What better constraint than “solving the problem with what’s in your room”?
That’s a line from Edwin H. Land, founder of Polaroid.
I knew about it from this bookofjoe’s post.
Before he had his own lab, Edwin snuck into his university lab after hours.
Maybe that’s why he adopted that line.
What about solving a problem with what’s in your head, library, and notes?
It forces recall and sparks connections.
It make us read and learn broadly.
It help us build range.
#1. 100-repetition rule. When starting a new hobby, aim for 100 repetitions to judging your progress or quitting. That’s 100 posts, 100 photos, or 100 paintings.
#2. I feel/I wonder/I think.Reviving my Zettelkasten led me to morganeua’s YouTube channel. To react to something, answer I feel __, I wonder __, and I think ___. Those answers will help you to create new notes.
#3. Cover design idea. Last week, I found my copy of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, and noticed its cover. The title is on the cover and its subtitle is on the back cover. Simple! I’m stealing that idea.
#4. Techno selectionism. You don’t have to stick to a piece of tech. You can always try it, watch it, and change it. If it drains you or disconnects you, drop it.
#6. Work with your garage door open. If marketing and sales sound daunting, just show your progress. Open your garage door and let people see what you’re building.
#7. Read one book about work per year. I haven’t read a coding book since my burnout and layoff in 2024. This idea inspired me to pick one again. I opened my Books folder and started reading Dependency Injection: Principles, Practices, and Patterns by Mark Seeman.
If you’re a coder who wants to read something about work, you’ll find my books here.
A search for vignettes took me to a YouTube video by Bookfox on short stories, then to its blog, and finally to 100 word story. Each month’s photo inspires a 100-word story. Here’s this month’s photo and my story.
Game at sunset. Photo by Orlando Contreras Lopes on flickr.com
“One day, I’ll be like Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.”
After school, the only thing he did was play street soccer.
No field.
Nets were two piles of stone.
His only audience was the next team waiting to challenge the winner.
In his mind, it was a gigantic stadium, people screaming “Gooaaal” as he took off his shirt.
His class was full of doctors, police officers, and even a mayor.
He dreamed of Bernabéu, Maracaná, and the Champions League.
But today, he only had an old ball to kick on a rooftop.
He only had a big dream and another sunset.
I realized “new” and “random” views are just like feeds.
They’re fun the first time, especially “random,” until you’re hooked.
With a newspaper, there’s no scrolling.
Read it and wait for the next day.
Bubbles did exactly that.
Now it has a “Briefing,” yesterday’s best stories, like a newspaper.
Perfect to keep reducing your phone time.
The best part, it greets you with “Go outside. Touch some grass” when you reach the end.
Thanks Ben for making it a reality.
Now my daily reading is a dose of Hacker News, Minifeed, and Bubbles Briefing.
I didn’t know I had magic powers.
Turns out, it’s not magic, it’s being an idea machine.
To hold myself accountable, here are the changes I’ve made:
#1. Scrollable sidebar. The original Hyde theme had a sticky sidebar. But after adding more items, it overflowed off the screen. Now it’s scrollable. I can add as many items as I want. Muahahaha!
That’s why I changed my tagline on the sidebar from simply “Software engineer” to “Sometimes I code, always I write.” Cooler, isn’t it? And it reflects what you will find here.
#3. Better homepage and about copy. My blog isn’t a coding-only blog anymore. It’s more like a time capsule. My About page reflects that now…and I had some typos. So embarrassing, calling myself a writer.
That’s the good part of personal blogs—and the bad part too. You’re never done tweaking it. And if you code and want to blog, don’t start by writing a blogging engine. Wait, did I say that out loud?
