August 15th, 2020
Every place has some dirty secrets, even Disney World. We all have to get rid of waste somehow! In this episode, the Bertauds and I discuss methods of sanitation and waste management from around the world, and how these hidden systems shape our cities....
July 21st, 2020
I want to tell you about the place I spent summers growing up. It's called Chautauqua Institution, and it's one of the most special places in the world — and not just because I spent my childhood there. Chautauqua is special because it is an idea embed...
July 5th, 2020
Alain and Marie-Agnes raised three children while living their nomadic lifestyle. So in this episode, we dug into how their role as parents shaped how they experience cities. Join us as we roam Bangkok, Guadalajara, Sana'a, Paris, Port-au-Prince, NYC a...
July 2nd, 2020
Imagine you're at a dinner party, and you're getting into a heated argument. As you start yelling, the other people quickly hush their voices and start glaring at you. None of the onlookers have to take further action—it's clear from their facial expre...
April 25th, 2020
I'm starting a podcast with my friends, Marie-Agnes and Alain Bertaud, who also happen to be the most interesting couple I know. Over the course of this first conversation, we traveled all around the globe for a whirlwind tour of the adventurous life t...
August 11th, 2019
Recently, Ayaz Matin sent me an email asking the following question:When I was looking at your website I came across these words:
Individual liberty is the single most important value that society should uphold.I’m more utilitarian and communitarian no...
August 11th, 2019
You're not allowed inside the Duomo with your shoulders uncovered. We learned this the hard way. I was wearing a spaghetti strap dress (it's 92℉/33℃ and humid here in Milan), so they stopped my little group at the entrance, after we'd already purchased...
July 24th, 2019
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July 8th, 2019
My friends say that my calendaring practice is atypical (and mock me incessantly for it). They're not wrong, but I'll contend that most people underutilize this ubiquitous tool. A calendar is not just a reminder device for keeping track of external ev...
June 9th, 2019
I snapped many photos while wandering Haifa last week, as I always do whenever I see something new or interesting while exploring a city. I was with my friend Tyler, who conspicuously does not take photos while exploring a new place. I asked him why, a...
May 12th, 2019
A special characteristic of open source software (OSS) is that you don't need institutional support to get started. It's interesting to compare this to physical infrastructure, like dams or railroads. Before you can begin those projects, you need upfro...
May 12th, 2019
For ages, I've wondered why Google Docs still clings to the sheet-of-paper metaphor when lots of its users never print out most of their documents.
Of course it does make sense for "Print layout" to be an option. Many people do print docs, and student...
April 15th, 2019
I'll continue to update this as I try more book pairings when I travel. 🙂
London, England 💂♀️
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World — Favorite book I've read so far in...
March 18th, 2019
I recently spent a day at Sea Ranch, a strange and beautiful place. Sea Ranch is a planned community with a distinctive architectural style: simple timber-frame structures clad in wooden siding, and gardens all planted with native flora. The Sea Ranch ...
February 18th, 2019
Here are some notes and quotes that particularly stood out to me from each chapter of Against the Grain. This isn't a summary of the book. It's mostly for my future self to refer back to (and thus probably missing a lot for someone who hasn't read it),...
February 18th, 2019
The book that etched the deepest grooves in my mind last year was Against the Grain by James C. Scott. It explores how the unique characteristics of grain-based agriculture shaped the early history of states.
While I did learn many interesting histori...
February 8th, 2019
Alvaro VidelaProgramming as translationConverting the real world into digital abstractions requires distillation. And, like literary translators, developers must understand their biases.Part ofIssue 8 Feb 2019InternationalizationWhat does it mean ‘to ...
January 6th, 2019
Action KeysMiscEmoji keyboardCommand + Control + Spacebarimore.com/how-to-use-emoji-on-your-macDelete/remove a URL auto-fill prediction in the Chrome omnibarShift + fn + Deletegearpatrol.com/2018/02/27/how-to-forget-a-wrong-url-in-chromeShow Help Menu⬆...
December 28th, 2018
YC Cities application essay
The concepts of ownership and citizenship will never perfectly cover all cases and disputes in society, but they are particularly insufficient in cities. Cities are practically defined in terms of public ownership and dynam...
December 28th, 2018
TODOs before publishing"Transpose" the matrix. Maybe start with a quick 1-5 rundown, but then do a deep dive on each rather than constant context switching.Little demos of the specific features Diff from previous versions. Scroll wheel?Comment + credit...