Tantek Çelik tantek.com

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-18 21:32-0700",
    "url": "https://tantek.com/2025/138/t1/ran-bay-to-breakers",
    "category": [
        "SanFrancisco",
        "run",
        "runner",
        "race",
        "roadRace",
        "B2B",
        "Bay2Breakers",
        "BayToBreakers"
    ],
    "content": {
        "text": "Ran my 13th Bay to Breakers race in 1:55:31 today! 4min+ faster than last year.\n\nOnce again the Midnight Runners crew cheered runners in Hayes Valley at the park a couple of blocks before the hill.\n\nFelt better than I did last year, more able to sustain a moderate pace.\n\nOne quick pitstop in Golden Gate Park, and then picked up the pace to finish with a negative split and well under 2 hours. This time I made sure to keep running until I was well past the last timing strip.\n\nOther than the Midnight Runners cheer gang, this year I did not see anyone I knew the whole race. Bus + BART + jog to the start. Howard street up to Hayes hill, then by the Panhandle and through Golden Gate park to the finish.\n\nI did spot a neighbor after the finish and we caught up on the walk to the N-Judah light rail. Seeing the long line I decided to easy run backwards along the race course to see the costumes and a few human carried floats.\n\nCaught the Midnight Runners crew on the Conservatory of Flowers steps and hiked back to the Panhandle together. After catching up with a few friends I went home to shower and eat before heading back to the Panhandle.\n\nIn contrast to last year, last Friday I only did a short shakeout run \u2014 no evening run and staying out late with Midnight Runners. Saturday SFRC was about the same distance.\n\nSimilar to last year I took a bus to Van Ness, then jogged to the Civic Center station and took BART to Embarcadero. It seems that\u2019s the only reliable transit option, no matter what any mapping application (Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Routesy) claims about bus or lightrail times or routes (they were all wrong, yet again, just like last year).\n\nDespite not seeing any friends running the race, feeling both stronger and more confident in my training was enough to boost my mood for the duration. I was grateful to be out there running on a beautiful day.\n\nLast year: https://tantek.com/2024/150/t1/ran-baytobreakers\n\n#SanFrancisco #run #runner #race #roadRace #B2B #Bay2Breakers #BayToBreakers",
        "html": "Ran my 13th Bay to Breakers race in 1:55:31 today! 4min+ faster than last year.<br /><br />Once again the Midnight Runners crew cheered runners in Hayes Valley at the park a couple of blocks before the hill.<br /><br />Felt better than I did last year, more able to sustain a moderate pace.<br /><br />One quick pitstop in Golden Gate Park, and then picked up the pace to finish with a negative split and well under 2 hours. This time I made sure to keep running until I was well past the last timing strip.<br /><br />Other than the Midnight Runners cheer gang, this year I did not see anyone I knew the whole race. Bus + BART + jog to the start. Howard street up to Hayes hill, then by the Panhandle and through Golden Gate park to the finish.<br /><br />I did spot a neighbor after the finish and we caught up on the walk to the N-Judah light rail. Seeing the long line I decided to easy run backwards along the race course to see the costumes and a few human carried floats.<br /><br />Caught the Midnight Runners crew on the Conservatory of Flowers steps and hiked back to the Panhandle together. After catching up with a few friends I went home to shower and eat before heading back to the Panhandle.<br /><br />In contrast to last year, last Friday I only did a short shakeout run \u2014 no evening run and staying out late with Midnight Runners. Saturday SFRC was about the same distance.<br /><br />Similar to last year I took a bus to Van Ness, then jogged to the Civic Center station and took BART to Embarcadero. It seems that\u2019s the only reliable transit option, no matter what any mapping application (Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Routesy) claims about bus or lightrail times or routes (they were all wrong, yet again, just like last year).<br /><br />Despite not seeing any friends running the race, feeling both stronger and more confident in my training was enough to boost my mood for the duration. I was grateful to be out there running on a beautiful day.<br /><br />Last year: <a href=\"https://tantek.com/2024/150/t1/ran-baytobreakers\">https://tantek.com/2024/150/t1/ran-baytobreakers</a><br /><br />#<span class=\"p-category\">SanFrancisco</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">run</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">runner</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">race</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">roadRace</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">B2B</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">Bay2Breakers</span> #<span class=\"p-category\">BayToBreakers</span>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Tantek \u00c7elik",
        "url": "https://tantek.com/",
        "photo": "https://tantek.com/photo.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "44847705",
    "_source": "2460"
}

