Deeply Personal Series
Welcome to my most personal series yet. Here, I share stories from my life in Finland with my wife and our beloved cat, Ace. These aren’t technical articles or how-to guides-they’re reflections on the everyday moments that define us: the board games we play (or attempt to play) with our cat, the comfort food we cook for each other after arguments, and the childhood dishes we crave thousands of miles from home.
This is about the intersection of love, memory, science, and a very opinionated gray-and-white domestic shorthair who has thoughts about everything.
Life with Ace 🐱
Our adventures with a 3-year-old cat who thinks he’s part of the family (he is)
Pawns & Paws: 5 Board Games You Can Actually Play 'With' Your Cat
A humorous field guide to feline-friendly gaming
- Games with durable pieces that survive cat attacks
- What happened when Ace discovered Calico
- The truth about "cat-themed" board games
The Truth About 'Human Grade' Pet Food: Marketing vs. Nutrition
An investigative piece helping owners decode labels
- Why Ace is pickier than most food critics
- Should pet food be graded by weight, age, and breed?
- What veterinary science actually says about portions
Cats and Empathy: Do They Actually Know When You're Sad?
Exploring the science of feline social cognition
- The night Ace sat on my wife's toe when she had a fever
- What research reveals about cat emotional awareness
- Hand-licking, sniffing, and other signs of empathy
Food, Love, and Memory 🍜
How we communicate through cooking and crave our mothers’ recipes
Comfort Food for the Soul: What We Eat When We Win (And When We Lose)
The psychology of rage snacking vs. celebratory feasts
- How my wife's apology dessert made me forget everything
- The art of cooking noodles with "random sauce" to say sorry
- Khichudi when it rains, cocktails when it's hot, soupy noodles when life is hard
Nostalgia on a Plate: Why We Crave Foods from Our Childhood
The neuroscience of taste memory and emotional connection
- My wife's longing for her mother's Khola Pitha and Roj Bukhari
- My cravings for Shutki Bhuna and fish curry with tomato
- Why certain foods are embedded in our brains like code
Cooking with an Algorithm: I Let an AI Plan My Weekly Meal Prep
A fun experiment testing if AI understands flavor profiles or just nutritional data
- Wife's beautifully labeled spice collection meets AI meal planning
- A week of AI-generated recipes that actually tasted amazing
- Does AI understand flavor, or is it just really good at pattern matching?
Technology and the Human Mind 🤖
When AI feels too human and our brains feel too broken
The Uncanny Valley of Empathy: Why AI Therapists Feel 'Almost' Human
Discussing the pros and cons of using AI chatbots for mental health support
- When checking in with AI feels more comforting than talking to humans
- Why AI empathy works even though it's not "real"
- The ethics of seeking comfort from something that doesn't actually care
Analysis Paralysis: The Psychology Behind Why We Can't Make a Move
The link between anxiety and perfectionism
- The grocery run that never happened because we planned too much
- Why I research design patterns instead of writing code
- How my wife spends entire days planning instead of starting assignments
Love and Games 🎮
How we communicate through pixels and controllers
Co-op Games Can Save Your Relationship (Or Ruin It)
A comedic review of cooperative games and communication dynamics
- Winning Brawl Stars = happy relationship; losing = blame game
- Stardew Valley farm planning that ended in arguments
- Why "It's your fault we lost" is the most common phrase in our house
Beyond Stardew: 7 Cozy Co-op Games That Won't Ruin Your Marriage
Finding farming sims and life sims that support different play styles
- Why we've started seven Stardew farms and finished none
- Sun Haven, Palia, and games that let you be chaos while she's structure
- The game that made us cry together (Spiritfarer, obviously)
Mindful Living & Intentionality 🌱
Finding peace and purpose in a hyper-connected, overstimulated world
Zero Waste on a Budget: 5 Swaps That Actually Save You Money
Practical sustainability that saves money, not costs more
- Why zero waste isn't a luxury-it's about spending less
- 5 swaps that actually reduce your monthly expenses
- Stop paying for disposable things you replace every week
Dopamine Fasting 101: How to Reset Your Brain in a Hyper-Connected World
Breaking the cycle of constant stimulation
- Too many options: social media, games, events, travel destinations
- How overstimulation breaks your brain's reward system
- A 24-hour challenge to recalibrate your dopamine sensitivity
Designing a 'Slow Morning' Routine Before Opening Your Laptop
Why rushing into your day leaves you anxious before you even start
- The blessing of slow mornings-no screens, no rush, just being
- How starting the day calm makes you more productive, not less
- A 90-minute routine that feels nourishing, not performative
Upcycling for Beginners: Turning Trash into 'Aesthetic' Home Decor
Seeing potential where others see trash
- Turning cans, boxes, paper bags, and egg cartons into home decor
- 5 beginner-friendly projects that actually look good
- The mindset shift from consumer to creator
Recommended Reading Order
While each article stands alone, I recommend reading them in this order:
- Start with Ace → “Pawns & Paws” to meet our ridiculous cat
- Food as love language → “Comfort Food for the Soul” to understand how we communicate
- The science of pet care → “Human Grade Pet Food” for some investigative nutrition talk
- Cat empathy → “Cats and Empathy” to see Ace’s softer side
- Memory and longing → “Nostalgia on a Plate” for childhood food nostalgia
- AI in the kitchen → “Cooking with an Algorithm” for our meal prep experiment
- AI and mental health → “The Uncanny Valley of Empathy” for a deep dive into AI therapists
- The overthinking trap → “Analysis Paralysis” to understand our anxiety and perfectionism
- Gaming together → “Co-op Games Can Save Your Relationship” to end with humor and love
- Cozy co-op games → “Beyond Stardew: Cozy Co-op Games” for specific game recommendations
- Mindful spending → “Zero Waste on a Budget” for practical sustainability
- Digital overwhelm → “Dopamine Fasting 101” to reset in a hyper-connected world
- Slow mornings → “Designing a Slow Morning Routine” to start the day with intention
- Creative resourcefulness → “Upcycling for Beginners” to see potential where others see trash
Or just dive into whichever topic speaks to you. These are snapshots of a life-they don’t need a particular order to make sense.
This series is dedicated to Ace, who tolerates our weird experiments with grace, and to my wife, who makes Finland feel like home.