A Geek Goes Flying

Multitasking What Constant Multitasking Does to Your Brain , from December 2025: “When we multitask, our attentional resources are being stretched to their limit and we are more prone to errors ... multitasking actually makes us less efficient, more stressed, and eventually, mentally drained. If you try to take on too much or multitask all day, your brain eventually runs out of bandwidth to focus clearly.” The entire article is worth a read; including: Here’s how it affects your brain When you’re constantly switching between tasks, your brain enters a state of cognitive overload. You might notice: Brain fog Irritability Forgetfulness Trouble focusing Mental exhaustion by the end of the day And: Try this easy fix You don’t have to eliminate multitasking completely, but being intentional about when and how you focus can make a big difference. Here’s how to help your brain recover: Batch similar tasks. Group emails, calls, or errands so your brain stays in one mode longer. Use timers ...

I initially backed (on prelaunch.com) the Kickstarter BYOK project on August 7, 2024. Yesterday, January 7, 2026, one year and five months later, it arrived (about a year after the initial projected . I've now had a chance to unpack it and play around with it a little bit. Getting it working with a keyboard was ... interesting. The USB-C cable I carry with me everywhere didn't work on a Tokyo 60 board , or with a RK71 in cable mode (I suspect the cable was charging only, so I picked up a new short cable that I confirmed supports data). The RK71 in Bluetooth mode was seen by the BYOK and paired successfully via Bluetooth, but the BYOK did not recognize any input. Likewise an older Keychron K2 and my Ajazz K620T. Not great. (Edit: See below; a firmware update fixed this issue.) I finally used the cable that came with the device to connect the Tokyo60 and that worked, and it's what I'm using to type this. The device works well enough, so far. There's a tiny bit of ...

Ganesh, Remover of Obstacles This is a post I’ve been trying to put together for a while, but I keep getting pulled off in different directions. But it’s early morning, I have a few moments, and I’m enjoying trying out my new 2K standing desk setup, so here goes. Flow State “[K]nowledge workers work best by getting into ‘flow,’ also known as being ‘in the zone,’ where they are fully concentrated on their work and fully tuned out of their environment.” Joel Spolsky, 12 Steps to Better Code , no. 8. (A more recent look: Developer Flow State and Its Impact on Productivity .) This is true for, among others, “[w]riters, programmers, scientists...” ( Id .) I’d put lawyers in that list, obviously; when I’m researching or drafting a complex memorandum, etc., I’m as much in a flow state as I am when I’m hacking code. The American Bar Association agrees: How can lawyers find flow? (citing the work of psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.) Others have written about it in this context, too: ...