Everything, on one page.
My brain rewiring from starting from constrains of tech choices, money, time etc
To start from what is the best scenario i want and the reshape it to fit constraints
Honestly everything feel much more fun and engaging, also my “I will figure it out” is muscle getting stronger and stronger
I read Animal Farm is was much smaller and much different that I expected. I liked it, made me want to explore more George Orwell books probably 1984
Two opposite lifestyles:
One is not better or easier than the other and there are infinite shades in between these, fitting in one lifestyle we don’t desire costs way more that failing at a bunch and learning what we truly value and our non-negotiables
Solitude and being lonely are not the same
Lonely means being hurt, a state where you suffer from the situation.
Solitude means being by yourself, free from the input of other minds, allowing yourself to make connections, have ideas and let your brain just wander.
In a society where we are covered constantly by other people thoughts, even when we are in the bathroom, detaching from a phone even five minutes can feel like a rebellious act to try be ourselves
We all know the phrases “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with”
It’s easy to think about it just relative to friends family and colleagues but it also includes strangers on the internet and what you read/watch/listen
What you consume is fuel for your thoughts, if what you spend your time the most is tiktok, it shows
Unfortunately you can’t fix it by just updating your software
Most impactful things in my life were by removing something instead of adding.
Removing a process that add friction Removed a bias about something Removed a problem entirely instead of finding temp solutions
Very rarely something improves just but adding a new process, methodology or software, without also removing something
I scrolled through some posts on LinkedIn yesterday, it was the first time in the past month, it was really cringe.
I was like "damn I used to consume that thing daily?" This got me to realize how we unconsciously build immune systems to filter out things just to protect our sanity, and I didn't have it anymore.
I believe it is the same mechanism that prevents people who spend 10 hours a day in video calls from going insane.
The self-imposed pain we inflict on ourselves that is considered "normal" is really weird, and the only way to notice is the less likely to happen, stepping away from these things even for a few days.
Not using social media for 7 or 8 months makes me more aware that "I used to live like that and it felt it was normal."
Way too often I find myself singing kids’s song from cartoons theme songs, while alone alone and even in public, these are the most power brain worm.
A funny time is when I catch myself doing it and need to stop, as it’s a trigger for Martin to want to watch them
#parenting
(note to self)
Simple rules for a happier life:
A game my son and I made up. Shower before bed, but we wash on the beats of Daft Punk.
It just happened one night and now he asks for it, loving it
There are times when I start listening to a single band or artist for days, sometimes the reason is that I saw a documentary or an event, or anything that makes me feel closer to them somehow
This time it's The Beatles, after I saw a documentary.
Just playing them randomly during the day makes a home warmer
I recently watched Paterson and Perfect Days, I was curious because I’ve seen someone call them “feel good movies”
Their slowness, and the ritualistic habit creatures that are their characters are very fascinating to me.
Learning improves the doing.
Doing is learning.
Learning is NOT doing.
Our daily consumption is like grocery shopping. You walk in with a cart and some money, but you’ve got the same time and the same budget as everyone else.
The difference is which aisle you go to.
If you head straight for the candy section, that’s social media. Feeds, shorts, all refined sugar. Easy to grab, good in the moment, but leaves you hollow five minutes later. You don’t even have to choose what goes in the cart. The algorithm does it. You just hold the bag open. When I quit social media, I didn’t stop shopping. I changed aisles.
Now I browse the fresh section. Long blog posts, books, four-hour podcasts. Stuff that takes time, that doesn’t have flashy packaging, that doesn’t scream pick me, but that leaves me feeling different after. One good thing leads to another. An article opens a rabbit hole. A rabbit hole becomes a book. The cart fills up in a way that makes sense.
The strangest part: the budget didn’t change. Same hours as before. Same cart, same money. I’m just the one spending it now, not the algorithm.
And the gap between wandering aimlessly through the candy aisle and wandering aimlessly through the books section is enormous. In both cases you’re letting chance surprise you. But in one you’re feeding yourself. In the other you’re just filling up.
Curiosity, calm, desire to create, they were never missing. They were covered. Reducing input isn't silence, it's hearing your own music that was already playing.
