Gibberish and Stuff

Hundred Schools of Thought

During the Warring States period, China was divided into many, err, warring states. The kings of these states wanted to take over the others. To do this, they needed the help of experts. So, many experts emerged during this time and became advisors to…

Super Men

When I was a kid, Ultraman was called 鹹蛋超人 (salted egg super man) in Chinese. Because his eyes kinda looked like salted eggs. But I always knew him as just 超人 (super man). Then when I first saw Superman (which also translates to 超人), I thought, "Yuck,…

About That Facebook Sewing App

I've been trying to use Threads for a few weeks now, and I still can't make sense of it. Most Threads posts are like empty calories and I couldn't get any real substance. It really felt like a digital town square. In that I don't know anyone in the…

How Not to Make Money from Apps

The more I think about it, the more it seems that my "advice" about selling apps to small business teams is outdated. It's much harder to sell business software now than it was 10 years ago. Why? Because of popular tools like Slack, Google Docs, Notion,…

The Diminishing Hawker Culture in Singapore

In the 1960s, if you wanted to make some quick money in Singapore, you'd probably become a hawker. You'd set up a pushcart stall, bring your cooking utensils and ingredients from home, arrange some tables, and voilà, you're in business. Not everyone…

A Brief History of Dota

Blizzard has bundled a map editor program with their RTS games since Warcraft 2 and StarCraft, allowing users to create custom maps with their own rules. These maps could be shared on battle.net for everyone to download and play. The mapmaker scene took…

Rethinking Enshittification

"Enshittification" is an overused word. Every time a company adds a feature we don't like, it's enshittification. Every time a company raises their price, it's enshittification. Switch to subscription? Enshittification. Redesign? Enshittification. Cory…

Generative AI is a Skinner Box

You already know about the Skinner box, so I'll keep it short: In the 1950s, a scientist named B.F. Skinner did some experiments with pigeons. He put them in a box with a button. In some experiments, pressing the button gave the pigeon food. In others,…

Most People Don’t Care

Most people don't care about the colors of your websites. Most people don't care about quality. Most people don't care about the open web. Most people don't care about their privacy. Most people don't care about politics. Most people don't care about…

AI Advertising

Remember the early 2000s when Google's search results were super accurate? People thought that if it continued to grow, it might become a singularity and control everything. Some even went as far as calling Google "SkyNet." Now people are saying if we…

Why You Are Having a Hard Time Coming Up with Good, Profitable Ideas

The problem isn't about being "profitable," it's about being "good." Money-making ideas are everywhere. Many people seem to make good money with, say, a CRM. So what's stopping you from creating your own CRM and making some money? Because creating yet…

How to Market Your SaaS in 2024

I've been thinking about SaaS marketing for some time now, and I think I've finally cracked it. The best way to market your SaaS is by posting on Twitter. Now, I know you probably have a lot of questions, but hold on. First, take $8 out of your pocket and…

Why Do We Need Apps for Everything?

cortesoft: Why does patreon need its own app? Why can't it just be web based? I wish fewer companies had apps. I don't need an app for everything. […] So why do companies make them? Nekorosu: A lot of people (not me) use phone as their main computing…

Girls Band Cry

I started watching Girls Band Cry after seeing this middle finger video: The 3D CG animation might take some time to get used to, but it's better than a lot of other anime that use 3D CG. I heard that the animators adjust most of the scenes frame by…

More App Review WTFs

Mittermayr, on Hacker News: I have a free (!) app (completely 100% free) on the macOS App Store. It's getting mostly 5-star reviews and has done so for many years. Good. I used to offer the app through my website mainly, but people asked for security…

Gibberish Has Made It to the App Store

So, Gibberish has finally been approved in the App Store. I've added an In-app purchase, but it's a bit more expensive than subscribing on the web. So, it might be better to avoid subscribing through the app if you can. When I submitted the original…

Good Ramen in Singapore

After a disappointing experience with Takagi Ramen via Grabfood, my wife and I thought it was time to go outside and find some proper ramen. So we began our quest of finding the best ramen in Singapore. We didn't trust Google results for this kind of…

Every time I come up with a new idea for a Safari extension, I will think about the 1-star reviews I got because of iOS bugs or YouTube's code changes.

Random Quotes

Just writing down some quotes that I came across recently, or that randomly popped into my brain. They made me think, but for some reason, I cannot turn those thoughts into blog posts. So here they are, in their original form. Joan Westenberg: I was no…

Being Bad with Money

Usually, when people say they're 'bad with money,' it means that they're not great at saving or budgeting, like they might blow their whole paycheck in a week. Well, I've got a different problem. I'm bad at charging money. Like I think 'business' is a…