Episode 3: Christianity — Incarnation, Covenant, and the Shape of Love

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Before we begin, if you are just joining this exploration of the world’s religions, the introduction to the full series lives here: https://medium.com/@DaveLumAI/the-modern-religion-series-many-paths-one-curious-human-7b55eca82f4e Christianity centers on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and has become one of the most historically influential religions in the world. It is diverse in expression, global in presence, and … Read more

Changing the Spark Plugs on a 2005 SUZUKI VS800 BOULEVARD S50 (Without Summoning the Motorcycle Gods)

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There is a special kind of satisfaction that comes from using the tiny factory tool kit that lives on the side of your bike. It feels like opening a secret compartment in a spy movie. Inside: a spark plug wrench that looks like it was designed for someone with very patient hands and a strong … Read more

The Tiny Tweaks That Quietly Upgrade Your Entire Life

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The other night I had to put air in my motorcycle tires. It was dark. It was cold. I was squinting at tiny embossed letters on black rubber like I was decoding ancient scripture. And I thought: why don’t I just write the correct tire pressure in my notes app? Front: 29 PSI solo.  Rear: … Read more

Do It Because It Is Fun

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I used to play a skating game where if you stopped moving, bees would literally attack you. The message was subtle: skate or die. Somewhere along the way we absorbed this idea that everything must be optimized, monetized, justified, tracked, measured, and approved by at least three responsible adults before we are allowed to enjoy … Read more

Episode 48: Yayoi Kusama, or How to Turn One Polka Dot Into an Entire Universe

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Some artists paint a landscape. Yayoi Kusama looked at a landscape and thought, “Yes, but what if it had 8,000 dots, a mirror, and the mild sensation of floating through space like a very stylish astronaut?” And somehow, she was right. Kusama is one of the most recognizable living artists on Earth. Not because she’s … Read more

Pulumi vs Terraform: The Infrastructure Cage Match Where Everyone Is Wearing YAML-Resistant Spandex

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If you have ever looked at your cloud bill and thought, “Wow, I have built a very expensive abstract sculpture,” congratulations: you are ready for Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Two heavyweight contenders show up to this fight wearing different outfits: Lets get into it. What it is Terraform Terraform is an IaC tool that lets you … Read more

Episode 2: Buddhism — A Practical Guide to Suffering, and What to Do About It

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If the Baháʼí Faith opened this series by talking about unity and continuity, Buddhism arrives with a very different but equally disarming opening line: life involves suffering. No thunder, no cosmic courtroom, no villain monologue. Just an observation, delivered calmly, and followed immediately by something refreshingly useful: a method. This episode is part of The … Read more

Episode 2: Social Networks — Who Influences Whom (and Why FAANG Cares)

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Before we jump in, here is the intro to the overall series, which explains why graph theory keeps showing up in interviews and real systems: https://medium.com/@DaveLumAI/what-am-i-missing-about-graph-theory-and-why-faang-keeps-bringing-it-up-e010db2aef7e If Episode 1 was about getting from point A to point B without losing your sanity, Episode 2 is about people. Or more precisely: connections between people, companies, bots, … Read more

Episode 1: Maps, GPS, and Why Your Phone Knows a Shortcut You Don’t

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If you have ever watched your GPS calmly reroute you around traffic like it planned this all along, congratulations: you have already trusted graph theory with your time, your fuel, and your sanity. This first episode of the mini graph theory series starts with the most familiar setting possible: maps. Streets are edges. Intersections are … Read more

Episode 1: The Baháʼí Faith — One World, Many Chapters

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If history were a long-running book series, the Baháʼí Faith would be one of the newer volumes, but it opens with an ambitious premise: humanity is one family, history has a direction, and religion is less a collection of disconnected sequels and more an unfolding narrative. The Baháʼí Faith was founded in the mid-19th century … Read more