The work of a product team, when working with new technology, is to abstract away as much of this complexity as possible, so that it feels friendly and approachable to new people.
I stumbled upon this post by David J. Roth and can’t stop thinking about the concept of “brains being defeated by phones.” It so eloquently sums up the state of humanity right now and one of my biggest fears is that there’s no walking back from it.
Not physical letters, but digital letters that arrive with traditional mail’s rhythm. It’s a private group newsletter that everyone contributes to and receives. It’s intentionally slow, purposeful, and deeply gratifying — a low-stress, high-signal way to stay connected that creates meaningful moments in a social world dominated by drive-by likes and fleeting attention.
I love this concept and I’m thinking of a number of cool topics worth exploring in this small group format:
A record club where we share new additions to our collections
An adventure club that shares highlights and recaps of running, cycling, hiking or climbing endeavors
A BBQ club focused on smoker & grill experiments and recipes
If one of these ideas resonates with you, hit me up. Awesome stuff, Naz and Scott!
Update: I created a club called Get in My Earholes that asks the question, “What’s the best record you’ve added to your collection recently?” Feel free to join the club…first letter goes out on 8/9 and then every 2 weeks after that.
This informative post from A New Social does a great job highlighting the nuances and differences between bridging and cross-posting on the open web:
Notably, bridging results in more unified conversations, while cross-posted conversations are more fragmented.
My site bridges to both Mastodon and Bluesky, which is great because I never have to look at either in order to participate in conversations on both platforms.
A friend reached out the other day asking if a self-released EP my band put out back in the day was streaming anywhere online. It was not, so I uploaded it as a playlist to YouTube.
Released in late 1999, line (pause) line was the first and only recording we put out into the world. We toured a bit supporting it opening for bands like Midtown, The Juliana Theory, Further Seems Forever and the like, and I have some amazing memories from this period of my life.
I haven’t listened to it in ages, and thought I’d cringe a bit upon hearing it, but I’m cringing less than expected. It actually brought a smile to my face and unlocked those memories once again.
Let me know if you want the mp3 files and I can email them to you.
Today we celebrate twenty one years of wedded bliss. Together for twenty eight. To honor the occasion of our marriage being old enough to drink, here is the first photo I ever posted of us on this site – from Halloween 2004.
She got me then, she gets me now. I do not deserve her.
Hello friends. A PSA to those unaware: Spotify CEO Daniel Ek invests millions in AI military drone technology. We just removed our music from the platform. Can we put pressure on these Dr. Evil tech bros to do better? Join us on another platform 🕊️
A photo dump of some of my favorites from last week in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.
A picture-perfect run down to the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge this morning. It’s our last morning here and I ended it on a high note. I’m glad I packed the Topo Mountain Racers because I logged plenty of beach miles this week.
Iron Man was the first stong I learned to play on the guitar. After years of trying, I never was able to nail those solos in Crazy Train. My band covered Mamma I’m Coming Home at the middle school talent show. We lost a legend today. RIP Ozzy. \m/
Cooking up a bit of Jersey’s finest this morning. IYKYK.
First time in Wildwood Crest since I was a kid. I woke up early & got in a nice 10K — out to the north sea wall and back. It started raining as I reached the turn around point and I finished the run in a cool downpour.
I started the long and arduous process of cataloging my record collection, and thought it would be good to throw a quick page together using the Discogs API . I’ve got a long way to go in the cataloging effort, but I’m liking the way the collection page is coming together!
I’m sitting here at my laptop for what feels like the first time in weeks, and it feels good. Really good. Like returning home after being away for too long.
The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. Elliott graduated high school. One chapter closing, another opening. We threw him a graduation party that seemed to take over our entire lives for a month. Planning for 100 people at our house, coordinating catering, setting up tents, worrying about weather. The setup was exhausting, the teardown even more so.
But when it was happening? Pure magic. Watching Elliott surrounded by friends and family, seeing the pride on everyone’s faces, feeling that collective celebration of this milestone – it was everything we hoped it would be and more.
Between the party planning, family travel, and an unusually demanding stretch at work, writing this site took a temporary backseat. This site sat here, patient and waiting, while life demanded my full attention elsewhere. And you know what? That’s exactly how it should be.
There’s something extremely natural about the ebb and flow of creative practice. Some seasons are for output, when thoughts are flowing and the words come easily. Other seasons are for input – for living, experiencing, gathering the raw material that eventually becomes the next wave of posts.
I used to feel guilty about the quiet periods. Like I was failing some invisible obligation to feed the algorithm, to maintain momentum, to stay visible in the endless scroll. But that’s the beauty of owning your own corner of the web. It doesn’t demand daily feeding. It doesn’t punish you for taking time away. It simply exists, ready for whenever you return.
This space has become something I didn’t expect when I started writing here: a refuge. A place where I can think out loud, process experiences, and document the moments that matter. It’s here when I need to work through something complex, celebrate something meaningful, or simply reconnect with the practice of writing.
Tonight, sitting here after being fully present for graduation ceremonies and family celebrations and work deadlines, I’m grateful for this patient digital home. I’m grateful for the rhythm that allows for both busy seasons and reflective ones. And I’m grateful that some things in our hyperdigital world still move at human speed.
Our values as a publication—pro-worker, pro-artist, pro-active listening, anti-villainous corporations—did not align with many of Spotify’s actions and policies.
I learned a couple new things via this article too. The book they reference, Mood Machine, sounds fascinating. It’s on my to-read list. Also, I didn’t know this:
In April 2024, Spotify enacted a new policy that denied royalties to songs that collected less than 1,000 streams, causing artists to wonder what would stop the company from arbitrarily increasing that number in the future.
