Archives

2023 resolutions built around identity-driven habits and systems rather than outcome-driven goals, aiming for 1% daily improvement.

2022 financial review: spending breakdown via Mint, investment strategy with a CFP, food budget reality checks, and tax optimization.

2022 fitness review: weight management, powerlifting PRs for deadlift, squat, and bench, and lessons on consistency and diet.

Reflecting on 2022 as a year of personal growth: networking through PlatoHQ, fostering a cat, vacationing in Hawaii, and discovering audiobooks.

2022 sleep review: FitBit data analysis, Bear chronotype patterns, sleep variability, and what the numbers say about my habits.

Review of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. A thrilling sci-fi survival story and my first completed Audible book.

Review of Building the Data Lakehouse. A practical guide to modern data architecture combining data lakes and warehouses.

Review of Simply Hegel. An accessible introduction to one of philosophy's most notoriously difficult thinkers.

Review of Positive Intelligence by Shirzad Chamine. Identifying your inner saboteurs and strengthening your mental fitness.

2022 guiding questions focused on happiness and self-respect rather than rigid resolutions and hard goals.

2021 fitness progress: losing 15 pounds through personal training, gym discipline, and learning to show up consistently.

Gratitude journal analysis: experiences, trying new things, and how food contributes to happiness.

2021 resolution progress: finding happiness through fulfilling work, buying a home, and purchasing a first car.

2021 sleep improvements: earlier bedtimes, better morning accountability, and the impact of personal training on routines.

Review of How to Not Die Alone by Logan Ury. Evidence-based dating advice from a behavioral scientist at Hinge.

Review of Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. Why great leaders sacrifice their own comfort for the safety of their teams.

Returning to writing after months away. Reflections on skydiving, going out, and rediscovering life post-lockdown.

The pandemic is back with Delta variant. Evening thoughts on setbacks, resilience, and continued perseverance.

Summer morning pages on life after lockdown, new challenges, and keeping the writing habit alive.

Morning Pages: July 11th, 2021

Post-pandemic morning journal. The lockdown is over but the writing group continues. Brief summer reflections.

Morning Pages: July 4th, 2021

Review of Distributed Systems by Maarten van Steen. A comprehensive textbook on the fundamentals of distributed computing.

Morning Pages: June 17th, 2021

Evening Pages: June 14th, 2021

Afternoon Pages: May 29th, 2021

Review of The Martian by Andy Weir. A gripping survival story on Mars that's even better than the Matt Damon film.

Review of The Good Place. Mike Schur's philosophy-infused comedy about what it means to be a good person.

Review of The Obstacle Is the Way by Ryan Holiday. Stoic philosophy applied to turning adversity into advantage.

Review of The Crown Season 4. Princess Diana enters the picture in the show's most emotionally complex season yet.

Review of The Crown Season 3. The Queen hits her stride as new actors bring fresh energy to the evolving monarchy.

Late-April pandemic reflections on progress, patience, and the bittersweet end of lockdown routines.

Afternoon Pages April 25th, 2021

Review of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The incredible true story of Louis Zamperini's survival through war and captivity.

Review of The Crown Season 2. How the show navigates political crises and the evolving marriage of Elizabeth and Philip.

Mid-April evening journal on spring energy, personal projects, and the slow return to normalcy.

Review of The Crown Season 1. A stunning portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II's early reign and the weight of duty.

Afternoon Pages: April 17th, 2021

A detailed homemade dumpling recipe with hand-minced pork, from filling preparation to the perfect boil technique.

Spring lockdown reflections on vaccination progress, reopening hopes, and adjusting to changing times.

Evening Pages: April 5th, 2021

Review of Barbarians on Netflix. A German-language show about the Battle of Teutoburg Forest that exceeded expectations.

From April 2nd, 2021, one year after the start of COVID and Morning Poppins:

Morning Pages: April 1st, 2021

Morning Pages: March 21st, 2021

Morning Pages: March 19th, 2021

Afternoon Pages: March 13th, 2021

More financial institution headaches: my experience with Wealthsimple's surprisingly clunky money transfer process.

Evening Pages: March 8th, 2021

Morning Pages: March 5th, 2021

Confronting the myth of the model minority and reflecting on anti-Asian racism, workplace dynamics, and speaking up.

Review of House M.D. Eight months of binge-watching later, thoughts on medicine, mystery, and television addiction.

