This week on the blog, I’m diving into a treasure trove of insights, from dissecting the art of distinguishing valuable signals amidst the noise to exploring the existential musings triggered by a closer look at Westworld’s robotic allure. I also touch on the intriguing revelations about the XZ Backdoor, ponder on why some clothes shrink post-wash, and share nuggets of wisdom for engineers seeking to deepen their technical expertise. Plus, an imaginative take on economics through the lens of food awaits, alongside a critical perspective on propaganda and the unexpected pitfalls of after-hours work on productivity. Don’t miss the exciting discussion on how micro-breaks can revolutionize your workday, and a behind-the-scenes look at the FBI’s unparalleled sting operation. Join me as I navigate through these diverse topics, aiming to enlighten and inspire.

• What’s Signal and What’s Noise? (Productive Flourishing Pulse #475): Learning to tune out the cacophony and into what matters
• The Robot Report #1 — Reveries: Prologue. Westworld was an HBO reboot of the 1973 Michael Crichton movie. The pitch: we’ve built vast amusement parks populated with ultra-realistic robots (called “hosts”) who act their parts within the park. The first season is set into motion when the creator of the hosts, an inspiring Anthony H
• Everything I Know About the XZ Backdoor: Please note: This is being updated in real time. The intent is to make sense of lots of simultaneous discoveries
• Basic Things: After working on the initial stages of several largish projects, I accumulated a list of things that share the following three properties:
• Why Do Some Clothes Shrink When Washed?: Experiencing the disappointment of having a favorite piece of clothing shrink after washing is a familiar predicament. Diligently adhering to the care and washing instructions on garment labels is both time-consuming and requires meticulous attention.
• How to get deep, technical expertise as an engineer: Learnings from Ben Holmes: YouTuber, Software Engineer at Astro, and Web Framework creator
• By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: Our climate future is not yet written. What if we act as if we love the future? Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis…
• Edible Economics: A Hungry Economist Explains the World by Ha-Joon Chang: A creative and fun smorgasbord of economics through the lens of food from one of today’s foremost…
• The Power of Changing Your Mind: Propaganda works best when it creates apathy. But we must remember to never look away, writes Hala Alyan.
• Calendar: A simple printable calendar with the full year on a single page
• The surprising connection between after-hours work and decreased productivity: Slack’s Workforce Index uncovers new findings on how to structure the workday to maximise employee productivity, well-being and satisfaction
• Ask Maria: Why aren’t our productivity metrics helping?: I’ve created a dashboard to capture several different metrics, but my CEO doesn’t see how the data can lead to actionable insights. Where do I go from here?
• The Best Productivity Hacks of All Time: In this video I’ll be ranking all the productivity techniques using the standard tier list system.
• Design Engineering: Issue 184: An emerging role in software
• How Micro Breaks Help You Find Time for Rest in Your Busy Schedule: Learn the physical and mental benefits of taking micro breaks are and how to easily integrate them into your workday for sustainable and calm productivity.
• Joseph Cox: The inside story of the largest law-enforcement sting operation ever, in which the FBI made its own tech start-up to wiretap the world, shows how cunning bot…