According to Adam Ard, the Scrum method has mutated into something that stands in direct opposition to the Agile Manifesto. Instead of developers being given more space, freedom, and time to deliver things, it is being misused by management to exert too much control. The solution? Give developers more ownership over the decisions that are made.

Dominic Frisby observes the Ozempic hype with concern and offers an alternative: apple cider vinegar. He uses it (irregularly) three times a day (a teaspoon diluted in water) because it seems to suppress appetite. How scientific is it? No idea, but I think trying it for a while can’t hurt.

I use ChatGPT for just two things: translating and summarizing. This blogger found that ChatGPT doesn’t summarize but only makes texts shorter. This leads to missing essential parts or misinterpretations.

Dark UI/UX patterns used to deceive users.

Batteries are an important component in making the transition to fully renewable energy possible. Auke Hoekstra predicts that batteries will become very cheap. By around 2030, you could buy a 20 kWh battery for your home that you can earn back in 3 years because you can store the generated energy (from, for example, solar panels).

Mathias Schäfer shares a nice way to create bar charts using just HTML, CSS, and SVG.

Andrew Chen shares the idea of ‘10x work’ on his substack. These are tasks that have 10 times the impact compared to other small tasks. Instead of being busy all day with reactive tasks like answering emails or attending unimportant meetings, shift your focus to creating/doing new things. As he puts it: “Agency and ownership rule the day, and this is why ‘Send email to X’ is stronger than ‘Send reply to Y’ — the best work does not happen in reaction to what others do.”

These I find interesting:

1. The most important decision you make is to be in a good mood.
2. Holiday doesn’t set goals for himself but just does what he enjoys. The results will come naturally.
3. If success doesn’t make you a better person, then it’s not success.
4. Checking out of hotels is for amateurs. You can leave whenever you want.
5. Say nice, complimentary things more often.

According to Taylor, it all comes down to focusing on the content. It has become way too complex in recent years, and most websites only need simple HTML and CSS to display static information. Just think logically, says Taylor.

Two things I take away from this article by Hannah Ritchie: 

1. Replacing chicken with beef can reduce your carbon footprint by up to 80%. However, you would need to slaughter more chickens to obtain the same amount of meat. Better for the environment but worse for the animals.
2. If I want to make food choices that are better for the climate and animals, I should, of course, switch to vegetarian and preferably vegan options.

Gurwinder observes that our brain is constantly seeking information. However, a lot of low-quality information is being produced to keep our interest.

His solution is to be aware of the information you consume using the 10-10-10 rule: ‘If I consume this information, how will I feel about it in 10 minutes, 10 months, or 10 years?’. This way, you realize that in 10 years, you will probably benefit more from reading an informative book than scrolling through Instagram posts.

Tim Ferris often talks about being in awe of the big things in life and how that makes you a better person. He therefore posted Ashley Simpson’s article on his blog, which shows that being in awe can give you goosebumps. Such as watching nature (mountains or ocean) but also the smaller things like art (music or film) or seeing your own child learn to read and write.

Markham Heid indicates in the article on the Financial Times that having seemingly productive habits also has a compulsive downside. Taking a break from doing the same things every day and trying something new can also have a positive effect on your life.

Johann Hari conducted research in Japan and concluded that it is not genetic (obesity is actually a thing among Japanese immigrants), but it is about the food culture. Namely: Simple cuisine and flavors without too many additives, eating until you are 80% full because it takes longer for your brain to realize you are satiated, and there is a focus on how you eat (mindfully) and what you eat (healthy) in schools.

The first website was launched at the end of the previous century (August 1991) and is today the very best way to convey information. Better than anything that came before or after.

Last Drupalcon (2024 in Portland), Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal, announced the Drupal Starshot initiative, which aims to make Drupal more accessible to beginners and specialists who can barely or cannot write any code. 

Starshot is a version that comes with many modules pre-installed and pre-configured by default. The features that are already built-in seem (suspicious? ;)) very similar to what I previously described in my blog about what every Drupal website should include from the start.

The beauty of this initiative is that expert users can still the flexibility of Drupal as they are used to because under the hood everything stays the same.

It’s interesting to see that CSS is including useful solutions which previously were only available if you were using SCSS or SASS.

Hacker News user Metadat started a thread in which other Hacker News users recommend movies that changed their perception of live. I've compiled the answers into a list.

Beautiful to see and visit someday?

Arthur C. Brooks distills Jung’s works into five pillars of a good life, namely: good physical and mental health, good relationships with other people, seeing beauty in art and nature, a good standard of living and meaningful work, and a philosophical or religious perspective.

In an article from 2000 (but no less valuable for that!), usability guru Jakob Nielsen states that you only need to test something (a website or app) with 5 users. This will uncover 80 to 90% of all problems. Testing with more than 5 users results in a flattening curve of the number of issues found. Therefore, allocate more resources to testing more frequently with fewer users rather than testing once with a large number of users.

The book 'Attention' by Gloria Mark is about all aspects of attention and how it has changed since the rise of digital media. It mainly focuses on knowledge workers and how they can better manage their attention.

In this article Ryan Holiday explains why exercise needs to be a part of your routine. For when you’re stuck on a difficult problem. Clearing your head with some physical activity can give your productivity a boost.

The book 'Attention' by Gloria Mark got me thinking about how attention works and how to stay focused. However, the book lacks clear tips, which is why I have compiled some recommendations myself.

McGovern indicates that AI is simply a variation of the advertising model. And if access to the AI is free, then you are the product.

Adam Silver argues why HTML prototypes are better than Figma prototypes. In summary: Figma is less realistic (for example, you can’t fill out a form), you can’t test it with a screen reader, you can’t test responsiveness (from landscape to portrait), and hand-off to developers is more difficult.

Previously, Robin Rendle was responsible for maintaining a Design System. Now, as a product designer on the other side, he realizes that a Design System should not be too restrictive. It’s fine to have predetermined colors and button sizes, but don’t be too rigid, or designers won’t use it.

On his blog, Omar Itani explains why you should create more than you consume. Research shows that spending 45 minutes a day on creative activities reduces stress. Additionally, consumption is pointless compared to creation, where in the end, you have something tangible. This resonates with me because it’s about the process rather than the end product. The (creative) journey is more important than the goal.

Why isn't there a streaming service specifically focused on (the well-being of) children? In this blog, I fantasize about how such a streaming service should look.

Provided royalty free by the Getty Museum.