3 Online Writing Mistakes That Almost Defeated Me – and How I Overcame Them
Two years ago, I used to stress for 25 hours to write a short 500 words piece. Each time it was the same struggle, and no matter what I tried, it didn’t get any easier. I almost gave up on writing. But today, ~100,000 words later, I can write 500 words in an hour. There’s…
Learn how to build PHP to WebAssembly in 10 minutes
This may be my last WordPress-related post until I’m back from my Sabbatical on September 26th. Enjoy! WebAssembly is easier than you think. It is difficult to get started with, but then it’s not. I’ve spent the last 10 months learning that, and now I will save you that time by sharing how to build…
WordPress Playground was prototyped in a week
People are often surprised that the first prototype of WordPress Playground came together in just a week. It is so very tempting to wear my serious face and add something like oh, you know, that’s just experience and a few tricks from robust chaos theory. Some experience was involved, sure, but mostly tricks and chaos.…
Why did I build WordPress Playground? It was easier than installing WordPress.
People often ask me why did you build WordPress Playground? Well, here’s the story: One time I wrote an entry-level introduction to the Gutenberg data layer, and I noticed it was everything but entry-level. It starts with an innocent-looking tar pit of setup instructions where you’re asked to: If you’ve ever been to a WordPress Contributor…
How to Modify HTML in a PHP WordPress Plugin Using The New Tag Processor API
Adjusting the HTML markup in PHP has always been a struggle, but WordPress 6.2 makes it a breeze with the WP_HTML_Tag_Processor API. For example, here’s how you can add an alt=”” attribute to an <img /> tag: The PHP code snippets in this post are live! You can edit and re-run them to your heart’s…
How to curry functions in TypeScript so that it always works correctly?
Removing the first argument from the function signature is surprisingly hard. The way to do it correctly is equally surprising!
How to Implemented Conditional Fields In TypeScript?
Using TypeScript to solve a common mistake Gutenberg developers make.
On Average, Online Reviews Are Broken
Any score is possible if you simply ask the right people.
Meet people like an improv comedian
I struggled with talking to new people a lot, but then I realized the counter-intuitive power of “how are you?” Saying “good” seems easy, but makes things hard. Sharing something honest seems hard, but it makes things much easier.
Online Reviews #2: Experiences don’t fit into star-shaped, byte-sized containers
Expressing experiences using stars is like sculpting a song, dancing about a painting, or cooking about a movie. It’s the wrong tool for the job. Life is all about nuance that the stars in the online reviews lack.
Online Reviews #1: Star Ratings Are Deeply Misleading
Everything about online reviews is counter-intuitive. We think that a restaurant with 4.5 stars on Google Maps is typically better than one rated 4.0, but it’s not. These scores barely mean anything. That’s why I sigh whenever someone with a mobile phone tells me we should watch a different movie, eat in another restaurant, or…
The Wild West of Crypto
Every now and then, there is a promise of easy money hanging in the air. We’re living in times of another gold rush; only today’s prospector mine internet’s Bitcoins instead of Californian gold. It got us excited! But instead of rushing for a pickaxe with the enthusiastic crowd, we took the path less traveled and…
2021 in review – goals bankruptcy, personal breakthroughs, and a bike accident
2021 was another most intense year of my life. It was also unique: I reached almost none of the goals I set. The crazy part? I feel damn good about it.
Web3 publishing? Sure, if you like your work held captive.
I thought Web3 would revolutionize online writing, but publishing this article has changed my mind. The process was easy, but I don’t believe I own my work anymore.
The Death of a Degree
My mom, a college dropout, used to relentlessly repeat that finding a decent job without a college degree is virtually impossible. She shared her life wisdom with me. During her times, higher education was a key to a good job and a good life. Unfortunately, knowledge only reached as far as the professor’s voice.
No To BYOM: Bring Your Own Motivation
I went from dreading education to becoming an avid learner and even breaking into data science. How did I do that? I found inspiring teachers.
Don’t Waste Time On Boring Programming Lessons
I found a powerful technique that dramatically increased my ability to learn new programming concepts.
How balancing action and acceptance helped me overcome my achievement addiction and find joy?
You can approach any problem in two different ways: You can act or let go. Acting implies you refuse to accept. You fight to change something in the world, even if that fight is painful. Letting go implies you refuse to fight. You just let go, and there’s no more pain. As for me, most…
How did I get my Bachelor’s in six months?
I received my Computer Science degree in just six months. With some prior knowledge, so could you. I took only two classes, invested about 10,000 USD, and never set foot at the university. I never attended college before. By the time I finished high school, I already had a career going, and taking a 4-years…