Recommendations

A few things worth your time, with a short note on why.

Reading

Developer's Hegemony — Erik Dietrich
A perspective-shifting read for software engineers, but it applies to knowledge workers in general in the modern age.
Flatland — Edwin Abbott
Short, but it captures the tension between individual experience and societal norms, expectations, and "common knowledge" better than most things twice its length.
The Tail End — Wait But Why
A sobering post on staying present — don't forget to enjoy life as best you can, while you can.

Restaurants

Casper Fermentables (Austin, TX)
Fantastic sourdough bakery and bagel shop.
Stouthaus Coffee (Austin, TX)
Great coffee and a solid remote-work spot, right next to Casper Fermentables.
Golden Hour Cafe (Austin, TX)
Great coffee, a good remote-work spot, solid food, and a wine bar in the evening.

Tools / Software

Great note-taking app — local-first and private.
A solid browser. Built on Firefox but with more modern features.

Films / Shows

Psych
Fun, silly, sitcom detective show.
The Sandman
Dark, ethereal, dreamy.

Games

Fantastic production and supply-chain game set in the 1800s.
An amazing source of historical and strategic learning.
Beautiful space immersion. Expansive.
Great space exploration.
Solid medieval first-person sim, more casual.
Solid medieval first-person sim, more combat-focused.
Solid medieval top-down sim.
Well-done ancient-era tribal sim, top-down.