Morning pandemic journal on daily routines, writing consistency, and the value of showing up every day.

March begins with hope. Evening thoughts on spring approaching and the possibility of post-pandemic life.

Afternoon Pages: February 27th, 2021

Frustrations with Marcus by Goldman Sachs after they delayed my earnest money deposit transfer for my condo purchase.

Afternoon Pages: February 22nd, 2021

Weekend pandemic journal on rest, reflection, and the homestretch of a long pandemic winter.

Review of Hands-on Scala by Li Haoyi. A practical guide to Scala programming from the creator of Ammonite and Mill.

Afternoon Pages: February 20th, 2021

I bought my first condo! Reflections on the biggest purchase of my life and the journey to homeownership.

Late-February morning thoughts on winter ending, vaccine rollouts, and cautious optimism for spring.

Morning Pages: February 15th, 2021

Valentine's Day pandemic reflections on love, loneliness, and finding connection during extended isolation.

Afternoon Pages: February 13th, 2021

Evening Pages: February 10th, 2021

Review of Career Intensity by David Lorenzo. A $2 Goodwill find with solid advice on networking and building career momentum.

February evening journal on pandemic routines, personal growth, and the slow return of normalcy.

Afternoon Pages: February 7th, 2021

Afternoon Pages: February 6th, 2021

Review of the Bill of Rights. Context around the creation of the first ten amendments and why they still matter today.

Review of the U.S. Constitution. Reading America's foundational legal document cover to cover for the first time.

Morning Pages: February 5th, 2021

Evening Pages: February 1st, 2021

End-of-January pandemic reflections on month one of 2021 and recalibrating expectations for the year.

Evening Pages: January 25th, 2021

Review of the Declaration of Independence. Finally reading America's founding document and reflecting on its enduring significance.

Review of The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. A 13-year-old with autism explains his inner world with startling clarity.

Afternoon Pages: January 23rd, 2021

Review of And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. A sprawling family saga about sacrifice, separation, and the bonds that endure.

Evening Pages: January 18th, 2021

Afternoon Pages: January 16th, 2021

Review of When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. A neurosurgeon's memoir on mortality, meaning, and what makes life worth living.

Mid-January lockdown journal on winter routines, reading habits, and quiet progress during the pandemic.

Evening Pages: January 11th, 2021

Morning-after thoughts on insurrection, democracy, and the weight of living through historic events.

Evening reflections on January 6th, processing current events, and finding stability during political turmoil.

POACHED EGGS

Evening Pages: January 4th, 2021

New year, same lockdown. Morning thoughts on fresh starts, renewed goals, and pandemic persistence in 2021.

2021 priorities: happiness, exploration, and soft resolutions based on prior success with feeling-based goals.

The last day of 2020. Pandemic reflections on resilience, growth, and carrying hard-won lessons into 2021.

Digitizing a four-year handwritten financial ledger into PostgreSQL for better tracking and preservation.

Pandemic fitness challenges: screen time reduction, exercise tracking, and trying to stay active without a gym.

Analyzing a daily gratitude journal through word clouds: routine, food, and connections as key sources of happiness.

2020 resolutions review: self-love through therapy, habit tracking, and finding happiness despite a rough year.

Reviewing 2020 sleep patterns: wake time variability, poor nighttime discipline, and what the data says.

Penultimate day of 2020. Morning thoughts on lessons learned and cautious optimism for the new year.

Late-December pandemic journal on wrapping up 2020 and the bittersweet feeling of surviving a terrible year.

Post-Christmas lockdown reflections on family, rest, and looking back on a year nobody expected.

A step-by-step poached eggs recipe with tips on vinegar technique and timing for the perfect runny yolk.

Winter solstice pandemic journal on the shortest day of the year and the promise of brighter days ahead.

A pandemic reflection on building something lasting while ICU capacity disappears and the world feels like it's falling apart.

Morning Pages: December 17th, 2020

Mid-December pandemic reflections on vaccine hope, year-end planning, and the light at the end of the tunnel.

Early December evening thoughts on winter lockdown, holiday planning, and finding warmth during cold, dark days.

Morning Pages: December 6th, 2020

Review of Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren. Data-driven insights on what makes high-performing software delivery teams.

Evening Pages: December 5th, 2020

End-of-November pandemic journal on December approaching, career moves, and closing out a year of isolation.

Post-Thanksgiving lockdown reflections on family, rest, and gearing up for the final month of 2020.

