Jay Hoffmann

Books, movies, and code


  • #42: When I got started

    I recently rewatched Wilson Miner’s eye-opening talk from the 2011 Build Conference called “When We Build.” I remember when this first came out, I was at a really important moment in my career. I was just coming out of college, working odd jobs for a while here and there, and had started in the communications…

  • #41: Why React?

    I think I could quote this whole video: What is React.js via Haydon Pickering. I’ll stick with two pullquotes though. The React logotype, depicting an atom, evokes the infamous Manhattan Project, wherein a number of very clever people created some extremely dubious technology just to prove they could. See? It’s funny cause it’s true! This…

  • #40: Rules of the Bus

    I’m learning the rules of the bus. This time as a parent.

  • #39: Transitions

    I heard some good advice once. Never waste a transition. Life is full of transitions, big and small. So some, just naturally, are going to pass you by. But I have a big one coming up. My oldest is starting Kindergarten. And there’s a lot that’s about to change. The butterfly effect of his now…

  • #38: On Birthdays

    I’ll tell you what I think about birthdays.

  • #37: A Historical Turn

    This week feels like echoes of different historical moments. But which one it ends up being is going to be important as we look forward.

  • The art of blocking a scene

    The importance of blocking, and the way that the bear uses it to great effect.

  • #36: Utterly Hopeless

    I had some friends visit us this weekend. It was really rejuvenating, and it gave me an opportunity to share how meaningful my family is with people that I don’t often see, but feel very close to. I felt very lucky for that. As tends to happen we stayed up a bit just to kind…

  • #35: FODMAPs

    I learned what FODMAPs are recently. I need to go through all of the proper medical channels, but it personally seems like the research at Monash University seems applicable to me. FODMAPs are interesting because they contain foods you might not necessarily consider something that can cause stomach issues. The biggest stand outs are garlic…

  • #34: Outlining

    Outline speedrunning is something I’ve been giving a shot. So far, so good.

  • #33: Collections

    Collecting my thoughts and putting them into one place. Isn’t that what personal sites are all about?

  • #32: Google’s Decay

    A call and response, between Casey Newton and Mike Masnick, with plenty of others that have commented lately. First, Newton on Google’s turn into AI, and it’s rather predictable and yet still somehow inevitable results that make everything a little worse. As Google drives people to scraped information without attributing a source, people won’t click…

  • #31: Momentum

    When I’m running around doing all sorts of stuff, how can I find the time to properly build momentum, and keep it.

  • #30: Folding a Project

    One of the reasons that Japanese katana’s are such strong blades is the technique used to make them called folding. A swordsmith will forge and hammer out a long blade, and then fold the steel onto itself, repeating the process dozens of time, if not more. This technique has an advantage. Each time the blade…

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    #29: I think I’m using AI wrong

    I think I’m using AI wrong. Not wrong, obviously. There’s no right way to use AI. In fact, there may not be an ideal use case and if there is we certainly haven’t found it yet. And, as Molly White pointed out, maybe we shouldn’t be using it all. What I mean is that I…

  • #28: The Speed of Travel

    Me and the family went on a really incredible trip lately. But it all happened so fast.

  • #27: I’m just an inefficient sorting algorithm

    When we first bought our house, I remember that one of my cousins (still a teenager at time) told us that when he finally had enough money to buy us a housewarming present, they surely will have figured out how to make a washing machine and dryer that folds clothes by itself, so he would…

  • Hosting Easter

    Here’s how I prepped for hosting Easter.

  • #25: Superhero movies were a blip

    It has felt like the superhero blockbuster meant the end of a certain kind of film. But maybe that was just something temporary.

  • #24: Sunday Sauce

    This weekend I made Sunday Sauce. And there’s something about it that just feels comforting to make.

  • #23: The React Rewrite

    An article I read this week got me thinking about rewrites, and how certain frameworks push them into existence.

  • #22: Taking the Long View

    I’ve been thinking about ‘East of Eden’, and I found myself drawn to Lee’s life vision, which is kind of the opposite of today’s deteriorating attention spans and overcommitted lives.

  • Using Full Site Editing as a Developer

    My quest for control inside of WordPress’ full site editing.

  • #21: The art of letting go

    Letting go means a lot of things. But it’s not always easy to relinquish control.

  • #20: The analog, human web

    I’ve been thinking about a new term to represent the personalized, human-curated web in stark contrast to our algorithm-based echo chambers.