2023 in Review
by Cody on 2024-01-04 filed under review
If you're reading this, then we made it! 2023 threw what it could at us, but here we are, still spending too much time on the Internet.
The Rest of 2023's Experiments
by Cody on 2023-12-20 filed under experiments
At the start of 2023, I declared I'd make it my year of experiments and document them here. Surely you remember the breathless coverage this received from the New York Times. I started off strong by experimenting with daily meditation in January, daily expense tracking in February, and daily coding in March + April.
March + April Challenge: Daily Coding (aka Adventures in AI)
by Cody on 2023-05-05 filed under experiments
For March and April, I wanted to try to build a habit focused on creation. That habit? Writing code every day, building towards an interesting side project. The result? A fun generative AI project called plantae.ai.
February Challenge: A Month of Expense Tracking
by Cody on 2023-03-03 filed under experiments
I'm making 2023 my year of experiments. I'll pick some worthwhile habit to try to build each month, I'll try hard to do it every day, then I'll evalute how it works right here. For January, I chose meditation. For February, I chose expense tracking. If I do this consistently for a month straight, will I A) save money; B) learn to love personal finance? Spoiler alert: A) yes; B) not at all, no! Read on for the gory details.
January Challenge: A Month of Meditation
by Cody on 2023-02-03 filed under experiments
I'm making 2023 my year of experiments. I'll pick some worthwhile habit to try to build each month, I'll try hard to do it every day, then I'll evalute how it works right here. For January, I chose meditation. I conservatively estimate I've tried and failed to meditate consistently a few hundred times. The benefits sound life-changing, and the first couple of days are ok, then I just slowly stop and watch Frasier reruns instead. If I do it consistently for a month straight, will anything change?
2022 In Review
by Cody on 2023-01-06 filed under review
I love a good yearly review. For the writer, it forces you to be objective and comprehensive about life. For the reader, you get a peek into someone's life, which may inspire or terrify you (inspirify?). Since I just read Will Larson's 2022 Review, I am going to try summarizing 2022 in the life of Powell. I am both goal-driven and data-driven, so I'll review the year through those lenses.
The Winter of Integration Tests
by Cody on 2023-01-04 filed under eng
Christmas can be an exciting time of year for engineers. Not only is there the sheer rush of finding out what's in figgy pudding, but things slow down enough that you can get ambitious in the codebase. If there's 1 time of year to attempt a major refactoring, it's Christmas. Meetings are few, concentration is high, and the codebase isn't shifting beneath your feet. I tried a major cleanup of my own several years back and learned a valuable lesson: don't trust humans. Ok, that's a little severe, but let me talk you though it.
Contact
by Cody on 2023-01-04 filed under etc
You can reach me at cody _at_ codypowell.com. I'd love any thoughts / corrections / suggestions on the content I'm posting here. However, I am not interested in political / religious / pedantic debates, giving you money, you giving me money, helping you get a job, me getting a new job, creative investments, boring investments, or personal attacks.
About
by Cody on 2023-01-04 filed under etc
Hi, this is the online home of one Cody Powell. Note that's it one Cody Powell, not all Cody Powells. Those other guys will need to get their own domains. I'm a human in Seattle, WA. I work in engineering leadership in the tech industry. I have a family, dog, etc. Life is good and full, though sometimes exhausting.