Reagan's Legacy in Guatemala, Fermented Hot Sauce, and the Future of Online Platforms

Hello folks,

Welcome to Last Week I Learned.

As always, let me know which articles stick out! If you found any media (books, TV shows, etc) of your own, please send them my way.

I am omitting the Deep Dive for a few issues here as I'm traveling. Thank you for your patience!

Links

• The Failed Commodification Of Technical Work (10 min read) - I am uncertain if this will hold as AI develops, but I found this a useful take on a curious phenomenon. Why aren't tech workers commoditized yet? In my experience, software is more craft than science.

There's plenty of work that consists of simply churning out widgets faster, and I'm happy to see that work disappear (so long as we find a way for people to continue living healthily without it), but it must be acknowledged that many of the things we value in society come from an ill-defined, more vital place, and there is an intersection of that spark with the realities of production.

• Fast Cash vs. Slow Equity (4 min read) - I am always looking for metaphors that are dense. I want to understand and communicate ideas as clearly and efficiently as possible. This short article is incredible in its richness. It reminds me of my friend Brynne's concept of "cat" and "dog" jobs. Cat jobs require little attention and mostly survive on their own. Dog jobs require lots of care and long hours.

A cash business can have quick linear growth, whereas an equity business will have slower but exponential growth. This is part of why the standard advice is to not quit your day job when you start a startup. You need the salary to keep you afloat for the years it will likely take for your equity business to start paying you.

• We Don’t Need a New Twitter (7 min read) - In the past year, we've seen the competition for the next Twitter become fierce. X, Threads, and Blue Sky appear to be emerging as the favorites with Mastodon and Substack nipping at their heels. I love this article for questioning whether this proliferation of new options is a good thing. Are we better off without Twitter?

Who cares, in other words, whether or not Threads succeeds, when the existence of a new Twitter will do little to serve most peoples’ hunger for authentic communication? Fortunately, the original small community ethos of the early Internet seems to be mounting a comeback in forms like podcasting, e-mail newsletters, Discord groups, and TalkNats.com-style discussion sites—all of which can offer a more homegrown and personal variety of online interaction. These efforts deserve our attention more than the spectacle of billion-dollar companies falling over themselves to force together as many people as possible.

• Homemade Hot Sauce (Fermented or Quick Cook Recipe) (5 min read) - I am blown away by how easy making hot sauce is. I am still not good at it and would not share anything I make. But "impress your friends" homemade hot sauce is not out of reach. In 15 minutes you can make something passable. Wild.

The traditional way of making hot sauce involves fermenting either straight hot peppers or a mix of hot and sweet peppers and other aromatic veggies (like garlic or onion). When the fermentation time is up, the whole shebang is blended with vinegar until smooth as silk. To help keep the hot sauce from separating, emulsifiers are usually used during the blending process—we recommend xanthan gum—which keeps the hot sauce smooth when bottled.

• Reagan’s Hand in Guatemala’s Genocide (7 min read) - I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to Central American history. But starting with Reagan appears to be a useful, if depressing, proxy for understanding modern Central America. I knew vaguely of the Contras scandal, but good God there is so much more. Proceed with caution this is not an easy read.

After taking office in 1981, Reagan pushed to overturn an arms embargo that Carter had imposed on Guatemala for its wretched human rights record. Yet even as Reagan moved to loosen up the military aid ban, U.S. intelligence agencies were confirming new Guatemalan government massacres.

Product of the Week

• LM Studio - If you want to understand LLMs, it's best to get your hands dirty. So far LM Studio appears to be the best way to get hands on experience working with LLMs without some OpenAI style walled garden. Even better? You can try out experiments without worrying about cost. I've been using this to build out my own "Deep Research" tool as I don't like those offered by the Perplexities of the world.

Cause of the Week

• Peacehaven - The land is our common denominator. All of us live on it (for now). I love programs like this which use the land to transcend our differences and remind us of our core commonality. Please consider supporting Peacehaven with a donation of $5.

Whoever you are, we welcome you. However you learn, we will embrace you. Whatever you have to share, we are listening. This is the promise of Peacehaven— a vibrant community and farm growing endless possibilities. Founded in 2007 to serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, today we are reaching people of all ages and abilities with programs and resources for anyone who believes in the dignity and perspective of everyone. At Peacehaven, we are building community by re-imagining collaboration.

Album of the Week

• Some Days I'm Good, Some Days I'm Not (59 mins) - Fridayy started popping up on features for me recently. This is my first listen through a full album and I've come away impressed. Some incredible features (Wale, Kehlani, Meek Mill) and heartfelt lyrics combine for a great album. Reminiscent in many ways of another great album, Faith of A Mustard Seed.