This essay aims to introduce social stigma around certain types of AI use, or at the very least, reduce the amount of slop I receive. What is slop? I like the deepfates definition: Watching in real time as “slop” becomes a term of art. the way that “spam” became the
I've been putting things out on the internet for a while. old tech blogs circa 2010-2012 I was a child. I wrote articles about technology news (and reviewed whatever old used phone I had, posted them on youtube and x-posted to these blogs). I used "website builder&
I was in MoMA, watching Barnett Newman's intensely red canvascape (Vir Heroicus Sublimis) stare back at me. Most paintings have a subject. And a bunch of objects. This one had a large bright redness, punctured by vertical lines. My mind, in search of a subject that's
This essay aims to introduce social stigma around certain types of AI use, or at the very least, reduce the amount of slop I receive. What is slop? I like the deepfates definition: Watching in real time as “slop” becomes a term of art. the way that “spam” became the
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance was on my reading wishlist for a while. From the title, I assumed the book would be something like a tasteful self-help book, a quirky blend of kōanic mysticism applied to motorcycle maintenance, with a nudge and a wink for the reader, who
I turn 25 today. On this occasion, I will talk about 25 things that have served me well.
A friend recently pointed out that I have a discernable vocal fry. I had to look it up—a short description immediately made me understand that I had it. Vocal fry is the lowest register (tone) of your voice characterized by its deep, creaky, breathy sound. It's the
These days I derive little joy from my possessions of necessity. Knowledge workers, over the last couple of decades, have traded the engagement of our senses for an upgrade in flexibility. I shall elaborate. Let's take a phone. Here's a rough chronology. Notice the gradual loss
Friends know me for having a broad and discerning palate. In recent years, I have realised that this quality of mine has been an endless stream of joy and that has enriched my day-to-day. I have also felt that many people don't draw from this stream enough. <
you will get my posts as emails if you subscribe.
Comments to articles around the web, on my turf. Bengawalk There's a lot of whining about Bengaluru's broken and crumbling infrastructure. Pravar, the creator of Bengawalk takes a refreshing and productive approach and demonstrates that clear articulation can improve things on the margin. His video review
A totem (from Ojibwe: ᑑᑌᒼ or ᑑᑌᒻ doodem) is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. A conceptual thing humans have is symbolism that provides
How to write more? The bottleneck is psychological. There's a natural censor in your brain that blurts out objections and reprimands as you start to write. To remedy this, practice enough mindfulness so that you can catch the censor every time it blurts something. Eventually your head becomes
In the grand taxonomy of human endeavor, three species have emerged from the primordial soup of late-stage digital capitalism: the sloptimist, the sloperator, and their shared philosophy, slopportunism. These are not merely portmanteaus born of linguistic laziness—though that would be appropriately on-brand—but rather, they represent a complete epistemological
What am I getting from the internet? The answer to this used to be self-evident back when I accessed it from a dial-up connection in 2009. There was the real world context that I inhabited, and the internet was a portal where I would access information from distant worlds. Today,
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance was on my reading wishlist for a while. From the title, I assumed the book would be something like a tasteful self-help book, a quirky blend of kōanic mysticism applied to motorcycle maintenance, with a nudge and a wink for the reader, who
to amuse myself and steer large language models
I turn 25 today. On this occasion, I will talk about 25 things that have served me well.
tldraw is canvas software that runs on your browser (like MS Paint, excalidraw etc). This project caught my attention when I saw demos of fun AI experiments with the canvas interface*. Even the plain canvas software without the experimental AI frills is delightful to use—it's become the
I also started using twttr again in 2024 after a couple of years out. I never used it because I considered twitter problematic. Somehow I figured out the algorithm this time around. My feed is fairly good. The one weird trick is to aggressively mute anyone on my feed who
I used to be cynical about things. It wasn't unusual for me tell people that everything is crap. It still rings true to me—the difference is that these days I've found a way to unify this with an optimistic outlook. Optimism is the ultimate form
I love NYC because it is just the right amount of unpleasant. It is a city that will keep you on your toes by throwing curveballs at you—thus, forcing you to pay attention to how fractally interesting it is. It is also a city that will floor you with