Morning Pages: November 25th, 2020

Morning Pages: November 24th, 2020

Evening Pages: November 23rd, 2020

Late-November pandemic thoughts on gratitude, Thanksgiving plans, and the strange normalcy of quarantine holidays.

Mid-November lockdown journal on post-election relief, pandemic fatigue, and looking toward the holidays.

Review of Everyday Mindfulness by Melissa Steginus. A free copy from the publisher with practical tips for daily mindfulness practice.

Afternoon Pages: November 14th, 2020

Evening Pages: November 9th, 2020

A celebration of the 2020 election result, a Tom Petty song, and an original poem about freedom written from the heart.

Afternoon Pages: November 7th, 2020

Morning Pages: November 6th, 2020

Morning Pages: November 4th, 2020

Morning Pages: November 3rd, 2020

A long evening walk from Ballston to Georgetown, seeing boarded-up shops and reflecting on election-week tensions.

Morning Pages: November 2nd, 2020

Afternoon Pages: November 1st, 2020

Halloween eve pandemic journal on wrapping up October and bracing for the final stretch of 2020.

Morning Pages: October 28th, 2020

Evening Pages: October 26th, 2020

Weekend pandemic reflections on approaching the end of a difficult year and planning for what's ahead.

Evening Pages: October 21st, 2020

Late-October evening thoughts on election anxiety, career moves, and finding stability during chaos.

Review of Fearless Salary Negotiation by Josh Doody. Practical tactics for overcoming the fear of negotiating your compensation.

Review of Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden. The harrowing true story of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu and its lasting lessons.

Morning Pages: October 13th, 2020

Columbus Day pandemic journal on rest, reflection, and the challenge of maintaining hope during uncertainty.

Mid-October evening reflections on career transitions, personal growth, and life during extended lockdown.

October evening journal on fall routines, job searching, and processing the ongoing weight of the pandemic.

Review of Traction by Gabriel Weinberg and Justin Mares. A framework for systematically testing customer acquisition channels.

A raw, honest vent about pandemic frustrations, isolation fatigue, and the struggle to stay motivated during lockdown.

Autumn equinox in quarantine. Morning thoughts on seasonal change and the relentless passage of time.

End-of-week lockdown reflections on career planning, side projects, and staying motivated during the pandemic.

September pandemic journal on fall arriving during lockdown and recalibrating goals for the home stretch of 2020.

Morning Pages: September 11th, 2020

Morning Pages: September 4th, 2020

Morning Pages: August 27th, 2020

Morning Pages: August 22nd, 2020

Morning Pages: August 21st, 2020

Review of Parks and Recreation. A wholesome comedy that proves optimism and kindness can be just as funny as cynicism.

Late-August lockdown thoughts on winding down summer projects and preparing for whatever comes next.

Review of In the Shadows of the Net. A candid look at internet pornography addiction, recovery frameworks, and personal honesty.

Morning Pages: August 17th, 2020

Morning Pages: August 16th, 2020

First Process Pods session: a writer's group exercise focused on getting messy thoughts onto the page without judgment.

Weekend pandemic reflections on self-care, mental health, and the importance of rest during crisis.

End-of-week lockdown journal on summer winding down and the strange timelessness of quarantine.

Morning Pages: August 13th, 2020

Morning Pages: August 12th, 2020

Mid-August pandemic thoughts on progress, patience, and staying the course during extended isolation.

Morning Pages: August 10th, 2020

Weekend lockdown reflections on rest, reading, and recharging during the long pandemic summer.

A meditation on mortality and impermanence, inspired by Star Wars quotes and the acceptance that all things must end.

Morning pandemic journal on persistence, creative projects, and the rhythm of quarantine life.

August begins in lockdown. Afternoon thoughts on self-isolation fatigue and finding renewed purpose.

End-of-July lockdown thoughts on summer passing in quarantine and recalibrating expectations.

Morning Pages: July 29th, 2020

Review of Atomic Habits by James Clear. Practical strategies for building good habits and breaking bad ones through small changes.

Evening pandemic journal on rest, reflection, and the challenge of staying motivated months into quarantine.

Review of The Office. The first TV show I ever watched end to end, and why it's a masterclass in character development.

Mid-July lockdown reflections on staying focused, personal growth, and the mental toll of extended isolation.

Review of In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. The harrowing true story behind Moby Dick and the Essex disaster.

