MeyerPerin Foundation Blog

Warming up to information

Information is powerful—especially when you have it before everyone else and know how to use it. In any market, whether it’s sports betting, stocks, or product pricing…
Feb 8, 2025
Lucas A. Meyer

Using Astral’s uv Pyhon packager in Azure Web Apps GitHub Actions

I will eventually have to write a more detailed post about Astral’s uv, a tool that all the cool kids are using.
Feb 5, 2025
Lucas A. Meyer

Trip Report - Houston to New Orleans in a Kia EV9

In December 2024, on Christmas day, I drove my Kia EV9 from Fulshear, a suburb west of Houston, to New Orleans, a 380-mile trip.
Jan 4, 2025
Lucas A. Meyer

Understanding how LLMs work

Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT sure look like magic. And, like magic, it may be super interesting to pull back the curtain and understand how the magic trick…
Dec 9, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Using Bluesky to add comments to my blog

Does anybody still blog? I am of the opinion that if you are in a a position of technical leadership, you should have a blog, and the main reason is not because it helps you…
Dec 2, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Automatic posting from my Birdbuddy to Threads and Bluesky

I love my Birdbuddy. The Birdbuddy is a camera trap for birds. It’s a bird feeder that senses when something is in front of it, records a movie and takes several pictures.…
Nov 27, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

The Yes-Damn Effect and the No-Yay Effect

You know the feeling. You said yes to something, and now it’s time to do it. But instead of feeling excited, you feel dread. This actually has a name: it’s called the…
Mar 20, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Luddites and the AI Revolution

These days, calling someone a “Luddite” is an insult, a little bit like “boomer”. But the original Luddites were not exactly afraid of technology — they were afraid of losing…
Mar 6, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

The Social Costs of Killing Vultures

In 1993, the patent of a painkiller called diclofenac expired and it started to be used in livestock. At about the same time, the population of vultures in India started to…
Feb 13, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

ADHD Treatment — 4-week update

In the beginning of 2024, I have been diagnosed with ADHD. Since then, I started treatment with medicine and therapy.
Feb 10, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Strategies I use to cope with ADHD

In the beginning of 2024, I have been diagnosed with ADHD. Since then, I started treatment with medicine and therapy. I have also written a 4-week update on my progress and…
Feb 3, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Technnologies I use to cope with ADHD

In the beginning of 2024, I have been diagnosed with ADHD. Since then, I started treatment with medicine and therapy. I also wrote a 4-week update about my treatment.
Feb 2, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Running multiple OpenAI requests concurrently with Python’s asyncio

How can you run several OpenAI requests concurrently? This article shows you how to use Python’s asyncio library to run multiple requests concurrently.

Feb 1, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Books to Help Teenagers Fall in Love with Science

a list of books that talk about science and technology in fun ways, and have been very successful with my teenagers.

Jan 25, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Starting ADHD treatment

On January 19th, 2024, I started treatment for ADHD. If you want to read more about how I got my diagnosis, you can read my previous post about getting Diagnosed with ADHD.
Jan 19, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Is a PhD worth it?

Should one start (or finish) a PhD? What are the pros and cons of doing a PhD? What are the alternatives to a PhD?

Jan 17, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Replacing my reMarkable 2 with a Kindle Scribe

My review of the Kindle Scribe, and how it compares to the reMarkable 2

Jan 12, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Getting an ADHD diagnosis

Real-life experiences and struggles of a person with ADHD, the process of Adult ADHD diagnosis and consultations, the common symptoms of ADHD, the usefulness of certain technologies for coping with these symptoms, as well as general reactions and misconceptions about ADHD.

Jan 10, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Creating an Azure Web App with Authentication

How to create, configure and link a new App Service in Azure to a GitHub repository, configure Microsoft Entra ID and sync it with a web app, and how to set up environment variables within the App Service. Code walkthrough.

Jan 7, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Automatically adding meta tags to your blog posts with OpenAI

As I was updating my blog, I realized that I had forgotten to add the description meta tag to many of my blog posts. This is the text that appears in search results and when…
Jan 6, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Tech reviewers wanted for my Semantic Kernel book

Strategies for integrating Large Language Models with conventional programming languages using the Microsoft Semantic Kernel, and an opportunity to become a technical reviewer for a new book about it.

Jan 5, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

Thread Manager - Managing Social Media

The process of developing a web app (Thread Manager) for scheduling posts across multiple social media platforms, utilizing technologies such as Azure, Python, Flask, and Bootstrap, alongside a narrative of the author’s software development journey.

Jan 5, 2024
Lucas A. Meyer

My experience with the reMarkable 2

The functionality, pros, and cons of using the reMarkable 2 tablet for various purposes such as academic reading, journaling, note-taking, and idea tracking.

