
1st Dec 2024
Countertransference applies to regular conversation.
The Elysian
Idea Labs! An open thread for collaborative worldbuilding
Let's brainstorm the future together.
22nd Mar 2024
Let's brainstorm the future together.
Josh Thompson
2020 Annual Review
please note: i’m publishing this far after it was drafted, which was in January 2021. It’s being...
27th Jun 2022
please note: i’m publishing this far after it was drafted, which was in January 2021. It’s being published in June 2022 - I’m trying to back-fill ‘annual reviews’, I never finished this one or published it, until now.
Is it even possible to mention a 2020 review without somehow...
Wuthering...
What I Read in August 2026 – what he hopes to gain from all this knowledge
Now and again, Geiser finds himself wondering what he really
wants to know, what he hopes to gain...
2 weeks ago
Now and again, Geiser finds himself wondering what he really
wants to know, what he hopes to gain from all this knowledge. (Man in the Holocene, Max Frisch, tr. Geoffrey
Skelton, p. 90)
An uncomfortable sentence there.
A reminder that I will return to non-Shakespeare plays...
This Space
Reading, detachment
In an in-between time in which nothing begins or ends, in which blank patience takes the place of...
28th Aug 2025
In an in-between time in which nothing begins or ends, in which blank patience takes the place of activity, I picked two books from my shelves stubbornly remote from utility, lacking the intimacy of possession, and a third in which I had never read a key section. The first was...
Naz Hamid • Journal
Everybody Needs a Rock
A new homepage and site improvements.
Looking at the Colophon from it’s last update, I mentioned...
14th Feb 2026
A new homepage and site improvements.
Looking at the Colophon from it’s last update, I mentioned that a refresh had happened in February 2025. A year later, another refresh has landed
I wouldn’t normally write about a site update like this, but the goal of the new homepage design...
sbensu
The Perfectionists (book)
A great book that covers the ideas and people behind modern industry.
1st Aug 2024
A great book that covers the ideas and people behind modern industry.
Craig Mod — Writer +...
[RIDGELINE] Kazunori Hamana in Apartamento
Ridgeline subscribers —
Man, it was fun talking with Kazunori Hamana back in January. He’s lived a...
12th Jul 2026
Ridgeline subscribers —
Man, it was fun talking with Kazunori Hamana back in January. He’s lived a bizarre life, seemingly one without a roadmap, though I suspect his laid-back, subtly-goatee’d vibes belie a cunning streak. He was welcoming and rough-edged in a disarming way. He...
Josh Thompson
Accomplishments and Achievements
We’re encouraged to accomplish and achieve, yes? From birth, we pass milestones. Generally these...
2nd Jul 2014
We’re encouraged to accomplish and achieve, yes? From birth, we pass milestones. Generally these milestones grow in complexity as we add to our abilities - it’s been a while since I’ve been rewarded for not wetting myself - but they are usually on par with our abilities.
For...
Josh Thompson
A little bit of slope makes up for a lot of y-intercept
The following is recounted on
Quora, from a lecture by Stanford
professor John Ousterhout (he’s in...
26th Jun 2015
The following is recounted on
Quora, from a lecture by Stanford
professor John Ousterhout (he’s in the Computer Science department):
Here’s today’s thought for the weekend. A little bit of slope makes up for a lot of Y-intercept.
[Laughter]
So at a mathematical level this is...
Escaping Flatland
Things that connect us to ourselves, and things that don't
+ recommendations
6th Feb 2026
Escaping Flatland
People are too big to fit inside our heads
Notes on relationships, conversation, Dostoevsky, and Bakhtin
2nd Jun 2026
Notes on relationships, conversation, Dostoevsky, and Bakhtin
the late review
whatever it takes
on monomania
17th Feb 2026
Wuthering...
Anthony Powell's style and sensibility - Life is full of internal dramas, instantaneous and...
Nicholas Jenkins – I did not register his name at all for
the entire first novel, but I know it now...
22nd May 2025
Nicholas Jenkins – I did not register his name at all for
the entire first novel, but I know it now – goes to school, gets a job in
publishing, writes a novel, gets a girlfriend, gets a job as a script writer, splits
with the girlfriend, and writes another novel or two, none of...
sbensu
Hiring from Big Tech
Some brief notes about the subject
30th Mar 2024
Some brief notes about the subject
Escaping Flatland
Almost everyone I’ve met would be well-served thinking more about what to focus on
Including me
3rd Jan 2024
Ben Borgers
Stickies: Spatial note-taking
2nd Apr 2023
sbensu
High Variance Management
How should you manage a team that is trying to achieve results out of the ordinary?
18th Jan 2023
How should you manage a team that is trying to achieve results out of the ordinary?
Josh Thompson
On Learning
As a student at Turing, I’ve recently been thinking about learning how to learn, specifically in the...
