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Announcing the all-new Substack Reader for web
Want to add a publication from outside Substack? No problem—just select “Add RSS feed” from the left sidebar.
I keep seeing on Twitter that Substack is finally going to replace what we lost in Google Reader all those years ago. What was special about Google Reader that has not already been replaced by Feedbin, Feedly, Inoreader, NetNewsWire, and the dozens of other RSS services out there?
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I’ve moved all my RSS, newsletters, and Twitter lists to Feedbin. I just discovered there is a Micro.blog integration available! After configuring the integration, I can share an item directly to Micro.blog and write a post from the Feedbin app.
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I’m trying the Agenda app
I’ve been experimenting with task management and note applications for a while now. I wouldn’t say I like organizing into folders or even using tags. I’ve gone down that road and spent too much time trying to stay organized. I want to capture notes from an idea or meeting and keep them front and center until anything actionable from that note is complete. This gives me all the context I need for that task or project. Continue reading →
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I just finished (for now) updating my Micro.blog website theme. I tweaked the colors, fonts, and header. Added a Surprise link that loads a random post and the Bookshelf that shows books I’m reading and interested in. Also, experimenting with the Newsletter feature.
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Just received my physical copy of Daily Creative: A Practical Guide for Staying Prolific, Brilliant, and Healthy by Todd Henry 📚
This book was highly recommended. I’ll try to take my time and read it as intended, one day at a time.
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I’m looking forward to heading to Orlando for the Microsoft Power Platform Conference all next week! #MPPC22
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I was listening to this episode of The Rework Podcast by the guys at 37signals. It was a great reminder that we tend to overcomplicate things when building technical solutions. Sometimes, we do it for the challenge, and as developers, it’s fun. Often we miss the point. What’s the end goal?
For example, I was just working with a customer who wanted us to update our existing application to allow batching records together based on complicated logic. We spent hours thinking of a solution. Then someone asked, why do they need this? Oh, so one admin can run a report that shows all the records in a batch. Can’t we add a checkbox to allow the admin to select which records they want to include in the report? Yes! Well, that makes things much easier!
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How to overwrite your cognitive scripts - nesslabs.com
Cognitive scripts are based on the semantic memory, or the knowledge we acquire throughout our lives. Semantic memory develops when we experience events in the everyday world, such as how to travel by public transport or the steps involved in eating in a restaurant. We organise our experiences into cognitive scripts that are personal to us, and these scripts may vary depending on our perception of a situation and the cultures we identify with. - Dr. Hannah England
We can overwrite our cognitive scripts by journaling, reset the scripts that don’t work for us, and go off script and take risks.
Cognitive scripts are based on our beliefs, created during our lifetime. Habits are more about the actions we take.
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Did you know Microsoft Edge has a built-in Citation tool? Go to Settings > Appearance > Toggle on the Citations button.
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Becoming a Full-Time Creator as a Software Engineer: Controversial Advice - The Pragmatic Engineer
If you’re someone with years, or decades of experience working in tech, you can likely just sell your sawdust: things that are already in your head, like your past experience.
This was a great article that talks about various ways to make a living as a creator.
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“Loading everyone to 100% of capacity has the same effect as loading a highway to 100% of capacity: No one can make any progress.” (Mike Cohn, Agile Estimating and Planning)
I love this quote. So true!
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I Didn't Do The Thing Today
While over the past decade, “Productivity” books try to teach you how to be productive and get things done, “I Didn’t Do The Thing Today” jumps on the recent “Anti-productivity” bandwagon and reminds us that to be genuinely productive, we need to relax, rest, and embrace the unexpected. I Didn’t Do The Thing Today by Madeleine Dore Key Ideas We can’t compare how productive we are to others because we all have unique circumstances and objectives. Continue reading →
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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Finished reading: Project Hail Mary: A Novel by Andy Weir 📚. “Working the problem” - NASA Here is what I thought. Continue reading →
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Novelty fallacy: why new isn’t always better - Ness Labs
The novelty bias is a form of informal logical fallacy, where we consider that something is better simply because it’s new. Of course, in some cases, novelty seeking does correlate with benefits. For example, a newer computer may offer improved speed and performance. However, not all new ideas and objects will offer benefits over something older or more established.
It’s always easy to see the latest tech innovations (like iPhones) and convince ourselves that we need them. If we think about the pros and cons and let them sit in our minds for a while. We’ll either forget about it or convince ourselves we don’t need it. In rare cases, the new toy improves our life.
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Currently reading: Clean Architecture: A Craftsman’s Guide to Software Structure and Design (Robert C. Martin Series) by Martin Robert C. 📚
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The Readwise Reader app has come a long way over the past year. With built-in RSS, Email, and Twitter support, it has replaced many of my other apps. It’s also just a great reading experience. Powerful on desktop, simple on mobile!
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Why do applications have a big, bright “Share” button right in the middle of an otherwise clean and simple screen? Are they trying to encourage sharing so more people know about the application? It’s annoying.
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I’m going to try out this micro-blogging thing. I currently have a blog on Ghost, but I don’t post much there. I feel like I need to write some longer content rather than just posting some thoughts on topics throughout the day.
Micro-blogging may be an in-between alternative to blogging and social media.
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The true purpose of a Zettelkasten
A Zettelkasten is a German word that translates to “slip box.” The term became used to describe a particular workflow that Niklas Luhmann used to publish about 50 books and 550 articles over his career. Many great articles are out there describing Niklas Luhmann’s Zettelkasten system. As well as a few books, so I won’t go into those details here. Instead, I want to focus on the key concepts I realized about a Zettelkasten over time. Continue reading →
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Raindrop.io
Raindrop.io has become one of those apps that I use nearly every day. With so much content on the web, we need a place to save what we find helpful. Raindrop does just that. It is a bookmarking service that works on nearly any device and browser. Save and recall interesting content. Save articles and videos to read or watch later. Read articles and make highlights and annotations. Sync highlights with Readwise. Continue reading →
