I decided that I won't bother you with poetry in this channel except on my birthdays.

But today I'm 36, so there you go:
https://telegra.ph/36-07-22-2

#verse

The best advice I ever got from my wife:

Imagine that right up to this very moment everything went exactly how you planned it.

Nothing destroys willpower more than the feeling that you already did something wrong: stayed up too late, left a task unfinished, ate one ice cream too much – why not eat another one? But no:

You are where you are as a result of a perfect plan that worked.

Say this to yourself whenever you need to get back on track – it will be surprisingly easy to do.

7 things I learned from Pavel Durov
And how they can help you bring a dog across a road

Pavel Durov just turned 37. We've been working together for almost two decades now – here's what I learned from watching him.

Disclaimer: I never saw Pavel bring a dog across a road, but he demonstrated the value of these 7 principles on countless other occasions.

[1] • [2] • [3] • [4] • [5] • [6] • [7]

Text by Mike Ravdonikas
Illustrations by Kattikko
Previous birthday

1. Make a plan. "It would be cool if..." can make a lot of difference if you ask yourself: "Which steps do I take to make it happen?"
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

2. Aim for perfection. "Good enough" means you haven't even started.
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

3. You are enough. The Renaissance isn't over: you can still do everything by yourself.
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

4. No partnerships. Never partner with outsiders to do your job: they'll want those partnerships for a different reason.
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

5. Simplify. Simplicity is the most valuable substance in the universe. Zoom out to find it.
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

6. Be your own tester. You don't need the opinion of others to know what's wrong: you can feel it. So find it and fix it.
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

7. Respect your audience. When you're 100% sure it's flawless – show it to a few people you trust. Then fix what they find, check two more times – and ship.
7 things I learned from Pavel Durov

Wodehouse 2022: Jabs and Boosters

You are (mostly) not here to read poetry. And neither am I here to post it.

This channel has been around for almost 7 years, but today it occurred to me for the first time that I could make a new one where you would be to read poetry.

And so I made one. And now comes the Maxwell’s Demon moment: will the slow-moving molecules please step to the left – and the rest join https://t.me/verse.

😈

I made a habit of publishing small collections of poems on my birthdays, but this year's harvest is both diverse and plentiful – and we're well past July 23. While I'm figuring out which of the 60 or so scraps of verse should stay and which will go, here are a few ghosts of Christmas past from the 2021-2022 season.

(P.S. For no apparent reason, I spent most of the past year thinking I'm 37 already – so this second year of 37 will be a strange one to live in. Deja vu.)

https://telegra.ph/Five-Cities-07-31

Fix Tourist Spots
Problem: Crowds ruin the vibe. Solution: Rent era-appropriate but practical clothes at destination. Perks from local shops for participants. Result: Authentic feel, social media buzz.

A channel’s gotta get its custom colors on, after all.

Not to mention ‘par avion’ style replies. 📮

"It is alive." You likely had no idea, but I had an operation two weeks ago, which went well, and I'm getting back to work now.

My doctor wants to see me again in 6 months; in my neck, two titanium disks now replace those that were damaged (one causing excruciating pain in the arm, the other silently threatening paralysis at an unspecified point in a dark branch of a future, now averted). Some 12-18 months later, three of the now fused vertebrae in my cervical spine will have grown together into one mega-vertebrum — and, unfortunately, I didn't get any useful augmentations like sub-dermal armor, night vision, or needle-casting capabilities in the style of Altered Carbon.

I am, however, again fully capable of lying down flat — and working on being able to sleep (which will probably take a while longer, but I'm off most of the meds and past the worst of the withdrawal effects). Both of those skills feel very good to practice after four months.

If you're wondering why I'm going into so much detail, it's to make you consider improving your work environment:

• Never use laptops without a stand
• Keep your phone and any other screens at eye level, like you're filming the sunset
• Use a chair and table/desk, never work from a couch or armchair
• Set a short timer that will remind you to improve your posture and position
• Set a longer timer that will remind you to get up and walk around a bit
• And screw drinking water — dehydrated people never suffer like I have.

In case you need some more convincing, here's the same story laid out in @verse (which will tell you a bit more of the "fun" that is suddenly stopping heavy painkillers):

https://t.me/verse/86