5th Jun 2017
As a student at Turing, I’ve recently been thinking about learning how to learn, specifically in the context of software development.
I am a bit hyperactive when it comes to trying to learn new things. Over the years, I’ve done plenty of ineffective learning, and at least a...
Josh Thompson
Mythical Creatures: Refactoring wizard.rb
Preparing for Turing Series Index
What follows is an eight-part series that will help you pick up...
25th Jan 2020
Preparing for Turing Series Index
What follows is an eight-part series that will help you pick up useful information about a number of topics related to Ruby, specifically geared for students learning the Ruby programming language, as part of the Turing School’s Backend Software...
Steven Scrawls
I want to love fiction
I want to love fiction
I want to love fiction.
I want to love both reading and writing fiction. I...
14th Apr 2024
I want to love fiction
I want to love fiction.
I want to love both reading and writing fiction. I want to obsess
over the craft of fiction, to pore over characterization and structure,
to create stories that radiate color and humanity and hope.
I want fiction to be a tool for...
Ben Borgers
New in Superadmin: styling, images, rich text
23rd Nov 2022
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Ernie Is Our Co-Pilot
Hello. You’re receiving this long-dormant-now-re-reawakaned newsletter because at some point in the...
25th Sep 2021
Hello. You’re receiving this long-dormant-now-re-reawakaned newsletter because at some point in the past you subscribed. (Thank you, by the way.) Back then, I was writing about some nexus of travels abroad, personal or professional news, and technology-ish topics.
There are some...
The Marginalian
Between the Infinite and the Infinitesimal: A Scientist’s Search for the Fulcrum of Faith
"The universe is not a place where evolution happens, it is the evolution happening. It is not a...
2nd Feb 2024
"The universe is not a place where evolution happens, it is the evolution happening. It is not a stage on which drama unfolds, it is the unfolding drama itself."
Josh Thompson
Back in the saddle (of writing)
Background
It’s been a hell of a year. I’ve got about 10,000 things I’ve wanted to write about, and...
26th Apr 2022
Background
It’s been a hell of a year. I’ve got about 10,000 things I’ve wanted to write about, and have not gotten around to any of them. Here’s my various top-level reasons for not writing:
what I want to write about feels too complicated to express easily/coherently
I feel...
ben-mini
Claude is kicking ChatGPT’s butt (in one thing)
Back in high school, I remember receiving an email for a study guide from a friend. Instead of the...
15th Jul 2025
Back in high school, I remember receiving an email for a study guide from a friend. Instead of the PDF coming attached, it was a link to a site called Dropbox.
Upon opening the file, you create an account. From there you’re introduced to a feature stack that went well beyond any...
The American Scholar
Leashed
The post Leashed appeared first on The American Scholar.
1st Oct 2025
The post Leashed appeared first on The American Scholar.
ben-mini
Platform or Point Solution?
A while back, I wrote a post titled “What is a Platform?”. I defined what a platform is and why tech...
8th Mar 2025
A while back, I wrote a post titled “What is a Platform?”. I defined what a platform is and why tech companies are so determined to become labeled as one. My definition of a platform is a tool that allows users to define and build their own things, which can be used by other...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ I Don't Have Facebook
I don’t have an account with the big blue F. It’s 2015. The social network is almost 11 years old....
15th Jan 2015
I don’t have an account with the big blue F. It’s 2015. The social network is almost 11 years old. It’s remarkable — over a decade in existence and, mostly, still going strong.
I read about it a lot. I have friends who work there. I have been recruited and asked by the same...
Craig Mod — Writer +...
[RIDGELINE] Happy New Year With a Side of Fries
Ridgeline subscribers —
Hello from Denny’s. Happy new year. You can tell it’s January first, because...
1st Jan 2026
Ridgeline subscribers —
Hello from Denny’s. Happy new year. You can tell it’s January first, because I’m at Denny’s. I woke up and made a nice coffee and did some accounting (as one does) and went to my local shrine in Tokyo and bowbowclapclapbow’d and then I was off! Tramping...
Ben Borgers
How ChatGPT spoiled my semester
13th Oct 2024
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Notes at 45
As I sit squarely in my mid-40s, I’ve gained valuable perspectives, learnings, and understandings....
12th Apr 2023
As I sit squarely in my mid-40s, I’ve gained valuable perspectives, learnings, and understandings. Here are some of them:
People > things. In our current society, the deepening pit of materialism, capitalism, and an insatiable desire for more has become all-consuming. However,...
The Marginalian
After Love: Maxine Kumin’s Stunning Poem About Eros as a Portal to Unselfing
It is one of the hardest things in life — discerning where we end and the rest of the world begins,...
3rd Oct 2023
It is one of the hardest things in life — discerning where we end and the rest of the world begins, negotiating the permeable boundary between self and other, all the while longing for its dissolution, longing to be set free from the prison of ourselves. That is why we cherish...
