Things I Like
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The friction that the political project of AI promises to remove is, by and large, the same friction that authoritarianism promises to remove: other people. You don’t have to build a relationship with other human beings who are just as complex and contradictory as you and who will probably frustrate you in all sorts of ways, maybe by challenging your preconceptions or expecting you to follow through on your commitments.
I've seen this piece quoted a lot because it's that good. Friction is necessary and we live in a world that is trying desperately to get rid of it and make everything efficient and easy even though that's not what's best for us as humans.
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I now needed a new sound to fill the air — I don’t always listen to music when I’m knitting, writing blog posts, or performing administrative tasks for our household. And sometimes silence (albeit punctuated by city noise) is deafening.
Jen's posts lately have been hitting me and so I'm linking to her in case you haven't read her or don't know about her. That being said, this has been me, looking for what to watch that I can have on in the background or have on while knitting or whatever else when I don't want silence. To be clear, I do a lot while it's silent, but knitting is when I most want something on in the background. I'm watching formulaic shows, mysteries, and since it's November which means its Noirvember on Criterion, we're watching old movies. But unplugging from what's happening in the world is a must and older shows and older movies are definitely helping me with that.
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I used to like technology. The only reason it frustrates me is because I secretly believe it can satisfy me. Perhaps it once did, but the machine is not enough. Is that technology’s failure or my own growth? There are better things to suffer for.
I've seen this post linked by many different people, it's worth your time to read Frank's thoughts on AI and the current landscape and I really appreciated how much he's in the weeds and still thinking about these things. It, along with the follow on post, are both worth your time. I picked a small quote, but there is a lot of different parts I could've pulled out of this piece. I'm in the same boat with Frank, I don't think I like tech all that much anymore and I'm living my life further removed from it and I've been so much happier.
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I am comfortable with doubt and am constitutionally resistant to moral certainty, herd mentality and dogma. I am disturbed on a fundamental level by the self-serving, toddler politics of some of my counterparts – I do not believe that silence is violence, complicity, or a lack of courage, but rather that silence is often the preferred option when one does not know what they are talking about, or is doubtful, or conflicted – which, for me, is most of the time. I am mainly at ease with not knowing and find this a spiritually and creatively dynamic position. I believe that there are times when it is almost a sacred duty to shut the fuck up.
This letter by Nick Cave reminded me of a line that Ta-Nehisi Coates said to Ezra Klein as they talked recently, "But was silence not an option?" I've been quiet more often than not this year and in this particular space I'm often quiet for weeks at a time, mostly because I'm away from my computer, but also because I'm not really sure what to say and I'm OK with that. Silence can be a good thing, especially in a world that is oversaturated with content and noise.
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This reflects a business culture obsessed with outcomes while treating outputs as speed bumps. But outputs (code, design, the products themselves) are the load-bearing work—the actual prerequisites for the outcomes desired. Focusing on outcomes while ignoring outputs means hiding in abstractions and absolving oneself of accountability. If any output is acceptable to hit your targets, what awful things emerge at scale? What horrors happen when success detaches completely from the necessity of being good—having both skill and ethics?
A great piece by Frank Chimero that's worth your time.
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I spent more than a decade engaging on social media as a representative of The Post, explaining the news and presenting my perspective. I was there as Twitter collapsed into X (he offered with the affected world-weariness of a combat veteran) but even before that — even before Elon Musk’s accelerations — saw how toxicity poisoned efforts at discussion. There’s value to debate and conversation, of course, but that isn’t what’s fostered on Twitter or (in my limited experience) on Substack. Instead, conversation occasionally glimmers through a waterfall of bad-faith, uninformed trolls and attacks. It’s an effort to play a college football game after the crowd has stormed the field.
Really interesting piece about power and how you contribute to it and who you give it to as you use social media and other online software. I've been thinking about this a lot as I've stepped back from being online as much and for me it also applies to how I use my time on any given day. I may not think in terms of power quite the same way, but I do liken it to the idea of what I give my attention to and how that affects me.
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To put a pin on the question about making a website, I guess I’d say… if you have ideas bigger than the 280~500 characters limit? A website. If you make non-portrait videos longer than two-minutes? A website. If you make images bigger than the 1280x720 summary card? A website. You throwing an event and need to communicate details but not everyone has Facebook accounts? A website. You want to eschew the algorithmic popularity game? A website (with RSS). You want to take part in the rewilding your attention movement? A website (with RSS). You want to own your own content? A website. You want to be an anti-capitalist? A website (with RSS). If you want to be a capitalist too, I guess? A website (with a paywall). You want to be anonymous? A website. You want to “share what you know”? A website.
