Blog Archive

Journalism

I couldn't agree more with Jim Nielsen. I fully resonate with him, ultimately confirming his points—it's a bit circular as a thought, but it's true nonetheless.

The Importance of Constraints

The story of Unix's almost legendary creation goes like this: In 1969, Ken Thompson, an engineer at Bell Labs, decided to write his own operating system. He accomplished this in just over a month while his wife, Bonnie, and infant son, Corey, were visiting family in San Diego.

The power of habits

Habits are human automation, meaning a chain of responses to a specific stimulus, event, or situation. When we first get into a car, we struggle to change speed, look in the mirror, check all the electronics on the dashboard, and get ready to drive.

Running in the rain

It’s raining—heavily this time, as it usually does with rain in Athens nowadays. After many autumn and winter days with no rain at all, this feels unusual (or usual, depending on whether you look forward or backward). And it’s cold outside, so I don’t know how I managed to get out and start running, even though I could easily have avoided it.

Giving blood

At the hospital, preparing to give blood to a relative. They say that since hospitals, as we know them, were formed in the industrial era, they resemble factories—humans as machines. We need to repair a part each time, and if there are many concurrent issues, a flow between departments and specialized personnel must be followed. This system has served and continues to serve us well, but…

An exercise mat

An exercise mat could transform into a magic carpet that flies or protects you from the lava beneath. It should help you avoid the balls or balloons chasing you viciously, trying to erase you. As Pac-Man eats the dots, it doesn't just remove some pixels but sends them to non-existence. The sickle will protect us as we fight zombies, whether they live in water or not. Don’t hesitate when you see the enemy; either run or fight. This sword has superpowers and transports you to a new dimension, and the blanket on the table will be our shelter for now.

On tracking

We have "spoiled" everyday life. By "we," I mean positivist/technology/engineer-minded individuals who tend to measure everything—calories, watts, kilometers, GPS and sleep cycles, as well as song counts, video subscriptions, or minutes spent on a mobile app. What types of food did we log? What does the heart rate monitor show about the variation of our heart rate when we are at rest?

To blog or not to blog?

For the past 15 years, I've always tried or thought about running a blog, but I always failed. Initially, this domain shared my thoughts on open-source and technology topics that I found interesting. Later, after I began freelancing as a web developer, it served more as a showcase of my projects. In either case, the motivation for writing and maintaining a blog wasn't enough to keep it going—until now. At least, that's what I hope, and this is my intention.