Anecdotal Evidence
'Shut Not Thy Purse-Strings'
Unlike his friends
Coleridge, Hazlitt, Wordsworth and Hunt, who often made fools of themselves as
a...
1st Mar 2025
Unlike his friends
Coleridge, Hazlitt, Wordsworth and Hunt, who often made fools of themselves as
a result, Charles Lamb had little interest in the momentous events of his day.
About “Boney” – Napoleon Bonaparte – he wished only to know the dictator’s
height, unlike Hazlitt, who...
Robert Caro
‘The Power Broker’ Is Finally Getting a Digital Edition. What Took So Long?
Caro’s mammoth study of the urban planner Robert Moses is coming out as an e-book on the 50th...
25th Mar 2025
Caro’s mammoth study of the urban planner Robert Moses is coming out as an e-book on the 50th anniversary of the biography’s publication.
the late review
the perils of writing about oneself
some essays about writing essays pt 2
5th Aug 2025
some essays about writing essays pt 2
The Marginalian
Octavia Butler on Religion and the Spirituality of Symbiosis
"On many levels, we wind up being strengthened by what we join, or what joins us, as well as by what...
2nd Nov 2023
"On many levels, we wind up being strengthened by what we join, or what joins us, as well as by what we combat."
The Marginalian
The Porcupine Dilemma: Schopenhauer’s Parable about Negotiating the Optimal Distance in Love
This is the supreme challenge of intimacy — how to reconcile the aching yearning for closeness with...
3rd Aug 2023
This is the supreme challenge of intimacy — how to reconcile the aching yearning for closeness with the painful pressures of actually being close, how to forge a bond tight enough to feel the warmth of connection but spacious enough to feel free. Kahlil Gibran knew this when he...
Wuthering...
What I Read in June 2026 – I don’t know, that’s all words, never wake, all words, there’s nothing...
Oh right, I can pretend I am writing something. Some notes on books I read in the distant...
22nd Jul 2026
Oh right, I can pretend I am writing something. Some notes on books I read in the distant past.
NOT SHAKESPEARE
The Dutch Courtesan (1604), John Marston – Discussed long ago.
Poems (1594-1612), George Chapman – A superb,
innovative poet, somehow an Ovidian and an...
Idle Words
The Lunacy of Artemis
In August 2020, the New York Times asked me to write an op-ed for a special feature on...
19th May 2024
In August 2020, the New York Times asked me to write an op-ed for a special feature on authoritarianism and democracy. They declined to publish my submission, which I am sharing here instead.
A little over 51 years ago, a rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying three...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Threaded
I penned a Thot(?!), or rather, a post on Threads, the Twitter clone that Meta released some time...
5th Nov 2023
I penned a Thot(?!), or rather, a post on Threads, the Twitter clone that Meta released some time ago. I don’t find it particularly useful, as my Twitter usage had declined long ago.
Anyway, the post (and accompanying photo):
“When I contemplate the idea of relocating, it’s 70°...
Robert Caro
In Florida, the Pitch Is High and Hard
A special Senate committee has opened an investigation into these “Misery Acres” that take dollars...
29th Mar 2023
A special Senate committee has opened an investigation into these “Misery Acres” that take dollars from people who cannot afford it.
the late review
the hairshirt doldrums
on having a brain injury
6th Mar 2025
This Space
A measure of forever
For me, fiction is a space of plainness and excess.
Amina Cain
When TS Eliot read...
3rd Mar 2025
For me, fiction is a space of plainness and excess.
Amina Cain
When TS Eliot read Dante for the first time, he noted a discrepancy between his enjoyment and his understanding, leading to the famous claim that "genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood"....
Escaping Flatland
Almost anything you give sustained attention to will begin to loop on itself and bloom
When people talk about the value of paying attention and slowing down, they often make it sound...
4th Sep 2025
When people talk about the value of paying attention and slowing down, they often make it sound prudish and monk-like. But we shouldn’t forget how interesting and overpoweringly pleasurable sustained attention can be.
Josh Thompson
Circles of Influence
I was listening to a podcast today, where they said if you have problems knowing what to write...
5th Mar 2016
I was listening to a podcast today, where they said if you have problems knowing what to write about, or you’ve hit a block, write about something that angers you.
This is easy. I could write about any number of things that we’ve all read in a newspaper, and get good and angry...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
🔗 What price?
If anything, as the well gets poisoned by their own outputs, large language models may well end up...
6th Oct 2024
If anything, as the well gets poisoned by their own outputs, large language models may well end up eating their own slop and getting their own version of mad cow disease. So this might be as good as they’re ever going to get.
— Jeremy Keith
I use AI. Not particularly for...
Josh Thompson
Taiwanese & Balinese Scooter Norms
Sometimes I’ve told people “I ride with Asian scooter norms.” or “I ride with Taiwanese and Balinese...
