Blog by Sergey Kaplich
Building my first iOS app, I figured the hard part would be the code. Turns out the hard part was Apple's paperwork. Total time from paying for the dev program to my app actually being live: three weeks. And I actually paied for that → $99/year, plus 30% of every sale. First hurdle: the tax form. There's a field for your legal name, pulled straight from your Apple account, and you can't edit it.…
When I started my professional career, my financial life was not perfect. I was not making much money, and because of that, I had a pretty flawed idea about budgeting. My thinking was simple: if there is not much money, what is there to budget? Looking back, that was completely wrong. Budgeting is not about how much you make. It is about knowing what you actually have. That realization took years…
I've always had this thing for visuals. I studied art and architecture, spent years learning to see the world through composition, proportion, light. I even wear Figma cap! That instinct to create never really left, it just ran out of room somewhere between deadlines and everything else life piles on. Honestly, for a long time I thought AI image tools were just a cute toy. Fun to poke at for five…
A few years ago, a friend of mine, Arthur — developer and a proud boat captain — told me about an idea he had: connect a mini computer to a printer on his boat and ask people to send him emails. If someone sent one, it would print right there on board. I always thought it was a really great idea. I’m not sure if he ever built it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So I built my own version. I…
I had some free time over Memorial Day, so I finally built something I’d been thinking about for a while. I decided to let AI redesign my personal page — and refresh it every day. That’s how Page Roulette was born. I created a few templates, picked color palettes and fonts I like, and locked in the text and photos that should never change. Then every night at 12am EST, a GitHub Action runs, sends…
I know how people say that the tool doesn’t matter. And it is actually true, but I noticed that when I get stuck with something, actually changing the tool I am using helps me a lot. It gives me another perspective or helps me to see something that I haven’t seen before. That’s why I always spend time looking for new tools or optimizing something that I am using now And the same thing happened…
I ran an experiment last week. For a few days, I forced myself to only check X's "For You" tab instead of my curated "Following" feed. I wanted to understand what everyone's talking about when they complain about algorithmic timelines. The result? I literally felt my brain rotting in real-time. The Attention Economy's Dirty Secret Here's what nobody tells you about algorithmic feeds: they're not…
There's been a massive shift in what we used to call "vibe coding" just a few months ago. Back then, real developers dismissed it as a toy for non-technical people: something fun but not serious. Now I'm seeing engineers at all levels letting Claude Code and other AI tools handle the heavy lifting. Such an irony. Vibe coding has become genuinely useful for engineers who understand the underlying…
AI helped lay off a lot of people. Why not use it to actually find a job? A few months ago I was in the position of looking for my next workplace. So yeah, I was spending days and nights applying, but the hardest part was actually finding something that suited me. At one point I got extremely tired of it. So I automated the whole thing. How It Works I set up a daily task in Perplexity that…
About a year and a half ago, I was laid off—right in the middle of my parental leave. It was sad, but at the same time, it felt like a relief. I could finally spend time with my newborn and my wife without constantly thinking about work. But to be honest, I almost didn’t have any days off. Here are a few things I accomplished during that time: * Launched 11 projects * Earned my first income as an…
i am moving back to basics: Notion, Bear → Apple Notes Dia, Arc, Zen → Chrome Arc Mobile → Safari Mobile Overcast → Spotify if it works, let it work
I found myself in a weird situation — within just a few weeks, I became extremely disappointed in a company that initially seemed like a great place to work. I found an interesting role, applied, and after three (lol) months HR sent me an email asking to chat. A few days later, we had our initial meeting, which was truly amazing. The lady told me about the role, asked some questions, and overall…
The only thing I hate more than cold emails is extremely poorly made cold emails. Like the one I received recently:
Sometimes I catch myself slipping into black&white thinking. Everything’s either good or bad, right or wrong. And the decisions I make in that headspace are usually the ones I end up regretting. But recently I picked up a simple and powerful trick: before I choose, I force myself to find a third option. Just one more perspective. And somehow, that tiny pause often changes everything.
I’ve been working as a front-end engineer for almost three years, always in teams with designers. Even before transitioning to tech, I had designers on my team when I worked in marketing. And a few years ago, I also started exploring Figma, and I thought it would be great to learn more and practice to improve my design skills. That’s how I decided to create a hero section every day. So yeah, every…
Ok, just a few weeks after I said goodbye to Skype, another web service I've been using for about 15 years is shutting down. In the late 2000s, I was exploring ways to manage the massive amount of information the internet provides. Back then, I discovered amazing tools like RSS for getting news and Pocket (called Read-It-Later at the time) for saving articles to read later. My flow was (is?)…
Recently, I read the book Right Questions by Debbie Ford. I'm not sure if it's a truly great book, but I really like thinking about the questions the author suggests for reflection. They should help in making better life decisions. Check it out: Will this choice propel me toward an inspiring future or will it keep me stuck in the past? Will this choice bring me long-term fulfillment or will it…
I like the ’90s aesthetic, and sometimes it's fun to record videos in an old-school style. That's why I love using the Camcorder app. It's free and has very limited functionality, but it does an amazing job at what it was created for — making videos look like they were recorded on an old VHS cam. It looks amazing!
