PinnedOne month of building GoodJobsAbout a month ago, I finished up the MVP for GoodJobs, and deployed it to the world. GoodJobs is a job board that lists positions at companies trying to solve problems like food insecurity and climate change, among other important things. This is a project I’ve really enjoyed working on…Jobs5 min read
Jun 8, 2021I’ve almost quit my successful side project several timesSome thoughts on the emotional aspect of building side projects, two months in. — I’m Austin and I built GoodJobs. Over the two months I’ve been working on it, it’s seen some pretty good success, and it’s been a lot of fun to work on. It’s been front-page on HackerNews, generated tons of great discussion on reddit, and a company has even paid me…Entrepreneurship4 min read
Jun 3, 2020Finding Freelance Work as a New DeveloperIf you’re looking for a job at a company trying to save the world, checkout GoodJobs. It’s a job board with hand-picked engineering positions at companies trying to fix problems like climate-change and food insecurity. I had someone reach out recently about advice for new programmers who want to freelance…Programming4 min read
May 29, 2020Do Significant WorkThe Stripe Press just published a beautiful reprint of Richard Hamming’s The Art of Doing Science and Engineering, which led me (and quite a few others, I imagine) to read some of his work for the first time. …Engineering2 min read
May 28, 2020You’re not ready. Do it anywayIn Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman, Richard Feynman talks about spending a summer at Caltech to “Just try out biology”, a field he was completely untrained in and unfamiliar with: …I went over to the biology lab to tell them my desire, and Bob Edgar, a young postdoc who was…Productivity2 min read
Jan 5, 2020What I Read in 2019Inspired by Fogus’s “The Best Things and Stuff of 201X” posts, I decided to try something similar. Here is a list outlining some reading I did this year, and my thoughts on it. Non-technical books How to Read A Book — This was definitely the most impactful book I read this year…Reading4 min read
Dec 16, 2019Learn, Apply, Teach, Repeat: Guidelines for Technical LearningI’m very interested in improving my ability to learn technical concepts efficiently. In this article, I’ll go over the heuristics I’ve found that work well for me: Read actively, use multiple sources/formats, work at memorizing, apply the concepts, and finally teach. It all started with the observation (one I’m sure…7 min read
Nov 30, 2019Rust in 2020: LearningThis post is a response to the Rust core team’s call for blogs. It will outline some of my thoughts about learning the Rust Programming Language, and how I think 2020 should be a year focused on adding to the quantity and quality of learning resources available. I don’t yet…Programming4 min read
Oct 11, 2019Blizzard, Hong Kong, and the Question of Ownership in Digital GamesWhat do you do when they control all the cards? Blizzard has indicated its pro-Chinese stance on the current political struggle in Hong Kong. This highlights an issue regarding ownership in digital games: Blizzard (like other game companies) controls all digital assets associated with their IP. Hearthstone is one example…Cryptocurrency6 min read
Aug 12, 2019The Steve Wozniak Guide to Building Better SoftwareSoftware development insights from the man who started the personal computing revolution — Looking for a job at a company trying to save the world? Check out GoodJobs. It’s a job board I built with hand-picked engineering positions at companies trying to fix problems like climate-change and food insecurity. There are a few icons in the history of personal computing that programmers like…Tech6 min read
