1. Herbik

This is a lovely serif typeface.

2. What if you said no?

In the grand scheme of tech industry things to disagree with, this is a pretty low stakes scenario. But what I saw was an employee being told to do something he disagreed with and saying no. Maybe only he could have done this, with his immense internal influence. But also maybe anyone could have and they just didn’t try.

3. If I want more IRL, I must go AFK

Aside from creating my favourite browser links organiser, I deeply appreciate Blake’s open writing on the experience of living with SMA:

And it’s not just interacting with things that I miss, but also people. It’s incredibly small things like the ability to talk with your hands or pat someone on the shoulder; leaning in to talk to people in loud environments; shaking someone’s hand. Paradoxically, the wheelchair simultaneously makes you noticeable and invisible. The worst of both worlds.

4. The hidden costs of LLM problem-solving

I penned some thoughts on how using LLMs to problem solve can introduce friction to the collaborative process, and what we can do to improve that.

I think this is where the biggest hidden costs lie. An LLM can generate an infinite number of suggestions for free, but working out what’s useful from that can take a significant amount of time. It’s inefficient and counterproductive.

If most requests are instructions to implement an inappropriate change, there’s a risk to the collaboration morale, too. The receiver has to push back, having started on the back foot. Neither of which are great for collaboration.

5. An entire Herculaneum scroll has been read for the first time

This is fascinating:

For almost 2,000 years, the carbonized library of Herculaneum has kept a cruel bargain: its scrolls survived the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but only by becoming too fragile to open. To read one was to destroy it. Hundreds of rolls have therefore remained sealed, their contents preserved yet unreachable.

What am I up to?

• I wrote a retrospective on five years of running Unoffice Hours
• Unusually, I have a couple of projects wrapping up at the same time and have some availability for new projects this month
• I’ve not mentioned it for a while, but I still offer consultations for one-on-one design guidance
• Recently published my own answers to the design process questions
• My next available Unoffice Hour slot is 8 July

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Until next time,

Dave

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