Been listening to Franco Battiato and De André nonstop. Light and deep, ironic and smile inducing
Sounds how I feel lately
Used to put on podcasts. Now it's music. Doesn't steal attention helps me sink into the quiet.
I can use all sort of automations to post on this blog.
I could vibe code the integration to do it with one click.
But I want to write here, I enjoy the process, what is actually “wasted time” is a ritual thst help me think.
Not everything is worth automating away, how something makes us feel is as important as much how it makes us faster
In the past month, I wanted to get an e-ink display, a calmer device for reading blog posts.
Android eink tablets, custom kindle firmware, Boox 5” 7” 11” 13” devices
Everything I tried or saw was either too slow, had ghosting issues, or lacked the features I wanted.
Last week, I tried an unusual experiment using my iPhone and iPad with a grayscale filter.
This defeated the original purpose of an e-ink display! There was no great battery life, and it didn't avoid blue light. However, it did make the device less vibrant and distracting, which made me realize that this was the only aspect I truly cared about.
I’m a big fan of Masterchef, watching it is the main reason I had the courage to buy fresh fish at the market to clean and cook or even try doing fresh pasta.
Besides all the cooking tips, the Italian edition is really filled with people that love food, as a craft as an art and as a wordless expression of love.
It’s heartwarming to see the transformation of the participants as people as much as their cooking skills.
I have tried watching a couple of seasons of the USA version, and was so different! It feels more like a reality show while the Italian edition is much more challenging and fine-dining inspired.
Time to see some other regional versions too! Next up Australia
I wouldn't be interested in Formula 1 if it weren't for Drive to Survive.
context: My Formula 1 Journey
2025 was the first year Alessandra and I started watching the races and became F1 fans. We watched all 7 seasons of DTS in 2024 and didn't care much about the races.
However, this year DTS felt different. We already knew everything that happened, and we understood when it shifted into full drama mode or distorted the events of the year. It's strange, I loved the previous seasons, but I didn't enjoy this one as much. I binged-watched the others, and I'm using this as a filler.
I'm way more excited by the championship starting in a couple of days!
When something's broken, the instinct is to add. New app. New habit. New system. More. But more is what broke it.
Everything added demands a piece. Attention. Energy. Maintenance. Even the good stuff. Especially the good stuff that never gets dropped. Remove first.
The app opened out of boredom. The feed that leaves worse than before. The system kept out of guilt. The yes said because no felt too scary. Removing is harder than adding.
Adding feels like progress. Removing feels like losing. It's not. It's putting down weight that was forgotten.
Don't ask "what's missing?" Ask "what can I drop?"
I need to sync the reading status of some books from my Kindle to other devices, so I need to flash custom firmware for that.
I feel like a 13-year-old kid again, flashing custom firmware on the PSP or installing Android mods for years to come.
I spen to much time on XDA and things like that, believing creating these things was pure magic, wish I started coding sonner
PS: 40 min in, In order to Jailbreak I need to fill the disk first, I forgot how slow these devices can be 🥲
Seeing AI models getting better is very similar to how my child learn new things and becomes more self-aware and self-sufficient day by day
The real value of gratitude practices: they force you to stop and see where you actually are
Can't get anywhere without knowing that first
I don’t enjoy them personally but the value is undeniable
I don't believe in inheritance. It comes so late in life that it should be meaningless.
The real inheritance is what I'm giving my son right now. Teaching him things, spending time together, letting him see me figure stuff out.
By the time I die, he won't need the house. He'll already know how to build his own life
Switching back to physical books.
Not because Kindle is bad, but because my son can't tell the difference between me reading and me scrolling.
From his perspective, it's dad staring at another screen.
Little things with big impacts.
I have chosen some values that I believe will mark my success or failure as a parent, and having him know how beautiful reading can be, before school destroys it is one of them.
I find so many nice tools to try every day, but too often they get saved to a list and are never tried properly.
I've recently started dedicating 10 minutes to trying new tools I'm not familiar with.
It often takes less to understand if something is worth exploring more or not.
10 min is short enough not to feel a big commitment, and something I can carve out even on the busiest day.
The cost-benefit is great, and it's fun!
Today's tool was Atuin desktop, pretty interesting!
