Troy Howard

Docs, Search Engines, ML, Ethical Machines, Calm Tech, and Community

alum: @twitter/@ford

STL→PEK→PDX

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

The internet is just one of your friends posting "I need a hug" and then everyone else commenting "Same".

😢😢😢🫂🫂🫂

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

evergreen tweet

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

but for real, if you're doing some oddball "everyone says this is impossible & probably not a good idea" kinda ish... i'm your guy.

if you want a reliable performer, who shows up at 8am every day to crush todo lists, i'm not actually your guy. i make magic happen, not mundanity.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

what even is this. i am not really here any more. please go find me elsewhere. i love you so much, but i do not love this website anymore

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@davidpco right. I agree with that. what I'm talking about is not money/business, it's adoption. why aren't people using the existing products. why would they use mine instead. maybe it's just not a thing people want/need.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

Hrm I'm struggling with the whole "talking myself out of starting a business" thing that I do so well.

I have an idea for a thing, looked up competitors, found a handful of apps that are similar, which have failed to gain traction.

Why would I think mine would be any different?

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@davidpco Right. My goal is both to create something of value and also to make a business, so its sustainable. My point is that there are a handful of others that have already done the work to "solve the problem", but for whatever reason they aren't gaining traction. Its not obvious why.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@stautistic very good point. i've been trying to remind myself of that thing, exactly. but unfortunately, other than a few gripey reviews on the app store, i don't have any visibility into why they failed. is the concept fundamentally flawed? did they fail to market it well? wrong timing?

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@jspaleta >makes hissing sounds and puts up the sign of the cross<

Nahhhh... I'll wait for Composite Day.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@jspaleta 😂 ... but for real, i can't with the overwhelmingness of Amazon either. Sometimes I'll be like "I know exactly what I want, I'll just do a quick search, then buy the first one that looks good"... 2hrs later, nada. exhausted. repeat every few days, for weeks. never buy it.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

I'm giving myself a window of 3mo to pursue this pathway before I return to the regular job search circuit to avoid burning through savings.

So, let's talk, and... soon?

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

Ok, so, I would like to try starting a company as my next career step. Got an idea and funding? Do you need a CTO? Maybe you're a VC that wants to connect me?

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@aaronpk @dotnetfringe hahah, I don't know if I want to jump off the bridge into that particular river at this point. I have thought about it though.

what would I be able to bring to the table that is meaningful at this point? ML4ALL kind of failed to build community the way I wanted it to. 🤷‍♂️

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

taking the temperature...

who wants more @dotnetfringe ?
august 2023?

it *could* be possible.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

where do I put on my resume that I speak fluent "you feel me bruh"?? (as a 2nd language, not native).

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

but for real, if you're doing some oddball "everyone says this is impossible & probably not a good idea" kinda ish... i'm your guy.

if you want a reliable performer, who shows up at 8am every day to crush todo lists, i'm not actually your guy. i make magic happen, not mundanity.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

welp, I was laid off today.

if anyone wants to work with me, reach out! mgmt/eng/community/docs/cofounder, whatever. i'm open minded.

also, if you just want to catch up and have an exploratory convo, i've got lots of free time now, so...

(this is my "here we go again" face)

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@hipsterelectron hahaha... yeah. i was told that back in 2005ish by a Rubyist. I was like "ok, Buddy. Ruby's not even readable, much less parsable"

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@maycarleton_ Yeaaaaahhhhhh... Just say no to the apps. They are a complete waste of time and gross af. Meeting people IRL is so much easier and way better of an experience overall.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@mariaKhalusova Yeah, there is an open-mindedness about artistic "products". What is good vs bad art? very subjective. Society also values novelty > quality mostly. A good fit for new tech: it doesn't have to be as refined to be useful. It just needs to create novel output that is close enough.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

fleetwood mac's dreams is such an interesting song from a production perspective. it is ostensibly simple, but there's a some subtle tricks in there, especially around the drum production and the bass. also a weird mid-song tempo slowdown for a few bars that recovers right after.

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

@JoshKodroff Stevie can do no wrong

[Troy Howard @thoward37]

just say no to last inning key changes in pop songs