Link: Well Surprise Surprise…Looks Like Cities Like Portland are Growing After All

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250518/surprise-cities-are-growing-after-all",
    "published": "2025-05-18T21:34:12-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<blockquote>\n  <h2><a href=\"https://portlandtribune.com/2025/05/17/portland-population-finally-grows-after-pandemic/\"></a></h2>\n\n  <p>The population of Portland increased in 2024 for the first time since COVID-19 shut down the economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase is included in the Vintage 2024 Estimates for American cities and towns that was released on Thursday, May 15. The population increase follows growth in downtown foot traffic over the past few years reported by Downtown Portland Clean &amp; Safe, the downtown service district that tracks downtown visits.</p>\n\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>You wouldn\u2019t believe the rhetoric getting spewed right and left over how cities in \u201cblue\u201d states, particularly here on the U.S. west coast, were shedding population in favor of people moving out to the \u2018burbs and red state areas instead. It took a pandemic, they said, for people to realize they should escape these urban hellholes and move out to the <em>real America</em> of the <a href=\"https://genius.com/Jason-aldean-try-that-in-a-small-town-lyrics\">\u201csmall town\u201d</a>.</p>\n\n<p>Only thing is that isn\u2019t true. Or if it were at one point temporarily true, <strong>it\u2019s not anymore.</strong></p>\n\n<p>(Honestly, I think the urban/rural divide is simply more culture war nonsense. We\u2019d all figure out how to get along and respect each other if it weren\u2019t for cynical politicians and far-right agitators turning it into yet another wedge issue\u2026)</p>",
        "text": "The population of Portland increased in 2024 for the first time since COVID-19 shut down the economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase is included in the Vintage 2024 Estimates for American cities and towns that was released on Thursday, May 15. The population increase follows growth in downtown foot traffic over the past few years reported by Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, the downtown service district that tracks downtown visits.\n\n\n\nYou wouldn\u2019t believe the rhetoric getting spewed right and left over how cities in \u201cblue\u201d states, particularly here on the U.S. west coast, were shedding population in favor of people moving out to the \u2018burbs and red state areas instead. It took a pandemic, they said, for people to realize they should escape these urban hellholes and move out to the real America of the \u201csmall town\u201d.\n\nOnly thing is that isn\u2019t true. Or if it were at one point temporarily true, it\u2019s not anymore.\n\n(Honestly, I think the urban/rural divide is simply more culture war nonsense. We\u2019d all figure out how to get along and respect each other if it weren\u2019t for cynical politicians and far-right agitators turning it into yet another wedge issue\u2026)"
    },
    "name": "Link: Well Surprise Surprise\u2026Looks Like Cities Like Portland are Growing After All",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44847614",
    "_source": "2783"
}

