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Daily rhythms, outliving my father, running, physical conversations, and the rollercoaster of life

A funny things happens when you start deciding to write a short essay each day. Your brain accepts the constraint and rises to the task. The last two weeks have been a bit chaotic, but I've written a few short essays that I'm proud of. Since

Life is a roller coaster, stop and take a picture

Life is a series of roller coaster rides. One day we're up, another we're down. Years ago my therapist recommended a practice that my wife and I have tried implementing. When something good happens we celebrate the event. Sometimes it's in the smallest way,

Drawing the ChatGPT logo

In the latest episode of Sharp Tech, Ben Thompson lamented his poor recreation of the ChatGPT logo. For years, Ben has used Linea Sketch on the iPad to illustrate technical concepts.1 Those have made their way onto his Stratechery blog, and I’ve been an appreciative recipient of the

John Gruber and friends

Years ago my brother and friend started a podcast, Crossword, to talk about WordPress. I’ve listened to most of the episodes at this point, and it’s a regular part of my podcast feed. They do an excellent job bringing the yin and yang of podcast hosts, with their

Joan Westenberg: I Deleted My Second Brain

For years, I had been building what technologists and lifehackers call a “second brain.” The premise: capture everything, forget nothing. Store your thinking in a networked archive so vast and recursive it can answer questions before you know to ask them. It promises clarity. Control. Mental leverage. I’ve been

Experiencing physical conversations

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the chance to spend time in a number of great in-person conversations with real people. These have been dynamic, engaging discussions on all kinds of topics—with real humans in a physical space. Yes, I get to do this on a

Why I run

It’s nearing 90 degrees, the running trail has gotten a bit dusty and dry as summer comes on, and I’m feeling the heat. I dance around bushes and cut across a dry riverbed to make it to my spot. At a dip in the river I strip down

Designing calm software

Collectively, these three features are explorations in the idea of software explicitly designed around taking breaks. Break and holiday mode let you disable your reader while you are away. Catch-up mode helps you catch up after you have been away for a while. Night mode lets you configure your

The year I outlived my father

This morning I rewatched Steve Job’s Stanford commencement address. It’s as good as I remember, and even hits better as I get older. If you’ve never seen it, today’s your lucky day. I’d highly encourage you to pause and watch it. If it’s been

Embracing the rhythm of days

Last month I felt worn out. I’d completely filled up my time with numerous tasks. In hindsight, all of them were things I wanted to do, each worth consideration, and having earned a right to be on my todo list. But taken together it was too much. And if