What would I do after a tech career?
I still have many things I want to achieve in this field, but I know I won't do this professionally anymore at some point, and technology will become just a hobby
Many people dream of owning a vineyard in the countryside when they get older. I'm not super into wine, but I could totally see myself running a cheese factory in a few years.
I know nothing about it, but I'm all in to learn about it
Simple rules for a happier life
I'm fixing some old lamps that don't work and changing batteries in smart-home devices and sensors, which is something I've avoided doing with a passion for the past months.
But now it's so relaxing, good music in the background, and enjoy some manual activity
I don't know exactly what happened in the past few weeks but I almost feel like I don't overthink as much as I usually do, I take things as they are, I don't have force myself into doing hard things, I just do them.
It's probably not a single thing, but a mix of things I have read or watched recently.
I strongly believe you can't fix inner problems from the outside, but more often than not, we can get inspired by others in many ways.
The trick is learning how much is enough to start moving
Sucking at things sucks, unless we start enjoying the process.
There are things where I deeply enjoy being a noob, feeling every improvement and new knowledge as a step forward. For others, I have a big aversion and try to avoid problems by attempting to act smart and learn all I can about a subject before actually trying, basically “over preparing.”
The result? I don't get it right on the first try!
Well...
No, I suck but have created a gap so large between what I know is possible and my skill level that it's like comparing myself to Olympic athletes in a sport I've only ever seen others playing.
That’s why it's very important to balance doing things, ask your own questions about it, learn, and continue like that, step by step. Going full theory first seems safe, but it’s truly a trap.
I think about this all the time after playing Souls games 😁 We don’t expect to get good at something after one day, but it's unreasonable to think that dedicating time and effort won’t yield results. As long as we don’t prevent ourselves from trying, we are on the right path
As easy as it sounds, comfort zone is sometimes necessary. To restore energy. To enjoy what we achieved.
But it all we do it avoiding going outside of it, we close outside more life and learning that we could ever do inside that zone.
It can become our very own prison, and that comfort fades over time, making us protect nothing in reality. Lose lose situation
Dark Souls 3 was my first Souls game. I knew nothing about the series and bought it from a gut feeling after watching a trailer on TV with nice background music.
Little did I know I was about to enter a world of despair and adrenaline.
The first boss of Dark Souls 3 absolutely crushed me. To this day, I remember beating it as a transcendent experience. It was hard, brutally punishing, yet extremely satisfying to see improvement in my own understanding of the game mechanics and skills.
It started healing my relationship with video games as an adult, which had been broken for a long time.
Today, I started Dark Souls 1. I had only ever watched videos about it.
I expect to be destroyed by the first boss too, a mix of excitement and fear.
Well, I killed it on the first try without effort.
I’m far from being a great Souls player. I’m too greedy in hitting, I panic roll all the time, but it seems like I got some of the basics right at this point.
This made me realize, hmm, this seems less punishing than I expected. There’s a good amount of flasks at the start, and it’s easy to parry enemies. That’s actually a great starting point for the genre!
I might actually start suggesting to begin with this rather than Elden Ring.
Now, back to Lordran!
I love it when I find in TV a cult movie I never saw, makes me want to watch it right away
This time it was Blues Brothers, it never really intrigued me as I’m not into musical, but I didn’t know is more like a normal movie with just songs and cameo from real singers.
I enjoyed it!
It’s Thursday morning and I’m crying watching a YouTube video.
It’s about Logan, a person I never met and didn’t know before this morning, but the kind of person that’s hard to forget, cause he’s a reminder that the world is filled with brave and good people, and every day we have a chance to live better than we are or be that person for ourselves or someone else.
We are overwhelmed with AI slop, idiotic dramas and trash everywhere on the internet, but some rare moments YouTube keeps of giving and remind me how important storytelling and showing the bright side really is, we are weird creatures, we tend to imitate what we see, and we desperately need these to be the examples.
