I’m Arun Venkatesan, and this is the arun.is newsletter, where I share my current obsessions, inspiration from around the web, behind-the-scenes content, and more.

This week’s issue covers a few things:

• What's new
• Aphorisms I live by
• Recommendations

What's new

I published several blog posts and a new guide on zen of things since the last newsletter issue.

Inside arun.is · Table of contents

First up is a post detailing the design and engineering behind the table of contents component I use on the blog. Previous iterations were only available on larger desktop screens, but I recently made it work on mobile and tablets as well.

A weekend on San Francisco's Embarcadero

The second blog post is a photoessay covering the last trip we did as a family of three. My wife, first kid and I spent a weekend in SF. The post covers a bit of architecture, car culture, and art.

zen of things · Razors

Finally, I released the fifth guide on zen of things. It’s a post about razors (for shaving). Testing took a bit of time considering I only shave every few days. I am proud of this one as it took a lot of work to narrow down the list to just a hand full.

Aphorisms I live by

I’m in a time of transition. I was like a caterpillar used to a particular way of life. Age, marriage, children, and my career have led me into a chrysalis. I feel the extreme discomfort of recombination. The defining features of my previous identity are being ripped apart. I don’t know what I will become, but I know that my previous self is gone.

The difference with the caterpillar is that my transformation isn’t controlled by nature. My transformation is in my hands. My guiding light? Aphorisms.

Aphorisms lie between the rigidity of rules and the vagueness of values. They are memorable, yet infinite. Picking them apart reveals a fractal-like wealth of knowledge.

I received the first from Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Eat food suggests sticking to what my great-grandmothers would have considered food and avoiding “food-like” substances. Not too much reminds me to be mindful of portion sizes and not overeating. Mostly plants suggests a focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and other plant-based foods.

I received the second from Naval Ravikanth: “Productize yourself.” Productize means developing specific knowledge — skills that that feel like play to me and can’t be taught in a class. Productize also means applying leverage in the form of labor, capital, code or media to my specific knowledge. Yourself means being the only, not merely the best. Yourself also means being accountable by risking my reputation on what I do.

The third is a modification of a quote by Julie Isphording: “Run often. Run long. Don’t outrun joy.” Run often means focusing on consistency above all else to encourage adaptation and avoid injury. Run long points to volume, not intensity, as the factor driving improvements. Don’t outrun joy is a reminder that I run to have fun, not just to reach arbitrary goals.

The beauty of aphorisms is that they are deeply personal to me, yet contain universal truths. They constrain me without taking away my agency. I’m on the lookout for more aphorisms that help me be a better husband, father, friend, and neighbor.

Recommendations

The Playdate Story: What Was it Like to Make Handheld Video Game System Hardware?

I’ve been following the Playdate story ever since I got to try out a prototype at XOXO years ago. This is the first time I have seen the whole story told all at once including all the ups and downs. Hearing how hard it was to ship the Playdate is heartwarming.

Designing for timelessness: Part 1

Timelessness is a word thrown around a lot in design circles. I appreciated the (sometimes) heated debate about this word and what it could mean in this podcast recording of a live panel discussion.

"I am hungry" A Bilingual Children's Board Book

My wife is Kickstarting her first children’s book! If you or someone you know has children interested in Chinese culture, then please back the project. Sitting next to her for the last month while she worked hard on all the details has been a huge inspiration for me.

That's it for this issue.

As always, this is my personal email, so feel free to respond directly.

Stay curious,
Arun Venkatesan