The solution to technology is not more technology. The solution to loneliness is each other, a wealth that should be available to most of us most of the time. We need to rebuild or reinvent the ways and places in which we meet; we need to recognise them as the space of democracy, of joy, of connection, of love, of trust. Technology has stolen us from each other and in many ways from ourselves, and then tried to sell us substitutes.

I spent the weekend attending my town's annual summer festival. It was a ton of fun, but it was packed to the gills with people, a natural consequence of our town's explosive growth over the past decade.

That growth has manifested as mcmansions that are packed together like sardines, distribution warehouses for mega corporations, and data centers for notorious champions of privacy and democracy.

Our town has courted new gyms and a couple restaurants, but I'd love to start seeing us actively recruit entrepreneurs who want to provide additional opportunities for us to come together and commune. You know, things like new dining options, shopping centers, theaters, arcades, churches, pickleball venues! Hell, why not a Puttshack?

Maybe I need to find a way to buy that open parcel of land that's a couple blocks from my house and build a coffee shop on it.

We are told that machines will become like us, but in many ways they demand we become more like them. To let that happen is to lose something immeasurably valuable. That immeasurability is what makes this struggle difficult, but what cannot be measured can be described or at least evoked and valued. It cannot be boiled down to simple metrics such as efficiency and profitability.

Resisting the annexation of our hearts and minds by Silicon Valley requires us not just to set boundaries on our engagement with what they offer, but to cherish the alternatives. Joy in ordinary things, in each other, in embodied life, and the language with which to value it, is essential to this resistance, which is resistance to dehumanisation.

In case you haven't heard: it's the Summer of Doing The Thing!

Charlee and I received our blue belts in kung fu. Doing the entire second form from start to finish is my favorite form of meditation. Right now, my tornado kick gets 270 degrees of rotation, working my way to doing a full 360.

I helped a friend add QR codes onto every helmet and pair of shoulder pads at my wife's school.

I got ice cream from an ice cream truck.

I met up IRL with a bunch of my internet nerd friends including my buddy Paul!¹

I also learned that one of those internet nerd friends plays drums for Saves The Day, which led to me to bumping Stay What You Are all month.

I spent a ton of time working on my patio, getting the ground properly graded. It’s been a full year since we destroyed the old patio. I keep imagining how good the first beer sitting on the new patio will taste.

Widow’s Bay. I haven't been consuming much TV lately², so it was nice to have a show to binge and get sucked into.

Stephen Root is a national treasure.

Also, that fourth episode where Patricia throws the party is perhaps the biggest "oh my god, what a payoff!" moment in television history.

We went to Sheboygan for a long weekend, which is the unofficial family start to the summer. We ate a ton of ice cream. Charlee found a Power Rangers-themed TalkBoy. Gus went down a ton of water slides. I set the high score on the arcade's pitching game. Shannon got to soak up some hometown feels.

Shannon and I went on a day date to the Mall of America. It was frustratingly busy, but I saw it as a sign that our communities need more third spaces.

The real flex here is that I still very much enjoy hanging out with my wife, she's the best.

We also saw Backrooms. The movie theatre lost power as we were getting concessions. I'm not sure how I would've reacted if our theatre lost power in the middle of the horror film.

Shannon made an absolute feast for Father's Day. She spent maybe 14 hours in the kitchen across the weekend putting together everything. It made me feel incredibly special.

My daughter turned 10. Her most recent birthdays were pretty big bashes (Grand Slam, a limo trip around town, that sort of thing), so hosting a low-key sleepover was a nice change of pace.

Love that lil' girl.

The next day, my wife and I got to pour beer at the Pride Dabbler.

I jump at every opportunity to pour beer at a beer festival. I get to spend a minute per person, doing my best to make them happy. Sometimes it's dropping a small compliment or joining an in-progress conversation between two patrons and riffing on it.

Regardless, they always smile after being handed a beer, especially a particularly dope-as-hell pilsner made by my pal Ariel.

The next day³, I had my twentieth high school reunion. I got to catch up with eighty-ish people who I haven't really thought about in the past two decades.

I was touched by how many of our conversations were about people who weren't in that room. It felt like community, everyone making sure that those who weren't down for the awkward conversations were still accounted for and cared about. There were a bajillion other feelings for sure, but on the whole, my bucket was filled that night.

I also explored the high school tunnels, verified that the Jeff Corner graffiti is still there (with subsequent classes leaving their own mark), relived the announcements glory days, closed down Cowboy Jacks, and eventually fell asleep at 4:30am.

