This media is not supported in your browser
VIEW IN TELEGRAM
On a way to botanical garden
Yesterday found a great resource for building popular technologies from scratch. Right now, I am doing one on building my own HTTP server in Python. This is something they never teach at school and helps to stay sharp at work. It's also fun - I am doing it while on vacation!
Check it out, and use my referral link (so you and I get 1 week for free): https://app.codecrafters.io/r/healthy-macaw-588976
Check it out, and use my referral link (so you and I get 1 week for free): https://app.codecrafters.io/r/healthy-macaw-588976
CodeCrafters
The Software Pro's Best Kept Secret.
Real-world proficiency projects designed for experienced engineers. Develop software craftsmanship by recreating popular devtools from scratch.
So I’ve been thinking for a day on this idea. Let’s see if it’s worth building it.
https://gift-genius-landing.vercel.app/
https://gift-genius-landing.vercel.app/
gift-genius-landing.vercel.app
GiftGenius - Never Forget a Birthday or the Perfect Gift
GiftGenius helps you keep track of birthdays, suggest thoughtful gifts, and manage your gift budget all in one place.
It’s wild how fast you can build something with Claude + Cursor in just a day. I started putting up a frontend for the above app, and in just one hour, I felt like I had an MVP.
At the same time, I don’t see it being used in my day-to-day work, especially at Amazon. It’s suitable for building something quick from scratch, but once you start to add more complex features and make sure you cover all sorts of edge cases – AI begins to make everything worse, adding unnecessary lines of code and slipping out on simple bugs.
At the same time, I don’t see it being used in my day-to-day work, especially at Amazon. It’s suitable for building something quick from scratch, but once you start to add more complex features and make sure you cover all sorts of edge cases – AI begins to make everything worse, adding unnecessary lines of code and slipping out on simple bugs.
I've been experiencing a deep nostalgia for Hawaii lately, and it's led me to an interesting realization: vacationing as an adult hits differently. There's this profound awareness that you could completely transform your life with a single decision. It's a feeling I never had as a student, when life seemed more structured and tied to specific places and timeframes.
The beauty of adulthood lies in its flexibility – the freedom to switch careers, relocate for work, or completely reinvent yourself. While watching the sunset over the Pacific, I found myself contemplating the digital nomad lifestyle. The idea of working remotely, free to travel anywhere without time constraints, felt particularly appealing in that moment.
When I shared these thoughts with my girlfriend, she made an insightful observation that gave me pause. She suggested that I probably wouldn't have felt the same deep relaxation and comfort during my Hawaiian vacation if I had been working remotely. It's a valid point – traveling for vacation versus work creates fundamentally different experiences. Speaking from personal experience, the mental shift between work mode and vacation mode isn't instantaneous; it requires time and intentional effort to truly disconnect.
Yet, what works for one person might not work for another. Some people take it to the extreme. My skydiving instructor turned out to be Russian-speaking, and we got to chat during the session. He told me he'd been a skydiving instructor for 23 years, but before that worked as an investment banker. He realized he wasn't enjoying his life doing that job, so he decided to move to Hawaii and become a skydiving instructor instead.
For now, I'm back to my regular routine, but that dream of becoming a digital nomad hasn't quite faded away. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to make it work in my own way.
The beauty of adulthood lies in its flexibility – the freedom to switch careers, relocate for work, or completely reinvent yourself. While watching the sunset over the Pacific, I found myself contemplating the digital nomad lifestyle. The idea of working remotely, free to travel anywhere without time constraints, felt particularly appealing in that moment.
When I shared these thoughts with my girlfriend, she made an insightful observation that gave me pause. She suggested that I probably wouldn't have felt the same deep relaxation and comfort during my Hawaiian vacation if I had been working remotely. It's a valid point – traveling for vacation versus work creates fundamentally different experiences. Speaking from personal experience, the mental shift between work mode and vacation mode isn't instantaneous; it requires time and intentional effort to truly disconnect.
Yet, what works for one person might not work for another. Some people take it to the extreme. My skydiving instructor turned out to be Russian-speaking, and we got to chat during the session. He told me he'd been a skydiving instructor for 23 years, but before that worked as an investment banker. He realized he wasn't enjoying his life doing that job, so he decided to move to Hawaii and become a skydiving instructor instead.
For now, I'm back to my regular routine, but that dream of becoming a digital nomad hasn't quite faded away. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to make it work in my own way.
