Home on jan’s thoughts

In my head I keep going around in circles: AI search is incredibly convenient.

Terence Tao is an Australian-American mathematician, UCLA professor and 2006 Fields Medallist.

I really believe the future is — again — in creating small, hyper-focused, incredibly useful software that is — well — finished and feature complete when it solves one problem and it solves it well.

Written at Loch Tay, Scotland.

Don’t bother.

Issue 388 of Dense Discovery — one of my favourite newsletters, which I recommend you subscribe to — describes the book How to Not Know: The Value of Uncertainty in a World That Demands Answers by Simone Stolzoff as follows: A mix of reportage and self-he…

As many of my regular readers know, this year I started running again — after a mere 15-year hiatus.

Instructional content dominates YouTube, self-help books, and podcasts.

I tried contact lenses recently.

Someone said to me recently: “You look better now, but it wouldn’t be as easy for me as it was for you.”

I arrived in Scotland in September 2012.

I have two laptops.

This will have come a long way, but it all began when I started spending my beer money on cycling gear.

At some point towards the end of 2024, I asked myself: what kind of person do I want to be?

Third photo of 2026

Second photo of 2026

First photo of 2026

Hand-cutting chips takes about 5 minutes.

The email lands in your inbox.

People think I’m a highly analytical person.

One morning you open your email client and notice it: your address has changed.

There’s a moment in every growing company when something shifts: Someone has a good idea.

For over twenty years, we’ve shopped online in exactly the same way: browse a grid, scan thumbnails, click into product detail pages, compare, repeat.

There’s a certain kind of goal that sounds ambitious, exciting, and perfectly reasonable and still manages to be useless.

eCommerce is often talked about like a machine.

A saying often attributed to Socrates goes: “All I know is that I know nothing.”

A car workshop running at 110% capacity can’t take on an urgent repair.

At the end of last year, I started writing down some ideas that had been circling in my head for a while: about how we work, how products take shape, and what makes teams effective in complex environments.

It was a hot day in North Berwick.

TLDR: Nine months ago I started cycling regularly.

TLDR: Complexity isn’t the problem (until it is) The thing that most often makes me, or the teams I work with, stuck isn’t fear, laziness, or lack of motivation: it’s complexity.

I’ve been thinking about workplace culture and what running a business should look like in 2025.

I first heard about the concept in an episode of Kassenzone, a German eCommerce podcast, about Bike Components — an online cycle parts shop.

I don’t exactly remember where I discovered Future Islands, but Tin Man was the first track that introduced me to them.

Hummus, a divine dip for palates of all shapes and sizes.

Far over fast Simple over complex Quality over quantity Substance over style Reliable over novel Durability over disposability Repairable over proprietary Enough over more Less, but better Restraint over excess Local over global Craft over mass production…

TLDR; Product-led growth thrives when teams understand both user needs and business metrics, using MVPs not just to ship features, but to learn and validate strategic decisions.

TLDR: VATGeek is now live.

I keep forgetting how I like my lasagna layered best.

I used to be precious about my code ever since I learnt programming.

TLDR: Nappylist is now live and will one day hopefully be the premier resource for all nappy related questions As a parent, you quickly discover the critical importance of choosing the right nappy for your baby.

Finally, goulash season is upon us.

In the ever-churning world of business, I’ve often found myself pondering the road less travelled.

Having a solid productivity setup is essential.

Ultra-processed foods are industrially manufactured products that undergo multiple stages of processing, containing numerous added ingredients like preservatives, sweeteners, and artificial flavours, intended to enhance flavour, texture, or shelf life.

Up before rush hour.

Smooth stones on a rusty metal grid with a beach and choppy ocean waves in the background.

Bright pink bougainvillea flowers with sun peeking through the petals against a blue sky background.

Blue sky with cumulus clouds and sunlight peeking from behind, with some treetops visible at the bottom.

I admit that leaving one shoe untied isn’t a pretty idea.