14th Aug 2025
Sometimes I’ve told people “I ride with Asian scooter norms.” or “I ride with Taiwanese and Balinese scooter norms”. Here’s what I mean by this statement.
a ‘norm’ is ‘something common, accepted, sometimes codified in law, but certainly accepted as ‘right’ or ‘acceptable’ or...
The Marginalian
Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and Our Search for Meaning: Oliver Sacks on ChatGPT, 30...
"We are not incoherent, a bundle of sensations, but a self, rising from experience, continually...
2nd May 2023
"We are not incoherent, a bundle of sensations, but a self, rising from experience, continually growing and revised... Through experience, education, art, and life, we teach our brains to become unique. We learn to be individuals. This is a neurological learning as well as a...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Tracks of the Ancients
I notice the tracks as I return from a brief scouting trip. When deciding on a campsite for the...
4th Feb 2022
I notice the tracks as I return from a brief scouting trip. When deciding on a campsite for the night, reconnaissance is necessary: one, to verify personal safety; two, to ensure picturesque views and surroundings, but distance between neighbors (if applicable); and three, to...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Follow vs. Block
In the beginning, you followed someone to see their content in your feed.
Now, you block someone to...
2nd Jan 2024
In the beginning, you followed someone to see their content in your feed.
Now, you block someone to remove them from your feed.
That’s the price of an endless algorithmic feed designed to keep you in-app or on-platform, entertained, and eventually (if not already) monetized.
A...
Steven Scrawls
Quicksilver and Clay
Quicksilver and Clay
Like everyone else, I walk around the world in a body made of
quicksilver and...
11th Jan 2024
Quicksilver and Clay
Like everyone else, I walk around the world in a body made of
quicksilver and clay. The pieces of my body—my sense of humor, my
beliefs, my opinions and artistic sensibilities and worldviews,
everything—combine to present a cohesive self to be...
Ploum.net
Is Pixelfed sawing off the branch that the Fediverse is sitting on?
Is Pixelfed sawing off the branch that the Fediverse is sitting on?
In January 2025, I became aware...
4th Dec 2025
Is Pixelfed sawing off the branch that the Fediverse is sitting on?
In January 2025, I became aware that there was a real problem with Pixelfed, the "Instagram inspired Fediverse client". The problem is threatening the whole Fediverse. As Pixelfed received a lot of media...
the late review
bride and sister, be to your brother
sentimental incest in Die Walküre
3rd Apr 2025
sentimental incest in Die Walküre
The Perry Bible...
Please
The post Please appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
26th Jul 2024
The post Please appeared first on The Perry Bible Fellowship.
Naz Hamid • Journal
Quality, Maintenance & Craft
We are shokunin.
Last week I was in Ojai, California, for True’s Founder Camp.[1] James Freeman,...
12th Mar 2025
We are shokunin.
Last week I was in Ojai, California, for True’s Founder Camp.[1] James Freeman, founder of Blue Bottle Coffee was in conversation with Jeff Veen, and one of the attendees asked him: “How do you maintain such high quality?”
Freeman answers, “‘Maintaining’ is a...
Josh Thompson
October 2016 Review
October 2016 Review
This month’s review. In another few days I’ll post the goals for November.
I...
1st Nov 2016
October 2016 Review
This month’s review. In another few days I’ll post the goals for November.
I had
three goals for October, as of about 12 days ago:
October goals:
Programming
I wanted to finish a certain Rails Tutorial, and move on to the next one. This project I made zero...
Josh Thompson
Quotes from 'Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving', by Pete Walker
I’ve found Pete Walker’s Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving to be deeply helpful.
Some of you,...
11th Aug 2022
I’ve found Pete Walker’s Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving to be deeply helpful.
Some of you, many of you, have blessed me and cared for me in kind ways, sometimes with very little knowledge of what was going on, or why I was the way that I was. Thank you. I’ve been...
Ploum.net
Un manifeste Offpunk
Un manifeste Offpunk
Ce texte est une traduction en français du Offpunk Manifesto rédigé par Arlon...
3rd Aug 2026
Un manifeste Offpunk
Ce texte est une traduction en français du Offpunk Manifesto rédigé par Arlon de Serra Grande et que j’ai co-signé
An Offpunk Manifesto (English version)
Versão em português
La révolution ne sera pas numérique
Alors que l’hyperconnexion apparait comme le...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ This Is What We Have To Lose
Yesterday felt defeating with the damning report that our climate has indeed moved unfortunately...
10th Aug 2021
Yesterday felt defeating with the damning report that our climate has indeed moved unfortunately forward into severity and decline. It’s too late for some aspects but not too late to avoid some of the worst aspects.
The fires, the smoke, and the record-high temperatures that...
Anecdotal Evidence
'Superintending What He Cannot Regulate'
In my family we can’t get
away from the “Y” chromosome. Having children is known as “going to the...
