Hi friends!
This is the first entry to my newsletter, Purveyor of Curiosities. I am so excited to share with you updates from my blog, and cool things I found this month! If I were to put an underlying theme for my May findings, it would be growth. It seems that I’ve consumed information through this lens all-month long!
Of course, not all entries are about growth. Some, as this newsletter goes, are just random trinkets I found fun and inspiring. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
📝 From the blog
This month, I’ve been writing about the growth of the MLOps Landscape. The ecosystem has exploded in the past few years, that I hear a new tool being launched almost every week!
Back in 2019, I’ve been wishing for good tools to support productization of machine learning models. Now, the landscape is so crowded, that I don’t even know where to start. This led me to write a three-part series that analyzes the MLOps landscape, and recommends what to adopt, what to look for first, and what to ignore:
Navigating the MLOps Landscape I (the Lifecycle): here, I reflected upon the needs and pains of potential users, and tried to come up with my own version of the ML Lifecycle
Navigating the MLOps Landscape II (the Ecosystem): the main meat of the article, where I classified a lot of tools into four distinct categories (with multiple sub-categories within).
Navigating the MLOps Landscape III (the Strategies): given everything I know, I recommended some adoption strategies for each MLOps category, then talked a bit about build vs. buy.
I had fun writing this article. It was good to catch-up on recent trends in this space. Machine learning tools and platforms have a special place in my heart. Since there are many players in the ecosystem right now, I hope that interoperability and integration become key features for these new products.
My fearless forecast is that there will be an “open” standard for MLOps. For better or for worse, that standard will be dictated by the winner of this competitive landscape. It’s very exciting to see where this field is headed!
You might also like…
I also did a similar analysis in the Jupyter Notebook landscape, check it out if you enjoy this kind of work. It became popular in Reddit, and generated a lot of discussion.
If you’re interested in software engineering for ML, check out my blog posts on how to improve your software skills as a data scientist or on why we need Flask, Celery, and Redis (it reached Hacker News Frontpage).
Recently
As promised, here are some cool finds for the month of May!
🎧 Listening
I’m in the anime train this May, so here’s some of my favorites
“Golden Time Lover” by Sukima Switch. I didn’t like it the first time I heard it in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. But recently, it’s a staple in my nightly jogs.
“Make my story” by Lenny code fiction. I did enjoy the Provisional License Arc of My Hero Academia, and this song really brings me back. I like the high-beat energy and upbeat tune.
“Hero’s come back” by nobodyknows+. Of course, the O.G. opening theme of Naruto. When I first heard it back in high school, I knew that I’m in for the ride.
📖 Reading
Recently, I’m slowly rediscovering my relationship with my craft. I’d like to share some trinkets that helped me along the way.
Learning in Public by Shawn Wang. According to Shawn Wang (or swyx), doing things in public increases your learning speed exponentially. This involves writing blog posts or participating in open source. I love reading his work, for he was able to put into words some things I’m unconsciously doing.
Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew Crawford. I like it because it validates my image of the craftsman, but it seems to vilify white-collar jobs too much. Nevertheless, I still subscribe to its “arts and crafts ethos” and how it connects to my programming hobby. Read this if you like woodworking. 😅
How to do nothing by Jenny O’dell. Reading this article changed my perception on Attention. She was able to wield a tapestry, ranging from public spaces, bird watching, to career, with just a single theme. This is one of those blog posts I wish I could’ve written. Read this in a lazy Sunday afternoon.
📺 Watching
I enjoy consuming good content. Sometimes my weekends are filled with Youtube and Netflix. Here are some interesting videos you might like:
The Coding Train. I swear, even if you’re not a programmer, watch this! Daniel Schiffman is such an enthusiastic teacher, and probably one of my pegs! Start by watching The Nature of Code to get a sense of what he does. His videos made me more interested in generative art and in learning p5.js! He’s funny too:
Kiki’s Delivery Service. Wow, probably one of my top Ghibli films to date. If you haven’t watched it, then do it, now. It’s a story about growth and maturity: Kiki leaving her comfortable home and finding a new place in the city. I laughed when she said: “Flying used to be fun until I started doing it for a living.”
One powerful moment was when, spoilers alert, she lost her magic and can’t fly anymore. Then she met Ursula, another artist, who advised her to “Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don't even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you'll be flying again.”
I like her story of growth. In the end, she’s still the same but different. She still flies, delivers stuff, takes care of the cat, etc. But, what changed is her inner perspective of what she does. 10/10.
My Hero Academia (Season 5 Episode 9): we’ve followed Deku’s growth through four seasons of BnHA. Heck, even All-Might, a fully-realized character, is still growing as a mentor. This time, it’s the turn of our main lancer, Bakugou, to show-off how he’s grown. We know this kid to be brash and a bit of an ass, but in Episode 9…
… spoilers alert, he’s still brash and a bit of an ass. However, he now acknowledges his team and imbues his style of commanding leadership to advance. I like what Horikoshi did, it’s not a sudden change of heart. It’s not “hey guys I’m a team player now!” Bakugou still knows he’s the quarterback, but he leverages his team’s strength to secure a perfect win. Just like Kiki, growth leaves Bakugou the same, but different.
That’s all for this month’s curiosities! As this is my first newsletter, I’d appreciate any feedback. So don’t hesitate to comment below!
Cheers,
Lj