“No one can define or measure justice, democracy, security, freedom, truth, or love. No one can define or measure any value. But if no one speaks up for them, if systems aren’t designed to produce them, if we don’t speak about them and point toward their presence or
The best kind of advice I have received in my life is so obvious that it feels stupid to say it out loud. Advice like this is often ridiculed online for being simplistic (and thus useless). I used to share this sentiment. But I don't anymore. Turns out,
In memoriam of the year that won't exist anymore. <!--more--> Quality of life improvements (feel free to steal) * Writing more—enabled by this low-friction-to-post platform (writefreely). * Coffee brewing as a hobby for fun and mindfulness. You may substitute this with anything culinary. * Picking up Masala Lab
It was value education period (shortened to V. Ed.), sixth grade. The format deviated from the usual years where a teacher would be assigned to make us open our V. Ed. books to imbibe ourselves with holistic values to become good citizens. V. Ed. was weird as it was. I
Programming language discourse is silly. It gives the impression that the language you use is the one important parameter with all the leverage when most people are working with hundreds or thousands of parameters. The art of software design is a quest to make robust analogies that transcend computation substrates
A Pattern Language is a beautiful tome on architecture and urban design that I found in my company's physical library. It had a pale yellow minimalist cover, a small form, and some blotchy typography accompanied by evocative photographs and lively doodles explaining the essence of its ideas. I
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
There's a pattern of things I predictably like—which I shall now call "just the right amount of unpleasant". Some examples to follow. Food and Beverage * Fermented, funky stuff—kimchi, kombucha, certain cheeses and curd have just the right amount of "spoilt" sourness to
Is art paintings, sculpture, architecture, theatre, dance, film, poetry, literature, craft and criticism? It's hard to describe it in concretions. Sometimes concretions aren't enough. Let me try something more abstract—to me, good art is powerful compression. The human condition is vast and complex, the only
This is lifted from my old blog that's not around anymore (with some light edits). My default mental state is no longer weirdly existential. Although it's been a while since I've played some games in my head. It's the weekend. I sit
This is lifted and reposted from my old blog that's not up anymore. I don't use twitter/X/whatever anymore. Now for the post. <div dir="ltr"><div><img src="https://internetblog.s3.amazonaws.com/images/b7f36ef2-dd64-4bfc-8cf2-d0133f838af6"
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. <