📚 Idea maze, Trung Phan on DeepSeek, Game of tonnage, How to keep your friends, Screensaver history, News in Levels
Dishoom’s quality culture, Home is a cup of tea, Requiem for a tree and more
Hello, this is post #198.
I wrote my first blog right out of college—back in 2005, when Blogspot was the thing and a bunch of people I knew were blogging. I had no clue what to write about, but I started anyway. Over the next four years, I posted more than 800 times—something I didn’t even remember until I looked back today.
Then life happened—academics, college, work, marriage, and everything new. The blog took a backseat. I tried reviving it a few times but couldn’t keep the momentum. By 2014, blogging had almost stopped.
It took me another six years to get back to writing, this time in a new format—newsletters, here on Substack. Again, a bunch of friends (and people I admired) were jumping in, so I followed suit.
My blog was home to my random musings. This newsletter feeds my curiosity. Along the way, I’ve met incredible people—some who read my blog and became close friends, others who found me through these emails. It’s been a joy, and that’s what matters most.
Thanks for being part of the journey. I hope you're enjoying the ride.
Here’s what you will discover today:
A lot of exciting things on the menu today. Let’s go!
💡 The Idea Maze
Balaji S. Srinivasan covered an interesting concept that he called the ‘Idea maze’ in his Stanford session “Market Research, Wireframing, and Design”.
Here’s how he visually described it with an example. He opined that a good founder doesn’t just have an idea, s/he has a bird’s eye view of the idea maze. Most of the time, end-users only see the solid path through the maze taken by one company. They don’t see the paths not taken by that company, and certainly don’t think much about all the dead companies that fell into various pits before reaching the customer.
The session offered a short but practical guide on turning an idea from a napkin sketch into a real product. While it's from the early 2010s—so some tools and examples might feel outdated—the core ideas stick to the first principles of building digital products and businesses.
The linked PDF has the lecture notes and serves as a great refresher on the fundamentals, all in one place.
Here’s a quick take on the execution mindset:
Briefly speaking, the execution mindset means doing the next thing on the todo list at all times and rewriting the list every day and week in response to progress. This is easy to say, extremely hard to do. It means saying no to other people, saying no to distractions, saying no to fun, and exerting all your waking hours on the task at hand. The execution mindset is thus about running the maze rapidly. Think of each task on the list as akin to exploring a turn of the maze. The most important tasks are those that get you to the maze exit, or at least a treasure chest with some powerups.
(via Andrew Chen)
🤖 Trung Phan On DeepSeek
Longtime readers know this newsletter isn’t about news—that’s everywhere already. Instead, I focus on commentary from people who go beyond the popular narrative. Trung Phan is one of them. When he wrote a deep dive on DeepSeek, I knew it was a must-read. He has a talent for unpacking complex topics, presenting multiple angles, and making it all ridiculously entertaining—memes included. He’s basically the John Oliver of newsletters, always poking fun at what matters while keeping it sharp and engaging. Here take a sneak peek at his post:
On DeepSeek’s work culture…
On how it’s building trust & connection with the user.
🎙️ Game of Tonnage
Last week, we talked about the ‘Game of inches’. This time, it’s the “Game of Tonnage,” and it comes from one of my favorite storytellers—Billy Oppenheimer. The term comes from a Jerry Seinfeld anecdote, and Oppenheimer shares five more in the same theme, each underscoring the power of ‘time on the job.’
Unfortunately, this idea is fading in the rush for quick wins. If you're up for some inspiring stories and a lesson or two, this is a quick and worthwhile read.
🥗 Dishoom’s Quality Culture
With my limited time in the hospitality business and a deep interest in its structure, I’ve built a simple hypothesis—either you have a great work culture that sets you apart (the "unreasonable hospitality" zone), or you’re running a chaotic operation that somehow still manages to put out good food despite itself (your favorite restaurant).
Dishoom, it seems, belongs to the first camp. I haven’t been to London or the UK, so I can’t personally vouch for it, but I’m taking Dan Frommer’s word for it. If his take is right, Dishoom has cracked the magic formula—scaling a business while keeping quality high, staying obsessed with customers, and fostering real pride in their team. Sample this:
Shamil Thakrar (Co-founder, Dishoom) on work culture:
I think culture is probably best defined as the things people do when there isn’t a process in place, or when nobody is looking.
And to affect people’s behavior, you have to coalesce around a shared system of belief, around what you think is important about business — and maybe about life, to some extent — and to agree on that, and then to make sure everyone is inspired by that and buys into it.
