Some weeks ago I read an excellent article by Alastair Humphreys, entitled A Single Small Map Is Enough For A Lifetime. The core of the article details how much excitement and wonder exists right outside one's own door - the thirst for adventure can be quenched without boarding a CO2 emitting …
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Timezones
My company services several cities in the continental United States. For those major metropolitan cities, we only have to concern ourselves with three US timezones: US/Pacific, US/Central, and US/Eastern. Even without non-hour-offset timezones I still experience headaches on a weekly basis. Many stem from original sins within …
read moreEmbassytown
For this month's science fiction and fantasy book club, I read Embassytown by China Miéville.
tl;dr I rate the book 3 ½ stars.
Plot
Avice, a human, grows up in the human neighborhood of a city on Arieke, an alien planet at the edge of known space. She is …
read moreInterviewing
I have been helping my company interview, which makes for a great opportunity to elaborate on my experiences and perspectives: what do I look for when I interview a candidate?
Green flags
These are a collection of positive qualities and behaviors that I look for in a candidate.
Online presence …
read moreRemote Team Building
I've had the privilege recently of organizing a few team building events. I am writing this to share my experience.
Welcome
The first event was to welcome a new team member.
I chose Friday, as it's typically an easygoing day. In Google Calendar, I added the dozen team members, and …
read moreFantasies
At the monastery yesterday, the monk explained how people form images of others in their minds, and those images crystallize. For example, older family members may treat you as if you were still a child, because in their mind they still see you as a child.
Change and attachment
This …
read moreLottery Ticket
"You can't win the lottery without buying a ticket" - wisdom shared with me this week.
Buying a ticket
I have spent my adult life minimizing risk in favor of the safety of routine. I have bought few "lottery tickets," whether for small and large "jackpots." When I have, it's usually …
read moreOne Year of Fellowship
I am approaching one year in a 12 step fellowship. As fate would have it, I also just wrapped up Step 12. While not easy to write about publicly, I want to take the opportunity to reflect on my experiences in the program.
Hitting a bottom
A nasty breakup led …
read moreThe Only Harmless Great Thing
For my science fiction book club I read this novelette (note: a novelette is shorter than a novella). In the meeting I was surprised to hear that a few members couldn't finish it. I rarely stop reading a book - though there are countless unfinished books on my shelf.
Anyway, to …
read moreIndecision
Indecision plagues me. I am planning a trip to a conference for my team, and have to pick the hotel. Thankfully, the conference recommends a few hotels. Not so thankfully, the options are mostly identical.
Why not choose?
Let's start at the beginning. I believe there's a spectrum of indecision …
read moreTravel Practical Tips
As a follow up to my travel guidelines, I want to share some practical tips from my experience.
Research ahead of time
I'm paying a nice chunk of change to travel, so I will invest some time in planning ahead: tourist attractions, tourist pitfalls, etc.
Reddit and youtube travel vlogs …
read moreTravel Guidelines
I am traveling in Europe, and feeling inspired to reflect on some of my guidelines for travel. These are not hard and fast rules - they are guidelines, or philosophies.
Don't go back for seconds
In Barcelona there was a restaurant that served the most incredible hummus (in fact the restaurant …
read moreDjango Database Performance Tips
I've wanted to share this for some time now, but felt that it would be too large an undertaking. So I will keep it straightforward and avoid diving into metrics: I encourage you to test out the suggestions for your use cases.
Note that I presume familiarity with web development …
read moreSenior
I was recently promoted to senior software engineer. Which warrants an examination of, what does it mean to be senior?
Please note that this is a personal answer, based on my own experience - there is plenty of excellent literature on the subject. The key differentiators of seniority may change between …
read moreHumility
To me, humility means being teachable. That is, I don't have all the answers, I'm not immune to making mistakes.
Recently it has helped me to pay attention when my instinct is to drift off: the impulse of "I know this already, there's nothing new for me."
One instance is …
read moreYou Don't Have to Do It All
At work recently I helped lead an effort to solve a technical problem. I had been aware of this problem for some time, at least a month. However, I was hesitant to take action.
Now that I'm on the other side, I feel I have a better understanding of my …
read moreMeditation Misconceptions
This year I progressed my meditation skills from struggling to sit for three minutes to powering through forty five minutes. Here are some misconceptions that helped me to grow.
Meditation is easy
The idea is simple enough: sit down and do nothing. In practice, however, it was not easy for …
read moreEnd of Year Review
It's the end of the year, and a time for reflection.
Travel
In January I traveled to India with my ex-girlfriend, fulfilling a dream of mine. I visited New Delhi and Udaipur. I recall certain moments: the explosion of a transformer, children flying kites, vultures circling a dump, students competing …
read moreGrace
A recurring theme recently has been grace. I think of it as acceptance of my limitations, faults, mistakes, missteps, and more broadly "myself."
I have a number of self-improvement efforts in motion at any given time. A recurring one is internet usage. While I work to be intentional with my …
read moreSpain
In traveling some memories stick out, while others fade.
In Udaipur, I recall the view from the hotel window. The window faced away from the city center. There was a small stream below, where I saw dogs, cows, hogs, horses, and birds. The stream was heavily polluted. Across the stream …
read moreJealousy
On a podcast a psychologist explained how jealousy can help one find happiness. The idea is that, for those of us who struggle to discover our sources of happiness, we can re-frame what we're jealous of as potential sources of happiness.
As an example, I am jealous of those who …
read moreNever Took the Time
I recently read Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. One story that stood out to me was a conversation between the author and his neighbor. The author, seeing the neighbor repairing a lawnmower, complains that he wishes he were skilled at repairing things too. The neighbor replies, you aren't, because …
read moreShoulds
A good friend once told me that he avoids the word "should" (as a disclaimer, he also claims I misremember what he says, so I may just be inspired by him, rather than quoting him).
I was reminded of this today when listening to a podcast of a few New …
read moreNoticed
In the woods I noticed the crunch of my sandal on the rocky path. I listened to the wind rustle the leaves. I observed the proud posture of the robin. I appreciated the nobility of the lone tree. I witnessed the decay, the rebirth.
I startled a blue jay, who …
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