Webfinger Reverse Discovery

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": null,
        "url": "https://herestomwiththeweather.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://herestomwiththeweather.com/2025/05/18/webfinger-reverse-discovery/",
    "published": "2025-05-18T14:49:22+00:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>Activitypub addresses the problem of participating in a decentralized social network with a low barrier to entry. You participate through the server you have joined but often times the people you want to interact with reside on other servers. For instance, if you want to follow a friend, visiting that friend\u2019s url does not provide a simple follow button.  That simple follow button is on your own server but you need to navigate to your server\u2019s profile page for your friend who is on a remote server.  An easy way to do this is to perform a search on your friend\u2019s webfinger address which looks like an email address. Your server can make a <a href=\"https://www.w3.org/community/reports/socialcg/CG-FINAL-apwf-20240608/#forward-discovery\">forward discovery</a> request to ask for the url of your friend\u2019s actor document so that you can visit your server\u2019s profile page for your friend.</p>\n\n<p>Your server needs to do more than forward discovery to validate that the actor url actually belongs to the requested webfinger address in case the domain of the webfinger address is different than the domain of the actor url.  In this case, after fetching the actor url, your server needs to construct a 2nd webfinger address composed of the preferredUsername it found in the actor document followed by the domain of the actor url.  Your server can make a webfinger request to this 2nd address and use the response to verify that the subject matches the original webfinger address that you submitted in your search.  If they don\u2019t match, your server can display the profile associated with the 2nd address and ignore the original webfinger address since the validation failed.</p>\n\n<p>I wrote a <a href=\"https://github.com/herestomwiththeweather/irwin/commit/330765dc10054156cd26c397ed1973c93ed30760#diff-e66847e10576724ed355f062a794f1953374908bf08e248a62f3ccde6682de42R25-R34\">should use the custom domain</a> example spec to make sure the server can accommodate a custom domain different than the domain in the actor url.</p>\n\n<p>In the example spec, we are given bob@example.com whose webfinger points to an actor document at activitypub.test:</p>\n\n<pre><code>let(:bob_webfinger_info) { {\"subject\" =&gt; \"acct:bob@example.com\", \"links\"=&gt;[{\"rel\"=&gt;\"self\", \"type\"=&gt;\"application/activity+json\", \"href\"=&gt;\"https://activitypub.test/users/bob\" }]} }\n</code></pre>\n\n\n<p>It is not enough to fetch the actor document and assume bob is at activitypub.test.  Instead, <a href=\"https://docs.joinmastodon.org/spec/webfinger/#mastodons-requirements-for-webfinger\">as Mastodon does</a>, a reverse discovery should be performed by constructing a new WebFinger address by combining the preferredUsername from the actor document and the hostname of the id of the actor document.</p>\n\n<p>In the example spec, this new WebFinger address would be bob@activitypub.test and, in this case, the test host activitypub.test returns a webfinger response that confirms that the subject is bob@example.com that was requested with forward discovery.</p>\n\n<p>Another example spec <a href=\"https://github.com/herestomwiththeweather/irwin/commit/8f4b4f3abb8e47bd1c9d144439874f25ed6cf0c1#diff-e66847e10576724ed355f062a794f1953374908bf08e248a62f3ccde6682de42R61-R93\">should not use the custom domain if subject returned by activitypub server is different than the original subject</a> tests when george@example.com is not recognized by the host activitypub.test who george points his webfinger address to:</p>\n\n<pre><code>let(:george_webfinger_info) { {\"subject\" =&gt; \"acct:george@example.com\", \"links\"=&gt;[{\"rel\"=&gt;\"self\", \"type\"=&gt;\"application/activity+json\", \"href\"=&gt;\"https://activitypub.test/users/george\" }]} }\n</code></pre>\n\n\n<p>In this case, the validation fails because the host returns acct:george@activitypub.test in the 2nd webfinger request instead of acct:george@example.com so example.com is discarded and the domain of the account should fall back to activitypub.test.</p>",
        "text": "Activitypub addresses the problem of participating in a decentralized social network with a low barrier to entry. You participate through the server you have joined but often times the people you want to interact with reside on other servers. For instance, if you want to follow a friend, visiting that friend\u2019s url does not provide a simple follow button.  That simple follow button is on your own server but you need to navigate to your server\u2019s profile page for your friend who is on a remote server.  An easy way to do this is to perform a search on your friend\u2019s webfinger address which looks like an email address. Your server can make a forward discovery request to ask for the url of your friend\u2019s actor document so that you can visit your server\u2019s profile page for your friend.\n\nYour server needs to do more than forward discovery to validate that the actor url actually belongs to the requested webfinger address in case the domain of the webfinger address is different than the domain of the actor url.  In this case, after fetching the actor url, your server needs to construct a 2nd webfinger address composed of the preferredUsername it found in the actor document followed by the domain of the actor url.  Your server can make a webfinger request to this 2nd address and use the response to verify that the subject matches the original webfinger address that you submitted in your search.  If they don\u2019t match, your server can display the profile associated with the 2nd address and ignore the original webfinger address since the validation failed.\n\nI wrote a should use the custom domain example spec to make sure the server can accommodate a custom domain different than the domain in the actor url.\n\nIn the example spec, we are given bob@example.com whose webfinger points to an actor document at activitypub.test:\n\nlet(:bob_webfinger_info) { {\"subject\" => \"acct:bob@example.com\", \"links\"=>[{\"rel\"=>\"self\", \"type\"=>\"application/activity+json\", \"href\"=>\"https://activitypub.test/users/bob\" }]} }\n\n\n\nIt is not enough to fetch the actor document and assume bob is at activitypub.test.  Instead, as Mastodon does, a reverse discovery should be performed by constructing a new WebFinger address by combining the preferredUsername from the actor document and the hostname of the id of the actor document.\n\nIn the example spec, this new WebFinger address would be bob@activitypub.test and, in this case, the test host activitypub.test returns a webfinger response that confirms that the subject is bob@example.com that was requested with forward discovery.\n\nAnother example spec should not use the custom domain if subject returned by activitypub server is different than the original subject tests when george@example.com is not recognized by the host activitypub.test who george points his webfinger address to:\n\nlet(:george_webfinger_info) { {\"subject\" => \"acct:george@example.com\", \"links\"=>[{\"rel\"=>\"self\", \"type\"=>\"application/activity+json\", \"href\"=>\"https://activitypub.test/users/george\" }]} }\n\n\n\nIn this case, the validation fails because the host returns acct:george@activitypub.test in the 2nd webfinger request instead of acct:george@example.com so example.com is discarded and the domain of the account should fall back to activitypub.test."
    },
    "name": "Webfinger Reverse Discovery",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44847562",
    "_source": "246"
}

