I am an itinerant software engineer who likes to raise children, read, and memorize things.
If you're not sure whether you should email me, you probably should. (This is much more reliable than messaging me on Twitter/X or any other platform.)
Overview
- My most significant post is On Actually Reading the Book. I stand by it.
- Here are my 100 favorite books.
- I did the 12 Rules for Living game.
- I like to rank things.
Software
- I'm a committed
vibecoderagentic engineer. This means understanding new fundamentals, making some new tooling, and working to improve my bootstrapper. More importantly, I'm trying to build new muscles for this very different work environment. I use the resulting software every day to manage my reading queue, track my goals, keep track of recipes, and more. - I have advocated for front-end maximalism. This comes from caring a lot about encapsulation and getting systems to communicate in error-resistant ways.
- On the technical-professional level: here are thoughts about how to ramp up and a trap new big-company employees should avoid.
- I like to name projects after birds.
Spaced repetition and memory training
I make Zippyflash, a spaced repetition system I've used every day for years.
Here is why I use spaced repetition and recommend others use it.
Philosophy and academia
My academic background is in math (undergrad) and ancient Greek philosophy (beyond).
- I disagree with some influential guidelines for writing philosophy.
- I help academics find non-academic jobs.
- I taught a course at Boston College (fall 2021).
Varia
- I co-hosted a poker podcast for 8 years. Here is a FAQ.
- People ask me about parenting (whether or not they should do so!). Here's what I tell them.