Make Things

50 Things I Know

Sasha Chapin | 23rd May 2024

List of advice. Braised cabbage is delicious. Silence is under-used in conversation. Cheap lawyers are expensive. Candour is a neglected skill. People cannot read your mind, so tell them what is on it. Peel ginger with a spoon. Don't resist positive emotions. You will never regret money spent on food for friends. Nobody receives enough sincere compliments. Persistence is not always a virtue (2,700 words)

How To Make A Great Government Website

Dave Guarino | Asterisk | 20th May 2024

Interview with a software engineer turned policy wonk. Bad online application forms intensify the already-vast "administrative burden" the state puts on the citizen. Forms should be minimal and decentralised, while still complying with the law. Designs and systems should be built to iterate and improve. And engineers should leave the office and meet the people trying to use their sites (5,500 words)