# The personal blog of Evan X. Merz I use this blog as a platform to record my thoughts about working as a programmer in Silicon Valley. I also write about gardening, music, art, and books. ## Posts - [Wii Play the Drums](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/wii-play-the-drums/) - [MapHub Virtual Instrument](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/maphub-virtual-instrument/) - [Dad's Got Ninjas – Alex's Monster](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/dads-got-ninjas-alexs-monster/) - [Becoming Live – A Swarm-Controlled Sampler](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/becoming-live-a-swarm-controlled-sampler/) - [Black Allegheny is an album of music created using swarm intelligence](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/black-allegheny-swarm-music/) - [Cannot Connect](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/cannot-connect-for-solo-laptop-performer/) - [Letting it Go to Voicemail](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/letting-it-go-to-voicemail/) - [Search by Image at Currents 2012](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/search-by-image-at-currents-2012/) - [The World in 3D](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-world-in-3d/) - [To the Towers and the Satellites](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/to-the-towers-and-the-satellites/) - [Buy Transient on Bandcamp](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/buy-transient-on-bandcamp/) - [Mailbox and A Handwritten Letter to the World Wide Web at Cyborgs Post Human Culture show in Kamloops, BC](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/mailbox-and-a-handwritten-letter-to-the-world-wide-web-at-cyborgs-posthuman-culture-show-in-kamloops-bc/) - [Machine Song 1 at CSUF New Music Festival](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/machine-song-1-at-csuf-new-music-festival/) - [Creativity in Algorithmic Music](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/creativity-in-algorithmic-music/) - [Office Problems #80 – Stealing Breast Milk](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/office-problems-80-stealing-breast-milk/) - [What Will Come from the Vacuum](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/what-will-come-from-the-vacuum/) - [Sonifying Processing](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/sonifying-processing/) - [The End of My Career at SoundWalk Long Beach This Weekend](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-end-of-my-career-at-soundwalk-long-beach-this-weekend/) - [Office Problems #50 – Forgetting Something Important](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/office-problems-50-forgetting-something-important/) - [Disconnected, Algorithmic Sound Collages from Web API](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/disconnected-algorithmic-sound-collages-from-web-api/) - [Ad Hoc Artificial Intelligence in Algorithmic Music Composition](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/ad-hoc-artificial-intelligence-in-algorithmic-music-composition/) - [Swarm Intelligence in Music in The Signal Culture Cookbook](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/swarm-intelligence-music-tutorial/) - [Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun Remix](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/prelude-to-the-afternoon-of-a-faun-remix/) - [Seven Solos Composed by Cellular Automata](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/seven-solos-composed-by-cellular-automata/) - [Two Duets Composed by Cellular Automata](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/two-duets-composed-by-cellular-automata/) - [Sound Synthesis in Java](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/sound-synthesis-in-java/) - [Make Explosive Soundscapes with Circular Sound](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/make-explosive-soundscapes-with-circular-sound/) - [Why are Side Effects Bad?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/why-are-side-effects-bad/) - [How Can Comments be Controversial?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-can-comments-be-controversial/) - [Why I Created QuizMana.com](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/auto-grading-platform-at-quizmana-com/) - [The Simplest Unity Bundling Example I Could Make](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-simplest-unity-bundling-example/) - [Granular Synthesis for Android Phones](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/granular-synthesis-for-android-phones/) - [How to Share an Audio File on Android from Unity/C#](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-share-an-audio-file-on-android-from-unity/) - [Recording In-Game Audio in Unity](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/recording-in-game-audio-in-unity/) - [I love Pandora, but where is the discovery?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/i-love-pandora-but-where-is-the-discovery/) - [When Code Duplication is not Code Duplication](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/when-code-duplication-is-not-code-duplication/) - [I paid my dues to see David Gray live](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/i-paid-my-dues-to-see-david-gray-live/) - [Book Review: Life of a Song](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/book-review-life-of-a-song/) - [Pride in Software Craftsmanship](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/pride-in-software-craftsmanship/) - [Tips for Managing Joins in Looker](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/managing-joins-in-looker/) - [SoundCloud, I love you, but you're terrible](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/soundcloud-i-love-you-but-youre-terrible/) - [It's really difficult to write about E. M. Forster](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/writing-about-em-forster/) - [Getting Lost in Pop](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/getting-lost-in-pop/) - [Three parallels between E. M. Forster and J. R. R. Tolkien](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/parallels-between-em-forster-and-jrr-tolkein/) - [Remember Nina Simone](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/remember-nina-simone/) - [Encores 2 by Nils Frahm, and the Joy of Live Music](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/encores-2-by-nils-frahm/) - [Single File Components are Good](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/single-file-components-are-good/) - [Redux in one