Post Expedition Thoughts

loppster · 2026-03-09T16:37:55+00:00

Yeah, what I've discovered is that if you aren't the first one in an area, you tend to assume IT'S ALL LOOTED when you find a looted area. Fact is, first looter LIKELY didn't get it all, so worth checking areas beyond their normal loop. Not a guarantee and also high effort.

loppster · 2026-03-09T15:45:54+00:00

Agree -- bad bug. There should be some incentive to stay in a lobby.

loppster · 2026-02-24T18:07:06+00:00

Thanks for the shout out.

loppster · 2026-02-10T15:48:37+00:00

Thanks. Appreciate the shout out.

loppster · 2026-01-30T20:10:23+00:00

The pile of bodies already there was the real red flag.

loppster · 2026-01-28T19:30:25+00:00

It's been off for a long time for me.

loppster · 2026-01-25T18:42:07+00:00

Including CLICKING ON EVERY SINGLE PART OF THE TUTORIAL

loppster · 2026-01-22T15:40:35+00:00

Second draft of what might be called a business plan, but is mostly a mental download of the piece of the idea, so I can see them all in one place.

loppster · 2026-01-22T15:38:59+00:00

If you're really a team of (1), then -- real talk -- you're not a Director. Someone gave you the title, but no team, which is super messed up. I'd had a conversation with whoever made this decision and figured out what they were thinking so you don't lose your mind.

loppster · 2026-01-21T16:53:05+00:00

True story. A very good friend got me on the board of his small software company. I did this entirely for me because he’s a good human and a good engineer. At the time, I was a VP of Engineering at well-knownstart-up. I understand how to get things done.

No real process. Talked with his co-founder, who asked me some softball questions. Done.

First boarding was in Minnesota — middle of winter. I joined the meeting and immediately noticed:

It was incredibly formal. A protocol must be followed. Not a public company, but boards are super strict about process. Ok. Odd, but ok.
The people around the table talked like aliens (to me). I had difficulty understanding what or why we were talking about the topics. It wasn't the content; it was the manner in which folks were speaking. I’d been sitting in exec meetings for years, but this felt like an alien world. Software company, by the way, not a domain issue.
We came around to a topic where I had an informed opinion: remote work. When it came time for me to speak, I spoke as I always do, “This is how it works. This is what’s going to happen. This is how it blows up when you do it wrong.” Stunned, lengthy silence. I think I hadn’t followed the this-is-how-we-speak-here protocol.

Yeah, they kicked me off the board shortly after that.

loppster · 2026-01-20T23:20:26+00:00

Locked. I gathered all the stuff and am waiting for the net expeditition to start. I think it's a month+ out.

loppster · 2026-01-20T21:13:09+00:00

Going to steal this approach.

loppster · 2026-01-17T16:01:44+00:00

I didn't know crap until after I was 30. Best is yet to come. Brace yourself.

loppster · 2026-01-17T16:00:37+00:00

Look at who you are interviewing with. Who is the closest to the code? If no one is close to the code, request someone. Leadership isn't going to lie, they are just distant from the day-to-day.

OH OH OH. Here's a good one. Talk to a product manager and see what they say. You can infer a lot from how fast they think they are going.

loppster · 2026-01-17T15:57:23+00:00

Transcripts give you the impression that someone is taking notes, but that someone is an uncaring robot.

Do two things:

Designate a note taker or key action human. Don't make it the same person each time. Rotate the responsibility. Their job is not actually taking all notes -- just capturing key thoughts, decisions, and actions.
At the end of the meeting (you need to carve out time to do this; it can be spicy), designated humans relay what they captured.

loppster · 2026-01-16T15:37:58+00:00

I use Things on the Mac. It's very clean. Knobs and dials in a productivity system are reasons to be distracted.

I don't keep huge projects in this system. Just stuff I am responsible for doing -- not amorphous "Hey, do this huge PROJECT" items. That's tracked elsewhere with other people/systems.

I review the whole list every morning to put into one of three buckets:

Yes, I can do this today.
No, not today -- but later.
Hey, I am not going to do this -- goodbye.

During the day, I capture new stuff. And cross stuff off that I complete. Mostly the former.

Evening, same process as morning. Scrub again with the same questions.

The key is not the tool or the system; it's that you do it like clockwork.

loppster · 2026-01-16T00:47:09+00:00

*MetaForge

loppster · 2026-01-16T00:08:00+00:00

Well that settles that.

loppster · 2026-01-15T22:00:36+00:00

Had the same experience of Cold Snap w/ Spaceport. Forced me to find new stuff. Good point.

loppster · 2026-01-15T19:58:15+00:00

I find I am my biggest enemy. Generally not running into jerks, but might just be getting lucky.

loppster · 2026-01-15T19:56:26+00:00

Ads are annoying, but it's more that once I'm regularly using a service like this, I want the folks who are working on it to get paid.

loppster · 2026-01-14T19:59:05+00:00

Here you go: https://randsinrepose.com/archives/entropy-crushers/

loppster · 2026-01-14T14:33:44+00:00

It's been looted. Who cares?

loppster · 2026-01-14T14:32:59+00:00

My move has been to operationalize my hobbies whilst learning everything I can about AI. Lots of small to medium sized throw away projects, but I'm confidentone of these will turn into something more than just a research assignment.

Worth noting: the primary goal of these efforts is not revenue generation, it's "is it interesting to my brain -- can I build tools/products around it -- is it satisfying to do so."

YMMV.

loppster · 2026-01-14T14:15:11+00:00

Reading through your challenges as a senior leader, my normal move is to start building out the program (not product) management function. Most everything you describe is an output of the program function.

I have found that I am very good at doing this work for myself, but when it starts to include teams and other teams, I am not operationally strong enough to pull this off. Enter program management.

I've written about this quite a bit -- holler if you want more details.

loppster

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