Personal blog of Juan Pablo Ortiz
The last couple of years I have been doing a better job of keeping notes on the books I read. So I figured I would make something out of it and post them periodically. I chose to start with Peter Singer's The life you can save , because I am a supporter of his utilitarian views. Singer is a philosopher whose life goal has been to get people to recognize that it is morally wrong not to help others…
I always wanted a big screen I could have turned on all the time with random stats I care about. A couple of years ago I saw a post from an ex-Googler where he explained how he created one for himself and I got excited and scared at the same time. Excited because that’s exactly what I wanted, his version used an e-ink screen and the amazing dude did all the circuitry and wood-working himself.…
My first big competition itch in non-sports, was when PVP (Player vs Player) was introduced in World of Warcraft. I was instantly hooked, I left the biggest Guild in my server which focused on PVE content (Player vs Environment), to join a specialized PVP guild. I reached Lieutenant Commander, the 5th highest rank you could achieve in the game. But this took an enormous amount of grinding that I…
The 90s were the pinnacle of brain-draining television. When you didn’t have anything to do outside it was normal to spend afternoons with aimless channel surfing waiting for your favorite tv program to come live. When internet went mainstream I remember it bringing a lot of enthusiasm. You were suddenly not only able to consume unfiltered content from other normal people like you, you could also…
We all love to think things thoroughly. Part of what pushed us into being engineers is the love for the puzzles. The thrill of finding the optimal solution. However the truth is that most of the time finding the optimal solution simply does not matter. What you should strive to find is the best solution you can find within a limited budget of time. The best solution you can find given your…