When I feel stuck or have too much on my plate, I plan some time just to think about everything I need to do. Usually, I work with post-it notes or simply write everything down in my notebook. I try to unload everything that’s sitting in my head. It doesn’t matter whether it’s work tasks, personal ideas, thoughts about the future, or random jokes that pop into my mind — I just put everything on…
I like reading books. It's one of my favorite hobbies, and I've kept it for a very long time. I enjoy it so much that, at one point in my life, I even worked at a publishing house, where my main job was to read a lot of books and write many articles to promote them. Mostly, I read non-fiction. And here's the thing: if you've read a few hundred non-fiction books, you start to see patterns and can…
It may sound counterintuitive, but some pressure actually helps to create. At least it works for me. For example, I’m not scared of a blank page if I have only 30 minutes to finish an article. When I set challenges or impose some limitations, it’s easier to start (and finish) a task or project. Sometimes I even take it to the extreme. For example, I intentionally avoid computers when creating…
I recently found a great way to explore good music on Spotify. Just choose a song you like and click “Go to radio.” It will create a playlist with similar songs, and most of them will be really good. No more struggling with random shitty playlists.
Every time, I tried to create a "Second Brain" and find a way to organize all my notes so I could easily find them. But each time, the idea didn’t work. I would get overwhelmed and stop using the system, or it was so slow that adding new notes or finding old ones became difficult. And don’t get me wrong, I tried them all — Bear, Google Docs, Notion, iA Writer, Apple Notes, Evernote, Google Keep,…
In Russian, there’s no separate word for cats’ whiskers. People just call them mustaches, which I think is so cool.
Today, May 5, 2025, is the last day that Skype will be available. Microsoft, which owns Skype, is shutting down the service as they focus on Teams as their primary communications platform. The first time I heard about Skype, I think it was 2005 or 2006. My brother came to my parents and asked, "Why are you still using ICQ? You should install Skype — it lets you call other people for free!" Neither…
When I bought my first sampler, the seller gave me a great piece of advice: always keep it connected. That way, whenever you're in the mood, you can just sit down and make some music. I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time, but now I realize how good that advice was. Surround yourself with things that make you happy, so you always feel excited to use them. And it works the other way too —…
I am fascinated by the fact that any iPhone starting from the first one, has much more power than Apollo Guidance Computer that helped get astronauts to the Moon. Apollo Guidance Computer in 1969 had Clock speed of about 1.024 MHz, 2 KB of RAM and 32 KB of storage. And it's kind of funny that we mostly use our (extremely powerful) mobile gadgets for consuming content, not for creating.
Last weekend I had some free time, so I built a tiny web app to help my family figure out what’s going on outside — and more importantly, what we should wear. Since I’m still getting used to fahrenheit (I'm more of a celsius person), the app shows temperatures in both units. This way, I can keep my sanity while still chatting about the weather with my American friends without sounding confused.…
With the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, many people argue that coding might soon become unnecessary. But I believe this should not be an excuse to avoid learning to code. So, should you learn to code today? The answer is yes. Here’s why. I’ve tried learning to code many times. I created and hosted my first website in 2004. In 2012, I experimented with interactive articles while…
I've loved reading for as long as I can remember. I enjoy paper books, audiobooks, and especially ebooks, since they’re the most convenient way for me to discover new authors. About 12 or 13 years ago, I got my first Kindle, and it completely changed the way I consume literature. I instantly fell in love with it and read countless books on that device. But a few years later, I started working at a…
In November, social media saw a lot of changes. Bluesky became incredibly popular, gaining over 20 million users — and I was one of them. Today, I want to share my journey from Twitter to X, and why I ultimately moved to Bluesky (and why you might want to consider it too). As illustrations I used screenshots from Web Design Museum. Twitter I started using Twitter back in 2009. It was such an…
I remember it like it was yesterday, but it happened many years ago. I told my friend about a movie I watched last weekend and suggested to check it out too. He immediately grabbed his phone, opened IMDB, and said, “Hmm, I think I’ll skip it. It only has a 6 out of 10.” I was stunned. And the more it happened — when others dismissed my recommendations for movies, books, or albums because of some…
Until recently, it was quite quiet here. I had to take some time to sort out everything going on around me. So, I’m officially job hunting as a web engineer/frontend developer. Everyone says the market is tough, and that’s no joke — but I still managed to land a few interviews. I even made it to the final rounds a couple of times, but no offers yet. That’s why I kind of disappeared — the job…
Since the beginning of September, I've been searching for a job after being laid off from my previous role at the end of June. The market is tough, lot’s of fake jobs, so it’s been pretty challenging to even land an interview. Still, I managed to get a few, and, well, not all of them were great — though not necessarily because of my performance. Here are two examples I’d like to share. The Good…