Love this post by Dave and yeah, a website may not make you money but it's so awesome to be able to put what you want in the format you want out on the web.
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My wife and I do not have children (a decision we made prior to getting married) which means that we have never had a third thing—if you will—to keep us together. There is no buffer in our relationship which you would think would make it easier, but from my perspective is just the opposite. After a few decades of looking back on our struggles and witnessing other relationships collapse we’ve indexed on a few foundations that we have to continually practice if we want to make it to the next year.
This piece really resonated with me and I'm grateful to Storey for sharing this, we haven't made it to 30, but after 20 years of marriage I could relate to a lot of what he said.
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Regardless of the role trade agreements like NAFTA played in the continued move of manufacturing overseas, it was not the sole reason for this move, and thus its reversal (one could even go as far as to say, overcorrection) will not solve the problem. We cannot see how the current situation will do anything to increase domestic textile manufacturing in any way. Asking mills to expand production requires more labor, and more equipment. Currently equipment must be purchased—you guessed it—overseas, thus costing the company more money. If a yarn is spun domestically but uses imported materials, it now costs more to produce. Technically all these rising costs are the point of tariffs, but increased cost seems to be their only effect. As a brand actively involved in domestic manufacturing, we have not benefitted from any policies or practices over the last 6 months that have helped increase our manufacturing here versus overseas.
This series about tariffs from Kelbourne Woolens has been so well done. I've not used their yarn, but the way they point out exactly what's going on and how it affects them, a business that is trying to make yarn in the US as well as use fibers from outside the US, has been well worth the read. Related: I have a feeling lots of other small businesses in other areas could write similarly about what is happening, where their industry is at, and how this is affecting them, but I use yarn so I've been reading a lot about that.
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So I lost some wind in the professional sails. Do I need a new headwind? Do I turn the boat towards exciting new waters, or enjoy floating along in a still and relaxing harbour? Both have their appeal.
Snook and I are the same age and wow, I think in many ways we may be in a similar headspace as well. Good to know that I'm not alone with some of these thoughts.
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The place was chaos. Bankers boxes just like mine stacked in wobbly piles to the ceiling. Banks of filing cabinets stood behind a counter that was so covered in piles of dusty stamp books and shoeboxes that you couldn't see it. Unexpectedly at the front of the store sat rubbermaid tubs full of African violets, growing in the diffused light of the dirty storefront window.
I loved this piece, so well written and also I could relate as I just flew to help go through some of my mom's personal items now that she's in memory care. So many things she held on to that my sister and I don't really want and probably no one wants. It's honestly made me view the things in our own house differently.
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The same engagement-first polarization spiral that has made everything worse and still threatens democracy is Substack’s business model. They promised journalists independence but they’re optimizing for oligarchs.
A piece that speaks to what I posted yesterday about Substack. I don't know if I agree that a boycott isn't necessary, because it seems to me a lot of writers who vocally oppose the things that Substack is allowing are still using the platform.
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The one thing can be small or big, easy or labored, fleeting or long. I carve out time to go play drums for two hours, go for a bouldering session, do a shorter 20 minute run, read a page of a book, eat something I’m really excited about, and more. Even on the most difficult day, I can adjust and find the smallest thing that I am excited about and do it.
A good reminder from Naz.
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Now that we’ve explored what an average life can look like, let’s touch on what it doesn’t involve. It doesn’t mean that nothing you do matters from your viewpoint, and it doesn’t mean giving up on your goals or passions. Pursuing what you love, enhancing your skills, and striving for your dream life — however that may look — are all worthy endeavors.
I really enjoyed this piece, because most of us live very average lives, but that doesn't mean they aren't good lives.
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I bet there’s good ideas out there. I bet they’re not on Mars. I bet they’re inside people you already know. Impractical ideas that don’t scale well to billions of users but could have an incredible impact on a local economy and community (RIP Gowalla). Ideas that solve actual problems and create actual utility or connection. Small-scale ideas that when combined can breathe new life into a dead economy.
I read this piece this morning and have been thinking about it ever since. I don't necessarily agree with Dave on everything here, but there's a lot here that's got me thinking about how we function as a society. So many ideas are out there, but they won't blow up and make you incredibly wealthy and I wonder if that's what everyone is chasing, rather than being satisfied with enough.