The Incerto Series:

The Incerto Series:

Evening Pages: July 13th, 2020

What if I extended my sabbatical? Weighing the trade-offs of taking more time off to build something meaningful.

July pandemic journal on continuing self-isolation, project progress, and maintaining discipline during summer lockdown.

Afternoon Pages: June 27th, 2020

Redefining what winning looks like in a world turned upside down by pandemic, protests, and political turmoil.

Evening pandemic thoughts on the blurred line between lockdown and partial reopening in D.C.

Morning lockdown journal on perseverance, small wins, and the slow grind of building something during a pandemic.

Comparing the lives of King Michael I of Romania and King Leopold III of Belgium, and what their stories teach about leadership.

Review of Fast Python by Chris Conlan. Practical techniques for writing high-performance Python code.

The tragic story of Max Planck's family losses and why social justice matters even to the most brilliant scientists.

Pandemic reflections on daily routines, writing habits, and the value of showing up consistently.

Mid-June lockdown journal on adapting to the new normal and pushing forward on creative work.

Morning Pages: June 8th, 2020

Morning thoughts during a turbulent week of pandemic and protests, seeking clarity and calm.

Afternoon pandemic reflections amid social unrest, processing current events, and staying grounded.

A deeply personal essay on confronting my own past racism and the journey toward understanding systemic injustice.

June begins in lockdown. Thoughts on momentum, the passage of time, and finding purpose during the pandemic.

Raw reflections on George Floyd's death, the limits of moderation, and why lasting reform requires uncomfortable disruption.

Morning Pages: May 27th, 2020

Review of The Jefferson Bible. Thomas Jefferson's radical edit of the New Testament, stripped of miracles and focused on moral teachings.

Memorial Day in lockdown. Reflections on rest, reset, and the strange rhythm of pandemic holidays.

Late-May pandemic journal on the long slog of quarantine, side projects, and maintaining motivation.

Morning Pages: May 21st, 2020

Morning Pages: May 20th, 2020

Comcast raising prices during a pandemic, pushing toward an MVP deadline, and a calmer trip to Trader Joe's.

Why weekends blur into weekdays during quarantine and the challenge of staying productive without structure.

Afternoon Pages: May 10th, 2020

Morning Pages: May 8th, 2020

Morning Pages: May 7th, 2020

Afternoon lockdown reflections on fear, action, and considering freelancing as a path forward.

The Incerto Series:

Morning Pages: May 5th, 2020

Three layers of website blocking to stay productive, and a hopeful walk to the D.C. skyline during lockdown.

May arrives in quarantine. Thoughts on The Office, finding comfort in sitcoms, and pandemic routines.

Morning Pages: May 1st, 2020

Balancing productivity guilt with life during lockdown, plus a CloudFormation breakthrough on my MVP project.

Reflecting on three months of slow progress on a software project and finding solace in a fisherman's prayer.

Analyzing a productivity heatmap from Boss as a Service and discovering I only get five productive hours a day.

Feeling tepid and worried during lockdown, and learning to keep marching through apprehension.

Evening lockdown journal on unproductive weekends, self-compassion, and accepting imperfection during crisis.

Virtual speed dating during quarantine, discovering Peloton's free trial, and listing life's favorite things.

Afternoon pandemic reflections on sleep, productivity, and the blurring of weekdays during quarantine.

Morning Pages: April 23rd, 2020

Morning Pages: April 21st, 2020

Morning Pages: April 20th, 2020

Morning Pages: April 18th, 2020

Lockdown reflections on completing an AWS infrastructure project and the satisfaction of deploying containers with confidence.

Late-April lockdown thoughts on creative projects, virtual connections, and counting small victories.

Pandemic reflections on tax day in lockdown, financial planning, and keeping perspective during uncertainty.

Review of Docker on Amazon Web Services by Justin Menga. Practical guide to deploying containerized apps on AWS with ECS and CloudFormation.

Mid-April lockdown journal on AWS projects, maintaining focus, and the challenge of self-directed work.

New week of pandemic isolation. Reflections on staying disciplined, creative output, and mental health.

End-of-week lockdown thoughts on progress, patience, and adapting to the long haul of quarantine.

Morning Pages: April 9th, 2020

Book Review: "The Black Swan", by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Mid-week pandemic reflections on remote work, side projects, and the emotional weight of isolation.

Monday lockdown journal on starting another week, fighting inertia, and staying focused on what matters.

