OK, maybe two.
Other than girls, the main thing I wanted, all I could talk about, was a car.
Or in my case a truck.
25 years ago my father made me a deal...
I only had to do one thing.
I failed.
THREAD: A story about a father, a son, and life meeting you halfway.
OK, maybe two.
Other than girls, the main thing I wanted, all I could talk about, was a car.
Or in my case a truck.
Over the next year, I'd be given chores to complete around our home.
With an agreed-upon hourly rate, I was free to work as much, or as little, as I choose.
At the end of the year, whatever I earned, my father would match.
Up to $2500.
I earn $2,500, my dad matches $2,500.
I've got $5K to spend!
Look out world, I'm gonna be rich!
There was only one catch, I had to do the work.
Not only did I have to do the work, I had to ask what work needed to be done.
Asking my father for anything and everything I could do to earn a buck, and he obliged.
Each time I asked, he had a new project ready and waiting.
The opportunity was there, and I was seizing it!
$500, $750, $1,000... This was going to be a piece of cake!
Then it happened.
I got lazy.
I became comfortable.
I took my success for granted.
That's right. Nothing.
I thought I was in the clear.
I figured I had enough of a head start.
I'll kick back, relax, & take a couple of months off.
Before I knew it, the year had passed.
I hadn't met my goal.
I still wanted, in fact, I NEEDED a truck!
As fate would have it, about this time, a co-worker at my father's office just happened to have one for sale.
It was a beauty. A classic.
I loved it.
It was even better in person.
A 1972 Chevy-C10. Partially restored, meticulously cared for.
I couldn't wait to take it home.
It was time to talk money...
As my father and his friend discussed pricing, fear began to set in.
From what I could overhear, the truck was out of my range.
The man wanted $7,000???
Was he crazy?
Couldn't he see how much I loved this truck?
Surely he'd make us a deal...
The man was not crazy, he did realize I loved the truck, and he was, in fact, already offering my father a deal.
$6K. His bottom dollar.
Too bad for me, not only was this $1K over the max I could have earned, it was $2K over what I had.
I had managed to earn $2K which my father matched with $2K of his own.
I had $4,000.
My father thanked the man for his time & said we'd be in touch.
We got back in our car and headed home.
Without "MY" truck.
"Are we going to get it?"
It was at this moment, my father gave me a gift, although not the one I had hoped for.
He calmly told me we would not be buying the truck.
I didn't have enough money.
"But Dad, I'm good for it!"
"I'll do more chores, I'll pay you back, can't you just spot me the difference?"
He simply replied, "you didn't do the work."
You see, my father was willing to meet me halfway.
The problem was, I hadn't carried my half of the deal.
He did, and over the course of a lifetime, it has carried far greater value than the truck I thought I couldn't live without.
Work ethic.
Throughout my adult life, this lesson has helped me to understand one thing.
Life, in general, will meet you halfway, but your half comes first.
You've got to do the work.
When you're in the grind, it's not always easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it's there.
Do your part.
Life will meet you halfway.
Thank's Dad.
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I write about mental models, productivity, and building a better you. https://t.co/9gdTmHKY4X
Enjoy Threads?
— Blake Burge \U0001f4a1 (@blakeaburge) June 8, 2021
I post 1-2 each week covering:
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You can find them all in the Meta-Thread below.
Please read, enjoy, and share!
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A brief analysis and comparison of the CSS for Twitter's PWA vs Twitter's legacy desktop website. The difference is dramatic and I'll touch on some reasons why.
Legacy site *downloads* ~630 KB CSS per theme and writing direction.
6,769 rules
9,252 selectors
16.7k declarations
3,370 unique declarations
44 media queries
36 unique colors
50 unique background colors
46 unique font sizes
39 unique z-indices
https://t.co/qyl4Bt1i5x
PWA *incrementally generates* ~30 KB CSS that handles all themes and writing directions.
735 rules
740 selectors
757 declarations
730 unique declarations
0 media queries
11 unique colors
32 unique background colors
15 unique font sizes
7 unique z-indices
https://t.co/w7oNG5KUkJ
The legacy site's CSS is what happens when hundreds of people directly write CSS over many years. Specificity wars, redundancy, a house of cards that can't be fixed. The result is extremely inefficient and error-prone styling that punishes users and developers.
The PWA's CSS is generated on-demand by a JS framework that manages styles and outputs "atomic CSS". The framework can enforce strict constraints and perform optimisations, which is why the CSS is so much smaller and safer. Style conflicts and unbounded CSS growth are avoided.
Legacy site *downloads* ~630 KB CSS per theme and writing direction.
6,769 rules
9,252 selectors
16.7k declarations
3,370 unique declarations
44 media queries
36 unique colors
50 unique background colors
46 unique font sizes
39 unique z-indices
https://t.co/qyl4Bt1i5x
PWA *incrementally generates* ~30 KB CSS that handles all themes and writing directions.
735 rules
740 selectors
757 declarations
730 unique declarations
0 media queries
11 unique colors
32 unique background colors
15 unique font sizes
7 unique z-indices
https://t.co/w7oNG5KUkJ
The legacy site's CSS is what happens when hundreds of people directly write CSS over many years. Specificity wars, redundancy, a house of cards that can't be fixed. The result is extremely inefficient and error-prone styling that punishes users and developers.
The PWA's CSS is generated on-demand by a JS framework that manages styles and outputs "atomic CSS". The framework can enforce strict constraints and perform optimisations, which is why the CSS is so much smaller and safer. Style conflicts and unbounded CSS growth are avoided.