Gus and I were tipped off that a family of baby ducks had just landed at the pond by our house, so we walked up and checked them out. There were three moms and a nest.

I cooked dinner. It was a chicken breast and fancy kraft mac n cheese.

I’ve recently taken an interest in cooking. I’ve considered eating a utilitarian act: something you did only to sustain yourself and nothing more. As with all heretofore acts I’ve considered to be utilitarian, I’m trying to find the joy in doing them. It was fun to put the dish together, it tasted pretty good, and I learned a thing or two that I will apply the next time I whip up a chicken breast.

June was a great start to the Summer of Doing The Thing. I’m trying hard this summer to be intentional with mindfulness and presence.

My wife took Gus and a neighbor kid up to the park, and she overheard them talking to each other. “Do you know what me and my dad did last time?” he asked. “We went in the spider web and looked at the clouds. Sometimes it’s okay to be bored.”

Of all the things I’ve done so far this summer, passing along that lesson was the most important.

I’ve been listening to music regularly since I had gotten my first walkman in my childhood. I had always been a boring mainstream pop person. Before the internet and mobile phones I listened to music for long commutes. But I think this is the first time in my life I am listening to music – specifically jazz – at every opportunity. I can listen to it while reading or writing because I listen to non-vocal jazz. In fact, I think it helps me focus more on these cerebral activities because it puts my mind in some sonic bubble.

[...]

Listening to jazz: it soothes my brain. I don’t really understand why. Is it because the brain needs to focus on the music and hence it stops existing in chaos? Is it because the brain has a primal connection to music? Is it the invisible math that inherently exists in music?

Same for me, but lately, it's been punk music. Specifically, upbeat pop punk music with optimistic lyrics.

Further, I'm getting more aware of what music works for me in different contexts. When I'm doing computer work¹, I need music that's more like jazz or lo-fi. When I'm doing housework, punk is the ticket. When I am lifting weights, I need aggressive rap.

Also appreciate the recommendation for "This Is Your Brain On Music", gonna put that book in the queue!

I can’t predict which post will matter, or to whom.

I just keep leaving little lanterns along the path.

Some of them will light the way for strangers.

Some of them will light the way home for my family.

And that’s enough.

Actually, I think it’s more than enough.

Maybe we’re all leaving lanterns behind in ways we don’t even realize.

WhatCable explains cable speed, charging limits, e-marker data, and connected devices in plain English. Name a cable and it tracks how the cable actually performs over time, so you can spot the one that has started misbehaving. No more guessing why a cable charges slow or refuses to drive your display.

Did you know that not every USB-C cable is the same?

If you answered "yes" to that question, then my friend, do I have the application for you!

After I mentioned a Jurassic Park anecdote the other day, I watched the movie again. I must have seen it at least ten times now. This time, I researched every computer/software I spotted.

I appreciated the continuity error call out; my daughter has started pointing out these things in movies and I am equal parts proud and horrified.

Saw this on Noisy Deadlines, had to give it a go.

Introduce yourself with five albums that have shaped you:

1. Neutral Milk Hotel - In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)
2. The Presidents of the United States of America - The Presidents of the United States of America (1995)
3. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (2013)
4. The Rezillos - Can't Stop The Rezillos (1978)
5. Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere (2006)

I spent several days on vacation thinking about this, but ultimately I scrolled through my janky, vibe-coded music library page and went with my first instinct like Ariadne.

If you end up doing something like this on your own blog, please let me know!

For years now, I’ve documented the “glimmers” that brighten each month—the small moments that make me pause and feel safe, calm, or hopeful.

Glimmers, as coined by psychotherapist Deb Dana, are the opposite of triggers. Triggers, which are unique to each person, tend to pull us into fear or distress. Glimmers, also unique to each of us, bring us comfort and steadiness.

Documenting glimmers isn’t simply a saccharine exercise or reliable newsletter content. It’s a way to counter the more challenging moments of life. For me, glimmers are padding for a harsh world. By collecting them, I create some protection against the sharp edges that can snag and snarl a day.

I never considered that there could be an antonym for a "trigger".

Without a sense of self, it is impossible to know what we truly want out of our life. Without knowing what we want out of life, we are susceptible to games people play or living on autopilot. It is difficult to have a fulfilling life without being intentional. Knowing what we want out of life will give us the courage and will needed to carve out our own path.

All solid pieces of advice, but this last piece of advice resonated the hardest. It's embarrassing to admit how long it has taken me to recognize that I'm responsible for defining my own sense of self, but hey, I'm here now, doing the thing!