This is a guest post by my friend Cynthia. If you’d also like to host your writing here, reach out! Feeling overwhelmed by endless beauty advice? Confused by 12-step skincare routines and wondering if you really need to contour your way to attractiveness? You don’t. This guide cuts through the noise to give you the essentials - the 20% of effort that delivers 80% of the results. Whether you’re a complete beginner or just want to streamline your routine, these fundamentals will have you looking and feeling great without the overwhelm. ...

It’s halfway through Quiethaven at LessOnline, an hour where conversation is forbidden to encourage writing. I’ve been meaning to publish more content here, but often find myself bottlenecked on writing speed. The ideas bounce around my head, but it’s daunting to sit down and write a whole post, so the posts don’t get written and the blog stays more barren than I’d like. I’ve been thinking and talking about how to publish more, and this post will both describe and apply my conclusions. I intend to occasionally read this post as a reminder to myself, and if you enjoy it as well, so much the better. Here’s how I’ll publish more content on my blog: ...

I brewed a Historic deck recently that I call Ritual of Change. It’s a lot of fun to play, and it’s taken me to Diamond in Best-of-1 Ranked! In this post, I’ll share the decklist and some notes on building/playing the deck. The Decklist Creatures (32) 4 Birds of Paradise 4 Burning‑Tree Emissary 2 Charming Prince 4 Fear of Change 4 Prosperous Innkeeper 2 Abhorrent Oculus 4 Extraction Specialist 4 Renegade Rallier 4 Skyclave Apparition Enchantments (4) 4 Birthing Ritual Instants (4) 4 Collected Company Lands (20) 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 2 Botanical Sanctum 2 Breeding Pool 4 Brushland 1 Forest 1 Island 1 Mana Confluence 1 Plains 1 Prismatic Vista 1 Razorverge Thicket 3 Temple Garden 2 Yavimaya Coast The Design This deck is originally based on a Pioneer deck by my friend Josh, but it’s gone through several iterations from that starting point. Since I’m playing Historic rather than Pioneer, I have access to a couple of key cards that pushed the deck in a different direction (and gave the deck its name): Birthing Ritual and Fear of Change. ...

Edit 2025-06-16: When I wrote this post, I was still only considering work in software engineering, where I have professional experience. The discussion of my values still very much holds, but that clarity has led me to broaden my horizons. For instance, after finding it very rewarding to volunteer for community events, I’ve been considering a pivot to generalist ops work. To me, the core message of this post is that I should seek work where I feel alive, wherever that ends up taking me. ...

Inspired by some other blogs I like, I decided I wanted to add hovering previews to the footnotes on my own site1. This turned out to be surprisingly complex! First, I asked ChatGPT for a simple plug-and-play solution. When it didn’t have one and the code it suggested didn’t work, I turned to Manicode. Sadly for me, Manicode also struggled; despite several iterations of prompting and troubleshooting, Manicode couldn’t find a solution that worked. I was going to have to dive into the issue myself. ...

I’ve been making fried rice for several years, and it’s gotten a lot better since I started. Here are my tips for a delicious fried rice. 1. Use a Wok: The high edges of a wok make vigorous stirring easier and reducing spillage. 2. High Heat: In Asian kitchens, chefs use special high-heat burners for cooking, so use the maximum heat on your home stove. 3. Lots of Butter: Butter gives a better flavor than oil, as well as keeping the wok greased. Add butter before most ingredients and more whenever you feel like it. ...

In my life, I have spent three years working full-time as a software engineer. Before that, I spent almost twenty as a student in formal education. My education prepared me in many ways for my life and career, and on the whole has been a great advantage. However, the structure of formal education taught me a pattern of thinking that I realized has held me back as a professional. In this post, I’ll examine this pattern, which I name “school mindset”, and how it can be a hindrance in the professional world. I’ll delve into my personal experiences and offer my insights on how to transition from a school mindset to a more effective professional mindset. ...