1st Jul 2025
In my family we can’t get
away from the “Y” chromosome. Having children is known as “going to the Y.” I
have three sons, no daughters, and my brother, who died last summer, was my
sole sibling. My mother had five brothers, no sisters. My father, two brothers,
no sisters, etc....
Wuthering...
What I Read in September 2025 – A hand that taught what might be said in rhyme
My writing on Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great
plays has been hampered by an apparent...
7th Oct 2025
My writing on Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great
plays has been hampered by an apparent post-France short circuit in my ability
to write. So I will put up some easier
posts to remind myself how to write.
I had two major projects this month, one ongoing, one returned
to...
Idle Words
My Taipei Quarantine
Part of what brought me to Taiwan was bureaucratic thrill seeking. Few other countries had gone...
26th Apr 2022
Part of what brought me to Taiwan was bureaucratic thrill seeking. Few other countries had gone from “just hop on a plane” to North Korean levels of inaccessibility as fast as Taiwan, and like a cat that paws at a door just because it's closed, I wanted in. The country was...
Josh Thompson
Injury Impedes Improvement
Kristi and I have been in Colorado for three months, I’ve been climbing regularly for two, I am back...
24th Sep 2014
Kristi and I have been in Colorado for three months, I’ve been climbing regularly for two, I am back in shape and it feels good.
I am tempted to throw myself into climbing again. To climb every day, or maybe every other day, and finish every session with training. But here’s the...
Josh Thompson
Upgrade your job
So, apparently I send a lot of email about people trying to get cool jobs. Here’s yet
another email...
30th Oct 2015
So, apparently I send a lot of email about people trying to get cool jobs. Here’s yet
another email I sent to a friend, recorded here.
Hi [redacted],
First I want to highlight is that flexible/remote jobs are
just like normal jobs, but more people want them, so the companies...
The Marginalian
The One Hundred Milliseconds Between the World and You: Oliver Sacks on Perception
“If the doors of perception were cleansed,” William Blake wrote, “everything would appear to man as...
2nd Jun 2025
“If the doors of perception were cleansed,” William Blake wrote, “everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.” But we are finite creatures, in time and in space, and there is a limit to how much reality we can bear — evolution gave us consciousness so that we may sieve the...
Naz Hamid • Journal
Real Wood
AI makes particle board.
As a child, woodworking was part of my school’s curriculum. One of our...
20th Apr 2026
AI makes particle board.
As a child, woodworking was part of my school’s curriculum. One of our projects was making a simple sailboat, with the kind of shape and blockiness of those wood toys you see for little kids. From a solid block, we chiseled out the center cavity where the...
Steven Scrawls
Supposedly-Deceased Intellectuals Found Living at Resort
‘Small
Village’ of Supposedly-Deceased Intellectuals Found Alive, Thriving at
Caribbean...
8th Aug 2024
‘Small
Village’ of Supposedly-Deceased Intellectuals Found Alive, Thriving at
Caribbean Resort
Gabriel Martinez, a 35-year-old confectioner living in the Cayman
Islands, thought he was posting a simple promotional photo when he
snapped a picture of his ‘cocoa-banana-surprise’ and...
Steven Scrawls
Easy Questions, Part 1: Introduction
Easy Questions, Part 1:
Introduction
What if our stories explore questions not because those...
20th Mar 2024
Easy Questions, Part 1:
Introduction
What if our stories explore questions not because those questions are
interesting, but because those questions are easier to respond to than
the alternatives?
Trope: The Chosen One
What’s the shallow, wish-fulfillment version of...
Escaping Flatland
On agency
Or, how to handle being sentenced to freedom, and handle it effectively, and authentically, and...
7th Jul 2025
Or, how to handle being sentenced to freedom, and handle it effectively, and authentically, and responsibly
ben-mini
IMG_0416
Between 2009 and 2012, Apple iPhones and iPod Touches included a feature called “Send to YouTube”...
3rd Nov 2024
Between 2009 and 2012, Apple iPhones and iPod Touches included a feature called “Send to YouTube” that allowed users to upload videos directly to YouTube from the Photos app.
The feature worked… really well. In fact, YouTube reported a 1700% increase in total video uploads...
Josh Thompson
Playing with the HTTP send/response cycle in Ruby, without Faraday ("HTTP Yeah You Know Me" project)
As part of the HTTP Server project.
First, I’m working through Practicing Ruby’s “Implementing an...
7th Apr 2017
As part of the HTTP Server project.
First, I’m working through Practicing Ruby’s “Implementing an HTTP File Server” for general practice and understanding.
I’m going to use Postman to capture traffic and try to replicate some of the things the guides reference.
Lastly, I just...
Josh Thompson
Dizzying but Invisible Depth
The following is from https://plus.google.com/+JeanBaptisteQueru/posts/dfydM2Cnepe, but Google+ is...