Sunday pandemic thoughts on gratitude, virtual community, and keeping momentum on personal projects.

Weekend lockdown reflections on rest, perspective, and the slow passage of time during quarantine.

Lockdown journal on a baby video find, phone addiction, and waiting for RAM during a pandemic supply chain crunch.

Pandemic journal on building new habits, staying productive, and finding meaning during extended lockdown.

April begins in lockdown. Thoughts on resilience, creativity, and refusing to let quarantine define the month.

End-of-March pandemic reflections on surviving the first full month of quarantine and what comes next.

New week of lockdown: thoughts on persistence, daily structure, and small acts of self-care during the pandemic.

Sunday pandemic journal on maintaining hope, virtual connections, and preparing for another week of isolation.

Weekend quarantine reflections on rest, recharging, and the mental toll of indefinite lockdown.

End-of-week pandemic journal on processing uncertainty and finding small wins during D.C. lockdown.

Afternoon lockdown thoughts on pandemic fatigue, staying motivated, and the strange new normal of quarantine life.

Mid-week pandemic reflections on work-from-home challenges and keeping creative projects alive during lockdown.

Lockdown journal on adjusting routines, managing anxiety, and finding purpose during shelter-in-place orders.

Early pandemic lockdown reflections from D.C., written during a writer's group Zoom session to process fear and uncertainty.

Morning thoughts on quarantine productivity, staying healthy indoors, and maintaining perspective during COVID-19.

A poem-inspired reflection on longing, loss, and the ache of wanting someone you can't have.

Evening pandemic reflections on isolation, community, and finding small moments of normalcy during lockdown.

A simple steamed eggs recipe with step-by-step instructions, perfect for quarantine cooking with minimal ingredients.

Weekend lockdown reflections on slowing down, staying informed, and processing the weight of a global crisis.

End-of-week pandemic thoughts on adapting to quarantine life and staying connected through virtual meetups.

Lockdown reflections on social distancing, remote work adjustments, and finding routine during uncertainty.

Pandemic journal entry from early lockdown in D.C., processing fears and adjusting to a new reality.

> Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.

Review of Boys and Sex by Peggy Orenstein. An eye-opening look at how young men navigate masculinity, consent, and relationships.

On the regret of not following through, inspired by the top five regrets of the dying and a commitment to change.

Review of Virtual Power by Will Angel. How to build an effective remote team and make virtual meetings actually work.

Review of It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work by Basecamp's Jason Fried and DHH. A calm company manifesto against hustle culture.

Ripping off band-aids in 2020: confronting fears about my side project, loneliness, and the terror of starting something new.

How much of my life has been driven by minimizing regret and fear, and the resolve to change that pattern.

How my relationship with smartphones evolved from a dumb phone in college to a full-blown iPhone addiction, and what I'm doing about it.

Review of the 1,857-page Haskell Programming from First Principles -- a three-month deep dive into functional programming.

Reflections on consistency and deliberateness, inspired by how the Roman Empire built roads that lasted millennia.

On avoiding hard truths, getting back to the gym, and why chasing comfort leads to worse outcomes.

A conversation about failure with a dental student friend, and why embracing failure matters more in software than medicine.

A collection of poems that resonate with me, starting with Mary Elizabeth Frye's Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep.

Review of How to Be a Friend by Marcus Tullius Cicero. Ancient Roman wisdom on friendship, loyalty, and genuine connection.

So I saw a recent AskReddit post about how 2020 is coming along:

My 2020 resolutions: learning self-love, finding joy in hardship, building personal software tools, and landing a meaningful job.

A candid review of my 2019 New Year's Resolutions, from habit tracking and dating to fitness goals and dumpling-making.

Analyzing a full year of sleep tracking data to find patterns, fix bad habits, and improve consistency.

Review of Difficult Conversations from the Harvard Negotiation Project. Essential frameworks for navigating conflict productively.

Review of Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Applying design thinking to build a more intentional life.

Review of The Entrepreneur's Guide to Keeping Your Sh*t Together. Mental health advice every founder needs to hear.

Review of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Striking parallels between professional kitchens and software engineering.

Practical verbal cues inspired by Fred Rogers to redirect anger and frustration into positive, productive conversations at work and in life.

Review of Burn for You by J.T. Geissinger. A fun romance novel about a sham marriage that becomes unexpectedly real.

How losing data backups and forgetting passwords taught me hard lessons about frustration management and digital hygiene.

