Reflections

What is the price of lettuces? An obolus perhaps. If then a man gives up the obolus, and receives the lettuces, and if you do not give up the obolus and do not obtain the lettuces, do not suppose that you receive less than he who has got the lettuces; for as he has the lettuces, so you have the obolus which you did not give… Give then the price, if it is for your interest, for which it is sold. But if you wish both not to give the price and to obtain the things, you are insatiable and silly.

—The Enchiridion of Epictetus, as translated by George Long

In other words, don't complain about a trade-off you're willing to make. You can buy an apple at the farmer's market, or you can keep your money and leave without one, but you can't demand an apple and refuse to pay. That just makes you a jerk.

In the same way, if your spouse dislikes being corrected, you can correct them and accept their annoyance, or you can let it go and appreciate the peace, but you can't correct them and complain when they become annoyed. Well, even then, you can, strictly speaking. You just can't force other people to think you're being reasonable.

#Life

Go small.

Photos are more interesting when much of the landscape or subject is cropped out. (Too many people take full-body portraits, which I often find utilitarian and boring.) Songs are more interesting when instruments can be appreciated individually. Try listening to “Sailor's Tale”, but only listen to the drums, or the bass guitar, or my favorite, the mellotron.

#Life #Maxims

“Why are there different programing languages?”

An acquaintance once asked me this shortly after taking an online programming course. I said something about how any given language can be better or worse at solving a particular problem. French is great for poetry, and Haskell is great at representing algorithms and mathematical functions.

Nonsense!

Well, no, not completely. It's true. It's just not the whole story. Consider Python and Ruby. Why do we need both? Yes, yes, sure, there are important differences, but in the grand scheme of things, are they really that different? Hardly. They're both dynamic scripting languages which work well for web development. We could save a lot of time and energy by deprecating one and only using the other.

For that matter, why do we need Billy Joel and Elton John? They're not that different. They both play piano, they both write pop songs, and they both tour internationally. Talk about a waste of recourses! We could really save a lot of time and effort by having them join forces.

Does anyone think that would work? Of course not. Elton John doesn't want to sing “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” and Billy Joel doesn't want to sing “Tiny Dancer.” Billy Joel doesn't care about fashion and Elton John doesn't care about Long Island. They don't want to work together!

In the same way, Guido van Rossum thought it would be fun to create Python, and Yukihiro Matsumoto thought it would be fun to create Ruby. Millions of programmers like using blocks and millions of others love **kwargs. Who are we to disagree with them? Do we really think they would be equally productive doing something they don't enjoy?

Music is not a utilitarian matter, and neither is computer programming. Software development is an art as much as it is a science. When we forget that, we miss some of our most important opportunities.

A bottle of red, a bottle of white It all depends on your appetite

#SoftwareDevelopment #Tech

The newly-published video Impossible Challenges (Google Veo 3 ) by demonflyingfox is both an amazing showcase of Google's new Veo 3 AI (to be fair, I'm sure there was post-production) and hilarious commentary on the kind of algorithmic bullshit YouTube is constantly manipulating creators into publishing.

edit (2025-12-30): Although I was sure there had to be post-production when I published this, I'm no longer sure. If there was, there wasn't necessarily much. Sora 2 shows that this technology really is that amazing.

#SocialMedia #Tech

People are package deals; you take the good with the confused. In most cases, strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin.

—Steve Jobs

#Life #Quotes #SoftwareDevelopment #Tech

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

—Unknown, though commonly attributed to Guillaume Apollinaire

#Life #Quotes

It seems to me, we're more different from our friends, family, and acquaintances than we've ever been.

Two hundred years ago, if a neighbor child had caused trouble on one's farm after a storm and the victim wanted to learn how to manage their frustration from a Christian perspective, who might they turn to? Who would fully understand their situation? I don't know… everyone!? Well, almost everyone. Their friends, family, and acquaintances would be neighbors, with the same weather, religion, fellow acquaintances, and, in many cases, the same occupation.

Today, if a former Lutheran and current Buddhist accountant living in Portland has trouble getting along with their boss, an evangelical former banker living in Omaha, who might they turn to? Who would truly understand their predicament? Hardly anyone. Many people would be able to offer advice, yes, but would they really get it?

I haven't even mentioned political affiliation, with politics now less a tool for solving practical problems and more a means of self-realization.

I wonder to what extent this explains rising rates of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and other unhappiness.

#Life

I just read John Gruber's blog post recommending Kagi as a replacement for Google Search when it occurred to me, for the hundredth time in the last year… what the hell happened to anti-spam efforts at Google Search?

I met Matt Cutts once in 2011. He was very kind, and he explained to me that he worked to combat search engine spam at Google. At the time, I didn't really understand what he was talking about, but boy do I understand now. Perhaps that's the best compliment I could have given him; few notice anti-spam efforts when things are going well.

Matt Cutts has since left Google, and now, I get lots of results which provide very little value. What a shame. Apparently, Google needed him more than he needed Google.

#SoftwareDevelopment #Tech

My five-word movie review of Conclave:

Every frame, a gorgeous photo.

#FiveWordMovieReview