The three numbers in the universe that matter most are zero, one, and many. Think about life – tweak the fundamental physical constants a little, and you can imagine a universe in which it never happened. Never could have happened. Or maybe it’s so astonishingly unlikely, such a bizarrely, unimaginably low probability – the equivalent […]
Tag Archives: Personal
When I initially proposed my monetizing failure challenge, I first sat down and tried to figure out how bad it could get (worst case, I figured I’d be on the hook for $1400). I then had to convince my wife that I wasn’t being an idiot (no easy task, given the historical record). I had no idea […]
Meter maids Being able to find a parking space Investment bankers The mutual funds in my 401K being well-managed “Bad” hackers attacking organizations I like “Good” hackers attacking organizations I hate (also, the rule of law) Dieting and exercise The feeling of being in shape Taxes Services Materialism Consumer electronics Being interrupted Getting answers immediately Writing Writing […]
I spent a couple of hours on Sunday putting together some IKEA furniture – a table, some chairs, a couple of cabinets with toy bins. My five year old son unexpectedly took an interest, my wife and two year old got in on the action, and a tedious process turned into a full family adventure. […]
Once again, it’s time for my monthly descent into TMI land, to discuss progress in my ongoing quest to get back into shape. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag this month – a couple of colds, Thanksgiving, and moving into our new (and hopefully last!) house have wreaked havoc on my workout schedule. […]
Regular readers of the blog will know that I’ve been trying a variety of experiments over the past year in order to lose weight. Things were going slowly until suddenly, in late July, I started working out 5-6 times a week. This wasn’t by design – without really thinking about it too much, I just started […]
So, it’s time again for my monthly digression from technical and management issues, in which I report on my attempt to lose weight, get back into shape, and generally be healthier in a long-term, sustainable way. Every month since the beginning of the year I’ve either added a new exercise requirement, or a new limitation on unhealthy […]
For those of you new to the blog, this is my monthly report on my attempt to use shame, peer pressure, and financial disincentives to get into shape. August was a strange month. For starters, at the beginning of the month I went on a week-long vacation with family, during which I ate, drank, and generally […]
As I’ve moved into my new operations role, I’ve been continually struck by just how much everyone around me knows. They all seem like polymath geniuses, weaving together a dozen different knowledge domains to come to startlingly insightful diagnoses of intractably obscure problems. Coding a clever algorithm is all very well and good, but that doesn’t get […]
Being in close quarters, away from your own bed, pillow, clothes, shower, pots and pans – everything that gives you a sense of home and comfort – can be an extremely stressful time that exposes everyone to each other’s worst behavior. Kind of like a normal project getting close to release. There’s so much to do […]