Espresso Shots 7-26-26

It's that time again for my weekly update, which includes a short collection of noteworthy finds, posts that inspire, as well as a few reflections from the past week or two. I'll aim to land these in your inbox by the weekend, in time to pair with your morning coffee (or your preferred cup of inspiration).

The Latest Drippings ☕️

• What Have Note-Taking PKMs Accomplished, Really?. I've long recovered from my addiction to PKM (personal knowledge management) tools after burning the ships in 2022. At one time, however, I was proud of my efficiency in collecting notes and building out complicated graphs of notes and tidbits of ideas I picked up from hundreds of articles, podcasts, videos, etc. I thought this was what being productive meant, but I came to realize that notes apps are where ideas go to die. That all being said, I really appreciated the approach this article has taken in asking, 'Has there been a meaningful increase of understanding and creation thanks to personal knowledge management systems?' It's a wonderful examination of the varied frameworks, capture process, analog roots, as well as the mythos around knowledge acquisition. A worthy read of the week. I'm not saying what I do is good for anyone else, but I find value in continuously learning new workflows for new ideas. As of 2026, I took stock in 'We don't write things down to remember them. We write them down to forget.' and just the simplicity of Apple Notes.
• Things I Would Like To Tell My 10 Year Old Self. I've really enjoyed diving into the writing of Winnie Lim over the last few months. In this post, similar to my 55 for 55 look back, are 'things I've learned in life so far, that I would impart to my 10 year old self even though she would probably not listen, or that it wouldn’t be realistic because that so much I have learnt was simply not available in that era.' A solid list, but my favorite is 'don't mortgage energy': 'Youth, time and energy can seem infinite. All those long hours, late nights, excessive use of energy and hyperfocus – there will be debts waiting for us in the future.'
• I Accidentally Saved Half A Million Dollars. Ludicity is a recent addition to my weekly reading list; this post was a standout for me, and one that I'm sure many could relate to if you've ever spent time looking into an area that I love to go after: finops (whether it's AI tokens or cloud costs, it's about understanding what organizations spend money on). 'I suspected that this would save a bunch of money, and guess what, our projected bill dropped from a million to half a million dollars, and everyone is losing their fucking minds. My team has spun this as a huge cost saving, when really we just applied a fire extinguisher to the pile of money that we had set alight.' I cannot even begin to count the number of times I've been able to save buckets of money by just taking the time to understand what people have turned on versus what they actually use. You need to give a shit and get your hands dirty.
• My Second Computer Was an Apple II. 'I loved to write computer programs at school. I was not good at drawing, painting, or other creative endeavors. But I could make a computer do cool stuff. Seeing software come to life was like magic to me.' As I've been spending a good part of the last year rediscovering the curiosity of my 8-year-old self, this post spoke to my soul. As a kid, becoming a magician driven to understand how these things worked was a huge part of who I am. I'm happy to see others reflecting similarly.
• LEGO's Donkey Kong Arcade Machine Lets Mario Jump Endless Barrels. Oh no, I'm going to have to hide the wallet to avoid this new LEGO kit. Yes, it's $200. And while it's not a fully powered machine, 'it does contain a basic fully functional game. There’s a working joystick to move Mario left and right a bit, and a button to make him leap. Throw a lever, and you’ll release one of an endless series of barrels for him to jump.' Downright brilliant.
• Read More. Read Often. Read Every Day.. I'm often shocked at how many people tell me that they don't read anymore. Now, I'm not casting judgment and saying that you should pick up a novel and sit on the porch - I'm totally guilty of buying tons of books to stock the anti-library. But I do read. A ton. 'I believe that spending 20% of your time buried in a book, buried in something that will inspire you, excite you, and make you want to jump out of your seat is going to give you the fuel, the ideas, and the power to create 80% of your output.' In particular, 'I would guarantee that there is not a single question or problem you could bring to me that can't be solved with a book that someone has already written. And it could have been written 1,000 years ago.' That's the banger for me - I've discovered, whether by accident or health situation or just raw curiosity, that the wisdom of someone like Marcus Aurelius or Homer is shockingly relevant in today's world.
