Exploring Ideas: A Blog on Technology, Startups, Food, and More
Welcome to my blog where I share thoughts and insights on technology, startups, and life in Atlanta. Browse through the articles below or explore by topic.
Optimal Bankroll Management with Keeks: The Kelly Criterion
April 1, 2025
In this first post of our series on bankroll management strategies in Keeks, we’ll dive into the Kelly Criterion - the mathematical foundation of optimal betting and the inspiration behind the library’s name. What is the Kelly Criterion? The Kelly Criterion is a mathematical formula used to determine the optimal size of a series of bets or investments. Developed by John L. Kelly Jr. at Bell Labs i...
Ode to Crestlawn Cemetery: A Tranquil Sanctuary in Atlanta
March 31, 2025
Nestled along Marietta Boulevard in Atlanta, Crestlawn Cemetery offers a quiet retreat from the city’s relentless energy. Sprawling across 145 acres of rolling hills and established trees, this cemetery may be less known than its historic siblings like Oakland or Westview, yet it holds its own unique place in Atlanta’s tapestry of memorial grounds. For me, it isn’t just a resting place for those w...
Documenting Your Library's API: Best Practices
March 30, 2025
Every time I start using a new Python library, I find myself immediately looking for two things: code examples and the API reference. While examples show you how to use a library, it’s the API reference that becomes your constant companion - the place you return to again and again to check exactly how that one function works or what parameters that one class accepts. In this post, I’ll share what ...
Crafting the Perfect Pastis Cocktail: A Taste of Provence
March 29, 2025
Pastis, the iconic anise-flavored spirit of southern France, is traditionally a commercial product made by distilleries. But you can create a remarkably good homemade version through infusion. While not identical to commercial brands like Ricard or Pernod (which are carefully guarded secret recipes), this homemade version captures the essential character and makes for a rewarding DIY project with ...
Adapting TRLs for Software Development: A Practical Guide
March 28, 2025
“But software is different!” If you’ve tried applying hardware-centric TRLs to software projects, you’ve likely encountered resistance. Here’s the good news: you can adapt TRLs to work brilliantly in the software world with one clear approach. The Software TRL Framework: A Practical Adaptation Software development demands a more flexible approach to TRLs that accounts for its unique characteristic...
OneHotEncoder: The Workhorse of Categorical Encoding
March 27, 2025
When I first started working with machine learning models years ago, I quickly ran into a fundamental problem: most algorithms can’t directly handle categorical data. They need numbers, not text. And that’s how my journey with categorical encoding began, eventually leading to the creation of the category_encoders library. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment for me. As the original author of categor...
Building Leadership Resilience: Lessons from Military Experience
March 26, 2025
When everything’s going smoothly, leadership can feel almost effortless. It’s when challenges arise (market shifts, team conflicts, unexpected crises) that true leadership resilience becomes essential. Military leadership principles has shown that resilience isn’t just about personal grit; it’s a learnable skill that transforms how leaders and their teams navigate difficulty. Building Your Persona...
Elo Rating System: The Grandfather of Competitive Rankings
March 25, 2025
I’ve always been fascinated by how we quantify the unquantifiable. How do you put a number on something as complex as chess skill? Or the quality of a product? Or even which taco joint in Atlanta deserves your hard-earned dollars? Enter the Elo rating system - the OG of competitive rankings and the first algorithm I implemented in Elote. The Origin Story: More Than Just Chess The Elo rating system...
South Korea's Comprehensive AI Basic Act: A New Era in AI Regulation
March 24, 2025
Note: This article represents a practitioner’s interpretation of the relevant rules and regulations in place at the time of writing. I am not a lawyer, and readers should consult with their own legal counsel and compliance teams before taking any action based on this information. South Korea has emerged as a pioneer in AI regulation with the passage of its groundbreaking AI Basic Act in January 2...
Automating Docs Deployment with GitHub Actions and Pages
March 23, 2025
Picture this: you’ve just fixed a critical bug in your Python library, updated all the docstrings, and added a new tutorial. You’re ready to push the changes, but then you remember… you need to rebuild and deploy the documentation. Again. Manually. For the third time today. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. I’ve been there, and I’ve learned that automating documentation deployment isn’t j...
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