Markov Chains Are the Original Language Models

<h1>Why I Talk to Myself</h1>
<img src="/images/bike_sidewalk.webp" alt="My bike broke down. Luckily, I had my camera">
Each week I sit down and reflect on what I've learned. I think about which of my efforts have helped the Harper endeavor, and which have harmed it. It's not easy, but I think it's one of the best habits I've built. More accurately, it's one of the best habits <a href="https://ma.tt">Matt</a> has encouraged me to build.
When I really think about it, I'm reminded of the original <a href="https://blog.afterthedeadline.com/">After the Deadline blog</a>, which coincidentally also had a category called "Talking to Myself". I wonder if Raphael Mudge (AtD's author) had a similar motivation.
I talk to myself to find the weaknesses in Harper's mission and focus my attention on what matters. It is an efficient way to get from <a href="https://ma.tt/2025/05/sharing-levels/">layer one to layer five</a>. It can help get other maintainers on the same page and build a body of knowledge that can be linked to from anywhere.
Not worrying about keeping information locked-down is one of the more beautiful parts of working in public. Open source code would be nothing without similarly open source knowledge. I talk to myself online so my users can understand my intentions.
In many senses, we are not unlike moths. We are drawn to the lights of distraction, hype, and procrastination. For me, setting up checkpoints to stop and reflect has been an effective deterrent from these lights. In fact, I think each minute for which I stop and think has paid itself back three times over in time savings. If I can better allocate my time and energy, I can avoid doing redundant work pursuing pointless goals.
<h2>Bonus Points</h2>
A <a href="./markov_chains_are_the_original_language_models">few</a> of my <a href="./local-first_software_is_easier_to_scale">articles</a> have become popular on sites like Hacker News and Reddit. We've gotten quite a few Harper installations from links on these articles. I would never rely on this kind of blogging as a source of advertising, but it is nice to see it help spread the word.

It's not easy, but I think it's one of the best habits I've ever built.

It's not easy, but I think it's one of the best habits I've ever built.

Why I Talk to Myself

It didn't work for me, and if you reading this, it probably won't work for you either.

It didn't work for me, and if you reading this, it probably won't work for you either.

Do Not Type your Notes

a_harper_record

<h1>A Harper Record</h1>
When we started work on <a href="https://writewithharper.com/docs/harperjs/introduction"><code>harper.js</code></a>, our goal was simple.
We wanted it to take less than 24 hours for a developer to embed high-quality grammar checking in their app.
A friend of mine, <a href="https://lukaswerner.com/">Lukas Werner</a> recently set a record for this.
In just over 15 minutes, he was able to embed Harper into Raycast, a command palate for MacOS.
This is fantastic news.
It's always great to see when your goals are having a real impact on someone's ability.
I hope you take the time to look at <a href="https://github.com/lukasmwerner/harper-raycast">the project on GitHub</a>.
In other news, we have some other small projects using Harper:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/lockbook/lockbook">Lockbook</a></li>
<li><a href="https://stubby.io/">Stubby CMS</a></li>
</ul>

Elijah Potter

A Harper Record

Other Stuff

Markov Chains Are the Original Language Models

Why I Talk to Myself

Do Not Type your Notes