• Geezer Magazine: The Part Where It Gets Real. I've mentioned the wonderful Geezer Magazine previously; I really enjoyed this perspective on what it takes to make a printed magazine a viable business in 2026. 'When people hold Geezer for the first time, something magical happens. They smile. It awakens something in them that resonates with who they were when they were younger. The matte paper, the oversized format, the weight in your hands, it triggers —can I say it?— a kind of nostalgic delight. So thinking about it as a business is, frankly, a challenge.'. Do yourself a favor - support efforts like Geezer if you can; we need more thoughtful craftsmanship in the world that inspires. I mean, how can you not want to be a part of something which causes 'people’s nervous systems visibly calm down when they hold it.' Laura also published a LinkedIn post on the economics of it all.
• Hanlon's Razor: Not Everyone is Out to Get You. This week, I learned about Hanlon's Razor. 'Hanlon's razor is a mental safeguard against the temptation to label behavior as malicious when incompetence is the most common response.' It's an interesting shift in perception to understand and think about. Seneca wrote, 'There are more things ... likely to frighten us than there are to crush us; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality.' Perhaps the real truth is that bad behavior towards us (or behavior we exhibit) isn't always intentional; it may simply come from a lack of understanding.
• Control the Ideas, Not the Code. I've tried to limit any talk of AI on Espresso Shots, so here's the one for the week. 'You have to understand how things work, what is the best design, how to reach a certain level of performance. Then I compared the implementation, for correctness, to other systems, finding that other implementations sometimes contained more errors.' Not leaning into either side of the AI noise, but instead understanding that you need to control the ideas, seems far more important than the actual code it produces.
• Avoidance Machines. A thought-provoking post on friction, dopamine culture, and the hooks that technology tries, and the traps of 'avoidance machines' that are relevant in our lives today. 'People often talk about the addictive and attention-draining properties of the Internet, but when I think about my disordered patterns of computer use, I tend less like a drug dealer, and more like an avoidance machine. This fetishized life without friction might describe an existence with all the minor inconveniences of life removed. But for me it spoke to a desire, a compulsion, to push away all sources of mental friction, a way of avoiding, automating away, or outsourcing all the things that fills me with anxiety or existential dread.'
• The Overthinkers Guide to Rekindle Your Blogging Mojo. Every so often, we all run into writer's block. One quick hack that I have tried to do is an annual re-work of my writing workspace. Whether it's re-organizing the desk or changing the lighting to a full redesign, changing the environment can do wonders to get the creative juices flowing. At some point, I'd like to turn my office into an 'explorers den' - with old compasses and typewriters, but that's a story for another post. This was a good article with some additional ideas on re-energizing your vibe.
• The Lost Joy of Music Piracy. This one explores the decline of music piracy and community-driven music platforms due to modern streaming. I wasn't aware of places like What.CD and Oink before this, but it was a great read. 'At its core, What.CD was much more than a torrent tracker—it was a community of dedicated music fans volunteering their time, effort, and knowledge to create a labor of love. While the Internet has opened up new doors for musicians, the increasing corporatization and algorithmic takeover of online spaces has done irreparable damage to organic music discovery and independent communities.'
• What Happens When A Road Ends. As part of heading into Life 3.0, I've probably been too much in my head on the meaning of The Ouroboros, and stumbled upon this post on The Terminus. I relate this to beginnings and endings and how we need to do more to recognize both. 'When a really long road ends, why don’t we do more to celebrate the staggering amount of collective work that went into it? The ancient Romans really outclassed the federal highway system on this front.'
• The App That Reminds You You're Going to Die (gift link). 'Don’t forget, you’re going to die.' A serious lens on morbid math in this one: an application that will remind you, per a Bhutanese folk saying, that you are going to die. 'Over time, WeCroak changes the way I relate to my phone. As I scroll through Instagram or refresh Twitter, WeCroak interrupts with the sobering reminder that it is not just my attention these other apps are consuming, but chunks of my life.' Something to think about where you spend your time.

Amor Fati ✌🏻