The comments, are what you’ll expect, uplifting, somehow bonding, ever for people that only share having clicked on a thumbnail to see some pixels on a screen, but sometimes, that’s enough. We are humans after all
Thank you Casey, thanks you Logan
Whenever I don’t fee good It’s because I’ve stopped doing one or more of these things
I’m rewatching Fringe I remember almost nothing since I first saw it
So far I’m enjoying it, I vibe for JJ Abrams work
Walter performance? Damn such a wonderful acting
When I get to watch a movie around 7pm, I always get surprised when It ends, I watch the clock, it’s just 9pm and there’s the whole evening ahead.
Weird and amazing experience
In the airport, after 6 days of events and conference at Marketers World.
Initial expectations: ungodly amount of trash Actual: I’m super energized, met many cool people and had a ton of fun.
The experiment of going to non dev-oriented events is going better than expected
A kick or a gentle lift in the morning. A companion in boring work.
I love how it can make ordinary moments a good memory
I noticed listen to more music and sing by myself after watching x factor and cook a lot more when watching Masterchef or bake off
Note to self:
There’s no prize for the person who is the most prepared but never actually starts.
Preparation without commitment is a delusional waste of time.
Without noticing, we default to see the positive or negative side of things. The side we default to changes over time but has a domino effect on everything in our life.
I’ve got better at noticing when it happens, trying to reframe things positively can really make a difference, especially when we feel in a rot
Some people over-invest in one solution. They have only answers, no questions.
I have a weird recurring reminder. “Read some lyrics”
It reminds me to just sit down, enjoy some music and read the lyrics, most which I never paid attention to.
How does X work? Why is Y the way it is? What part of doing "that thing" makes me nervous? Am I doing Z wrong?
I find that almost everything that scares me can become easier to deal with if I try to turn it into a question.
Why? Because I can try to respond to it in a more objective way
Almost anything can be categorized into either an action problem or a knowledge problem.
Action problem: knowing what to do or avoid doing to achieve a specific result or learning.
Knowledge problem: we lack enough information to act with confidence that we will get to something valuable
It's easy to be stuck in a loop or chain of knowledge problems, but I've learned that the most important thing in these scenarios is getting to the least amount of information we need to actually start experimenting and doing. This allows us to convert knowledge into direct experience, which is always more valuable than acquiring more and more learning from someone else's experience.
Rule of thumb: have a bias for action
I'm experimenting with not using the phone in the morning. Keeping it shut down, actually.
The available time seems to be expanding. Anything I finish, I see the clock and think "oh wow, it's still early."
https://www.blinkist.com/en/app/daily
They do have a free summary (they call their summary a Blink) every day.
Blinkist is a book summaries service. I've been subscribed to it for a couple of years due to massive discounts. The app is horrendous and bug-filled. 15-20 minutes are usually not enough to give a book enough depth, and I would never get it at full price.
but...
Sometimes I like to listen to totally random books I would not usually spend the time on. Politics, feminism, sexuality, ghosts, spirits, conspiracies, and any topic really, from time to time is interesting to listen to something totally outside of our normal information diet.
I knew that characters of the tv show Dexter and the first season were adapted from a book, but I just discovered is it a series of eight books! With a different storyline, worth trying
Learning how to solve something by understanding first principles and learning how to get rid of an urgent problem are two different things, both with their merits.
Using the wrong approach for the situation at hand can be very costly and frustrating
For most of my life I hated soap bars, I disliked the sensation it gave me while drying up.
At some point I constantly forgot to buy shower get and started using the soap bars that we all always receive as a gift as some point.
After a couple times I started not bothering, and actually enjoy the scented soap bars.
Now I go to Lush on purpose to get a big variety of different soap bars, all these things smells so good, is a little daily treat
While working in retail isn’t something for me, I always thought that if that was the case I would be working at Decathlon or Lush, I love going there
After 2 years I’ve finally went to do rock climbing’s in Sardinia after 2 years
Body took a while to get confident with different rock and mind to trust my no longer trained body, but it was great!
Fun fact I went with a friend meet here and we had exactly complementary gear for lead climbing
Seaview while on the wall and the sunset is good!
I love my Kindle, it's probably one of the first things I would bring to a deserted island, but there are two things I love about paper (or dead-tree edition, I once read it and found it hilarious).
#1 I can have many books, each lying around in a different room, ready for a quick read. It makes a frictionless serendipity reading just happen, I purposely leave books on tables, in the bathroom, on the balcony, etc.
