Archive - The Amateur

Notes on my listening habits

Previously: Notes on my reading habits.

Jun 30 •

May 2025

The haters and the losers

Three young men, all aspiring concert pianists and all near the top of their class, study together under the great pianist Vladimir Horowitz.

May 26 •

Facing the Music

Pennies from Heaven (1981)

May 5 •

March 2025

My "vibe coding" experience

Building a writing/editing tool with Cursor and Claude

Mar 10 •

The Standard Repertoire: Dialogues des Carmélites

Neither exercises force nor submits to it

Mar 3 •

February 2025

An encounter this morning

This morning, while crossing the Fremont Bridge in Seattle, I noticed a pile of clothing, all red with matching red sneakers, lying in the middle of the…

Feb 17 •

January 2025

Woman in Tech, Part Two: Cool Girl

Last month, a few posts ago, I wrote about what it was like to be one of a handful of women in my undergrad computer science program (mostly, it was…

Jan 27 •

A Traditional Marriage

Natalia Ginzburg, The Dry Heart

Jan 13 •

December 2024

Some passages from books I read this year

Every year, I like to close out this newsletter with a roundup of passages from the books I read during the year that made an impression on me.

Dec 17, 2024 •

Woman in Tech, Part One: School

The last time I interviewed for a job as a software engineer, the hiring manager asked me if I’d feel comfortable joining an all-male team.

Dec 9, 2024 •

November 2024

The Standard Repertoire: Der Rosenkavalier

Nov 25, 2024 •

It's my birthday

Nov 18, 2024 •

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts