Things I Like
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Engineers should be solving new and interesting problems, not rebuilding the same apps over and over. That is a job for robots.
I don't agree with absolutely everything in this article but I do agree that we seem to do the same things over and over again in many ways when we make things for the web. And I wonder if we still need to do this or if there is a better way.
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This might seem paradoxical. Aren’t road trips supposed to be as spontaneous as possible? Of course. My rules sought to enhance spontaneity by making sure I noticed it when it happened. They made a big difference for my trip, and they should work for other travelers as well.?
We're doing road trips a lot for our vacations lately for a number of reasons. I love all these rules. And to be honest, it's how we try and make things happen when we are out on the road.
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The bullet journal enthusiasts insist that filling notebooks is about far more than just getting things done or crossing off lists—it’s also about paying attention to, and taking stock of, your life. It’s an act of agency—deciding who you want to be and what you want to do and setting those decisions down in pen on paper where they cannot be deleted or ignored or erased. It’s an act of archiving—recording what you’re thinking, what your goals are, what your handwriting looks like, at a very particular moment in time, and then being able to look back and see just how far you’ve come since you were the 12-year-old who wrote in big pencil letters in a blue plastic spiral-bound homework planner about shoveling snow in a driveway that didn’t exist (and also, of course, being able to see just how much you still have in common with her). It’s this combination of productive, therapeutic, aesthetic, historical, and spiritual elements that makes notebook-keeping such an addictive and potent activity, even—or perhaps especially—in a world of countless productivity apps, online to-do lists, and gamified habit-building tools.
I don't do bullet journalling, but I really love the way the notebook was talked about in this piece. I've gone non digital for journaling and sketching and it's been really great for me. I love the act of writing with a pen, of taking stock, of drawing, and it relaxes me in ways nothing else does lately.
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The new pattern created several frequent lines that the British would call orbitals. Radial lines go into and out of the center, but orbitals orbit the center, at various distances out. They intersect the radials, offering useful connections, but never go downtown themselves. And instead of hauling big volumes of commuters into and out of downtown, they serve thousands of little trips that are all a bit different, among diverse neighborhoods and destinations. It works: these orbital lines are among the busiest in the city.
I live a few blocks from the 75 and take it if I'm going to the airport (it gets me to one of the radials) or to a few different appointments or friends' houses. I really like this take on it. And, we are using transit more as we are going carless, so it's interesting to think about the orbitals and radials I'll be making use of.
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What we need to understand is that, as people in tech, we have a collective responsibility. We keep pretending that the technology we build is neutral. We still believe that we can be apolitical as people in tech. We keep pretending that our algorithms are neutral. We don’t care about ethical aspects of our work. And most of us are in a position where we don’t have to care. But it’s our responsibility to understand: Technology is not neutral, our code is not neutral. Our work is political. And our work has consequences on actual lives.
This is a really great piece. So much great thinking about how we operate as an industry and so much good stuff on how we can change.
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Over those decades of historical documentary filmmaking, I have also come to the realization that history is not a fixed thing, a collection of precise dates, facts and events that add up to a quantifiable, certain, confidently known, truth. History is a mysterious and malleable thing, constantly changing, not just as new information emerges, but as our own interests, emotions and inclinations change. Each generation rediscovers and reexamines that part of its past that gives its present new meaning, new possibility and new power. The question becomes for us now—for you especially—what will we choose as our inspiration? Which distant events and long dead figures will provide us with the greatest help, the most coherent context, and the wisdom to go forward?
I really enjoyed the first part of this commencement address. I've been reading a bunch of revolutionary era history because during the time of tumult in our current election, I want to remind myself there has always been tumult. It's never been easy. Burns goes on to get very political and I think the address isn't bad, but it looses something for me.
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But rarely does a day go by when my son doesn’t make something. I envy his setup and his habits. His mom has placed all the supplies within easy reach. He doesn’t torture himself. The goal is simple: There is a car-carrier truck that doesn’t exist that needs to exist. He sets to work with clear purpose and utter concentration. There is frustration, occasionally, but it usually passes. And when he’s done, he’s done, and it’s off to something else.
I've done Austin's Steal Like an Artist Journal, it's pretty great to get you out of your head and into some other ways of thinking, I liked doing it. And I love the way he relates making to how his kid does it. Since I started daily drawing this past December, I've approached my sketchbook and making so much differently than I did when in art school. And most of it's because I don't care as much, no one ever has to see it, it's for me and I'm having fun. I approach writing the same way these days. That looseness has been so great for me and helped me create regularly. It also helps that it's not how I earn a living.
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Because nothing has proved as invincible as writing and literacy. Because text is just so malleable. Because it fits into any container we put it in. Because our world is supersaturated in it, indoors and out. Because we have so much invested in it. Because nothing we have ever made has ever rewarded our universal investment in it more. Unless our civilization fundamentally collapses, we will never give up writing and reading.
I absolutely LOVE this post by Tim on Kottke's blog. I'm in a phase of life right now where all I want to do when not working is read. In fact, I just had 4 books come up for me at the library that I had holds on and I'm wishing I could take the next week off of work just to read them and savor them. I love words. Words have changed my thinking and my life in many, many ways. I can't see them ever going away.
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Progress will always create winners and losers, but we ignore the scary and disenfranchising potential of our work at our peril. What Silicon Valley wants is often not what the wider world needs. The past has a lot to answer for, but then, so does the future.
This short piece by Cennydd is really good. So much is going on right now that is heartbreaking and frightening. The romanticization of the past is dangerous. But what do we in the tech world do to help point to a better future? I'm not sure we do much at all.
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If a statement can be invoked by anyone in an organization, and cause a decision to be re-evaluated or changed, without regard to anyone’s rank or title, then you have a bona fide value. If it doesn’t work that way, then it’s not a value.
I've been watching the work of the U.S. Digital Service from the outside now for quite some time. I have a few friends that work there, but have never really talked with anyone about their experience. But everything I've read about Mikey Dickerson gives me hope that the digital work of my government is hopefully moving in the right direction.
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Because you are allowed to change without a brain tumor to justify it. You are allowed to find new versions of yourself so your identity continues to authenticate; it doesn’t make you a schizophrenic.
I don't know Jennifer Dary, I've only heard of her brain tumor and this piece through mutual friends tweeting about it. But to write this after that experience is in many ways amazing. This piece is so good. I find that my identity has change dramatically from when I was in my twenties. Some of that due to maturing and hopefully gaining more wisdom through life experiences, but also much of that is through wanting to change, wanting to be someone different, and in my naive hope, someone better.
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The threat to free speech on Western campuses is very different from that faced by atheists in Afghanistan or democrats in China. But when progressive thinkers agree that offensive words should be censored, it helps authoritarian regimes to justify their own much harsher restrictions and intolerant religious groups their violence. When human-rights campaigners object to what is happening under oppressive regimes, despots can point out that liberal democracies such as France and Spain also criminalise those who “glorify” or “defend” terrorism, and that many Western countries make it a crime to insult a religion or to incite racial hatred.
I've been out of college now almost 20 years. But my most lasting memory of my time as an undergraduate is that I was constantly forced to think about new ideas, think differently, and I learned to think critically. So when I read about the things happening on campuses today, I will admit that I'm concerned.
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High-level product decisions are usually nailed down long before engineering starts. However, in terms of interaction and visual design, details reveal themselves as the product is being built. Instead of handing off pixel-perfect designs to your engineering team, embrace the opportunity to design alongside them as they build.
Designing as you build also allows you to identify opportunities to strengthen your original solution. Designers aren’t infallible. Details are often missed first time around, so use your opportunity to improve the flow, offering alternative forms of feedback.
I love how they emphasize team work and supporting each other the entire way through the build of a feature or application. Which is why I couldn't pick just one quote. It's worth the read. I love how so many people are realizing that we are all one team building a thing and we need to act like it.
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Some really great little JS components in this site. They are accessible (yay!) and well done with no dependencies. Nice to see this work being shared, it's impressive.
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Instead of relying on individual atoms, we started considering our components as elements of a living organism. They have a function and personality, are defined by a set of properties, can co-exists with others and can evolve independently. A unified design language should not just be a set of static rules and individual atoms, but an evolving ecosystem.
I really love this approach and the reason is that AirBnB created what worked for their team. They set about to make process, flow, and design better for them and created a system that is unique to them. It's hard work, but the work pays off because it fits their needs perfectly.