A Practical Definition of [Software] Design
Every application is a collection of code; the code’s arrangement is the design. Two isolated programmers, even when they share common ideas about design, can be relied upon to solve the same problem by arranging code in different ways. Design is not an assembly line where similarly trained workers construct identical widgets; it’s a studio where like-minded artists sculpt custom applications.
Design is thus an art, the art of arranging code.
- from Practical Object-Oriented Design - An Agile Primer Using Ruby, by Sandi Metz
GM!
Great thinkin' for non-technical user-facing Nostr design:
"Omacom stands for Omakase Computing. The word Omakase means "I'll leave it up to you" or "chef's choice" in Japanese.
"It's the idea that most people don't actually know what they want, at least not at first. That they're better off getting something beautifully curated and integrated from someone they trust to make competent, tasteful decisions rather than suffer from the paradox of choice.
"It's the same principle that Ruby on Rails was built on.
"It doesn't mean there isn't room for substitutions. It doesn't mean you can't develop your own taste and opinions. It just means that when you're starting out, you don't even have to know what all the different options are to enjoy an integrated, cohesive computing experience.
"Once you develop your competence and knowledge, you may well want to tinker and tailor your computing environment to your specific liking. Or not! Plenty of great programmers prefer to stick with a set of well-maintained defaults. But you always have the option.
"In some ways, this is anathema to some branches of classic Linux culture. Where there's been a strong belief that everyone should know everything about all of their tools, and that they should preferably configure every last one from them from scratch.
"The irony is that this atomized approach is exactly what's allowed Omacom, and Omarchy in particular, to put it all together in a delightfully integrated way! And what's allowing you to make tiny substitutions on the parts where you have a strong opinion without having to give up on the rest of the omakase menu.
"Besides, the wonderful thing about Linux is that there's always another option. If you don't like my opinions, my omakase menus, you'll find a hundred other chef's catering to your liking. Isn't that great?"
Omakase Computing · Omacom · DHH
GM!
Just removed 8,000 lines of code from the micro-frontend I own at my fiat job. Scrapped an old, highly-custom build pipeline (in favor of Vite 🥳), and a bunch of old legacy crap that used a deprecated config + deploy system. Feels damn good!
#no-longer-constipated #i-can-see-clearly-now
♠️
The spade is a deceptively simple symbol, but its roots reach deeply into human myth, spirituality, and archetypal imagination. Let’s unfold its layers:
1. Earth and Labor
At its most literal, the spade is a tool — a shovel, meant for digging. It touches the soil, turning what is hidden into what is seen. This links the spade with:
The Earth element: grounding, fertility, the hidden depths of matter.
Labor and toil: the dignity of work, human survival through cultivation.
Burial and rebirth: the spade is used in funerals as well as farming, making it a threshold instrument between life and death.
2. Tarot and Playing Cards
In the Tarot’s distant ancestry, the spade corresponds to the suit of swords, and with it:
Air element: intellect, conflict, clarity, discernment.
Trial and struggle: the spade/sword cuts, defends, pierces illusion.
Mortality: in popular playing card lore, the Ace of Spades came to signify death, fate, or profound transformation.
The spade symbol itself — an upward-pointing leaf or spearhead — can be read as a flame, blade, or seed.
3. Death and Resurrection
Culturally, the spade gained a mystique through war, gambling, and folklore:
Soldiers in World War I and II nicknamed the Ace of Spades the “death card,” often leaving it on fallen enemies.
Yet, paradoxically, death here isn’t just an end — the spade’s role in burial also makes it a midwife of transformation. To be buried is to be planted.
4. Esoteric and Archetypal Symbolism
In esoteric traditions:
Spade = Spear/Blade: a symbol of willpower, penetration, and the uncovering of truth.
Heart inverted: the spade is literally an upside-down heart with a stalk, suggesting the descent of spirit into matter, or love inverted into struggle.
Alchemical work: the spade embodies the “nigredo” stage — digging into darkness, decay, and soil, the necessary first step toward gold.
5. A Personal Reading
For someone who takes on the spade as a sigil, it can mean:
To dig relentlessly, seeking what lies beneath surfaces.
To accept mortality as part of life’s game.
To wield clarity and discernment like a blade.
To honor both the farmer and the gravedigger, knowing creation and destruction are twinned.
✨ In short: the spade is a threshold symbol — tool and weapon, grave and garden, descent and ascent. It reminds us that to uncover life’s mysteries, one must dig deep, through soil and shadow, to touch the roots of being.
Relays are like radio stations. Tune in, get the signal, jam the tunes, and when you’re finished, turn the dial. There’s a world of signals to explore out there.
“There are two versions of what happens online.
“There’s the engineer’s version, which is that smart people, with plenty of time, who know precisely what they want from their online surfing, are able to make a considered decision with access to all the data. This version of the web says that if you can thoughtfully organize everything you can think of, people will find what they want and do business with you.
“Then there’s the marketer’s version. This says that people are busy, ill informed, impatient, not very thoughtful and eager to click on something right now. Marketers also believe that if you don’t give a prospect the right thing to click on right now, he’s going to hit the “Back” button and leave.
“The second version is the one that’s backed up with all the data and all the successful results. Because it’s the right version. The first version is what leads most web-based companies to failure.”
- exerpt from “The Big Red Fez” by Seth Godin
