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September 2022 - Fall is Here 🎃

nathanthomas.substack.com

September 2022 - Fall is Here 🎃

Nathan Thomas
Oct 1, 2022
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Before writing this section, I read back through my personal journal from the last month.

I recommend you keep a journal, by the way; stream-of-consciousness writing sheds a lot of light on the dusty corners of your mind that you're unknowingly struggling with.

They say that we all go through seasons in our lives. I'm in one right now, and I can feel the leaves start to change. The wind is moving through the trees.

Some of you might be able to relate.

I've also heard it said that unhappiness in life results from the differences between our expectations and what actually happens to us.

Keep yourself open to change.

Keep yourself open to adapting to life.

If you do this, I think you'll find more peace and happiness on your journey.

--

Nathan ☕️


Articles/News

"Starting a Startup" by Julian Shapiro

I found this guide early on in the last month, and I think it's filled with tips on building your own startup.

"On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs" by David Graeber

My co-worker recommended this article to me recently, and it is the pre-cursor to the book David Graeber wrote on the same subject. It's filled with poignant insights to the existential problems with work we're all dealing with these days.

Books

"The Power Broker" by Robert Moses

I LOVE this book so far. It's absolutely massive (at 1,344 pages), but it reads like a thrilling novel at times and a lesson from history at others. Furthermore, you end up not liking the protagonist as he becomes a true-to-life villain. I picked this book up after hearing many people talk about how much they enjoyed it, and I'd highly recommend it.

"Attached" by Amir Levine

The VP of Product at Loom recommended this book to me as something that she had really appreciated in her own life, so I picked it up. It explains so much about the way many of us have approached relationships in our lives; it also explains how to try to change that pattern. If this sounds like something you need, you should check it out too.

"The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov

Only 9 pages long, I'd somehow never read this sci-fi short story by Isaac Asimov (despite the fact I love sci-fi). It's easy to read in one sitting and make you think. Highly recommend.

Code

Custom NFT Contract (by me)

I finally deployed an NFT contract this month that I wrote this summer (when deployment costs were high). I also minted an NFT with it and have it as my Twitter profile picture right now if you want to check it out.

You can go directly to Etherscan if you want to mint an NFT from it as well. It's open for all to use (with a small, tiny fee built into the contract for using it to mint).

Big Deno Changes

Deno, a new(ish) runtime for JavaScript, got a big update this last month. Here's the blog post talking all about it.

AWS Reference Architecture Diagrams

I discovered that AWS has a ton of free architecture diagrams on their site; I'm now using these to bone up on system design and architecture. I recommend you check them out as well!

"Story of Fast.ai" by Jeremy Howard

Some of you know that I've been learning how to build neural networks and do deep computer vision learning from Fast.ai. It's been a ride so far, and Jeremy Howard is a leader in the community who gave this great talk in 2020 on the backstory of Fast.ai and "why Python is not the future of ML."

Games

Colt Express (board game)

Have you ever wanted (in your heart) to rob a train? Now you can.

Colt Express is a phenomenal game where you and your friends compete to steal money on a train that's roaring towards the station. You can take turns making (sometimes secret) moves while trying to stay one step ahead of the sheriff on board.

Music

"Billie Troppy" by Men I Trust

One of my favorite band finds from 2020, Men I Trust released this single just a few days ago from their upcoming album. The bassline absolutely rips (Apple Music and Spotify).

Videos

Breakdown of Figma's Sale to Adobe by Garry Tan

Figma, a leader in the design space (especially in Tech), was bought this month by Adobe for $20 billion. Here's a great breakdown of their journey from Garry Tan.

Implications of Machine Learning by Jeremy Howard

This is a great (although old) TedX talk from 2014 by Jeremy Howard, founder of Fast.ai. Machine Learning is already very different from this talk, but it still provides a great window into where computer vision and machine learning are headed.

"AI for the Next Era" by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman

This interview on stage with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (the company behind GPT-3 and DALL-E, among many other advancements) covers a lot of ground, but is still a fascinating glimpse into the mind of someone at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence.

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