16th Jan 2021
The following is from https://plus.google.com/+JeanBaptisteQueru/posts/dfydM2Cnepe, but Google+ is shutdown, so it’s not easily sharable. I’m reposting here because this is such a useful post.
Dizzying but invisible depth
You just went to the Google home page.
Simple, isn’t...
Josh Thompson
A Retrospective on Seven Months at Turing
Collection of thoughts on Turing
It’s the last week of Turing. I went through the backend software...
8th Aug 2017
Collection of thoughts on Turing
It’s the last week of Turing. I went through the backend software engineering program, and it’s been a journey.
In no particular order, I’m throwing down thoughts in three general categories:
What went well
What didn’t go well
What I might have...
Escaping Flatland
On mentors
What is it that motivates someone to take on someone and help them grow? Why do some learners have...
8th Nov 2023
What is it that motivates someone to take on someone and help them grow? Why do some learners have that privilege?
Josh Thompson
December Review, January Goals
This is a follow-up from last month’s goals
1. Deepen Knowledge of Back-end Development
I finished...
5th Jan 2017
This is a follow-up from last month’s goals
1. Deepen Knowledge of Back-end Development
I finished OverTheWire’s Bandit series, except the last lesson, which didn’t make sense. (It does now! Turns out login shells and “regular” shells are different. I’ll take another spin at it...
Craig Mod — Writer +...
[RIDGELINE] The Walk and Talk, Nagano Kiso-ji
Ridgeline subscribers —
I’ll die on my dumb hill, the one where I say: the best time to visit and...
17th Dec 2025
Ridgeline subscribers —
I’ll die on my dumb hill, the one where I say: the best time to visit and walk (most) of Japan is the end of November and the start of December. I think a lot of folks have a kind of North Eastern American mentality, where by the time December hits New...
Ben Borgers
Trip to Germany, spring 2024
26th May 2024
This Space
An anniversary appeal
On this day last year I began posting every day for 39 days to commemorate 39 years since I began...
23rd Apr 2025
On this day last year I began posting every day for 39 days to commemorate 39 years since I began reading books. I dug out a folder of book lists I'd kept since 1986, chose one book from each year that I'd not written about before and wrote what ever the book suggested to me....
Steven Scrawls
Sunday Scrawl #2: Mimicry
Sunday Scrawl #2: Mimicry
The knock comes at 3:31 AM, the metal bunker door reverberating with
two...
7th Dec 2025
Sunday Scrawl #2: Mimicry
The knock comes at 3:31 AM, the metal bunker door reverberating with
two sharp raps, and I shake myself from slumber and check the
monitor.
Tammi’s face. But then, it’s always Tammi’s face. I unmute the
connection.
“The summer after graduation,” I say....
The Elysian
The TERRAFORM print pamphlet is now available—here's what we earned
Plus, join our literary salon discussion this week!
4th Aug 2025
Plus, join our literary salon discussion this week!
Josh Thompson
Book Notes: 'The Case Against Sugar' by Gary Taube
In the last few weeks, I read The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes.
I found it to be compelling...
12th Aug 2019
In the last few weeks, I read The Case Against Sugar by Gary Taubes.
I found it to be compelling (more on that in a moment) and I want to be impacted by them. I want the daily decisions that I make to be subtly influenced by this author and these books.
Related but in a different...
Escaping Flatland
An essay in which my friend feels stuck and I suggest relaxing some constraints
The short version is that my friend, in my opinion, thinks about what he wants in a too constrained...
5th Mar 2025
The short version is that my friend, in my opinion, thinks about what he wants in a too constrained way.
Craig Mod — Writer +...
[RODEN] A new Popup Walk, Lots of Books
Roden Readers —
Ahoy from Crisptown, population: Everyone in Japan. The summer is done. Thank...
2nd Sep 2025
Roden Readers —
Ahoy from Crisptown, population: Everyone in Japan. The summer is done. Thank glorious gods be, the summer is done. (Mostly.) I can feel my brain starting to solidify again, returning to its natural state after three months of relentless broiled liquefaction.
In...
Naz Hamid • Journal
It’s Time
Gains without measurement.
The weight fell off. Literally and figuratively, the device that now...
10th Jan 2026
Gains without measurement.
The weight fell off. Literally and figuratively, the device that now occupies my wrist is simple. It’s much smaller, tells the time, and the date. It requires no battery and is powered by my own kinetic movement, like riding a bicycle.
For the past few...
The Elysian
Writing Prompt: Design the future of the internet!
Participate in our next essay collection and print pamphlet.
2nd Jan 2026
Participate in our next essay collection and print pamphlet.
Escaping Flatland
How I read
Reading well is an endurance sport. I sometimes talk to people who want to become serious readers...
1st Oct 2025
Reading well is an endurance sport. I sometimes talk to people who want to become serious readers and so pick up Kafka’s The Trial or something like that—it is about as pleasant as running a marathon untrained.