#2 I can put notes with a pencil, make drawings, and mark sections in a very free-form way. I don't like to just highlight, I like to mark with different intents, e.g., this passage is interesting, this was an aha moment, this was something that I disagree with, etc. I use different symbols for these. I'm not super consistent, nor do I care too much about it, it's just something I end up doing when I have a pencil.
Even if it’s just the start of September, I’m noticing the daylight shrinking.
It makes me feel like the days are shorter and their available time. I want to try some experiments, like making my desk more cozy and inviting so Im less likely to just get ok the sofa as soon as the sun is gone.
I’m feeling productive in the evening lately, I want to continue that way 💪
I need to do some custom interviews and product features validation, so I started a book I’ve read in the past that is considered the gold standard to get honest and useful feedbacks, The Mom Test
Turns out it’s even better than I remembered and is soooo small, about 100 pages
It’s crazy to think that much value can be found is books that are so small
Update after a few days: Is so interesting that I tuned off Netflix to read some more
Update after finish: Glad I spend the time reading it again
Kills the serendipity of finding a book somewhere in the house.
From the last years when in standby is uses the book cover of current book, and that was a massive improvement, but given I use a cover to avoid scratches when in the bags i never see it 🥲
*I read s few pages of a book i purposely left in the bathroom to get some serendipity, it worked
I spent way less time than usual on social media in the past weeks by focusing on longer-form content, both podcasts and blog posts.
A surprisingly nice side effect is that I read more blogs on a computer than usual, and this led me to play around with sources to see how things are implemented, a very "hacky" way to learn stuff that gives me a lot of joy. Pure passion leads to learning and great respect for the people that spend the time to make something beautiful.
I always overcomplicated thinking about publishing things online, where to post, how to post it, in what language, etc etc, but since I started this blog, I'm feeling so free to use it as my own corner on the internet, is others enjoy it, cool! (reach out) If not, so be it.
Same for having different YouTube Channels that are thematic and language dependent, I like knowing I can post things based on my mood and interest in that period, who cares if there are times where from one video to another there are 3 months and other times where there are 15 videos in 2 weeks?
Wish I had accepted that sooner
A lot of advices only makes sense in the context of your own age.
I would not give my 15 yo self the same advices I would give to myself at 20, 25 or 30. Not because “They wouldn’t get it”, but because these ages comes with different focuses, opportunities and responsibilities, mixing them is very dangerous.
A 40 yo viewpoint to work life balance, while totally right, might kill the ambition of a kid with way more than and energy for example.
Getting inspired by other’s success and failures is important but ultimately we have to build our own path in consciousness. That’s the difference in living you life and aging
Is common to see people move farther from the city center in order to afford a bigger house.
That’s a good idea if you feel like lacking space and want more, eg a garden you enjoy caring for, dedicated rooms for hobbies, children or home offices, especially if you enjoy the perks of being closer to nature etc.
But what I often see it people moving to bigger houses without the need of that space, and having a social circle that makes you go often in the city anyway, basically spending more time and money going back and forth. Sure you have a guest room now, but who would ever want to stay there if it’s 30km from the city center?
Now I live in a big house 20min to the sea walking, but I would totally go for a smaller one closer to it, but would never go to a bigger one that prevents me from going to nature without crossing highways
Past week I blocked all social media via Jomo and consumed none.
This made me start listening long podcasts again, those 3-5 hours long content that I start and stop when I have available time.
The overall feeling of quality inflow is on a completely different level
I find a great deal of clarity through writing and journaling.
Just (over)thinking through problems doesn't work.
Premeditatio Malorum, or negative visualization, is an exercise I've been doing from time to time for years, to try to give my fears and problems an objective shape, something I can deal with logically rather than just emotionally.
Fear -> Clarity -> Action
The happiest and most fulfilled people I know, have a pretty solid Ideas of things they enjoy or make them miserable, especially those things that are weird about themselves.
Clarity (and self acceptance) is a stepping stone for happiness.
Some examples from me.
Bad meals makes me very upset, I’d rather fast.
I don’t mind spending €300 for a fine dining meal (makes me happy) but hate spending on hotels.
