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Life is a sacred text.

The more things change, the more I am sure that POSSE is the way. When we can figure out to how make communities just as resilient, we will really have something.

Gobsmacked. The house I grew up in was torn down and a new house was built. The sale price was more than 10 times what my parents sold for in the late 1990s.

An Open Call for Pragmatic Meliorism

Meliorism (Latin melior, better): the idea that progress is a real concept and humans can interfere with natural processes to improve the world.

What would it look like to embrace pragmatic meliorism instead of cynicism?

• Acknowledging problems while focusing on solutions
• Learning from history without being imprisoned by it
• Maintaining high standards while accepting incremental progress
• Combining skeptical analysis with constructive action

This is harder than cynicism by orders of magnitude. It takes nuance, effort, and (critically) emotional risk. But it’s also more likely to actually improve things.

From Joan Westerberg We Don’t Need More Cynics. We Need More Builders.

My Instagram feed is about 70% David Lynch, on this the day of his passing.

Gil Scott-Heron The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Online communities have changed my life. One put me on the current course of my life, having deepened my understanding of who I am and what I want. The second, through vulnerable sharing and thoughtful explanations has helped me understand my brain in a way I never dreamed possible.

Oh, and there have been so many opportunities to doom scroll as well. I’ve fallen into thirst traps and conspiracies a-plenty.

But here is the thing. The communities are what you make them. It’s just as true anywhere you may go.

I am going to miss TikTok. I doubt there will be anything close to it in my lifetime. I have never had an online resource show me so much of what I needed to see. So many people with ease and experience and even urgency explaining so much.

Yeah, there are many places to watch videos online. Reels and Shorts and everything else.

The trick, now, is to connect in a way that isn’t owned by anyone other than you and me, and not subject to any prevailing political winds.

Tim Leary said to find the others.

I’m other. I’m one.

Let’s go further.

How do we do this?

The disadvantage of a clever lockscreen wallpaper like this is that you must fight the urge to actually use the scroll wheel.

I have owned at least three iPods.

Testing NIP 05 authentication. Looks simple, but that can be deceiving.

Campbell’s Tomato Soup has wheat flour in it. In and of itself, it’s understandable. It’s a natural thickener. But I’m Celiac. And I made an assumption. And now I can’t eat something I brought home.

Echodrone Gravity

Builds slowly. A little bombastic. A favorite track of mine. I hope you enjoy.

Bone-conduction headsets/buds may not be an audiophile dream, but they are a wonderful way to quietly keep music going while leaving room for the ability to participate in things happening around me. One other big win is ear health. Other kinds of listening devices create problems for me.

Did a little experimenting with PlexAmp this afternoon. I was happy that it was an intuitive way to stream from my Plex server. It’s really nice to have options that leverage what I already own.

In a completely different vein: Come for the wall of sound. Stay for the vocal harmonies.

A Shoreline Dream New York (2018 Remaster)

Another fave from The Trip Hop Test, Part 1

Dubeliscious Groove by The Crystal Method

The Aloof, Society

A track I originally found on a compilation called The Trip Hop Test, Part 1, circa 1994

To my chagrin, I had not previously adopted and embraced Apple Notes. The Forever ✱ Notes methodology has me digging in to understand tagging, linking and smart folders. Notes is quietly becoming a favorite tool.

I’m currently a subscriber to Micro.blog, which is where my posts start. Micro.one is live today, as an introduction to micro blogging and is only $1 a month. Intro video at the link.

That feeling when my own inattention to a detail and assumptions Microsoft’s software makes caused me to change a password in error. IF I had been paying attention, no password change would have been needed. Nevertheless, two accounts have just had the password age clock reset.

You know, once upon a time I might have been called a silver-tongued devil for my cunning liguistics, and my ability to insert and infer innuendo. However, RuPaul and crew are masters to whom I am a mere understudy.

Doh. My Series 4 Apple Watch is now Vintage. Only another year or so before it’s obsolete.

I send you these wishes for your new year, that you will feel safe, secure and seen. And that you will be able to help others feel safe, secure and seen.

Just saw the memorial segment on CNN’s New Year’s Eve show. I’m old enough now that I know of most of the people who they featured.

Boom.

I love the low-key “Let me tell you the correct pronunciation of the word you just used” that Jeopardy hosts do.