Abekek Notes
So I’ve been thinking for a day on this idea. Let’s see if it’s worth building it. https://gift-genius-landing.vercel.app/
Those who joined the waitlist are now allowlisted for the app: https://gift-genius-app.vercel.app/
Google auth is just for permissions management for now. Only simple stuff is implemented and no backend involved, i.e. don’t expect sync through different devices cause I did not use database yet.
Treat it as v.0.1
Google auth is just for permissions management for now. Only simple stuff is implemented and no backend involved, i.e. don’t expect sync through different devices cause I did not use database yet.
Treat it as v.0.1
gift-genius-app.vercel.app
GiftGenius - Birthday & Gift Management
Track birthdays, manage gifts, and stay within budget.
Abekek Notes
It’s wild how fast you can build something with Claude + Cursor in just a day. I started putting up a frontend for the above app, and in just one hour, I felt like I had an MVP. At the same time, I don’t see it being used in my day-to-day work, especially…
Btw even if it did work well in the workplace, that would be a huge productivity boost but a career suicide.
It’s like using alcohol to fall asleep. You probably will fall asleep much better, but do that for a couple of years, and you will be fucked up.
It’s like using alcohol to fall asleep. You probably will fall asleep much better, but do that for a couple of years, and you will be fucked up.
Сейчас в Амазоне работаю над новым продуктом. Получаю огромный кайф от того, что нужно всё строить с нуля, и чувствую что мне очень повезло с этим.
Обычно когда приходишь в команду с уже готовым продуктом, становится тяжело догонять людей по знаниям системы. Вне зависимости от того сколько документации прочёл, сложно дойти до экспертизы человека который был на пороге всех решений для продукта.
Сейчас создавая что-то с нуля, я чувствую что у меня есть agency, и я могу влиять на design choices. Ну и к тому же, за всего лишь неделю я узнал больше чем за последние 6-7 месяцев.
Ещё в последнее время работаю с 9 утра до 7 вечера в офисе. Иду домой и вместо отдыха (или в качестве) читаю документацию (не официальную, а просто статьи и видео на чилле). В основном изучаю networking: NLB, ALB, TLS, VPC, subnets, private links, etc. Довольно интересная вещь.
Обычно когда приходишь в команду с уже готовым продуктом, становится тяжело догонять людей по знаниям системы. Вне зависимости от того сколько документации прочёл, сложно дойти до экспертизы человека который был на пороге всех решений для продукта.
Сейчас создавая что-то с нуля, я чувствую что у меня есть agency, и я могу влиять на design choices. Ну и к тому же, за всего лишь неделю я узнал больше чем за последние 6-7 месяцев.
Ещё в последнее время работаю с 9 утра до 7 вечера в офисе. Иду домой и вместо отдыха (или в качестве) читаю документацию (не официальную, а просто статьи и видео на чилле). В основном изучаю networking: NLB, ALB, TLS, VPC, subnets, private links, etc. Довольно интересная вещь.
Abekek Notes
This is the next big thing: https://labs.amazon.science/blog/nova-act
Somehow already got access to it. Really cool stuff – it was able to order Whole Foods order based on my past purchases with me just describing how to do it.
Осталось совсем немного до релиза нашего продукта. Команда работает на все 200%.
Сам каждый день наверное работаю по 12 часов. И даже не потому что надо или заставляют, а просто хочется работать над продуктом, дорабатывать, любым способом сделать вклад в его основание.
И так с каждым членом команды. Захожу в Slack, и даже в пятницу вечером люди пушат код, менеджеры сидят онлайн до полуночи.
Вообще нет ощущения что работаешь в big tech, вайб больше как у стартапа. И по идее это кайф. Если бы был выбор между «break things, and move fast» и медленным, скоординированным и наперед запланированным software development, я бы выбрал первое.
Сам каждый день наверное работаю по 12 часов. И даже не потому что надо или заставляют, а просто хочется работать над продуктом, дорабатывать, любым способом сделать вклад в его основание.
И так с каждым членом команды. Захожу в Slack, и даже в пятницу вечером люди пушат код, менеджеры сидят онлайн до полуночи.
Вообще нет ощущения что работаешь в big tech, вайб больше как у стартапа. И по идее это кайф. Если бы был выбор между «break things, and move fast» и медленным, скоординированным и наперед запланированным software development, я бы выбрал первое.