It’s Friday, again. I still get that Friday feeling, and I’m looking forward to doing some coding this weekend.

You’ll see a theme throughout this edition of Coffee with James: there’s a lot of links about the web. The old web is a rabbit hole I’ve been down the last two weeks. Interesting stuff.

Have a good weekend!

What I am Reading

Brilliant Hardware in the Valley of the Software Slump by Craig Mod

Second-guessing the modern web by Tom MacWright

What Happened to the Webmaster by Jay Hoffman

The Bullshit Web by Nick Heer

Advice to younug web developers

Interesting Discoveries

GitCities — The GeoCities animated GIF search engine. Curated by the Internet Archive.

No More Google — The site I used to help find alternatives to the Google products that dominated my online life. I technically discovered this one last year, but it was especially useful this week.

From Me

• Working on side projects (or at least I am trying to).

• Thinking about learning Ruby (not Rails, just Ruby).

• Getting through the days, one by one.

That’s all for this week. See you next week,

James

Happy Friday. I hope you’ve had a great week. I’ve been doing a lot of coding this week and it feels great to be diving into more technical work again.

I’ve also been reading a lot of Hacker News lately. I can’t believe I did not start using the platform sooner.

Have a wonderful weekend!

What I am Reading

“Choose Boring Technology” by Dan McKinley

“After 10 Years in Tech Isolation, I’m Now Outsider to Things I Once Had Mastered” by Jesse McGraw

“A simple theory of why so many smart young people go into finance, law, and consulting” by Tyler Cowen

“How to Do What You Love” by Paul Graham (I was re-reading this essay earlier this week, so it’s not really new to me. Either way, it’s a great piece of writing.)

“I don’t actually care about growth” by Paul Jarvis

Interesting Discoveries

Domain of One’s Own — A project at the University of Mary Washington that encourages people to create a web presence on their own domain.

Witty Wealth — I discovered Witty Wealth a few weeks ago, but I haven’t mentioned it on this newsletter yet. A great read for anyone interested in finance or the stock market.

From Me

• I’m tinkering a lot with my personal website, and I am enjoying every minute.

• Drinking tea, celebrating one of my cat’s birthday, learning more about the open web.

• Working.

That’s all for this week. See you next week,

James

Happy Friday — what are you doing this weekend? I’m hoping to do a little bit of coding, and continue working my way through Walden.

Have a great weekend!

What I am Reading

“Great Hackers” by Paul Graham

“Against an Increasingly User-Hostile Web” by Parimal Satyal

“Why we’ve created new language for coronavirus” by Christine Ro (BBC)

“How To Become A Hacker” by Eric Steven Raymond

“The days are long but the decades are short” by Sam Altman

Interesting Discoveries

Small Technology Foundation — A two-person non-for-profit in Ireland advocating for “small technology.”

Awesomeblog.club — Discover awesome small and personal blogs.

From Me

• I’m still writing every day and making small but meaningful changes to my personal website.

• Thinking about my long-term growth.

• Working, walking, sleeping.

See you next week,

James G.

It’s Friday again — oh how time seems to be flying. I’ve spent a lot of time this week reflecting, and exploring the Indie Web. Open question: what’s your favorite website from the ‘90s or early ‘00s?

Have a lovely weekend!

What I am Reading

“Behind Every Great Product” by Mary Cagan (Silicon Valley Product Group)

“How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)” by Tim Urban (Wait But Why)

“Doordash and Pizza Arbitrage” by Ranjan Roy (Margins Newsletter)

“Being Alone” by Ankit Shah

“Rediscovering the Small Web” by Parimal Satyal

Interesting Discoveries

Intern.Club — A community to meet other interns, build your network, and make friends. I joined this week, and I don’t regret it! Yes, I know I am not an intern, but they are open to accepting other young people like me :)

Foundation — Foundation is a stock market for independent artists, designers, and brands.

Fig — Republic.co recently acquired Fig, and it was only this week that I actually read into them. Fig is a crowdfunding platform for computer games.

From Me

• I’ve been continuing to make some changes to my blog; my internet home. I love the power of being able to control exactly how my site looks.

• I am continuing work on my podcast interview series. I’ve fallen a bit behind this week, but I am looking to get back on track soon.

• Working, exercising.

See you next week,

James G.

Hello there — thanks for reading this week’s edition! It’s been a productive week, and I’m starting to become more excited about the future.

Have a great weekend!

What I am Reading

“How the Passion Economy will disrupt media, education, and countless other industries (Part 1)” by Li Jin

“How to Shape Remarkable Products in the Messy Middle of Building Startups” by Scott Belsky and First Round Capital

“Science Funding Is Wasting Young Careers. Here's How to Fix It.” by Daniel Bier (Free Think)

“The two paths to success” by Paul Buchheit

Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Speech at Stanford

Interesting Discoveries

Indie Web — a movement supporting owning your domain, your own website, and, more broadly, your data.

#100DaysToOffload — a community of people who have committed to writing for 100 days.

Hacker Founder Pop Up — an afternoon virtual pop up experience for young founders and builders.

From Me

• I’m starting to tinker with a few changes to my blog. Last weekend, I launched a new tool to help keep me accountable for my step count.

• I am considering moving my blog from Now to my own server. Thoughts?

• I’ve conducted one interview for my upcoming series, and have many more scheduled.

• Working.

See you next week,

James G.