Josh Thompson
Training for climbing (progress update)
I am at the end of my second iteration of climbing training, and this is how it went and what I...
3rd Jun 2013
I am at the end of my second iteration of climbing training, and this is how it went and what I learned:
I completed the workout twelve times, but I took a twelve-day break between workout eleven and twelve. I first skipped a workout because I had ripped skin open on one of my...
Josh Thompson
Monthly Review: November
This is my second monthly review, and I’m hooked.
I’ve thought this coming review frequently, but I...
1st Dec 2013
This is my second monthly review, and I’m hooked.
I’ve thought this coming review frequently, but I thought about that as I was conducting my month. This proactive review is in line with
Viktor Frankl’s admonition to “live every day as if it were your second chance to live it.”...
Josh Thompson
Gratitude 3x/day
Earlier this year, I read
The Miracle Morning, which promises (paraphrasing here):
If you do these...
1st Jun 2016
Earlier this year, I read
The Miracle Morning, which promises (paraphrasing here):
If you do these seven things every morning you’ll be the most amazing person you’ve ever met.
OK, it’s not exactly that bold, but it’s not far off. It wasn’t a terrible book, it had lots of good...
Josh Thompson
Bollards: Why & What
author’s note: it’s always fun to see your own stuff on the Hacker News front page! This very post...
30th Apr 2024
author’s note: it’s always fun to see your own stuff on the Hacker News front page! This very post sparked >450 comments worth of conversation! I didn’t even know this got posted until days later!
What are bollards
The what and the why in a single image:
The what and why in a...
the late review
some thoughts on siegfried
a very normal essay somewhat about wagner's ring cycle
3rd Jan 2025
a very normal essay somewhat about wagner's ring cycle
Josh Thompson
Fred Roger's Method For Writing Scripts
Someone said:
People think this is silly, but read about Fred rogers’ method for writing a script...
30th Sep 2020
Someone said:
People think this is silly, but read about Fred rogers’ method for writing a script for his show. The rules aren’t fully applicable to presentations, but the attention to detail and to the Interpretation of the audience is. Don’t use any words carelessly.
I...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Music That Got Me Through 2020
As time goes on, I've learned something about myself: I'm now that person — that old fogey — that...
1st Feb 2021
As time goes on, I've learned something about myself: I'm now that person — that old fogey — that mumbles under their breath about the old days when music was real. That said, there are plenty of good artists (even great artists) making meaningful music today. I just have to...
sbensu
The secondary market in gift cards
This post by patio11 covers a few things that I learned working with gift cards over the years.
13th Dec 2021
This post by patio11 covers a few things that I learned working with gift cards over the years.
ben-mini
What’s Preventing Us from Building a Beautiful Product?
I just finished listening to Lenny’s conversation with Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, about what...
5th Feb 2025
I just finished listening to Lenny’s conversation with Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, about what it takes to build a great SaaS product.
Like many SaaS apps, the Kibu team and I have taken inspiration from Linear. But as we plan our roadmap and implement new solutions, I ask...
Naz Hamid • Journal
Baseline Loss
What the days look like now.
I buzzed my hair down today. I needed to baseline it. I still have a...
2nd Mar 2026
What the days look like now.
I buzzed my hair down today. I needed to baseline it. I still have a healthy amount of hair, but it’s going. I have a semblance of vanity, but I knew from my father’s own hair loss where mine would eventually head to (hahahaha).
I’m not vain enough to...
sbensu
Interfaces for logical migrations
This post explains how you can use interfaces to make data model and database migrations easier.
4th Aug 2023
This post explains how you can use interfaces to make data model and database migrations easier.
Idle Words
Why Not Mars
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot...
1st Jan 2023
For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
— Richard Feynman
Entrance to underground cavern on Pavonis Mons. HiRISE, 2011
The goal of this essay is to persuade you that we shouldn’t send human...
The Marginalian
William James on the Most Vital Understanding for Successful Relationships
"Neither the whole of truth nor the whole of good is revealed to any single observer."
2nd Jun 2023
"Neither the whole of truth nor the whole of good is revealed to any single observer."
Josh Thompson
Why Your Belayer is Keeping You from Climbing Hard(er)
Since climbing regularly again (!!!), I’ve observed lots of belaying in the gym. I can’t walk up to...
1st Oct 2014
Since climbing regularly again (!!!), I’ve observed lots of belaying in the gym. I can’t walk up to a stranger and say “Excuse me, sir, I noticed that your poor belaying is totally crippling your climber’s ability to try hard, and actively eliminating any hope you had of...
ben-mini
The Inner Game of Tennis
I just finished reading The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey. Originally published in 1974, the...