sentence](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/redux-in-one-sentence/) - [Prayer of the Desert by Pete Martinez](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/prayer-of-the-desert-by-pete-martinez/) - [Jazz from California](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/jazz-from-california/) - [Drowning in 2020](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/drowning-in-2020/) - [The Archer by Quincy Tahoma](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-archer-by-quincy-tahoma/) - [2020 Changed Me](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/2020-changed-me/) - [Over the Hollow Log by Quincy Tahoma](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/over-the-hollow-log-by-quincy-tahoma/) - [The Last Jump by Quincy Tahoma](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-last-jump-by-quincy-tahoma/) - [Glitching Images in Processing](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/glitching-images-in-processing/) - [How to render synchronous audio and video in Processing in 2021](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-render-synchronous-audio-and-video-in-processing-in-2021/) - [Composing with All Sound](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/composing-with-all-sound/) - [How to host a static site on AWS](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-host-a-static-site-on-aws/) - [How to conquer Google Core Web Vitals](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-conquer-google-core-web-vitals/) - [What are common mobile usability issues and how can you solve them?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/common-mobile-usability-issues/) - [How to make Dropbox ignore the node_modules folder](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-tell-dropbox-to-ignore-node-modules/) - [How to optimize largest contentful paint (LCP) on client side](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-optimize-largest-contentful-paint-lcp-on-client-side/) - [How to measure the performance of a webpage](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-measure-the-performance-of-a-webpage/) - [Evan's React Interview Cheat Sheet (for 2022)](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/evans-react-interview-cheat-sheet/) - [Why to stick with Heroku, or make the switch](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/why-to-stick-with-heroku-or-make-the-switch/) - [Discovering artist Viola M. Allen](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/discovering-artist-viola-m-allen/) - [Sam Hyde Harris: Seeing the Unusual at Casa Romantica](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/sam-hyde-harris-seeing-the-unusual-at-casa-romantica/) - [Why is software development so slow?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/why-is-software-development-slow/) - [How to generate and view a node bill of materials](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-generate-and-view-a-node-bill-of-materials/) - [Discovering Bay Area linocut artist Melissa West](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/discovering-linocut-artist-melissa-west/) - [Neglected by Sam Hyde Harris](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/neglected-by-sam-hyde-harris/) - [Save the planet. Wear a hat](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/save-the-planet-wear-a-hat/) - [Goodbye to Zadie Smith, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Aubrey Beardsley](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/goodbye-zadie-smith-doris-kearns-goodwin-and-aubrey-beardsley/) - [A Sophisticated Provincial by Margo Alexander](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/a-sophisticated-provincial-by-margo-alexander/) - [Initial Experiments with Make-a-Scene by Meta](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/initial-experiments-with-make-a-scene-by-meta/) - [How to set up stable diffusion on Windows](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-set-up-stable-diffusion-on-windows/) - [How to convert San Jose Sharks or Barracuda vouchers to tickets on Ticketmaster](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-convert-san-jose-sharks-or-barracuda-vouchers-to-tickets-on-ticketmaster/) - [When I'm feeling down...](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/when-im-feeling-down-i-play-this-on-youtube/) - [How does the internet work?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-does-the-internet-work/) - [How to set up a computer for web development](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-set-up-a-computer-for-web-development/) - [Introduction to HTML](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/intro-to-html/) - [Introduction to CSS](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/intro-to-css/) - [Project: Personal web page](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/project-personal-web-page/) - [Other useful HTML elements](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/other-useful-html-elements/) - [Introduction to JavaScript](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/intro-to-javascript/) - [What is the DOM?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/what-is-the-dom/) - [How to Debug a webpage in Chrome](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-debug-a-webpage-in-chrome/) - [Project: Client-side web form](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/project-client-side-web-form/) - [20 questions you should answer before your senior fullstack programmer interview](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/20-questions-before-senior-fullstack-programmer-interview/) - [Bay Area Oktoberfest Events Calendar 2023](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/bay-area-oktoberfest-events-calendar-2023/) - [My Electrification Budget](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/my-electrification-budget/) - [Goodbye Gatsby! Hello Eleventy!](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/goodbye-gatsby-hello-eleventy/) - [Sunflower allelopathy and learning from your mistakes](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/sunflower-allelopathy-and-learning-from-your-mistakes/) - [New realtor rule makes it harder for young people to enter the housing market](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/new-realtor-rules-make-it-harder-for-young-people-to-buy/) - [You should plant a California Buckeye in your California garden](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/plant-california-buckeye/) - [Fall and winter are for composting in place](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/composting-in-place/) - [The