I turn 30 today. To celebrate, I thought it would be fun to write a script that ouputs the number 30 in the first 30 bases.

convert_base.sh#

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#! /bin/sh

if [ "$2" = 1 ]; then
    result=$(printf "%0.s1" $(seq 1 $1))
    echo "$result"
    exit 0
fi

number=$1
base=$2
result=""
while [ $number -gt 0 ]; do
    remainder=$(( number % base ))
    if [ $remainder -lt 10 ]; then
        result="$remainder$result"
    else
        letter=$(printf "\\$(printf '%03o' $(( remainder + 55 )) )")
        result="$letter$result"
    fi
    number=$(( number / base ))
done

echo "$result"

Explanation#

A couple of things worth noting:

Spring has arrived and our yard is full of life again. With the blooming of everything we have planted also comes everything we did not plant. Weeding is a necessary and laborious practice. It is also rather monotonous and offers space for uninterrupted thought. While weeding recently I could not help but think about our relationship with the practice itself. If I were a 17th century French philosopher I might call this “Meditations on Weeding”.

AI is like AC.¹ This is not a hot² take, but a reformulation of an idea you’ve likely seen many times already.

The internet is awash with blogs, podcasts, and videos on the costs and benefits of using or not using AI. Recently, vibe coding has been the hot new thing. We’re now seeing stories of engineers lamenting the atrophy of their coding abilities as they’ve offloaded the responsibilities of writing code to their LLM of choice.

Every spring, we try to grow some vegetables, fruits, and/or flowers in our garden. Every spring, our local deer feast on our vegetables, fruits, and/or flowers.¹

In previous years we tried deterrents and repellents like Irish Spring soap, marigolds², and ultrasonic repellers. The ultrasonic repellers had the best results, but sometimes the deer figure them out.

We also tried makeshift guards and cages built with whatever we had on hand. These were more effective. However, they were prone to falling over in storms, annoying to move, and an eyesore.

Common Threads: Use Friction Strategically#

This is a part of a series called “Common Threads”. My goal is to bring together ideas from different sources I interact with and synthesize them into a post as a means of learning in public. See the introductory post for a slightly more in-depth explanation of what this is and why I’m doing it.

Fibers#

• You’re not addicted to tiktoks/reels, you’re addicted to the scrolling
• We should have more friction in our lives
• On Friction
• Embracing Slow Tech

Definition#

Outside of the ideal scenarios of physics problems, friction exists.¹ This is not a good or bad thing, it simply is. Every time we do something, there is some resistance we must overcome. We can use this strategically. Reduce friction for behaviors you want to encourage. Increase friction for those you want to prevent.

Common Threads: Planning is Good, Doing is Better#

This is a part of a series called “Common Threads”. My goal is to bring together ideas from different sources I interact with and synthesize them into a post as a means of learning in public. See the introductory post for a slightly more in-depth explanation of what this is and why I’m doing it.

Fibers#

• Think less, ship more
• Story Points are Pointless, Measure Queues
• Write It Now
• A Philosophy of Software Design

Definition#

“Everybody has plans until they get hit for the first time.”
– Mike Tyson

Read more...

Common Threads: Think Big, Build Small#

This is the first in a series I’m calling “Common Threads”. My goal is to bring together ideas from different sources I interact with and synthesize them into a post as a means of learning in public. See the introductory post for a slightly more in-depth explanation of what this is and why I’m doing it.

Fibers#

• Own the outcome, not the work
• Activity vs Impact
• Working in Small Batches
• Release more with less

Definition#

To extend Swizec’s brick layer metaphor, we must know we are building a cathedral and we must build it brick by brick. When building a product, we want to work in small batches. Small batches are easier to verify. They allow us to deliver value to users faster. But, we must never forget that we are building a product, not just a set of features. Each small batch should aim to be aligned with goals of the company¹ and the product we are building.

Introduction to Common Threads#

I consume a lot of content¹, primarily books, blogs, and podcasts, about software engineering. I think about all of it often and try to implement some of the concepts into my workplace.

As I spend more time thinking about the ideas I’ve been exposed to, I’ve begun to notice some commonalities between them. I’d like to crystallize these observations in a series I’m calling “Common Threads”.² This is partly to compile and share information but mostly to help me keep track of things and be able to reference it in the future.

How to self-host Tiny Tiny RSS with Docker Compose#

Get a server#

There are a lot of options for where you host your instance: a Raspberry Pi, an old laptop, a VPS, NearlyFreeSpeech, etc. I trust you to make that decision for yourself based on your needs, technical ability, and financial situation.

I chose to go with an AWS EC2 instance purely because I am familiar with the platform through work and already had an account set up for some personal projects. I am considering switching over to NearlyFreeSpeech in the future, but for now this works.

Why start a blog?#

I’m starting this blog partly to become a better writer and communicator. I have so many ideas rumbling around in my head. The only way I’ve found to make them cohesive is to write them down.

I use Obsidian for all my notes. So I could just use it as a journal and only write to myself. There is absolutely value in personal writing.

I don’t want to just write for myself though. I’d like to share my ideas out loud. I left almost all social media¹ in 2020. It’s hard to recreate the feeling of blasting out half baked ideas into tweets without Twitter.² I have no desire to go back, but I do wish to release my thoughts somewhere besides my poor partner’s ears.³