12th Oct 2024
I just finished reading The Inner Game of Tennis by Tim Gallwey. Originally published in 1974, the book explores how the thoughts of an athlete affect their game. It’s lauded as being at the forefront of what we now call “sports psychology”. Although my competitive sports days...
The Elysian
Social Development > Self-Development
We need one much more than the other.
1st Jan 2025
We need one much more than the other.
ben-mini
The happiest I’ve ever been
It was around January 2020. I became the head coach of a youth basketball team.
I was a few months...
25th Feb 2026
It was around January 2020. I became the head coach of a youth basketball team.
I was a few months into my first job out of college, and I was feeling… empty. I couldn’t explain why, so I set out to fill the void. I built side projects, went drinking with coworkers, and got...
The American Scholar
The Story of Mumbet
Who was the enslaved woman whose burial site at a Berkshires cemetery draws so much reverence and...
2nd Mar 2026
Who was the enslaved woman whose burial site at a Berkshires cemetery draws so much reverence and respect?
The post The Story of Mumbet appeared first on The American Scholar.
Naz Hamid • Journal
Modus Operandi
My operating rules and way of living.
This is a m.o. (mo) page, or modus operandi page. It lists out...
14th Apr 2025
My operating rules and way of living.
This is a m.o. (mo) page, or modus operandi page. It lists out the way I approach my life and the rules I apply to it to thrive. This is a living document and will be added to as more comes to mind, or as I develop new ones.
It is mirrored at...
The Elysian
Yes, Taylor Swift is just as genius as Mary Shelley
The video from our live event.
3rd Oct 2024
The video from our live event.
Salish Wolf
#5 Fritzi Horstman on Healing Childhood Trauma, Activism Through Film, and Uplifting Humanity
Fritzi Horstman is a rare, beautiful individual with a selfless passion to
transform lives. As a...
9th May 2020
Fritzi Horstman is a rare, beautiful individual with a selfless passion to
transform lives. As a Grammy-award winning producer for her work on the
“The Defiant Ones”, Fritzi is not resting on her laurels. Nor is she
coasting through Hollywood, lapping up the limelight....
This Space
Books of the year 2024
In order of being read.
Giorgio Agamben – What I saw, heard, learned…
One night, along Venice’s...
15th Dec 2024
In order of being read.
Giorgio Agamben – What I saw, heard, learned…
One night, along Venice’s Zattere, watching the putrid water lap at the city’s foundations, I saw that we exist solely in the intermittence of our being, and that what we call I is just a shadow...
Josh Thompson
2017 In Review & Thoughts on 2018
Note: this “annual review” covers three topics. Click on one to skip to it:
Looking back on...
1st Jan 2018
Note: this “annual review” covers three topics. Click on one to skip to it:
Looking back on 2017
thoughts on going into 2018
book recommendations from the 79 books I read last year
I’ve got mixed feelings on annual reviews. I steadfastly refuse to set New Years’ resolutions, and...
ben-mini
Making My SQL Skills Obsolete
Quick Update: I updated my domain to ben-mini.com! All old URLs and the RSS feed under...
22nd Dec 2024
Quick Update: I updated my domain to ben-mini.com! All old URLs and the RSS feed under ben-mini.github.io will automatically redirect, so no changes are needed on your end.
By far, the most useful LLM app I’ve made is the Kibu Schema God:
I try not to make my posts too...
Naz Hamid — Journal...
✏️ Borrego Boogie
Almost a year ago, Jen and I headed south to Bishop, then a run through Death Valley, an obnoxiously...
8th Mar 2023
Almost a year ago, Jen and I headed south to Bishop, then a run through Death Valley, an obnoxiously windy night in Alabama Hills, and then reset in San Diego before a good run and a few nights in Anza-Borrego desert.
It's remarkable that a place this wild and surprisingly...
Escaping Flatland
Writing while walking
We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books.
2nd Sep 2024
We do not belong to those who have ideas only among books, when stimulated by books.
Ben Borgers
Parking Tickets Wrapped 2024
7th Jan 2025
Josh Thompson
How to fly… like a boss
I am in a quest to
level up my life. Free flights is a big part of this. I’ve not gotten too many...
7th Oct 2013
I am in a quest to
level up my life. Free flights is a big part of this. I’ve not gotten too many of those yet, but the next best thing is free seat upgrades. I’m not talking about first class - that’s beyond me, at the moment. I’m talking about getting stuck in the back of the...
Craig Mod — Writer +...
[RIDGELINE] The Shops Atop the Canal in Toyohashi
Ridgeline subscribers —
Hello from Toyohashi, a city between nowhere and somewhere else. A Tōkaidō...
12th Mar 2026
Ridgeline subscribers —
Hello from Toyohashi, a city between nowhere and somewhere else. A Tōkaidō city I’ve walked through on my two trips back and forth between Kyoto and Tokyo. A city with a space shuttle on top of a building and the letters USA strangely emblazoned below.
On...
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