Retrieval-First Note Organization

Organizing information using folders and topic tags eventually breaks, because the thing that determines where information belongs isn't what it's about; It's how you'll need it back. Here is a small classification schema whose types are built around how information in a knowledge base is actually retrieved.

We Are All Prompt Engineers Now

“Are you a human being or a chatbot?” “We are a chat agent”

This was an actual chat conversation snippet between me and a customer service .. entity! Did I just interact with chatbot or a human being who was constrained to following a strict script? Was I stupid enough that I failed a Turing test? I have so many questions! Maybe you, dear reader, can figure this one out?

Optimally Learning a New Programming Language

“If you already know some programming language/framework X, what are effective ways to rapidly learn a possibly similar new language/framework?” I found myself pondering this question recently. Wouldn’t it be nice to discover a system to learn something new that optimally exploits what you already know?

Falling Leaves

When no wind at all
ruffles the Kiri tree
leaves fall of their own will.
–Nozawa Bonchō (1640-1714), loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Glass Window

A single pane of glass
protects me from icy winds
who is more fragile?

I protect the glass
In turn, the glass protects me
Perfect symbiosis!

Beauty

I try in vain to stem the tide
To see in stillness beauty untold
I try in vain to slow the ride
Not knowing
Beauty lies in how things unfold!

Eggshells

Ever so fragile
These eggshells I’m walking on
With thundering feet.

Storm

Storm

Windshield wipers strain
to clear my view but the storm
is on the inside