Buying nice things makes me enjoy working more, creating a virtuous cycle.
I don’t mind working on holidays, weekends and lunchtime. I enjoy reading during office hours.
Pulling an all-nighter from time to time shuffle my routines positively
Music always makes my mood better, dancing too.
More often than not a walk is the best thing I can do, no matter other urgencies.
It’s fine to drop books you are not enjoying
Chain of actions that unfold into long lasting effects.
I consider myself a Formula 1 fan now but couldn’t care less 2 years ago, actually I found it very boring.
Me and my partners like to spend time watching the pre-race interviews, post race, free practice etc.
What changed?
Started following the championship this year. 2025, and most weekends goes there now.
Started caring about F1 after watching Drive To Survive on Netflix, an amazing series I forced a lot of people watch 😄 It made me learn about the people, the team dynamics the drama around F1 I loved it.
I started watching Drive To Survive after watching Brawn GP A documentary about a Formula one team that I found really fascinating.
I started Brawn GP because my son wanted to see Pixars’s cars for the 6362778 time and I needed someone else.
I considered it cause I spent some time with a person passionated about F1, he got very into it in short time. Is amazing to see adults get into new hobbies and passions so I agreed to order a takeaway to see a race with him instead of going out for dinner once.
So here’s the reason, pretty random and almost didn’t happen
I’m taking a break before hotel checkout and listening to Spofity, Adriano Viterbini starts and I notice a very small number of monthly listeners, what a surprise, he’s very good, I then remembered how I got to know him, in a small town playing live during a festival.
Isn’t it crazy how we find things that we like by pure chance? Very unlikely to ever happen again.
https://open.spotify.com/track/3InOdpIrQHuNk1X2iO5rdw?si=Bn2_xgDZR3i0r6m2dt-TCw
https://open.spotify.com/track/12wLIprChdxUTWztc6hZV2?si=0y6awHK7Rp-LUGDpvkqpWw
https://open.spotify.com/track/22Wh73wa0QNfD9mNw8FtLz?si=BVDB4WONTfq6B_rS-vgu5w
Is my attention on what others think of me and my action?
Or is it on the things I act upon?
That’s a small reality check worth making on a regular basis
Many people value external validation more than self worth and internal validation.
That’s a pitiful prison.
Imagine forging it yourself
What if we read a book for 2 minutes, 5 or 15 minutes instead of defaulting to social?
I feel like books give me energy while social just consume it
I'm in a bar messaging with a friend and shared this song just because the title made sense in the discussion, and I started to read the lyrics. Pretty much any English song, even if I can sing them from memory, I don't know what they are about.
It made sense for things I learned before learning English, but I've just noticed that it's still the same for anything I learned after or recently. I don't even try to translate them, despite being able to do it in real time.
Why is that? Maybe my mind is trying to protect me from some cheesy lyrics? 😄
It makes me think about the things we know without understanding. Probably, many people are doing this with software and code.
I read this article yesterday, to discuss in a Mastermind group I do with a group of friends
According to Dr. Hanson, depressive people have brains that are like Velcro for the negative and Teflon for the positive, they glom on to the bad stuff, while letting the good stuff slide past.
This resonates a lot with me, could be a description of my default state of being. I have done a lot of work on myself and improved but that’s where I fall to as a baseline. Surely I understood that I can change it.
think of these dedicated sessions as gym time for my mind to strengthen its positive networks.
Much like training a muscle, seeing the bright side of things is a matter of practice, there are times where things are going well and all we see around us are the positives, but learning to influence this things even when we are now at our best is a great skill
she just appreciates that I’m doing something to proactively tackle one of my issues, that’s the real secret of marital happiness — you never have to become perfect or completely overcome your problem, your spouse just wants you to acknowledge the issue and see that you’re earnestly trying to work on it.
Effort and trying is a big thing
—-
This morning I tried doing the experiment proposed in the article.
Have a positive experience Enrich it Absorb it Link it
I’m in my bed with my family. The AC gives me a nice temperature, I can touch them. I feel somehow refreshed despite having slept 6 hours, I’m into a Dexter rewatch and it’s shifting my bed time 🩸 . I need to wake up to have a call at 8:30 in the Monday morning, I proposed that time and day. Instead of cursing myself I enjoy what it means, kickstarting the week talking to my friends for the mastermind, a good dose of positivity and intellectual stimulation. I’m glad I have this going on.