On how to measure quality:
We’re good at dashboards. Our dashboard is not called a dashboard, and I think it’s not a conventional dashboard. It’s called a jantri, which is the Hindi name for the astrological charts that a holy man consults when you ask him what to name your child.
Our jantri starts with a line that says “obsess over.” And we obsess over all the quality measures, like awesome food and drink — we measure that in a bunch of different ways — awesome service, and then we look at the measures around happy team.
And eventually we get to “control” — costs.
And then eventually we get to the “applause,” which is revenue and profit. So it’s mentally structured differently.
He dives into Dishoom’s obsession with quality storytelling—how it’s woven into everything from their interiors to their menu design to the creative projects they take on. Their passion spills over in every detail, creating a kind of magic that makes customers fall in love the moment they walk through the door.
I covered this earlier in issue 145 as well. It’s always worth revisiting—endlessly inspiring.
👥 How to Keep Your Friends?
The hardest part about adult friendship is, by far, scheduling time to see one another, especially when trying to plan for a group. Thursday’s bad for one person, and Saturday’s not good for another. Monday would work—but hold up, the restaurant we want to try isn’t open that day. Let’s wait a couple of weeks. Somehow, though, the day never comes. Your friends forgot to follow up, or maybe you did. Either way, can you even call one another friends anymore?
Sounds familiar? Then Serena Dai has a suggestion for you in the easiest way to keep your friends (Archived here).
Relationships need repetition and structure to grow. They need rituals and habits. This is why many adults say it was easier to cultivate close friendships in school, when they saw the same people every day, and why so many people idealize the warm vibes of Cheers or Friends: same bar, same café, same time, same people.
Did you get the drift? Her solution is super simple: Set a recurring date on your calendar to get together. And then stick to it.
Sounds a bit absurd, maybe even cringe? But she makes a good case for it, and honestly, it makes sense. I’ve had a few recurring catch-ups with friends on my calendar, though they’re usually for more ‘formal’ reasons.
How do you stay in touch with your friends? Anything that’s worked well for you?
🫖 Home is a Cup of Tea
Sit back, relax, and put on some soft music—the kind that makes time slow down. Brew a cup of your favorite drink (I hope it’s tea), take a sip, and dive into “Home is a cup of tea”. Candace Rose Rardon takes you into a world shaped by her love for tea. But it’s not just about the drink—it’s a tribute to life’s simple joys and the deep meaning of family and home.
(via Goya)
🖥️ Screen Saver History
When trying to dig into the history of something, look past the accepted answer, lest you run into the “Windex problem,” where a misinformed result from Wikipedia turns into the public record. The reason is simple: The accepted answer is often the easy answer, and when doing a little research, you can bust past that to the point of truth.
In “Screen saver history,” Ernie Smith ensures that she does not face this challenge. She takes us on a journey through old gaming consoles, attract screens, 3D flying pipes, and even Roku TV. If you grew up in an era when screensavers were more than just background noise, this will be a fun trip down memory lane.
(via Kottke)
🌲 Requiem for a Tree
In “Requiem for a tree,” Amy Stewart writes a heartfelt farewell to a beloved cedar. Her story is a collection of quiet, joyful moments, each one a tribute to the tree’s presence. She even sketches some of them, preserving its memory forever. It’s a glimpse into a place and a way of life that truly values the little things. I’m glad I got to experience it through Amy’s words.
If you liked this one, then I recommend trying Ritika’s “Eulogy for the fallen Champa tree” as well.
I admire people who form deep connections with their surroundings. Somehow, I’ve never been that way. I have memories tied to certain places and things, but when they were left behind, I didn’t feel a deep sense of loss. Maybe it's through their words that I am able to experience this joy!
(via Substack Reads)
✨ Everything else
English News in Levels is a brilliant tool for language learners. It presents the same news story at three different difficulty levels, allowing readers to build their vocabulary and improve their articulation as they progress. (via Dense Discovery)
Uğur Gallenkuş creates “Parallel Universes of War & Peace” masterfully contrasts the devastation of war with the calm of peace. His sharp eye for detail and powerful visuals make each piece unforgettable. (via Dense Discovery)
Atkinson Hyperlegible is a font family designed to enhance readability for people with low vision. Created by the Braille Institute, it focuses on clarity and distinction between similar-looking characters. Check out their page to see how they’ve tackled the challenges of visual impairment through thoughtful design. (via Sidebar)
ICYMI…
“Behind the Scene of Dating Apps” was the reader’s favourite from last week’s email. My favourites, however, are “How to Build a Subculture” and “Year of Dinner Parties.” You can find these and more in the post #197 of Stay Curious.
That's all for this week, folks!
I hope I've earned the privilege of your time.
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