A guide to working weekends, based on my own experiences and lessons learned. view full post
If you were obsessed with minimal and re-useable technololgy, would you be a rabbit or a forth? view full post
Macronutrient balance explains short term weight fluctuations much better than TDEE or other energy expenditure models. view full post
I decided to plot possible hobbies in 2025 in terms of career potential and personal enjoyment. view full post
In the fourth of a series, I discuss how to easily track calories and monitor progress view full post
In the third of a series, I use the prediction model from 2 to derive strategies for hitting weight goals view full post
In the second of a series, we build a predictive model for weight loss, and use it to determine a diet plan. view full post
In the first of a series, I discuss the math behind dieting, and how to use data to estimate your calorie needs and weight loss goals. view full post
I’ve been journalling for 10+ years. In addition to forcing me to actually write down what happened that day, reviewing old entries provides a feeling of history that makes life feel soooo long and so rich. I can review my now-wife’s rocky courtship and feel grateful we made it. I looked back 3 years ago and found the day our children were conceived :D (we have twins). I can review the anxieties of my PhD years, etc etc. view full post
All blockchain games are predicated on guessing random numbers in exchange for money. How is this not gambling? view full post
Why do GPA and ACT scores matter? Recently, there’s been some pushback against standardized tests and college entrance exams. It begs the question: What is all this testing good for? After all, well-to-do families and students can spend more time preparing for these exams, making them an unfair indicator of wealth moreso than IQ.
I propose: They are not a measure of ability but of rule-following, self-regulation, and preparadness. If this is true, the fact that you can study for these tests isn’t a bug, but a feature. view full post
I’m not an optimization guru by any means. It’s never been something I’ve been allowed to focus on at work, sadly. At some jobs, performance is secondary to correctness and robustness, and at others, it’s secondary to flashy features.
But, I’ve used the following tricks in hotloops
Dimension reduction (esp via convolution) Branchless calculation SIMD SIMD gets a lot of love, but it’s a constant-factor improvement and can be tough to coax out of the compiler (unless you use a library). view full post
I’ve been tracking my OKR’s since 2014. Sometimes I accomplish what I set out for, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I accomplish what I put in OKRs but didn’t accomplish what I wanted.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
There are usually four types of OKRs, and not differentiating types makes it really hard to get what you wanted Not only are there four, but they are roughly speaking prerequisites of each other. view full post
Why do we both with silly optimizations first? view full post
As I sit in a hotel lobby at 4:00 AM drinking awful coffee (story for another time), I’m reflecting on:
If happiness from a boon or gain or accomplishment is just the loss of the pain of not having that gain, then maybe we can just short circuit that process and stop wanting the thing in the first place
Of course, this is a well-studied idea1. But what gets me is: Is that what happiness is? Can I really be happy by removing desire (which, presumptively, prevents happiness by showing me a future I don’t have). Certainly, some class of happiness can be “solved” by this anti-FOMO strategy. But it seems so zero-sum.
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I own a 2022 Tesla Model Y. Or rather, my powerhouse wife does. Regardless, I’ve driven approximately 10,000 miles in one, and have formed a long list of opinions.
The Good The performance The cold / icy driving experience is fantastic. It’s the easiest to drive in slippery conditions that I’ve owned except my old toyota 4x4 SUV, but that’s a high bar. The adaptive cruise control eliminates 90% of the annoyances from highway driving (though the industry has caught up) The 360 cameras and 360 range sensors make driving in tight confines very easy. view full post
Building things is our higher purpose Ergo, the most shameful thing is not not finish a creation
I feel deep in my bones that making things is the higher purpose of humanity. It’s our secret weapon against devolving into tribes. The simplest creations improve ones life, and that’s what makes us human: Having agency to improve our lot. The true strength of our gift is making for others. Making something desireable from something less desireable underpins every part of cities, is the foundation of medicine, and a basic requirement of our economy. view full post
Oh sweet, coffee
One time, $employer was having an all-hands event. During these events, everyone is in town from all over. I walked in the first day and saw a table of treats and gourmet coffee, and was like “oh sweet, coffee”. I walked up and was intercepted by someone who told me “Those are for the investors”. Of course the first thing out of my mouth was “I’m investing my life” like that was supposed to mean anything to him. view full post
This is the first in a series of posts describing how I’m keeping data about my self, environment, work, and goals. You can read the whole series here
As part of my journalling habit, I used to keep excellent metrics about myself. From the year 2014 to about 2019, I recorded almost everything that I felt was important. This included workouts, spending, and time spent in a variety of areas, such as grad study. view full post
Midjourney's rendering of a painting of someone doing a retrospective journal by a lake. Half way through the year, time for a brief retrospective. Each of these could be a post on their own.
Job It’s been a little over a year since I left JPL. After a brief hiatus at Amazon, I’m settling into my new job at Outrider.ai. Last year I was laid off from Amazon Robotics, AI, which I don’t think exists any more as an organization. view full post
On the optimality of sawtooth careers I was having lunch at JPL with their Chief Engineer, Rob Manning. Normally, you’d expect the Chief Eng. to reserve their time for more important people, but that’s not how JPL works.
I had posted in the New Researcher Support Group slack channel, asking for stories from folks who regret some part of their career. Gloomy, I know. He was curious, and so we we got lunch. view full post
This post is a work in progress…
We have enough AI to explain conscioiusness now, and therefore to create an AI that feels “General”.
AI can generate words from sounds GPT is well known to generate narratives and conversations given rough priors Something like Dall E to generate mental imagery around those narratives, when required Constantly retrained by feeding what we hear (verbally) and what we see (after “object detection”) in a feedback loop, with all of our “story” as well. view full post
I recently read a wonderful piece by the New York Times titled “What happened when 7 Trump voters and 6 Biden voters tried to find common ground”. What struck me was how quickly even the most middling of issues quickly diverged along party lines, often with classic party narratives appearing. It is absolutely worth a read.
These folks are living profoundly different American experiences, and yet both feel that the future is bleak. view full post
Feel free to issue a pull request or file issues at github.com/jodavaho/conversational_rights
Preamble The ability of humans to exchange information quickly and efficiently is our super power. Our other limited abilities and general fragility could not have made us the dominant species of the entire planet, and enabled us to do the things we do. More specifically, the written and verbal expression of culture has enabled the alignment of the individuals of our species toward long term goals of incredible complexity. view full post
I keep journals for my work and home projects, each of my group members, my section duties, my publications … you get the idea. Here’s how I use plain text, in markdown files, backed by GitHub as the ultimate productivity tool. view full post
To lower the effort required to actually create and edit entires, I use plain text, in markdown files, backed by GitHub. There are a few tricks I use to keep it manageable. For example, I use separate files for each calendar day, and I structure some of the text so it can be easily parsed. But it’s all quite simple and can be edited via GitHub web, or from the command line on any device I’m using. view full post
I recently found a list of old “prayers”, probably inspired by the “litanies” that are everpresent in the Warhammer 40k universe. I’ll keep a growing list here. These are free for your use, under the creative commons license.
Chapter one In the beginning of any focused work, and to set intention for your building. We dedicate these hours to the advancement of understanding. We thank humanity for this opportunity. view full post