Blog | Ville Vartiainen

Choose boring technology

Slightly long presentation, but I like it. There are so many cool new tools around today, and although I wouldn’t entirely dismiss trying new ones, there is profound wisdom in the message here:

Do you need new tech, or do you just need to keep your processes and software in better shape?

Keep your tools sharp.

I love the look of this little tool, and the simple interface given. It would be interesting to know what developers think of it in terms of ease of use. I think it’s appealing to me because it reminds me of the exciting duality of writing HTML and seeing something ‘designed’ appear.

Also see: https://mermaid.js.org/

A short tale about online banking service design

Once upon a time, you went to your branch and ATMs to manage your affairs. You had your bank card, you had you, you had the person behind the counter, and they would do most of the work for you.

Production line hours versus deep expertise

Like many people, I have to fill in my timesheets. Clients and employers like to know how many hours have been spent working for them, and on what tasks, so they can sign off on invoicing and payroll.

Disconnect to connect

I think I try to cut back on social media at least once a year, but I always eventually fall back into the social media and news trap. But I’m giving it a go again. I’m doing it because those regular quick check ins and rants give an illusion of connection to other people and life, and eats away at your ability to create and participate for real.

2 years of Covid-19

Today marks a year and a day since the United Kingdom imposed a lockdown due to the spread of Covid-19, a virus that was seen to be causing devastating numbers of deaths and hospitalisations across the world, in Europe and was taking effect in the UK.

Finger wagging

It’s easy to point fingers. You might even say it is natural human behaviour. So much easier to find fault in others, to shout angrily, to condemn and tut your way to feeling some kind of victory against all the bad things that regularly happen in the world.

RSS

I made a conscious decision to pretty much stay off twitter earlier this year. It is a terrible time-suck, it is a firehose of all kinds of things that will rob you of your sanity and faith in humankind. It also did not help my state of anxiety at the time.

First vaccine dose

I cycled this morning to get my first dose of the Astra Zeneca vaccine for Covid-19. I’m really impressed by the number of available centres and the way it has been organised, and I’m really happy to have done my bit.

Growth mindset