I used to chuckle at people who ran for buses. Then I watched mine pull away. My ignorant assumption was 5 minutes until the next one, the standard interval, no need to get knickers in a twist. I did not realise the predicament I had created, but after 5 minutes, I did get it, literally and figuratively.

Forty minutes later, I was still standing at the stop. Not five minutes. Forty. With “traffic evening” delays baked into bureaucratic code: “we need to stop to even out traffic” The temperature was -3°C, with a wind chill of -8°C on exposed skin. My equatorial body is not built for this. Every minute felt like punishment for the times I chuckled at those who knew better than I did and ran for their buses.

Now I run. For buses, for trains, for anything that might strand me on a platform in sub-zero weather. The tube is plan A. Buses are plan B if they cut walk time. But I don’t trust schedules anymore. I have learned delays aren’t edge cases, they are built-in features of the system. I run because, in the school of life, I cannot afford to learn a lesson twice.

Why Silicon Valley is really talking about fleeing California (it’s not the 5%) The current tech exodus from California is driven less by the headline 5% wealth tax and more by a specific, controversial provision that would tax founders based on their voting control rather than their actual equity ownership. This "control tax" poses a unique threat to the dual-class share structures common in Silicon Valley, potentially imposing tax bills on founders based on their voting power rather than their much smaller ownership stakes. While healthcare unions argue the tax is essential to fund a $100 billion gap in medical services, tech leaders and Governor Gavin Newsom warn that the proposal, which includes retroactive residency clauses and complex private valuation requirements, could fundamentally dismantle the financial incentives of the startup ecosystem.

Do not give up your brain: It’s tempting to outsource mental effort to machines, but your brain is your most valuable resource and must be kept sharp by actively using it.

Developers, your EGO is the real bug in the system: Our ego is our number one saboteur, especially when it comes to technical criticism. We tend to perceive technical criticism as a personal threat instead of separating our identities from code.

Software Development Waste: Invisible waste accounts for 40% of engineering effort. Generating more code faster leads to more technical debt. We should focus on eliminating friction and practice trial and error is more valuable than raw output.

The Real Cost of Loving What You Do: The Uncomfortable Truth About Developer Burnout: Developer burnout is less a product of hard work and more a symptom of “aimless effort” and a lack of clear direction. Rather than resting, debug your personal system through disciplined action, structured goal-setting, and intentional building.

You can code only 4 hours per day. Here’s why: High-level concentration is a limited biological resource that reaches its maximum after four hours of deep work daily. Engineering productivity involves safeguarding a few hours of cognitive peak from the friction of corporate communication.

Why there’s no European Google? European culture values the common good over private wealth. Throughout history, Europe has thrived in its technological ecosystem, planting “digital trees” for future generations rather than harvesting them for profit.

Scaling PostgreSQL to power 800 million ChatGPT users: OpenAI has moved from a single monolithic database to a horizontally sharded architecture using Citus, an open-source extension that transforms Postgres into a distributed database.

Happy Valentine’s week!

The word of the day is callous. Callous describes someone who is insensitive, indifferent, or has a cruel disregard for the feelings or suffering of others.

Example in a sentence:
He watched the storm ravage the coastline with callous detachment, as if the village's destruction were merely an interesting change in the landscape.

I am making my grand departure into the unknown.

Take care of yourself!

Until the next fortnight, my treasured reader, go forth, and may the odds be ever in your favour! 👏 🤖 ✊ ☠️ 🏹 🪖

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