Curiosities
Last updated on July 10th, 2025.
A running list of writers, movies, games, videos, and people I keep coming back to.
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Blogs
I read these when I want to think about technology, creativity, and how to spend my time.
- Sam Altman
- Paul Graham - essays about making things and thinking for yourself.
- Derek Sivers - short posts about deciding what matters to you.
- Andy Matuschak - ideas about learning and tools for thought.
- Alex Guzey
- Ben Kuhn
- Neal Agarwal - web toys and experiments you'll want to click through.
- Tynan
- Dynomight
Movies
I have a soft spot for slapstick comedy, gangster movies, and Best Picture winners. If De Niro and Pesci are in it, I'm watching. You can see what I've watched lately on Letterboxd.
- Office Space
- Spirited Away
- The Godfather (I & II)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- Caddyshack
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Airplane!
YouTube Channels
I grew up on YouTube more than movies or TV. I still make time for these channels. Each link goes to one of my favorite videos.
- J. Kenji López-Alt - POV cooking videos that explain the science behind each technique.
- Internet Shaquille - Short, funny cooking videos with practical kitchen tips.
- 3Blue1Brown - Animated math videos that make hard ideas easy to follow.
- NakeyJakey - Gaming essays and comedy, filmed from a yoga ball.
- Foresty Forest - Van life and solo wilderness exploration in the Canadian Rockies.
- Beau Miles - Odd little adventure films with a lot to say about how to live.
- James Hoffmann - Thorough coffee reviews and brewing guides from a calm British expert.
- Van Neistat - Handmade films about making things and living well.
- Wendover Productions - Explainers on how transportation, economics, and logistics work.
- Technology Connections - Long videos on how everyday machines work, from dishwashers to toasters.
Video Games
Games I've sunk the most time into or still think about.
- Tetris
- Roller Coaster Tycoon
- Mario Kart
- Minecraft
- Portal
- SSX
- Call of Duty
- Rocket League
- Balatro
People I Admire
Thanks to those who leave the breadcrumbs in the forest. Who knows where I'd be without them.
People whose work I've learned from.
- Richard Feynman - for taking curiosity seriously and explaining hard things plainly.
- Steve Prefontaine - for running every race all-out.
- Steve Jobs - for sweating the small decisions in a product.
- Bill Watterson - for making Calvin and Hobbes and refusing to license it.
- Leonardo da Vinci - for chasing questions across art, science, and engineering.
- J. Kenji López-Alt - for testing kitchen advice before repeating it.
- Paul Graham - for essays that change my mind.
- Eliud Kipchoge - for chasing huge goals with patience and routine.
Quotes
Lines I've saved because they made me laugh, think, or change how I work.
Making things
"There is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do." - Bill Watterson
"A man would do nothing, if he waited until he could do it so well that no one would find fault with what he has done." - Cardinal Newman
"Perfection is not when there is no more to add, but no more to take away" - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
Effort and preparation
"To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine
"The key is not the will to win... everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important." - Bob Knight
"When the pressure is on you don't rise to the occasion, you fall to your highest level of preparation" - Chris Voss
Perspective
"We suffer more often in imagination than we do in reality." - Seneca
"We are what we pretend to be." - Kurt Vonnegut
"If a man does not have sauce, then he is lost. But the same man can get lost in the sauce." - Gucci Mane