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. ...

Why you might live forever, and what to do about it.

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 intrigued by the world of quantitative trading for many years, so when ex-Jane Street trader Ricki Heicklen ran a trading bootcamp at Manifest recently, I jumped at the opportunity! The bootcamp was a two-day intensive program designed to teach the fundamentals of quantitative trading and provide a glimpse into the experience of being a professional trader. Using a play currency, we went through various hands-on exercises to solidify concepts taught in energetically-delivered lectures. I learned a lot and made friends, and had so much fun that I’m considering a career pivot to quant trading. So, this post has two purposes: to give interested readers some background in trading concepts and a sense of my bootcamp experience, and to serve as a proof of work showing potential employers what I learned. ...

For to make more tasty!

The lessons I had to unlearn to get things done.