Hey, I'm Apollo. I'm a data analyst, writer, and philosopher. I write brutally honest essays on life, fatherhood, self-education, and the nightmare tech m...
Multiple companies did layoffs last week, including Meta laying off 8,000 people. And my LinkedIn feed is full of posts from people thanking the companies. Saying things like "It was such an honor and privilege to work for this company. Thank you for giving me this experience", etc., etc. Now maybe they’re just playing the game and keeping up appearances, but why is this toxic positivity the…
At least the way most companies use it. I'm rereading "The Pragmatic Programmer", and within the first few pages they address Software Entropy . It can also be called technical debt , which is the term I’ll use. If you're not a tech nerd like me, it basically just means things have a tendency to move toward disorder , and software and code is no exception. What I love about this section in the…
How odd, that when I put too much thought into writing, my hands refuse to produce anything. Somehow, I got it into my mind that what I write has to be exceptional in order to deserve being posted… As if anyone is reading this. I’m essentially yelling into a void, and yet my mind is censoring and trying to stop me. It does this to prevent shame, embarrassment, and to protect us from failure, and…
I told a friend recently I felt like my life has become a treadmill. They responded that their life is so hectic and ever-changing that they wouldn’t mind a treadmill life. They said it as if it would be a break away from busy-ness. I don’t think they really understand the feeling of a treadmill life. They were thinking comfort, consistency, rest. But when every day feels very much the same as the…
A few weeks ago I was at the park with my wife, sitting down to eat our lunch—a burger for me, and Chipotle for her—when she realized she forgot to grab a fork. She was fine with staying, and as fun as watching her try to use tortilla chips as a utensil would’ve been, I suggested we head home to eat. On our way to the car, I saw a young girl un-gracefully making her way down the path on roller…
Time. You can’t get it back. You can’t buy more. It’s the most precious resource... Or is it? Time is invaluable, there’s no denying that. However, equally or even more important, is energy . What good is a plethora of time if you have no energy to do anything with it? Lately, I get off from my 9-5 and my brain is fried. I struggle to read, I struggle to write. Spending time with my family isn’t…
Last night I heard wind whipping through my neighborhood, rain battering the windows, thunder in the distance, and thought about my dad. When I say dad, I don’t mean the man who gave me his DNA, made a momentary appearance on my first birthday, and then disappeared. I mean my stepdad. I’ve called him many things over the years: stepdad, Paul, “my sister’s dad”. But in my heart, he was always just…
At 33, I’m noticing the start of wrinkles around my eyes... more creases when I smile. Many will say, “33 is so young!”, which of course is true. But it’s also true that it’s not that young either. Year by year, the gap between myself and youth becomes more palpable. I’ve always felt a bit older than my peers, and the feeling amplifies over time. In 5th grade there was a new girl at my school. She…
Mr. Wescott was a normal man in every regard. Each morning, he woke up to the smell of coffee and bacon wafting up from the kitchen, where Mrs. Wescott was busy at work. After a good shave, and quick comb-over of the bit of hair that remained on top of his head, he’d tighten his tie, fold his collar down and smooth it out, and head down to the kitchen where his chair, breakfast, and newspaper were…
Reading in public is weird. Scrolling on your phone is normal. Eating a healthy meal out of tupperware is weird. Eating McDonald’s is normal. Going to bed early? Weird. Staying up late binge-watching a show... normal. Throughout my life I’ve been teased for eating healthy, not drinking, going to bed early (like an “old man”), and for reading at lunch instead of scrolling or socializing. It’s…