A Grain of Salt

Hi, there! My name is Teddy Aryono. I am currently based in Melbourne, Australia. Let me talk about what this website is all about, before then I will talk about myself later on this page.

Why is “A Grain of Salt”?

This website — A Grain of Salt — is my personal blog, where I randomly put everything that crosses my mind. Most of the time, they are the intersection of technology and humanity. They are a compilation of my lifelong learning; the journey of my learning. Articles in this blog are rarely written with gruelling research. They are all my personal opinions. So, please take everything that I put in this website with a grain of salt, hence the name of the blog.

This is so important, and I think worth iterating: this blog is my personal blog. I speak for myself in this blog, NOT my employer. The views and opinions expressed on this website are mine. It does not represent any organisations, companies, or other people. Let alone, my employer.

Why do I write and maintain a blog?

I mainly write for myself. We all should learn continuously to stay relevant, right? Whether you are an engineer, a doctor, a pilot, or…really, almost any jobs, honestly.

I keep learning to stay relevant, too. But, when I learn, I need a media to express what I learn. In that context, this blog is my rubber duck, if you will. Talking to myself, and writing what I learn as blog posts, help me to commit what I learned to my memory.

Here is another reason why I love writing: they make me a better communicator.

I learn on the job. I learn by reading books. I learn from anything, anywhere, anytime. All of them are data, information, and insights that I have to process. They are all sitting in my brain in such a way, but sometimes, I need to communicate back what I learn to other people. Writing helps me to structure and organise them better in my memory, and help me to re-articulate what I learned better.

Somehow, by writing I feel like turning system 2 to system 1 when I am in a situation where I have to communicate ideas.

Now, that is about the blog. Who am I, though?

As I mentioned, my name is Teddy. I am a software engineer, who is currently working as a solutions architect @aws. Solutions architect is a unique role, which combined a capability of software engineering (eg. system design, coding, architecting), and a capability of being a trusted advisor. Solutions architecture are also about being thought leaders in making critical technical decisions in an organisation.

Outside work, I really love reading, cooking, and running. I partially list what I read here, and here (yes, partially - I bought random books every now and then from self-published writers as well).

Another thing about me (that is probably less important) is, I am a bit of a coffee snob. I used to brew manually with V60, moka pot, aeropress, and a few other highly-effort coffee brewing methods. I am too lazy now, so I switch to automatic brewer. I use moccamaster for filter brewing, and a Breville Barista Pro for espresso.

Another thing that used to interest me (and this is probably even less important) is mechanical keyboard. I used to build my own keyboard. This is a pair of KBDFans DZ60RGB-ANSI V2 - one for home-office use, and another one stays in the office.

Both are no longer mine (sold), and now I just keep this tiny one with me. This is Planck EZ (discontinued), a 40% ortholinear¹ keyboard from ZSA, with this keycaps set. I use Gazzew Boba U4T switches for all of my keyboards.

How to reach me?

The best way is probably via email at [email protected]. I rarely open my socials, but I open my linkedin every now and then - so, you can try to send me a message there as well. I speak English and Bahasa Indonesia; you can write in either of them.