Somehow trying to things about the positive side comes easier and feel less artificial than other practices like gratitude. Maybe because is more of a mental model, and I like that.
Lately I’m thinking about all the negatives and difficulties of a project I’m about to launch, but I can twist it and think about all the good! I have the possibility to shape it how I like, to learn a lot, to change my mind if needed. Having full responsibility, I can stay in my badass office and create my future and my possibilities. This is a dream for most people, I can do I and I’m not expressing this gift.
I always thought most of life is about mindset, but while I tried to invert my velcro/teflon default I lacked something simple to apply. I’ll try this out for a while
I like domain specific problems more than I like generic problems, even if it means having a much smaller area of influence.
Specific problems come with a stronger set of constraints, these become the rules to play by.
This might also be the reason most companies missions of statements don’t resonate with me, cause are too vague or open to conflicting interpretations.
We love cheese, to the point that we consider going to the market or local producers a family-trip worthy experience.
Today I started a rewatch of Dexter
Part of this blog is to collect breadcrumbs for my future self, I usually added this kind of stuff in a private journal but doing it publicly kind of help me thinking deeper about the meaning of things.
Many years passed since I first watched it, I have a good memory of it, it’s a great show, I almost didn’t start it because I’m in a very happy and good-mood moment of my life, afraid of this dark setting to be too much of a counterbalance and drag me down. But let’s give it a try, is good to have something with good characters, good music and a nice dose of sarcasm but most importantly I already watched, so I use it in the background while doing some shallow work activities.
Update: 8/8/25 I’ve finished season 1. It really is a fantastic show, and I have great memories of things to come, and probably this is the weirdest thing, already knowing how things will end is not possible to be surprised as the first time but it’s still very enjoyable, as usual watching some things after becoming a parent really change perspective.
Today I started using a multiplexer again (Zellij) a Spotify client in the terminal and lately I've been playing with opentui, a new framework to build complex dashboards in the terminal.
I still love all of this, the shortcuts, the keyboard-only sessions.
The scary month without kindergarten has started.
I’m really enjoying morning moments with my kid. Going to buy bread, focaccia, brioche etc together. Not being on a rush despite waking up early. So many small normal moments that can be turned into adventures when seeing the world with a kid’s eye.
This is the most important thing a child can teach to adults, remind them that every small thing can be special
Ive been using JOMO for two years or more, but recently I’ve started to take too many breaks, It’s ok I have more activities that require me to use social now. So what?
Instead of removing it or continuing misusing it i decided to make very few non negotiable focus hours 3 or 4 hours long.
Completing them without breaks always feel good and makes me enjoy the time after totally guilt free of enjoying things
Every year or half year, I created a new Spotify Playlist of songs enjoyed by my son.
Today I created the new one since it is 4 cause he just listened to Black Sabbath and told me "this is my favorite song" 😆
The second favorite is the Paw Patrol theme song
A bright side of getting older is noticing more things about yourself.
If I hear the sound of rain or use a blanket, even a very small one, I feel almost instantaneously more relaxed, my scattered mind seem to slow down and rest.
To this list I’ve recently added, touching my son, even just a finger contact has such a profound effect
FOMO: “Fear Of Missing Out”
There’s so much content, drama and people excited about tech, I both like it and dread it.
Especially true when people I trust are very into something, makes me feel like I’m missing out on opportunities.
What I used to do: Add a todo like “I’ll check on it this weekend” but for a reason or another if I skipped it and kept seeing signals about the thing I would feel even more FOMO
So, what I’m doing now it to invest some time as soon as I can, 20-30 min is enough, time I can steal from social medias or Netflix without problems. And find all info I can about that thing, especially answering those answering my own questions, 9/10 times I end up learning some details that totally remove the desire and and FOMO from me, some others, it gives me the true interest to keep going with curiosity instead of fear.
