Accidentally swallowed my first “natural GU” of the Spring 2026 Western Pennsylvania trail running season. Bigger than a gnat, smaller than a horsefly. A good reminder to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

Stoked to be heading out to Bottlerocket Social Club tonight to see Saintseneca. Their 2025 release Highwalllow & Supermoon Songs was one of my favorites from last year. I’ve been looking forward to hearing these songs performed live for a while now.

“If you live at the intersection of being shit at something and holding an active disdain for craftsmanship, Fraude Design can keep you oblivious to your own shortcomings!”

I am a notoriously slow reader. Putting my e-reader in airplane mode so I can keep the library loan past its 3 week return date is the life hack I never knew I needed.

An amazing piece of writing from Steven Langbroek:

AI didn’t take our jobs. Greed did. Same greed that moved factories to Bangladesh and keeps slaves in cobalt mines in the Congo, wearing a new mask.

Substitute ‘programming’ with any other lane of knowledge work and you have your manifesto.

I really like this concept of a work/leadership diary from Seth Godin, and think I may give this a go. I’ve worked some things on this list into my daily practice (gratitude, empathy), but admittedly I could be more consistent in others (leadership generosity, new skills). This seems like a low-friction way to make progress.

Watched: Hulk Hogan: Real American Season 1 🍿

Listen up, brother. This was cool. Made me want to train hard, say my prayers and eat my vitamins. I had no idea about Hulk Hogan’s backstory. The vintage Wrestlemania footage brought me right back to being nine years old with wide eyes watching him body slam Andre the Giant.

I’ve never run a race with chest congestion and a head cold, but there’s a first time for everything. Still planning to send it. YOLO.

There are not many things in this world that I am truly good at, but I will put my grilled cheese up against anyone’s.

Watched: Big Mistakes 🍿

This was fantastic. Dan Levy and Taylor Ortega were great as dysfunctional but loving siblings caught up in a Russian crime ring. No spoilers, but it was left on a cliffhanger so hopefully a 2nd season is in the works.

I got my last tempo run in this morning before the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on Sunday. Seven miles at 7:20 average pace. Training has been on point this cycle and I’m feeling strong. Really looking forward to seeing what I can do this weekend. As they say, the hay is in the barn. Let’s go!

This story of the provenance surrounding the bat Roberto Clemente used to get his 3000th hit is absolutely incredible.

I was offered free tickets for tonight’s MNF game between the Steelers and Dolphins. The temperature at kickoff is forecasted to be 15ºF (-10ºC) with wind gusts of up to 20mph. This may be soft, but I politely declined. I’m too old to suffer like that and will watch in comfort on my couch. 🏈

babe, wake up. a new twisted teens joint just dropped.

There’s something extremely rich about Time Magazine drawing the visual parity between ’the architects of AI’ and the hero laborers who risked life and limb in unsafe working conditions building this country’s infrastructure.

There are two types of people in this world. Those who return their shopping carts to the designated storage places and those who leave them strewn about the parking lot.

Yes, I’ve reached that point in life where I’m drinking a cup of coffee while watching Steelers football.

A person holds a mug labeled STEEL CITY while lounging on a porch with a TV in the background.

Happy ’loosen the straps on your Birks to allow for the wearing of thick winter socks’ Day to all who celebrate!

Just signed up for the Nittany Valley Half Marathon, taking place December 7th on the campus of Penn State University where Elliott is a student. It’s been over a year since I’ve raced and I’m looking forward to getting back out there. Will be cool to have Elliott there to cheer me on too!

Brian Phillips writes a love letter to the em dash & laments the AI-shaming that’s grown online related to its use. I, too, love the em dash – and have used it in my writing for years – but I consciously started editing them out for fear of perceived AI use. No more! Em dash loud & proud!

Jumped into a Lyft today & the driver was jamming to Thursday’s Understanding in a Car Crash. I complimented his taste & he was surprised I knew it. Then for the duration of the ride we played Name That Tune with his early aughts emo playlist.

Five stars trip. Max tip.

I’m jamming hard to the new-ish Hayley Williams record, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party. Williams initially released the 18 songs separately as singles, but recently packaged them up into her preferred playlist. These songs are so good. It’s currently a front-runner for my record of the year.

I’ve been playing Fantasy Football in the same league, with the same folx, since 2012. The highest I’ve placed is 3rd. We had our draft last night and this is the first time in 13 seasons I’ve gotten an A+ grade. We’ll see how expectations and injuries pan out, but this could be my year. 🏈

Pour one out for dial-up internet from AOL, which will be officially discontinued on September 30th. Many of us cut our adolescent internet teeth back in the day to those omnipresent CD-ROMs and that glorious sound of the dial-up modem handshake. A small part of me is sad about this.

We saw a matinee of Its Never Over, Jeff Buckley this afternoon at the Harris Theater. I thought it was extremely well done and showcased how complicated, dynamic and talented Jeff was. Tears were shed. He is a legend. 🍿

A large screen in a theater displays a promotional image for a Jeff Buckley film with the text "IT'S NEVER OVER" and a release date.