I have something to confess

I am stressed.

Yes, I feel I have been working too much for too long.

I am not going to blame myself for this. But I should acknowledge the unpleasant emotions I am feeling.

And stop just in time.

If this feeling of stress is familiar to you, today's newsletter is for you.

Why stop?

I think this is a great part of what "being and intelligent human being" is about.

Intelligence to use your hard skills to execute.
Intelligence to understand the needs behind your emotions, and to be able to express them.

Sometimes by taking a break, before the engine sets on fire.

I just came to my home town, Barcelona, so that

• My two kids see their grandparents, and spend some quality time with them.

• I reconnect with some good friends from high school and university.

• I go out with my wife for a romantic dinner.

• Jump into the cold water of the January Mediterranean sea.

And this is what I will do for the next 10 days.

I am 100% sure you have/had/will have similar experiences.

Moments where you feel you have to stop, and take a break.

And this is OK.

Being a professional ML engineer, while being a good father, a good husband, and a good friend, is not easy.

But hey, who said it is easy?

It is fucking hard.

So, take a break.

In the meantime

Last week I came across one of the most brilliant blogs on the internet about ML, LLMs and software engineering, written by Simon Willison.

If you are not familiar with his work, I highly recommend you to check it out. You will find a lot of interesting insights.

Also, if you are a parent, like me, and need 20 minutes for yourself, to do whatever-you-wanted-to-do-but-couldn't-do-it-because-of-the-kids (like reading Simon's blog), play them an episode from the Wild Kratts cartoon series.

They have fun, while learning about science and nature.

So they learn, while you have a break.

Win-win.

I am sending you love, and wishing you a great week ahead.

From Poblenou, Barcelona

Peace, Love and Learning

Pau