Ten years back, I was working as a creative copywriter at a Moscow publishing house that had published and distributed Delivering Happiness a few years prior. That was my intro to Zappos and Tony Hsieh — a legend of his own making. Our team was hooked on his approach to business and life, and honestly, everyone there felt inspired by his philosophy. For me, it was personal. The concept of building…
I am sure that Post Secret is one of the best things on the internet. I think I’ve been following this project for over 10 years, and I still love it. The idea is simple — people from all over the world send postcards with their secrets, and they get published on this website. Some are very funny, others are extremely sad. A few months ago, I bought one of the books published by the author, and I…
Hey-hey I’m currently looking for my next opportunity as a web developer / frontend engineer. I have 2 years of experience as a web developer at a fintech startup, combined with 7 years in marketing across startups and larger companies. This has given me a good mix of technical and creative skills. I work with ReactJS and NextJS, love CSS, and have a good relationship with Figma. I also know how…
In 2017, Apple released a new iPhone with what I consider the worst design decision I could ever imagine — the notch. A few years later, they implemented something slightly better (though with a weird name) — the dynamic island, which at least has beautiful animations around it. But overall, it’s still ugly. I just don’t understand why anyone would be happy with a notch or a black hole in the…
Ten years ago, I traveled alone around Europe, staying at random strangers' houses that I found through Couchsurfing. It was an amazing experience, and I met many great people—some of whom I'm still happy to call friends. In the early autumn of 2014, my plane from Reykjavik landed in Copenhagen. I took a bus to the city, passed a few stops, and headed to the home of a guy named Bille. As soon as I…
At the end of last year, I started using Twitter again, posting a few tweets every day. It's a nice community with interesting people, and I’m extremely happy to be a part of it. However, I always forget to add hashtags. Problem As I mentioned, I often forget to add hashtags. Hashtags can play a huge role in visibility. In my case, more than half of my posts are about indie hacking, so I would…
Yesterday, I launched my latest project, Failure Hunt, on Product Hunt. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as I had hoped it would be. Preparation A few months ago, I decided to launch Dive Deep Books on Product Hunt. I didn’t plan ahead and just filled in the information and clicked ‘Submit’. It didn’t garner much attention, with only 5 upvotes. This time, I decided to prepare. First of all,…
When I was a teenager, the Lomography movement was pretty popular. At the same time, I got my first smartphone with a camera, so I wasn’t extremely interested in analogue photos. I still liked the retro effects, though, and later I enjoyed using apps like Huji to give my photos a fake and amazing analogue film effect. I never thought I would have an analogue camera and tackle all the hassle of…
Raycast is a minimalistic tool for Mac that helps to launch applications, create automations, and perform many other tasks. The coolest feature is that you don’t have to switch context to get the info. Raycast has many built-in functions, but it also provides a store, where you can find many other small apps to help with everyday tasks. Raycast is not the first such app; Alfred is another popular…
One of my favorite short movies. "Bear" always reminds me of it.
At the end of last year, I was thinking about an ambitious goal: to create 12 projects in 12 months. I know that many people have done this challenge, and I thought it would be a good idea to improve my coding skills and find some new sources of income. I always have many ideas to build, so why not to try to do it? A few weeks before these thoughts, I successfully launched News Poetry—a tiny web…
It's been almost two weeks since I got laid off, so it's time to move on and set new goals. I've decided to follow a long-time passion and start working on my own projects to become self-employed. This decision isn't out of the blue. I took my first steps in entrepreneurship after reading ‘$100 Startup’ by Chris Guillebeau in 2017. It taught me that I didn't need any capital to bring my ideas to…
I noticed that I hate all group chats with more than three people. At some point, I just stop following the conversation, get frustrated, and never come back. That’s why I am so bad at diving into communities on Discord or Telegram. I don’t know, maybe there are some life hacks on how to optimize working with information from the chat, or maybe people just scroll down without reading every…
Two years ago, my wife, a few friends, and I went to upstate New York to relax for a couple of days for camping. There was one thing that nobody expected — the cellular coverage was so low that we couldn’t use any mobile internet. As a geek, I was frustrated for a while, but then I found a way to enjoy the journey, and it was fine. We even laughed together, trying to guess what had happened in the…
I got laid off yesterday. Damn. So, yeah, yesterday was quite a morning. I got a message from my manager, jumped on a call, and was told the news. Oh, brutal American work culture. In the meantime, I try to think about what to do next. I want to spend more time with my family and then decide. Maybe I will finally find more time to work on some of my projects (I have too many ideas!). We'll see.…
90% percent of my clothes are 100% cotton, and most of these pieces are from Elwood. I discovered this brand by accident when my wife gave me a sweatshirt from them a couple of years ago. Since then, I've bought numerous items from this Californian brand and couldn’t be happier with the quality and style.