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Bringing back something I tried a while ago. A once a month round up of little things too small for their own post.

Products, Games, Books and Music

pynb — Python Notebooks Without the FussPython notebooks without the fuss. Fast, local notebooks for data science and machine learning. Privacy-first.pynb

This looks quite cool. I do like notebooks. I'm hopeful it gets both a linux release and the ability to run against local models. I'll keep an eye on it for now.

Stripe Press — MaintenanceAn in-depth exploration of maintenance, and a powerful argument for its civilizational importance.Twitter

This looks amazing. I am sure the content is great and there's that old advice not to judge a book by its cover but surely whoever said that hasn't seen this one.

INTVLINTVL Website

Tried an app called INTVL. Figured it'd be good because I run a lot. I like the concept but the incentives don't really align with the way I run so I can't really see myself getting too into it. Primarily it encourages running big wide loops but not the same loops. Doesn't really align with how I run.

The Strength of the Few (Hierarchy, #2)This highly anticipated follow-up to The Will of the Ma…GoodreadsJames Islington

Finished book 2 in the hierarchy series. I read James Islington's previous books and enjoyed them a lot and I am glad to see the work has gotten even better. There's also a small bit of pride to see an Australian author do so well.

PolarsDataFrames for the new eraOptiver

This one is niche, I'll admit, but Polars feels like a breath of fresh air compared to years of working with Pandas. I do a tonne of data work and have always found pandas mildly annoying in the way it works.

Return of the Obra Dinn on SteamLost at sea 1803 ~ The good ship Obra Dinn.STEAM

After a long hiatus I finished Return of the Obra Dinn. It's a great detective puzzle game and the visuals are one of a kind. If you're into graphics or game dev there are also a bunch of posts form the developers on how they achieved it's signature feel.

Link Collection

A Social Filesystem — overreactedFormats over apps.

This post blew up a little across Bluesky (naturally) and sites like Hacker News. The topic itself is quite interesting but I loved the writing style here. It breaks a fairly complex topic down into something easy to understand.

Mostly GrowthMostly Growth is a podcast from Mostly Media where go-to-market strategist Kyle Poyar and CFO CJ Gustafson break down how modern companies make money. Each episode focuses on pricing, monetization, and benchmarks—translated into clear tactics and playbooks you can actually use. Built for finance, product, and sales operators who want to think like owners and be the CEO of their role.YouTube

This podcast should have a lot more views. Kyle and CJ do a great job and have interviewed some very interesting people. If you are at all adjacent to growth or sales I recommend checking it out.

Some notes on starting to use DjangoSome notes on starting to use DjangoJulia EvansJulia Evans

I've tried a lot of different web app packages over the years but consistently finding myself back using Django. Reading about Julia's experience as a beginner reminded me of all the things that make Django great. I know the web world is mostly javascript these days but Django remains a great way to build web apps.

Little Ideas

• Putting a long sleeve shirt over a t-shirt is an unreasonably effective way to look less casually dressed.
• I've been playing the first Ni No Kuni game in Japanese trying to aid my learning a little. It is amazing how quickly you can feel like you know nothing.

In Case you missed it (my posts)

How to, mostly, guarantee success in your careerOver my career so far I have done a lot of different things. I’ve written code, designed PCBs and MRI machines, run Google ads, been out on the road doing sales and managed teams doing all of the above. Overall, regardless of the job at hand, I think I’ve foundElliot C SmithElliot SmithThings I changed my mind about in 2025It’s still the tail end of January so I am going to use this time as an excuse to sneak in a ’2025 reflection’ type post. This could easily be just about things I’ve changed my mind on recently but I figure I’ll use the new year as a framework.Elliot C SmithElliot SmithHas AI removed the appeal of vertical SaaS?Let’s put aside for a moment the question of ‘is AI bad for humanity’ and accept that it is a thing that exists in the world. Particularly in the world of ‘tool that writes code’. Right now, for circa $200 a month you can buy a tool that can writeElliot C SmithElliot SmithPlaying around with Google StitchThis week I spent some time using Google Stitch, an AI chat interface for product mock ups. There are a lot of these kind of products, Figma has one, so does Canva. Stitch is the first one I’ve used that is filling a real need for me. That need? ProducingElliot C SmithElliot Smith