problem with smart phones](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-problem-with-smart-phones/) - [Revisiting my garden goals for 2025](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/revisiting-2025-garden-goals/) - [Name calling is still rude and ineffective](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/name-calling-is-still-rude/) - [My Father's Dragon is for book lovers](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/my-fathers-dragon-is-for-book-lovers/) - [Setting up a rain barrel in Santa Clara County](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/setting-up-a-rain-barrel-in-santa-clara-county/) - [Impermanence is a virtue: Why building for forever is folly](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/impermanence-is-a-virtue/) - [How to use GitHub Actions to build and deploy an 11ty website](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-use-github-actions-to-build-and-deploy-11ty/) - [Three underappreciated jazz Christmas albums](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/three-underappreciated-jazz-christmas-albums/) - [Are dynamic accumulators a garden myth?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/are-dynamic-accumulators-a-garden-myth/) - [A review of the Supernote Nomad after three months](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/supernote-nomad-review/) - [Lace bugs: The overlooked garden pests](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/lace-bugs-the-overlooked-garden-pests/) - [How to make a garden tool rack from one 2x4](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-make-a-garden-tool-rack-from-one-2x4/) - [My garden goals for 2026](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/my-garden-goals-for-2026/) - [Plans for an easy to build string trellis](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/easy-string-trellis-plans/) - [The AI caching problem that everyone is ignoring](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-ai-caching-problem/) - [Spotify has usability problems](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/spotify-has-usability-problems/) - [Caching: The most important topic in software development](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/caching-the-most-important-topic-in-software-development/) - [Weeds of California: Oxalis pes-caprae](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/weeds-of-california-oxalis-pes-caprae/) - [Easy to grow plants for beginner gardeners in California](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/easy-plants-for-beginner-gardeners-in-california/) - [How I use radishes from my garden: Honey radish ramen](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/honey-radish-ramen-recipe/) - [The real challenge of native plant gardening isn't in the garden at all](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/native-plants-as-houseplants-and-cut-flowers/) - [Eisenhower's Chance for Peace speech from 1953 is more relevant than ever in 2026](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/eisenhowers-chance-for-peace-is-more-relevant-than-ever-in-2026/) - [Steve Jobs was just a 21st century huckster](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/steve-jobs-was-a-huckster/) - [Dwight D. Eisenhower would never have been president without Jacqueline Cochran](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/eisenhower-would-never-have-been-president-without-jacqueline-cochran/) - [My Mini Urban Retreat on the Growing Natives Garden Tour 2026](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/growing-natives-garden-tour-2026/) - [Loblolly Pine](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/loblolly-pine/) - [Amish ascetics on social media](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/amish-ascetics-on-social-media/) - [Weeds of California: Tree of heaven](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/weeds-of-california-tree-of-heaven/) - [The problem is that my brain thinks in multimedia](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-problem-is-that-my-brain-thinks-in-multimedia/) - [Inviting wildlife into your yard means inviting ALL wildlife into your yard](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/inviting-wildlife-into-your-yard/) - [Is Beiler Mast a real person?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/is-beiler-mast-a-real-person/) - [Is LeetCode still relevant in the age of AI?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/is-leetcode-still-relevant-in-the-age-of-ai/) - [Is The Odyssey the best movie ever made?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-oddyssey-is-the-best-movie-ever-made/) - [How to run an LLM on a Windows computer using Ollama](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-run-an-llm-on-windows-using-ollama/) - [How to use a free LLM in VS Code](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-use-a-free-llm-in-vscode/) - [How to build a simple LLM chat api using NodeJS and Ollama](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-build-an-llm-chat-api-using-nodejs-and-ollama/) - [How to build a full stack LLM chat service with Ollama and JavaScript](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/how-to-build-a-full-stack-llm-service-with-ollama-and-javascript/) - [The Android Camera app has usability problems](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/android-camera-has-usability-problems/) - [The MCP spec looks like AI slop](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/the-mcp-specification-is-ai-slop/) - [Your job is (probably) safe from AI](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/your-job-is-safe-from-ai/) - [It's hard to overcome your programming](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/its-hard-to-overcome-your-programming/) - [Backrooms: Is it possible to escape the capitalist labyrinth?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/is-it-possible-to-escape-the-capitalist-labyrinth/) - [Being a liberal man can be trying at times](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/being-a-liberal-man-can-be-trying-at-times/) - [AI usage generates a fragile codebase](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/ai-usage-generates-a-fragile-codebase/) - [Jensen Huang is not the first victim of spying in tech](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/jensen-huang-is-not-the-first-tech-exec-to-be-targeted-by-a-spy/) - [What happened when I implemented llms.txt?](https://www.evanxmerz.com/post/what-happened-when-i-implemented-llms-txt/)