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Confidence is high
Wayne Chang was a professor at the University of Waterloo’s entrepreneurship and business program. At the end of classes and emails, he would close off with the statement, “Confidence is high.” In their tributes to him, this motto was one that students recalled and reaffirmed. Wayne passed away months ago, before I found out about…
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Ira Glass, and the gap
A few days ago, I published an essay convincing you to be prolific. I was elaborating on the idea that focusing on quantity will lead to better quality, a lesson I learned in 2013. When I was writing that original post, I came across a useful metaphor from Ira Glass, about how people experience a…
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Vinyl isn’t just about the sound
In 2025, people bought over 45 million vinyl records, spending over $1 billion in the process. What’s more surprising: a stat from 2022 suggests that 50% of vinyl buyers in the US don’t own a record player. To a vinyl collector, this is absurd, and perhaps even heresy. What would a person do with a…
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Why I’m prolific, and why you should be too
In 2013, I came upon an idea that quantity was a reliable way to find quality. It was one of the most useful lessons I have learned, and I’ve aimed to be prolific. It’s why I write every day, and I choose to spend much of my time making as much new work as possible.…
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A house with its own website
The other day, I saw a house for sale with the usual realtor’s name, company, and usual other info, and then a dedicated URL for its address. For example, 123SohoAvenue.com. First of all, this was new to me, which piqued my curiosity. I also liked that it suggested the house deserved its own website, which…
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Obviously AI, totally acceptable
Some people have a policy about AI slop: “If you didn’t write it, I don’t want to read it.” I generally agree, though that kind of work existed before AI anyway. My policy is more like this: If you didn’t put yourself into it, I don’t want to read it. I know a few friends…
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A restaurant’s evolution
Several years ago, if you had lunch or dinner at Kingyo Izakaya, you would likely sit at a table on its main floor. Perhaps your seat would be in part of its big booth, or at the communal dining table with a tank containing the restaurant’s namesake, goldfish, in the middle. You might find yourself…