Meet Miles Cooper (named by my nephews after some spiderman guy or some superheroes). This one belongs to my sister and he is so adorable. Only 2 months and he is already 7kg, and sooo cute!

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Sometimes we get caught up focusing on a single tech, only to later realize that many others have matured in parallel. I think a skill that is rare and important is the ability to mix and match these innovations in hardware, software, AI and other fields in order to advance our original work. But that would also mean we would have to relearn on a system level while understanding each tech independently to integrate effectively. It's definitely not an easy feat which is why its rare, but I think interdisciplinary thinking often drives transformative innovations, and to achieve this, curiosity, agility, creativity and resilience is key

The AI space is growing exponentially - like inception, tech building building tech, or a prelude to AGI

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Amjad Masad (@amasad) on X

AI is incredible at writing code. But that's not enough to create software. You need to set up a dev environment, install packages, configure DB, ...

One of the greatest feelings is doing something kind for someone who will never know it was you. Spread a bit of kindness today, you never know who needs it. A little bit of goodness in life goes a long way ❤️

The recent release of the "founder mode" concept by Paul Graham has stirred quite a debate esp from the ‘manager mode’ groups. It’s true that at scale-up, your standard VC advice would be to “hire good people and let them do the job” - most VCs believe that it is your WD 40 fix for scale-ups. But it’s also true that if left unchecked, the calibration and alignment between team members might drift, which affects the mission of the business. There are some examples of how “founder mode” operates. In Steve Jobs' "Top 100" retreat, regardless of where they are in the company hierarchy, the top 100 performers were invited to a retreat with Jobs. And because it's a special thing, it fostered a startup-like hustle for employees to be among the top achievers. Elon Musk’s approach to founder mode involves trimming and sharpening the team. He also gives them a sense of ownership with responsibility - to see what he sees - and reshape as quickly as needed. Jack’s trend I believe is more agile as he switches between founder mode and manager mode, as and when needed. His philosophy from what I read, emphasizes not just finding great people, but those who are passionate about the mission and capable of working well together (non-toxic) in reaching the goals. My personal view is that there is no cookie cutter fix or a one-size-fits-all solution between "manager mode" and "founder mode." Early-stage entrepreneurs building products will eventually shift to building businesses. Some will embrace this shift, others won’t. Some will be great in both roles, others may struggle. At a scale up business, the dynamic changes and the momentum is different - which explains why Zuckerberg shifted from “move fast and break things” to a more measured approach - focus on speed but with caution. At the same time, at the scale-up stage, companies want to preserve startup culture, so large corporations often advocate for "corporate startups," which are hybrids of traditional startups and corporate R&D. They have the rebellious spirit and agility of traditional startups but are funded by a parent company. Many has worked tremendously well such as Block’s Spiral, which developed LDK independently (without direction from parent company) and later benefited the company’s core business, Cash App. Some didn’t work as well, like Google’s EV car initiative. I've worked as both a corporate engineering manager and a startup entrepreneur, and they both have very diff strategy, speed, focus and goals. Scale-up is like a combo but a million times harder as it comes with immense responsibility in growing the business and expanding the team efficiently, and managing shareholders, all while being innovative and strategic in business-building, just as you would be in building the product. One part that fascinated me about the essay is the 3 phases the founders go through. - At first you listen to the VC (because you are clueless at initial stages) . - Then you go against them (because their advice is not working for you, something doesnt feel right) - and finally, the VCs end up listening to you (because your strategy is successfully scaling up your business). By the time you reach stage 3, you are likely wiser with all the experiences. But most founders will struggle to get past stage 1 and 2 for various reasons. I’ve enjoyed all of Paul Graham’s essays. He explains both high-level concepts and low-level no-brainers with clarity (I need both). And rather timeless too, some essays from 18 years ago are still so relevant today. This one has induced a big debate which is great because the VC rigid world needs a bit of a shake up now and then. Check it out -

Founder Mode

This was a good book and a quick read - The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz 1. Be impeccable with your word Words are powerful tools. Use them to share love, uplift others. Avoid gossip, it is poison. Be impeccable with words to yourself too 2. Do not take anything personally Taking things personally is a form of selfishness, as it assumes everything is about "me." People's opinions are shaped by their own experiences and perspectives. If someone doesn’t treat you with respect, it’s a gift to part ways. Your heart will heal, and you will find that you don’t need to trust others as much as you need to trust yourself to make the right choices. 3. Do not make assumptions Assumptions lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary drama. We make assumptions because we don’t have the courage to ask questions. Love is accepting other people the way they are without trying to change them. 4. Always do your best Under any circumstances, do your best - no more, no less. True fulfillment comes from action, not the expectation of rewards. You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Mastery comes through repetition, practice makes perfect. If you fall, stand up and keep going and each time it will become easier. Let go of the past and live fully in the moment. Other good reminders at the end of the book : - True freedom is the ability to use our mind and body to live our lives instead of conforming to a belief system imposed upon us. - A warrior rebels against the invasion of the mind's parasite. To be free, face fears, stop feeding them, and live life to its fullest. - At the very least, have the dignity of rebellion, and not be a helpless victim of our own whimsical emotions or the poisonous emotions of others. - We are often addicted to our own patterns - anger, jealousy, self-pity - and the limiting beliefs that tell us we are not good enough. We need to let it go and embrace new form of repetition fueled with self-love and self-respect. - The big difference between a warrior and a victim is that the victim represses, and the warrior refrains. Victims repress because they are afraid to show their emotions, afraid to say what they want to say. To refrain is not the same thing as repression. To refrain is to hold the emotions and to express them in the right moment, not before, not later. That is why warriors are impeccable. They have complete control over their own emotions and therefore over their own behavior. - Happiness is a choice

