I spent three months grinding through ML tutorials. Here’s what I’d tell myself at the start.

1. Math first, code second

You can copy-paste model code without understanding it. But when it breaks, you’re lost. Spend time on linear algebra and probability basics — it pays off later.

2. Start small

Don’t start with GPT or diffusion models. Start with linear regression on a CSV file. Understand what a loss function actually means.

This is the question that confuses every developer at some point. Let’s settle it.

Merge

git checkout main
git merge feature-branch

Creates a merge commit. History shows exactly what happened: two branches joined at a point. Safe for shared branches.

Rebase

git checkout feature-branch
git rebase main

Rewrites your commits on top of main. History looks linear — as if you started the feature after main was updated.

I switched to Neovim six months ago. Here’s what I learned.

Why bother?

VS Code is fine. But when you open it 40 times a day, the startup time adds up. Neovim starts in under 50ms and runs everywhere — including SSH sessions.

My setup stack

• lazy.nvim — plugin manager
• nvim-lspconfig — LSP for Python, JS, Lua
• nvim-cmp — autocomplete
• Telescope — fuzzy finder (replaces Ctrl+P)
• nvim-treesitter — better syntax highlighting

The learning curve

Week 1: frustration. Week 2: muscle memory. Week 3: you stop thinking about keystrokes.

If you’ve ever broken a project by upgrading a package globally, you need venvs.

What is a venv?

A virtual environment is an isolated Python installation — it has its own pip and packages, completely separate from your system Python.

Creating one

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate    # Linux/macOS
.venv\Scripts\activate       # Windows

Installing packages

pip install requests numpy pandas
pip freeze > requirements.txt

Restoring later

python -m venv .venv
pip install -r requirements.txt

Using with conda

If you use conda, each conda create -n myenv python=3.11 works the same way — isolated by default.

Hugo is fast. LoveIt is clean. Together they’re a great combo for a personal site.

Prerequisites

• Hugo Extended v0.110+
• Git

Installation

# Install Hugo (Windows via WinGet)
winget install Hugo.Hugo.Extended

# Create a new site
hugo new site my-blog
cd my-blog

# Add LoveIt as a submodule
git init
git submodule add https://github.com/dillonzq/LoveIt themes/LoveIt

Basic config

baseURL = "https://yourdomain.com/"
theme = "LoveIt"
paginate = 5

Start the server

hugo server -D

Visit http://localhost:1313 and you’re live.

Every journey starts somewhere. This is mine.

I’ve been meaning to start a blog for a while — writing things down has a way of making thoughts clearer. Whether it’s a technical note, a random reflection, or just a log of what I built this week, this is the place for it.

Why a blog?

• To document what I learn
• To share what I build
• To have a corner of the internet that’s actually mine

Stay tuned. There’s more to come.