Review of On Anger by Seneca. Timeless Stoic wisdom on why anger is the most destructive emotion and how to control it.

Review of Unf*ck Yourself by Gary John Bishop. Brutally honest self-talk advice: you are winning at the life you have.

Review of Everything Is F*cked by Mark Manson. On hope, amor fati, and choosing to be better without expecting better.

Review of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. Why choosing your struggles matters more than chasing happiness.

Review of Someday Is Not a Day in the Week by Sam Horn. A wake-up call to stop postponing what would make you happy.

On the gap between knowing something intellectually and truly internalizing it, and why lived experience matters.

I cut off my home internet for 71 days to save money. Here's what happened and what I learned about digital minimalism.

My first PyCon experience in Cleveland. Meeting Python creators, attending talks, and lessons from the open source community.

Review of Blue Ocean Strategy. How to create uncontested market space instead of competing in crowded red oceans.

Lessons on IPO investing and stock analysis, sparked by Zoom's IPO and conversations with a fellow investor.

Review of Enemy at the Gates by William Craig. The brutal Battle of Stalingrad told through soldiers, snipers, and civilians.

My first viral blog post experience. How a technical article on Bytes by Ying unexpectedly took off and what I learned.

Why being a 'good person' isn't enough. Examining complicity, moral responsibility, and the banality of evil in everyday life.

Review of The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. How trusting your survival instincts can protect you from violence and manipulation.

Review of Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann. Essential reading for understanding distributed systems and data architecture.

The laptop saga continues: after returning one MacBook, I went a completely different direction for my next computer.

I became an AT&T investor. Reflections on buying my first dividend stock and building a long-term income portfolio.

Review of Company of One by Paul Jarvis. Why staying small can be a deliberate, profitable business strategy.

I bought a new laptop and returned it within a week. Why the specced-out MacBook Pro wasn't worth the upgrade.

Review of Seven Concurrency Models in Seven Weeks by Paul Butcher. Why mastering concurrency matters and how different models fit different constraints.

Hilarious stories of my worst moments, from standing on the National Mall in a thunderstorm to locking myself out repeatedly.

A rock climbing close call and reflections on staying calm during crises, embracing discomfort, and growing through adversity.

Review of The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. Key takeaways on conceptual models, balancing simplicity with functionality, and human-centered design.

Strategic tips for winning snowball fights, from D.C. snow day tactics to fort-building and flanking maneuvers.

After six years of service, my MacBook Pro is reaching end-of-life. Lessons on buying quality laptops and planning for hardware transitions.

Review of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. A brilliant child soldier, the ethics of total war, and leadership under impossible pressure.

Review of User Story Mapping by Jeff Patton, with key insights on shared understanding, iterative delivery, and doing Agile right.

My 2019 resolutions split into soft and hard goals, with lessons learned from last year's failures on setting better requirements.

An honest scorecard of 2018 New Year's resolutions, from dating and fitness to conferences and cooking, with lessons for next year.

A detailed 2018 spending breakdown by pay period, visualized as percentages of take-home income across food, rent, investing, and more.

Year in Review: Fitness

Year in Review: Sleep

Review of Ernest Cline's dystopian adventure novel about an Easter egg hunt inside a virtual world, and how the book differs from Spielberg's film.

Review of Tara Westover's memoir about escaping a survivalist family with no formal education to earn a PhD from Cambridge.

Review of HBR's essays on emotional intelligence, covering process fairness, pattern recognition, and emotional resilience in leadership.

Review of Gary Chapman's guide to love languages, with personal quiz results and reflections on building lasting relationships.

Review of Michael Lewis's book on the hidden, long-fuse risks facing government institutions and why ignoring them is the greatest danger.

Review of Chris Anderson's guide to public speaking, with key lessons on idea-driven talks, audience engagement, and depth over breadth.

Review of Oren Ollenbergen's guide to engineering management, covering why it's a separate career path that demands active leadership.

Review of the U.S. Army's FM 21-76 survival manual, its practical limitations for civilians, and three actionable takeaways.

Celebrating 150 consecutive days of meditation with the Calm app, plus thoughts on investing in a lifetime membership.

Confronting regret over wasted time and exploring practical fixes like accountability tools, logotherapy, and better daily tracking.

Review of Randy Pausch's farewell book on living fully, creating sharp memories, and embracing positivity in the face of terminal illness.

Review of Viktor Frankl's memoir on surviving four Nazi concentration camps and how it shaped his logotherapy approach to finding meaning in life.

