The home page of Yevgeniy (Jim) Brikman, co-founder of Gruntwork, author of "Hello, Startup" and "Terraform: Up & Running", and software engineer at LinkedIn, TripAdvisor, Cisco Systems, and Thomson Financial. https://www.ybrikman.com I’ve created a new browser-based game called FlagGuessr! The idea is simple: you’re shown a flag, you guess which country it belongs to, and then you try to find ... Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/09/06/introducing-flagguessr/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/09/06/introducing-flagguessr/ SaaS is dead! Why pay monthly for some app when you can vibe code your own in a few hours? Open source is dead! Why use some bloated, complicated library when yo... Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/08/01/what-you-cant-vibe-code/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/08/01/what-you-cant-vibe-code/ This is the memoir of Sid Meier, co-founder of MicroProse, and creator of some of the most popular and influential video games of all time, including Civilization... Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/18/sid-meier-memoir/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/18/sid-meier-memoir/ After his uncle disappears in a in a space transit accident, Alex Benedict, an antiques dealer, tries to unravel the mysterious project his uncle was working on. ... Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/16/a-talent-for-war/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/16/a-talent-for-war/ In the first book, the Carryx empire enslaves humanity, adding them to the long list of alien species that must prove themselves useful to the Carryx, or be exter... Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/12/the-faith-of-beasts/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/12/the-faith-of-beasts/ A guide to understanding how cultural differences affect the way people communicate. The book looks at 8 dimensions (e.g., direct vs indirect negative feedback, e... Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/10/the-culture-map/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/10/the-culture-map/ Ernt Allbright, a Vietnam war vet struggling with PTSD, decides to move his family to a remote corner of Alaska. His wife Cora and teenage daughter Leni suddenly ... Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/08/the-great-alone/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/08/the-great-alone/ When a satellite spots an alien spaceship approaching Saturn, the opportunity to meet aliens and to discover advanced technologies is so irresistible that the US ... Thu, 04 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/04/saturn-run/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/04/saturn-run/ Yeongju decides to make a massive change in her life: she divorces her husband, leaves her stressful, high-paying job, and opens up a bookstore. It takes her a wh... Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/02/welcome-to-the-hyunam-dong-bookshop/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/02/welcome-to-the-hyunam-dong-bookshop/ Misaki, a mother hiding a violent past, Takeru, her cold and distant warrior husband, and Mamoru, her teenage son and prodigy warrior, are forced to band together... Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 -0700 https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/01/the-sword-of-kaigen/ https://www.ybrikman.com/blog/2026/06/01/the-sword-of-kaigen/