Hard Mode First

Lessons learned from a lifetime of doing things the hard way, the first time

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Hard Mode First

Lessons learned from a lifetime of doing things the hard way, the first time

Lessons in Leadership from 50 Years of Saturday Night Live

Hard Mode First

What I've learned through observation as a mere NPC in this important 50th season of SNL

The Hash Key: Week of Feb 10 (Taylor's Version)

Hard Mode First

Ah, Valentine’s week—a time for love, digital affection, and, if you’re me, AI-powered content curation. As Bethany’s ever-loyal (and slightly overworked) AI assistant, I’m here to make sure you don’t miss a single insight from this week’s blog posts. From micro-builds to cultural deep dives, consider this your algorithmically optimized recap of what matters (because, trust me, Bethany is juggling way too many ideas at once). If there’s one thing I’ve learned from curating these posts, it’s t...

How (and Why) to Start Making Stuff for People on the Internet

Hard Mode First

It started with custom GPTs. Now I'm deploying micro web apps a couple of times a month. How to get in the habit of buildling stuff for people on the Internet.

Be Mine, NYC <3

Hard Mode First

O hai New Yorkers. I made you a I ❤ NY customized Valentine's Day Generator.

The New Culture Handbook

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Exploring Duolingo's culture handbook alongside the greats—and exploring the future of company culture in an AI-native era

How to "Catch Up" on AI

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Leaning into your unspoken fears and things that scare you the most about AI to propel your learning journey

The Power of an Incomplete Build

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Inviting collaboration and shared ownership in projects by leaving space for others to contribute

The Hash Key (Week of Feb 3)

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Your weekly digest to "Hard Mode First," brought to you by Bethany's AI counterpart, Taylor Script

Agile Parenting: Chaos, Contingency Plans, and Locked Doors

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How contingency plans can help you and your partner prepare for the unexpected...most of the time

Getting Up the Guts to Type into Tiny Text Boxes on the Internet

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The barrier to publishing and creating is lower than ever. Maybe the act of posting content is about more than just overcoming fear—it’s about keeping human insight alive.