A reflection on why love decisively defeats hatred, inspired by Viktor Frankl's experiences and the illusion of moral balance.

Review of Kevin Kwan's page-turner exploring wealth, class, and the emotional cost of marrying across social strata in Singapore.

Review of Machiavelli's classic on political power, its parallels with modern leadership books, and why desperate times produce hard thinking.

Review of Rob Walling's practical startup guide for developers, focused on product management and marketing rather than code.

Lessons learned from being robbed five times, and how each incident led to better security habits and healthier stress management.

A review of Elaine Pofeldt's guide to building a profitable solo business without VC funding, with case studies and resources.

Lessons from reaching a 100-day meditation streak, including how morning sessions boost focus and calm during work.

A review of Cal Newport's Deep Work on building the ability to focus without distraction and why it matters in the modern economy.

How joining a writer's meetup in D.C. helped me find a genuine social community outside of work as a software engineer.

Reflections on getting rejected by the Recurse Center and why embracing failure is essential for growth as a software engineer.

A review of 80,000 Hours by Benjamin Todd on optimizing your career for maximum social impact, with honest critiques.

A review of Bill Aulet's 24-step startup framework, with practical advice on LTV/COCA ratios and market segmentation.

A guest post exploring a thought experiment about eliminating physical attractiveness bias and what it reveals about inequality.

Designing personal business cards on Vistaprint to build a personal brand, with tips on pricing and future-proof messaging.

A meditation on impermanence and finding peace by viewing your creative work as sandcastles meant to be washed away.

A review of Fluent Python by Luciano Ramalho, covering asyncio, metaprogramming, and deepening your Python expertise.

How the creator of the Hugo Minimo theme helped me migrate my blog through breaking changes in a single day, for free.

My first tandem skydiving experience at Skydive Orange, conquering a lifelong fear of heights, and why you should try it too.

A review of Kahneman's Nobel Prize-winning work on System 1 and System 2 thinking and how cognitive biases shape economics.

How I dealt with $7,800 stolen via unauthorized ACH transfers, switched banks, and overhauled my personal security.

A software engineer's hypothetical manager README outlining leadership tenets like trust, fairness, and adding value to people.

A review of Neil Strauss's The Game, exploring the rise and fall of a pickup artist community and the psychology behind it.

Photos of my new Linux workstation setup with a standing desk, dual monitors, and tips for a clutter-free workspace.

Key trends in low-level compute, storage, and networking that shape the future of enterprise software and startups.

Why I switched from a MacBook Pro to a custom Linux workstation after six years, and what I learned along the way.

Mid-year 2018 personal update on career growth, building savings, developing healthy habits, and learning to be an effective individual contributor.

After 256 daily meditation sessions with the Calm app, here is what worked and how to build lasting mindfulness habits.

Review of Remote by Basecamp's Jason Fried and DHH. A compelling case for remote work with practical arguments for employers and employees.

Review of Thoreau's Walden. A meditation on self-reliance, nature, and civil disobedience that remains strikingly relevant today.

Practical Python tips covering alternative REPLs, multiple Python versions, and productivity-boosting tools for professional development workflows.

Exploring Python's functional programming features in practice, from list comprehensions to decorators, for developers coming from Java or JavaScript.

Review of Bill McLain's Do Fish Drink Water. A charming trivia collection that doubles as a time capsule of the early internet era.

Review of Dale Carnegie's classic on interpersonal skills. Timeless advice on the Golden Rule, with caveats about its limits in practice.

Starting a weekly self-improvement tracking habit covering reading, meditation, exercise, and productivity on my blog's one-year anniversary.

Review of Rework by Basecamp's Jason Fried and DHH. Distilled business wisdom in a punchy format that practices what it preaches.

Review of David Deida's The Way of the Superior Man. Key takeaways on masculine-feminine polarity in relationships and purpose-driven living.

Review of Michael Wolff's Fire and Fury. A darkly hilarious inside look at Trump's White House through Steve Bannon's fiery perspective.

Review of Robert Greene's The Art of Seduction. Why you shouldn't follow its advice but should still read it for the worldview challenge.

Q1 2018 personal update covering a new job, improved finances, fitness routines, and settling into a healthier lifestyle.

Review of Bjarne Stroustrup's A Tour of C++. Key insights for developers transitioning from Python or JavaScript to C++ for performance-critical work.