Some recent examples Claude Code: convinced after a short session MCP: Mostly overhyped Convex: seems really cool, I was like “I should refactor one of my projects to this” but I soon realized that not for me. Effect TS: It’s a rabbit home I’m willing to jump in!
Sometimes I find my 4yo son asking Google the forecast, and other times asking for cartoon theme songs. It's hilarious when he gets upset due to bad results
I have a weird connection when it comes to memory and sounds.
I was listening to this song from my "liked songs" on spotify
I used to listen to this in a loop while playing World of Warcraft, many, many years ago. I recall a specific occasion when I farmed Blackrock Depths on an alt.
I used to walk a lot when I lived in Milan and also listened a ton of podcasts. crossroads, sidewalk, bus stops etc, started to become places where I have vivid memories of what I was listening to.
“Oh I learned X on that corner”
This past week I have made a lot of YouTube video and social media content. This caused me to use socials more to keep up with comments etc.
The bad habit to pick the phone and open socials in the morning is an easy one to build and hard to kill. I did it a couple days and noticed how negatively impacted my morning, so today instead of picking the phone I decided to stay in the bed and visualize the day ahead instead, the commitment, obligations, even what to cook, the fun things I could do and challenges I can hide from or takle.
This is one small thing with a lot of domino -like effects, I did chose clarity with purpose instead of the dopamine hit of some notifications numbers, being able to notice such situations and act instead of react has been a long journey, thanks to stoicism and similar philosophies, which is first and foremost practical. For everyday life.
Keeps me awake. Especially if I posted something and I want to see what other people think of it.
I need to read a book or listen to an audiobook to unwind and properly sleep
Today I have created 2 videos for my AI channel
A video about Effect
And a video for a new channel that I probably wanted to have for a decade, but never got the guts to have
It was EASY!!!
Totally zero self-judgment, I had a lot of fun
Thinking can be a safety net, overthinking is poison.
What happened? I finally decided to take this thing less seriously and all the weight, fears, and indecisions totally went away with it
I had an amazing week talking with friends and family moments, which probably also made this seem like something fun to do instead of a chore.
Even writing this is liberating, I overcomplicated blogging for such a long time, and this to my own suffering 😅. I love writing
UPDATE: I published more videos later in the day 😁
In the pasts years I have filled my todo list with things I wanted to do but never really moved from the (over)thinking phase to actually doing. The reason are many, lack of experience, fear, perfectionism turning into inaction.
It doesn’t matter the reason but the result was just regrets. Especially when associated to knowledge and skills that lost meaning and value as the time passes by, this is especially true for sharing and creating content.
I kept staying in a trap of giving too much attention into having to make things right, despite knowing that quality have to come from quantity at first.
Starting projects with friends totally removed all these blockers, making the good parts so much more fulfilling and the boring/hard parts not to bad if the weight is shared and something that can be discussed about.
For example not I’m running a channel with a friend about AI and coding in Italian (spaghetti prompt) and while I wanted to do similar things for year I always got struck by stupid things like “should I do it in English or Italian?” And many more doubts.
Doing it with a friend, makes it so much fun and fulfilling, especially of is someone you click with and there’s little to no overhead.
Finding you people, your tribe has never been so important.
I’m watching Fantastic Mr Fox, I can’t help but think how much I love Wes Anderson movies.
The aesthetic by the colors, the symmetry, and the “flat” camera movements are signatures that make you say “this is a Wes Anderson movie” but never feel overused or get boring.
I find them immersive, feeling like entering his bright colors and cozy reality, even the sad and hard scenes and characters become likable.
A movie like Grand Budapest Hotel, I can never say no to a rewatch
Casey Neistat is an OG YouTuber, yet it always felt so different to me compared to what is on the YouTube homepage, I always saw him as genuine storyteller.
There are a few of his videos that I rewatch every couple years, usually because of readwise resurfacing quotes from one of them, he creates really powerful messages, moving and inspiring.
Today is 10 Feb 2025 and I'm rewatching "Do what you can't".
I just read DMs, replied to posts and requests on BlueSky LinkedIn and Twitter in about 20min
I did not even see the feeds, I’m missing out on something but since I decided to stop using social networking I’m genuinely happier doing other things.
This little choice had one the most positive impact I ever had in my life