thoughts
#PragmaConf25 Day 2 Highlights
- Swift 6.2 is here – It’s time to migrate to Strict Concurrency by Antoine v.d. Lee
- Practical migration tips for existing projects
- Creative Coding - The pursuit of unexpected beauty by Tiago Gomes Pereira
- TIL about Canvas API, loved the synergy of art and code
- Building on Foundation Model by Daniel Steinberg
- A no-brainer introduction with well-thought out examples
#PragmaConf25 Day 1 Highlights
- Joys and challenges of a sightless coder by Arkadiusz Świętnicki
- Brilliant! If this talk didn’t touch your heart, you are not built right
- AI from Scratch: Let’s Build and Train a Perceptron in Pure Swift by Johannes Fahrenkrug
- Loved it, even simpler explanation regarding AI than 3blue1brown
- The Attribute Graph: SwiftUI’s Invisible Hand by Chris Eidhof
- Layout computers, presentation using Klaus code 🤯
I liked this illustration in the Schwab security email. The concept, casing of the word password and the color palette swap between the two characters is neat.
Visualize: Think, Feel, Perform Like the Top 1% by Maya Raichoora
Your thoughts = cars
Your beliefs = roads
Your experiences = buildings
Your emotions = the weather
Every second, you are driving along different roads and constructing new buildings. The more you drive on a road, the more permanent it becomes. These roads are then your mental map or blueprint, which is how you navigate the world. It becomes the architecture of your mind. Some of the roads will be motorways, others like country roads.
There are going to be times in your life when no one is in your corner. But if you are in your corner, nothing can stop you. You have to back yourself.
There are some interesting points in the book that I liked. This could have been a 40-page booklet or a long blog post. There’s so much repetition over and over again especially in the visualization techniques. Overall, skim through it, skip if you see repetition.
Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
The next time your opponent is having a hot streak, simply ask as you switch courts, "What are you doing so differently that's making your forehand so good today?" If they take the bait--and 95 percent will--and begin to think about how they're swinging, telling you how they're really meeting the ball out in front, keeping the wrist firm, and following through better, the streak invariably will end. They will lose their timing and fluidity as they try to repeat what they have just told you they were doing so well.
The greatest lapses in concentration come when we allow our minds to project what is about to happen or to dwell on what has already happened.
When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless." We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.
Lots of good tips about improving mental performance and concentration. Not limited to tennis, is applicable to any activity.
Amazon Story Boxes
Sharing real-world inspiring stories on otherwise lifeless packaging gives it a nice personal touch.
Pikeplace market, Seattle
Hot orange spice tea and the view of the waterfront are my superheroes on a gloomy day.
It is not about getting the bragging rights or having the latest gadget or the brand value or the awesome new rose gold color or any other reason. It is the joy of holding technology in your hands that has been well-thought-out!
Thoughts on Apple Watch
My feature wish list from 2013 for any kind of wearable band stands almost fulfilled. If there was a mode for the iPhone switch between turning the ringer ON and Silent mode, Apple Watch would be that state.
Hardware — Designed to worn for the entire day and how I would love the water resistant feature to make it to the iPhone. Batter life almost lasts for the entire day. And it looks better than any other Smart watch out there.
Software — Has tons of issues. Haptic sometimes just fails to work and I have had to reboot the watch to make it work. I missed the laundry timer.
Usage — Going to the previous song on the iPhone and starting a song from the beginning. Running. It also gives you haptic feedback after running for a mile. I use it to check Meeting rooms for Calendar invites, laundry timers, quick replies to iMessages. It’s good for offline tasks.
Sampling
If the trial version of a game, the trailer of the movie, holidaying in an exotic location is a sample; its not the same as playing the full version of the game, watching the entire movie or living permanently in that exotic location. The motivation for a trial could be different from the real thing. The trial could be optimized or manipulated for selling it to an audience. It helps to have an approximate scaling factor to scale the sample correctly to the real thing. Be aware about the difference between investing in a trial and the real thing.
Safe mode
Most operating systems allow you to start up your machine in safe mode. Safe mode loads the operating system with only the absolute essential software. It is generally useful for debugging issues and diagnosing problems. If you always boot your operating system in safe mode, you would never get anything delightful done.Life also has a safe mode. You can take decisions to avoid failure and make do with minimum risk. You can decide to always operate in safe mode. But would it enable you to live life at its fullest? Would it make it fun? Would it make you feel alive?
Branding Myths
Do you not check the expiry date of milk from a reputed brand? Do you not check your car for flat tires even if you have bought a car which cost more than $50,000? When interviewing someone, why assume that somebody knows something just because they graduated from a reputed university or they have good references. Always make sure to test that they have the required skills for the job.
Emphasis
Every sentence is formatted as bold, every ticket is high priority, every task is urgent. If you are projecting everything as important then nothing really is. Emphasis gains its value from being surrounded by de-emphasized items.
Fearless
Work with people who are not afraid to put their jobs on the line, who do not make decisions optimized for job security, who are willing to invest in doing the right thing even if it means going against the grain.