One thing I'd point out is that there are only so many ways to write a document or build a spreadsheet. There are a ton of business processes that are custom enough to that org that they have to decide to go custom, change their process, or deal with the inefficiency of not having a technical solution that accomplishes the goal easily.

Lotus Notes is an example of that custom software niche that took off and spawned a successful consulting ecosystem around it too.

> Lotus Notes is an example

TIL Notes is still a thing. I had thought it was dead and gone some time ago.

I don't think we use CGMs enough. There's nothing that tells you more about your food choice than the way your blood sugar reacts after you eat it. Teaching that can actually help folks manage their weight better because they can see in real time what's a good dietary choice vs a bad one.

And while blood sugar isn't the only metric for healthy eating, it's significant enough that management of it will show measurable increases to one's health.

There are also many subskills not worth learning to some people. Sometimes traversal is what's needed and not understanding. (Though I'm never going to knock gaining more understanding)

Tools allow traversal of poorly understood, but recognized, subskills in a way that will make one effective in their job. An understanding of the entire stack of knowledge for every skill needed is an academic requirement born out of a lack of real world employment experience. For example, I don't need to know how LLMs work to use them effectively in my job or hobby.

We should stop spending so much time teaching kids crap that will ONLY satisfy tests and teachers but has a much reduced usefulness once they leave school.

I love this. A teacher that actually engages with change instead of just pretending it's evil or doesn't exist. Refreshing.

THIS. Companies establish the minimum level of productivity acceptable by keeping the lowest performer. There's very little benefit in producing much beyond that level in most organizations. What do you do with all the extra time if you're a superstar? You could give it to your employer for free or sell it on the open market by acquiring another job and profiting off your own performance.

This hits home. I love the thrill of the build and I immediately stop caring once it's done. I love the 'rewire for action' perspective because I've conditioned myself that seeking information IS action. But it's not really, it's decision avoidance via constructive procrastination. And that feels amazing because it makes me more knowledgeable while also ensuring that I avoid any anxiety associated with execution. Gotta fix this.

>I also would have massive unquenchable thirst during this that I now don’t have.

Have you been checked for diabetes? The thirst is one of the bigger symptoms.

Yep, it came up on my radar early on but all indications are that it is not diabetes. There was a time where I was looking at it pretty hard.

Yep. What this shows is that companies sway with what they perceive is public opinion. From Floyd to Trump, companies are shaping their internal public facing policies to mirror where they think the public is on social issues.

Lesson taught and learned.

>But I also think it's pretty hard to foster an environment where people of every seniority level feel comfortable doing that.

That's because pretending to be unsinkable is much easier than working to prevent the ship from sinking. Especially when there's a perception that the problem carries very low risk. That creates situations where there's little individual benefit and a lot of reputational risk for raising the alarm.

To fix this you have to intentionally create a culture that aligns individual and organizational incentives around the behavior you want to see encouraged.

100%

Even then, people who are new will inevitably be skeptical that this kind of culture is real. And they may be right that it isn't real for them, even if you think it's real.

I saw this a bunch joining a ginormous tech company decades after its rise; old-timers thought things were true about the culture that may have still been true for them, but which didn't seem true to me.

(Also, nobody feels more betrayed than those old-timers when the culture turns cut-throat during difficult times.)

Thanks for this! I use a Perrix 835 and I'm quite happy with it except that the keys are rubbing raw and I need new key caps. But I'm always looking to trade up if possible.

There's a whole world of custom split keyboard options out there that use switches where it's super easy to buy replacement keycaps. You can get keycaps made of PBT which are long-lasting and have a very high "rub" factor so you shouldn't have to worry about rubbing them raw for a very long time.