Sometimes I write thoughts down at the end of a long day based on experience or observation. It serves as a self reminder. These are some from the last few months : You can’t control others, but you can control yourself. Saying no sets boundaries. Saying yes opens doors. Finding the balance makes all the difference. Those who do exceedingly well are laser focused on reaching end-goals. Those who don’t, are often focused on everyone else’s problems. Only help people who are willing to help themselves Personal attacks happen when one lacks constructive or substantial input in a discussion i.e they don’t know enough I deeply appreciate people who don’t make every conversation about themselves, especially when they have a lot going on but choose to put others first. If you are bitching about someone you love, either publicly or to your friends, you take away their dignity, because of your lack of emotional control. If you need to feel loved by making someone jealous, then you are in a toxic relationship (and you might be the toxic one) Distancing yourself from environments, people or triggers that fuel insecurity allows for better self-reflection and emotional growth Knowledge boosts confidence. Men harass women. Women harass men too. The fault is not men. The fault is harassment Unsolicited advice often falls on deaf ears, especially if the person is not in a mindset to embrace change. If you are ready for change, you will be after people you look up to for advises, tips and tricks. Surround yourself with people who find ways to make their lives better - be it health, thoughts, financially, growth and more. Be with people who bring out the best out of you, not the worst out of you. Likewise, be someone who brings out the best out of someone else. You are who you chose to engage in conversations with. Remember to relax the brain. Laughter is the best medicine. Never settle for a checklist. Happiness is the goal. If you love, just love. Peace of mind is the most precious thing in the world. Sometimes, if you need to walk away, best to walk away quietly. Love this pic from LadybugArt

Nanotech is so schroedinger - simple but complex. To create a tiny tiny piece of nanoscale sheet (1x10^-9 in width, length and height), you need cross-disciplinary knowledge in physics, bio and chemistry. They say if you want to be real good, your basics must be solid. In nanotech, your basics go down to atom levels. And if you think quantum is already small, nanotech gives you quantum dot. And they even call it zero dimension. And if you want to be real bad, you can manipulate nanomaterials to change their colors. Of course industry patented blue light but no reason why you can’t recreate red light therapy with it. Nanotech is so small, one can even inject tiny robots (nanobots) into you to combat cellular-level diseases. Just make sure it’s out. And if you use sunscreen, you have nano materials absorbing into your skin through zinc oxide nanoparticles. It’s supposedly large enough not to penetrate all the way in, and remains in your outer layer - but oh boy. One of the most surprising learnings is using cultured bacteria and virus to create organic nanotech materials. But the more common ones are the ones made out of carbon and metal structures like graphene. At nanoscale, materials often have a higher surface to volume ratio, which means the atoms hangs out on the surface - which is why it can be really thin and super conductive. This led to the ultra-tiny super electronic circuits, some even smaller than a fingernail. And much like decentralization, nanomaterials has unique electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties individually - as opposed to being lumped up together in bulk counterparts. My take is that nanotech is like a remix of basic electronics and electromagnetic theory. You def need the fundamentals, but the applications are an entirely different ballgame But I am amazed at how something so small can be so powerful. There’s so much potentials in mastering miniaturisation.

Biggest religion : “There is no more persistent and influential faith in the world today than the faith in government spending.” Biggest Industry : “Printing money is the world’s biggest industry - if the product is measured in monetary terms.” — Henry Hazlitt, Economics in One Lesson, 1946 I picked up this book over the weekend. It's a quick and easy to read kinda book, and very enlightening. Henry Hazlitt (1894-1993) was a socialist turned libertarian - who, with his high school education - went on to become one of the most influential writers and editors in major media outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and authored many books. He was also a good friend of Ludwig von Mises and played a big role in introducing Misses and his ideas to the American public. He got Mises a teaching position in the US when he fled Europe during WW2. Given Hazlitt’s libertarian thoughts, he was against war and gov’t spending. But as much as he embraced capitalism, he did not advocate for excessive, unbridled capitalism - and I think this nuance deserves deeper consideration in today’s world.

Romance : Petrichor - the fresh, earthy smell after it rains Spoiler : The smell is a combination of geosmin, produced by bacteria that is used to decompose in the soil (actinobacteria), and ground-level ozone layer which is harmful to the respiratory system, and plant oil released to the soil

If you‘ve tried to fix your laser printers, you would have spotted several parts like rollers, brushes and a tiny mirror when you open it. Static electricity might seem to have limited use-cases, but laser printers make the most out of it. When you send a doc to print, your pc sends a signal to the printer. A laser beam is directed to a mirror and will trace out the words you typed. This mirror is reflected to a cylindrical drum which is coated with light-sensitive material (like selenium). The areas where the laser hits the drum become negatively charged. Next to the drum is the toner filled with powder. It has a brush and when it rolls on it, it becomes positively charged, and is attracted to the negatively traced out words on the drum. The paper then passes through, where the toner powdered words are transferred to it and finally will be heated up to melt the toner and bond to the paper - before it comes out of the printer. Man so many things going in there - I have never been able to do a major fix for a printer - this has become a painful use and throw situation.