Review of Robert C. Martin's Clean Code. Packed with Java-focused best practices on SOLID principles, concurrency, and real-world refactoring.

Lessons from a whirlwind month of interviewing, including a Microsoft on-site, and reflections on how the job market changes after your first role.

Review of Jon Kabat-Zinn's guide to mindfulness meditation. A chapterless journey that reads like one long meditation session.

Why I bought Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy as a personal challenge, and what video games can teach us about testing our limits.

Reflections on frustration, resilience, and New Year's resolutions through the lens of Bennett Foddy's brutally difficult game Getting Over It.

New Year's resolutions for 2018 -- goals for dating, fitness, cooking, and continued growth as a software engineer.

A year-end reflection on 2017 milestones -- first full year as a software engineer, 36 books read, and $30k saved.

Review of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene -- a brutally honest guide to power dynamics through historical examples.

Review of Code by Charles Petzold -- a detailed and readable guide to how computers work, from binary math to processor architecture.

A reflective walk through a Michigan snowstorm, rating snow quality and appreciating winter while it lasts.

Review of Effective Python by Brett Slatkin -- practical tips on list comprehensions, generators, decorators, and writing Pythonic code.

Review of Be Happy by Patrick Lindsay -- a small book of practical happiness advice that is easy to know but hard to follow.

A short reflection on the joy of charitable giving, plus a shared blog post on donating during the holiday season.

An updated version of the classic Joel Test for 2017 -- modern questions to evaluate a software engineering team's practices.

Review of Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin -- a white man disguises himself as Black in the 1960s South and documents what he finds.

Review of Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari -- a comedic and research-driven look at dating, texting anxiety, and finding love today.

Review of Design Patterns by the Gang of Four -- a first-pass summary of each pattern, with thoughts on OOP vs. functional approaches.

Review of Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella -- how empathy and cultural transformation reshaped Microsoft under its third CEO.

A tally of 29 books read in 2017, spanning fiction, professional development, and non-fiction across two Ikea bookshelves.

Post-mortem of our Capital One hackathon experience -- what went well, what went wrong, and lessons for future team hackathons.

Our experience building a machine learning dashboard at the Capital One hackathon, from fake data challenges to deploying a Flask API.

Review of The Mythical Man-Month by Fred Brooks -- key takeaways on team size, documentation, and why its advice still applies today.

Why switching from bash to fish or zsh broke my scripts, and what I learned about POSIX compliance and shell portability.

Review of Code Complete by Steve McConnell -- 860+ pages of timeless advice on writing production-grade software code.

A funny story about getting $5 in Bitcoin from Coinbase's CEO and turning it into a 15x return by forgetting about it.

Review of Peter Thiel's Zero to One. Why startups should pursue monopolies, think independently, and go from zero to one.

Why startups should sell before they code, and how software serves as an abstraction layer rather than the product itself.

Review of Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. A murdered girl watches from Heaven as her family navigates grief, loss, and acceptance.

A middle school crash test project taught me two lasting lessons: there is always room to improve, and you can still lose doing everything right.

How my view on vacations shifted from seeing them as wasted time to recognizing their value after entering the workforce.

Figuring out a sustainable blogging schedule by batch-writing posts on weekends while balancing work and life.

Review of Scaling Up by Verne Harnish. A framework for growing businesses across people, strategy, execution, and cash.

A personal take on what passion really means: knowing what to sacrifice because you love something else more.

Review of Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer Prize-winning WWII novel about a blind French girl and a German boy connected by fate and radio.

The Hugo migration is complete. Rough around the edges but functional, and a much better platform for writing.

Why I decided to migrate my handcrafted React blog to Hugo for better writing consistency and simpler content management.

Common software pitfalls from real production code: timezone bugs, hardcoded text, auto-saving models, and blurred test boundaries.

A mid-year reflection on ambitious goals, lessons about work-life balance, health, and routines as a junior developer.

Kicking off Traveltile, a travel planning app for budget travelers, with React, Django, and Hugo.

Five key traits I look for in a programming language: concurrency, garbage collection, functional libraries, HTTP support, and simplicity.

An honest audit of my React blog's remaining feature backlog and why most of it will never get built.

Reflections on donating $250 to Planned Parenthood, the American Heart Foundation, and the AFSP, and what giving means.

Three hard-learned reasons to avoid MongoDB and NoSQL: data replication costs, language-locked schemas, and painful migrations.