Personal

We talk a lot about prompt engineering for AI, but what about prompt engineering ourselves? Our minds are constantly running on internal narratives — stories we tell ourselves about who we are, what we’re responsible for, and how the world works. What if we could rewrite these prompts? The Problem: Anxiety’s Feedback Loop Anxiety isn’t just a feeling — it’s a self-reinforcing system. We feel anxious, which changes our behavior, which creates situations that justify our anxiety, which makes us more anxious. ...

I have a confession: I am absolutely, unabashedly in love with TODO lists. Not just fond of them, not just dependent on them — I’m talking about a deep, passionate love affair that has lasted my entire career. And as a neurodivergent engineer with ADHD, this isn’t just a quirky productivity habit. It’s my secret superpower. The ADHD Brain and External Memory Most neurotypical people use TODO lists as reminders. For neurodivergent minds, they’re something far more powerful: an external memory system that compensates for our unique cognitive patterns. ...

I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. To be honest, it feels strange to even type those words out loud. When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, my mental health completely collapsed. I hit what I now know was the lowest point of my life. I weighed around 140kg, I was severely depressed, constantly anxious, and felt like I was drowning. Doctors put me on SSRI antidepressants, but they didn’t help. The side effects were there, but the relief wasn’t. I felt broken. But somewhere deep inside, my stubborn problem-solving brain was still alive, whispering: “Don’t give up. Keep looking.” ...

Stories We Tell Ourselves We are storytelling creatures. Since we first gathered around fires, humans have crafted narratives to make sense of existence — where we came from, why we’re here, what happens when we die. These stories become the religions that shape civilizations, the myths that guide moral intuitions, the frameworks through which we interpret reality itself. Today, many argue that consumerism has become our de facto religion, complete with its own temples (shopping malls), rituals (Black Friday), and promises of salvation (the next purchase will finally make us happy). But I find myself drawn to an older, deeper story — one written not in ancient texts but in the very fabric of reality itself. ...

A winter slowdown in New England gave me time to reconnect with my roots as a developer and reflect on a decade of web development experience.