Dec 31, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

Explaining memes and images with the Semantic Kernel and the OpenAI Vision API

How to use the Semantic Kernel and OpenAI Vision API to perform tasks such as explaining why a meme is funny, identifying an animal in an image and generating interesting facts about the animal, determining street intersection accessibility, and building image descriptions automatically.

Dec 26, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

A Quick Tour of the Semantic Kernel

A comprehensive understanding of Microsoft Semantic Kernel, a toolkit that facilitates application interaction with AI services such as Python integration, configuring AI services via Connectors, creating Semantic and Native functions, putting together Plugins, and executing multiple functions in sequential order, with abundant Python code examples and practical guidelines for proper usage of the Microsoft Semantic Kernel.

Oct 15, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

Getting Started with Midjourney

The basics of installing, setting up, and using the Midjourney AI tool on Discord, including creating a Discord account, setting up a personal server, subscribing to Midjourney, and inviting the Midjourney bot to the server, as well as utilizing the ‘imagine’ command to generate images and how to use existing images as part of the prompts.

Sep 23, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

Getting started with Midjourney

How to get started with Midjourney, an Generative AI tool that is great at creating photorealistic images.

Sep 22, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

A/B testing needs a theory

The significance and limitations of A/B testing in decision-making processes, the importance of understanding the underlying factors contributing to the result of an experiment, and the applicability of the descriptive, predictive and prescriptive/causal framework in understanding how something works.

Jun 13, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

Google Duplex was going to change the world five years ago

The detailed working, limitations, and potential of Google’s AI system, Google Duplex, as well as advancements and potential concerns in AI technology, particularly Large Language Models.

May 24, 2023
Lucas A. Meyer

The data entry error that cost hundreds of millions

The mechanics behind a significant trading error at Mizuho Securities in Japan on December 8th, 2005, where a trader swapped the quantity and price leading to instant profit for others who bought the cheaply priced stock.

Dec 8, 2022
Lucas A. Meyer

Separating LeetCode grinders from coders

Techniques for conducting a successful technical phone screening, distinguishing between candidates who truly understand coding versus those who memorize algorithms and solutions from resources like LeetCode, and tactics for improving interviewer performance.

Jul 22, 2022
Lucas A. Meyer

Becoming Good at AI for Good

Practical approaches to AI projects, particularly within the #AI4Good domain, and the challenges encountered when applying AI in organizations whose primary capability isn’t software engineering.

Jun 21, 2022
Lucas A. Meyer

Weak baselines

The significance of being cautious about the baseline used to determine success in a data science project, as a poor baseline can lead to misinterpretation of results and outcomes.

Nov 29, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

Reverse causation

The tools and strategies data scientists use when analyzing correlations in collections data, the pitfalls and misconceptions that can emergence from misunderstanding correlations, and the importance of experimenting with different strategies using randomized samples.

Nov 22, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

Reverse laziness

Effective time management strategies for tasks they dislike and the benefits of such strategies, including reduced stress and increased peace of mind.

Oct 27, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

Optimization algorithms for your career

The concept of optimization in careers, the trap of local versus global optimization, strategies to guide career progress using concepts from economics and data science, like the multi-armed bandit problem and exploration vs exploitation, and the importance of understanding one’s global objective or long-term career goals.

Oct 5, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

Writing good emails

Efficient email handling techniques, including clearly identifying owners for questions or actions, keeping owners on the ‘to:’ line, not forking threads with actions, and placing actions at the end of the email.

Sep 18, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

Data science and 9/11

The importance of starting with a simple, naïve model in data science before considering a more complex machine learning approach, using the CIA’s photo analysis of “The Pacer” as an illustrative example.

Sep 11, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

The neurodivergent manager

How to navigate and succeed in a managerial role while being neurodivergent and introverted, including strategies for managing social interactions and planning for recovery time after meetings.

Aug 17, 2021
Lucas A. Meyer

Why you should blog if you are a data scientist

The value of sharing information and knowledge rather than keeping it to oneself, the importance of documenting one’s work in a detailed manner for consistent reproducibility, the benefits of blogging for both aspiring and experienced data scientists, and the significance of regular and insightful feedback to improve one’s work.

Feb 13, 2019
Lucas A. Meyer

Praising Conway’s Data Science Venn Diagram

Drew Conway’s Data Science Venn Diagram as a key framework for understanding the field of data science, the ongoing debates and confusions regarding the definition and skill set of a data scientist, potential shortcomings of the diagram especially its lack of an ‘intensity’ component, and how it can be useful in guiding career development, team composition and project execution in data science despite its limitations.

Jul 8, 2018
Lucas A. Meyer

Centralized vs. Distributed Data Science Teams

Benefits and challenges of distributing data science teams into client areas, as well as the importance of maintaining a cohesive data scientist community and the potential advantages and disadvantages of different reporting structures within the team.

Jun 25, 2018
Lucas A. Meyer
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