Standard Operating Procedure
Not the type of follow-up post you ever want to write.
Mark Allen
Mark Allen, a Toronto-based product designer and builder, writes about software, product craft, and endurance cycling.
Latest posts
Read more Kurt Vonnegut
Finding wisdom in the absurdity of modern life.
2026 Training Goals for Paris-Brest-Paris 2027
How I’d use 2026 to set myself up for success at PBP 2027.
What Happened to Working
The history of automation says AI won't kill most jobs. It'll hollow them out.
Pace Layers for AI-First Product Development
Designing AI-first products that don’t collapse under their own speed.
New Project: QuoteCard
A Safari extension that turns highlighted text into beautiful quote images.
Prompting My Way Through Cancer
ChatGPT didn’t replace my care team, but it did make me a better patient.
Reducing Stopped Time on Brevets
The slowest cyclist is a stopped cyclist.
Custom cycling nutrition for dirt cheap
Make your own Maurten, SiS Beta Fuel or Perpetuem.
How To Rename Git’s Default Branch
Unlike most of Git, changing the default branch name is relatively easy.
How To Get Transcripts For Any Podcast
Let computers do your transcription work for you
New (Small) Project: Teleport.fm
Tired of people seeing your “home office” on Zoom? Teleport somewhere better.
The Future of Conferences is Online
Some thoughts about conferences in the COVID-19 era.
New Project: Leaf
Leaf is the easiest way to share Markdown files online.
The Setup
What I use every day to get things done.
New Bike! My Rivendell Sam Hillborne
A decade of trying to justify my dream bike finally pays off.
My 2020 Technical Learning Plan
Areas I want to become more proficient in this next year.
Bike Route Planning
Here are some of the ways I find good bike touring routes.
Ride Report: Toronto to Montreal
My week-long tour along Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River.
Ride Report: Simcoe Loop Trail
A three day ride around Ontario’s Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay region.
Getting eBooks From the Toronto Library Onto Your Kindle
The Toronto Library doesn’t support the Kindle, but you can make it work.
Looking at “Footbridge With Cross Before Trees at a River”
You never know what you need to see at the museum.
Interpreting the Actions of Others
How I (somewhat successfully) try to view the world.
The Courage to Be Disliked
Thoughts from the most challenging book I’ve read recently.
The Best Business Biographies I’ve Read
I went to art school, so everything I’ve learned about business came from here.
An Obligatory “Hello World” Post
I haven’t read Gatsby’s full Terms and Conditions, but I’m pretty sure that legally you’re required to write a post about why you’re using Gatsby instead of something like Medium or Wordpress. So let’s get that part out of the way. Aside from being a shiny new technology I’ve wanted to play with for a while, Gatsby is also has some nice features. It’s quite fast right out of the box and renders…