Espresso Shots 3-9-25

Here's my weekly update with a few interesting random findings that I came across the last week or two. I am going to try to make sure they're here in time for you to enjoy with your morning coffee (or beverage of choice) every Saturday or Sunday, and include some of my thoughts around them.

The Latest Drippings ☕️

• The Whiskey Infinity Bottle. At a recent event, I learned (and tried) a 'Whiskey Infinity Bottle,' and wow - I was not expecting such a unique flavor. The basic idea: 'find an empty vessel — like a blending bottle or decanter — then pour in a dram of any new whisky that you buy. That said, you can also fill your infinity bottle with the ends of various whiskies that you haven't got around to finishing. The result? Your own unique blend that tastes like nothing else — one that is irreplicable and irreplaceable.' The bottle I got to try this week was a blend of a few hundred whiskeys and was shockingly amazing. Sold! I'm starting my own this week (I bought this decanter to experiment).
• Master your anxiety. Unleash your genius. Actor, author, and director Jesse Eisenberg reveals how anxiety, self-doubt, and fear have served as unlikely catalysts in his career. It is a quick watch that's well worth the 10 minutes of your time.
• Bikeshedding. Word of the week! Also known as Parkinson's Law of Triviality, it is 'our tendency to devote a disproportionate amount of our time to menial and trivial matters while leaving important matters unattended.'
• The Three Styles of Curiosity. This article was a fascinating read that examines different ways we seek out information. The busybody seeks a wide range of information, the hunter focuses on finding targeted answers, and the dancer creatively combines ideas and explores new ways of framing information. Which one are you?
• This page is under construction. A self-described 'love letter to the personal website' and further inspiration on why you should build out your little corner of the internet.
• Controlling the Taylor Swift Eras Tour wristbands with Flipper Zero. Do you still have a wristband from the Eras Tour around? Those wristbands are designed to light up on command, and I bet you didn't know - are reusable. The way these work in a concert, the bands are controlled by a large movable infrared remote control that transmits commands to the wristbands for color changes and effects. Then they are combined with infrared projectors that sweep effects around the stadium and create shapes like hearts using cutouts. Guess what? If you have a Flipper Zero, you can also control them. :)
• Feeling Lost and Unmotivated? Read This.. Feeling lost and unmotivated is something that many people I talk with are experiencing - and it's not a sign of being lazy or broken - it's the world right now. This is an excellent post on some strategies for feeling in a hole and why feeling lost can be good.
• With Great Power Came No Responsibility. Cory Doctorow recently presented an outstanding talk entitled 'With Great Power Came No Responsibility: How Enshittification Conquered the 21st Century and How We Can Overthrow It.'. It is a wonderful talk on how 'laws that protect intellectual property and digital locks hinder competition and repairability, exacerbating enshittification by allowing companies to control markets and limit consumer rights.' You can also watch the talk here.
• Why Is Coffee Called a 'Cup of Joe'?. Coffee is life, and this post has a few ideas on where the term 'cup of joe' originated.
• Leadership. I really enjoyed working with Amber Taylor back in my days at Nike and was delighted to come across this insightful post from her on leadership. There are so many good thought nuggets in this post on how effective leadership is about serving others rather than focusing on oneself — just go read it.
• Every Line Is a Potential Bug. This is a super interesting perspective that every line of code can introduce potential bugs, and developers should avoid writing unnecessary code or optimizations. I've said it before: choose boring technology. I need to update my talk to incorporate this additional context.
• A Love Letter to the Home Computer. This is a beautiful post that resonated with me —a lot of the emotions in here are what got me into computers as a kid.

Amor Fati ✌🏻