Recent and good links
Wed, Mar 05, 2025 at 02:21:05 PM
“"The new pro life playbook," Emma Green in The New Yorker"This piece helped me understand disparate strands of why so many conversations feel like they’re being reframed as Family Issues. And why the world feels focused on Birth and Family, especially Large Families. And also why it all feels a bit off-kilter to me. Permalink 🔗
Sun, Feb 16, 2025 at 09:42:58 PM
BBEdit for WritersAn interesting writeup on how BBEdit is still a relevant piece of software for anyone who spends a lot of time stringing words together and battling the blank page. Permalink 🔗
Sat, Feb 15, 2025 at 11:25:01 AM
“New Richard Dawson (just Rich) record review"Just purchased the new Richard Dawson record, and I’m excited to start giving it a listen this week. during downtime at my crossing guard corner. Always exciting to see good review prospects for a record. Permalink 🔗
Sat, Feb 08, 2025 at 03:03:36 PM
“The Sanctuary Pub Closes"My favorite Friday night hangout spot for live jazz and folk music in college. Sad to see the place change so much. Permalink 🔗
Sat, Nov 09, 2024 at 09:14:55 AM
Russia’s Espionage War in the ArcticThis piece is illuminating — drawing together many political and cultural threads,—to weave a picture of one of the planet’s most remote regions,—that somehow also seems to mirror what is happening in locales more central to world and local affairs. Even your own town. Permalink 🔗
Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:54:23 AM
American Football RetireesAmerican Football takes a toll. And the players are starting to get the full picture. They don’t want to mortgage their future health for a ballgame. Permalink 🔗
Thu, Sep 12, 2024 at 09:25:00 PM
on the Impermanence of All Storage MediumsIs it possible that we will all come back around to paper and pencil as the best option for cross generational, cross millennial, transmission of information and culture? Permalink 🔗
Now
Updated: Nov 12, 2023 — Posted 266 days ago
This is a now page. Essentially an answer to the question, “What have you been up to recently?” I update this page as the focuses of my daily life ebb and flow.
Feeling
I broke my Wordle streak this weekend—not on purpose—and I still felt fine about it. Didn’t even a slight pang of regret, which felt like progress. Getting a bit of unencumbered enjoyment out of Wordle is the main reason I picked it up again.
I am feeling vaguely adrift. I’ll just leave it at that. I am also feeling proud of my kids for what they’re up to this school year—the progress they’re making.
I am also feeling physically beaten up. A new plantar wart developed near the heel of my left foot and it is dramatically impacting my steps. I am practically hobbling around. I am also still contending with the slight dizziness that I’ve felt since our Chicago trip last April. Yes, I’ve had sea legs since April—every moment of every day—except for a few hours one evening at the tail end of September. I’ve been dedicating myself to doing the Epley Maneuver every morning. All the while I’m worried that I’ll be stuck with these floating sensations for the rest of my life.
Thinking
On which day should I try to carve out music recording time? For how long? Should I get to that Christmas album?
On which days should I play pickleball with the seniors over at the Rec?
Will I ever actually get to know somebody here? What are the chances that my constant curiosity and reportage mindset will stop irritating those close to me?
Watching
The Fielder-verse:
- The Rehearsal
- Nathan For You
- Scavengers Reign
Listening
- Javelin, Sufjan Stevens
- Again, OPN
- Tim Hecker discography
- Cousin, Wilco
Reading
- The New Yorker
- The Waste Land: A Biography of a Poem
- Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
Recent Notes
According to the NWS (their Ft Worth office has the URL /fwd, which is odd, since this area is most commonly known as DFW), there are possibly storms developing today, but “a stout capping inversion will keep most locations dry!”
- Tue, Apr 01, 2025 at 12:51:59 PM
If you still believe, as I do, that having the right notebook is a contigency for getting stuff done, then continue to be convinced and in denial of your correcness, as I do.
- Mon, Mar 31, 2025 at 11:43:14 AM
A quick memory: back around a decade ago (a decade is 10 years) I was in charge of music at a church. That is called being “aworship pastor.” I was not very comfortable with that title, for reasons I can get into another time. I went through a trend of having the musicians play with a supplemental backing of pre-recorded music during church. The intent was to fill out our rather small lineup and provide a “bigger sound.” Feels like Spinal Tap just typing it out. Well, I myself would create these “backing tracks” on my computer at home—playing extra guitar parts, programming in extra drums, adding transition effects, adding the occasional frizzy keyboard arp part. I would usually wake up between 4 and 5 AM to put the finishing touches on the “backing track.” I put the team through a lot to make this work — and from where I now stand, it feels misguided and selfish.
- Thu, Mar 27, 2025 at 06:02:23 AM
In the battle of who could care less today: let us consider Stipe v Yorke. More to come on that topic tomorrow, when I’ve my wits about me.
- Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 10:15:33 PM
Google is making it very obscure and hoop jumpy to find the Drive app for macOS these days. The install link is buried on the only support page I could find.
- Tue, Mar 25, 2025 at 12:58:18 PM
Spring break travels. Exhausted from driving - but only halfway there. Had perhaps our longest ever stretch of no stops on a trip.
- Sat, Mar 15, 2025 at 12:47:19 AM
Back browsing the discs at our local library since the DVD player in the van is now working, and also because we now have a PS4 at home. All of a sudden I was flooded with memories of checking out entire series at a time - and discovering that our library actually has quite a few things I’ve been wanting to watch.
- Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 04:50:53 PM
I’m discovering more and more that I like to hear the news, in a podcast or the radio, and I like to read stories. I don’t like to cross the streams. My brain and heart need to keep each cordoned off from the other.
- Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 10:27:45 PM
I’ve been running away from the humble web browser for a long time. Trying to do everything In App. In a native app or bust. But maybe returning to the browser is worth a try. Have a tab group that contains the best 6 or 7 sites I care about.
- Thu, Mar 06, 2025 at 10:30:50 PM
Lunch out today, using a 14 month old gift card. There was a crying 14 month old at the restaurant. But the fries were good, although I overlooked that they cost $2.99 for the garlic upgrade - an oversight about which I will be silently lashing myself for the rest of the day. I didn’t need the buttery garlic topping that much.
- Thu, Mar 06, 2025 at 02:23:49 PM
Started work on a white paper trying to get across my thoughts on the Free Press - and our current gov’t’s dismantling thereof. To what end? Is revamping the White House press corps a fine thing in and of itself? Haven’t gov’t’s always desired to have a hand in how they are portrayed to their own public? Maybe “yes” to all these items - BUT - an emphatic “NO” to how it is going about these ends.
- Mon, Mar 03, 2025 at 07:18:04 PM
Having the hour between 6 and 7 free to be able to get the kitchen in orderreallymakes the following day a lot more palatable to the unwilling tongue. Less sour to the touch.
- Mon, Mar 03, 2025 at 07:13:18 PM
And that is the disturbing part. When you know that your brain is wired to think about all the behind the scenes details, and not what’s onstage - which is what people care about.
- Mon, Mar 03, 2025 at 01:13:09 PM
I’ve spent the past 3 months completely rebuilding my entire website - and now that I’m nearing the end, I may have lost my entire purpose in life. All there is left to do is write.
- Mon, Mar 03, 2025 at 01:12:00 PM