Marty McGuire martymcgui.re

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-18T13:01:22-0400",
    "summary": "\ud83d\udcd7 Want to read Not Here, Not Now by Anthony Dunne, Fiona Raby ISBN: 9780262049665",
    "url": "https://martymcgui.re/2025/05/18/130122/",
    "category": [
        "books"
    ],
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Marty McGuire",
        "url": "https://martymcgui.re/",
        "photo": "https://martymcgui.re/images/logo.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "44843976",
    "_source": "175"
}

Maybe Automation is, Like, Uh, Y’know, Actually Kinda Bad

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250517/maybe-automation-is-like-bad",
    "published": "2025-05-17T18:33:45-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><strong>Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one:</strong></p>\n\n<p>\u201cGee, we have all sorts of automation when it comes to manufacturing goods, and sometimes that\u2019s put people out of work and stuff. Oh well! The Industrial Age has been great for humanity. So what\u2019s wrong with automating intellectual work sometimes? The Age of AI will also be great for humanity!\u201d</p>\n\n<p>The foolish person would concede the first point, while continuing to engage on the question of intellectual automation.</p>\n\n<p>I think it will benefit us to apply some wisdom here and question the initial premise. Because, y\u2019know, maybe\u2014<strong>just maybe!</strong>\u2014the automated manufacturing of physical goods is <strong>also bad.</strong></p>\n\n<p><em>Shock!</em> <em>Gasp!</em> <em>Horror!</em> \ud83d\ude31</p>\n\n<p>Look, I won\u2019t pretend to argue we shouldn\u2019t have <em>any</em> factories and machinery. I can\u2019t even imagine a modern world without industry. There certainly wouldn\u2019t be the Internet, computers, etc., so it\u2019s rather pointless to debate that, right?</p>\n\n<p>And yet, I think we <em>should</em> have a debate on just how much \u201cjunk\u201d gets manufactured, sold, and then discarded\u2014ending up in ever-expanding landfills. The amount of literal trash modern society generates is unfathomable. The deleterious effects on the environment are truly alarming. The poor quality of life of many factory workers across the globe is appalling. The loss of skill, the death of craftsmanship, the fact that so many people\u2019s homes and places of work are filled with crappy mass-produced items of little meaningful artistic merit instead of handmade objects by creative individuals\u2014<strong>these are real issues of grave concern.</strong></p>\n\n<p>I think it\u2019s shameful that a glib response to the rise of \u201cintellectual automation\u201d (assuming <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/generativeai\">#generativeAI</a> is even truly capable of that now\u2026itself a highly contested point!) touting the perceived success of industrial automation is just taken as a given. Is it really the <em>totally coolest thing ever</em> that you can buy a mass produced scarf for cheap (maybe not so cheap now\u2026thanks Trump tariffs! \ud83d\ude02) at Walmart rather than purchase a one-of-a-kind shawl by a local craftsperson which undoubtedly costs more?</p>\n\n<p><strong>On a related note\u2026</strong></p>\n\n<p>Are you aware of the huge uprising against automobiles taking over city streets in the early 1900s? Are you aware of the massive campaigns by auto makers to sway public opinion? Did you know they <em>literally invented</em> the term \u201cjaywalking\u201d to make the perfectly reasonable goal of, er, walking across a street <a href=\"https://www.vox.com/2015/1/15/7551873/jaywalking-history\">perceived as foolish? Even illegal?</a></p>\n\n<p>Did you know that when someone accuses you of being a \u201cluddite\u201d for avoiding some newfangled technology, they are (likely unwittingly) referring to a movement in England which smashed looms in protest against horrible factory conditions and whose leaders were subsequently executed for their \u201ccrimes\u201d?</p>\n\n<p>The Industrial Revolution was a \u201csuccess\u201d\u2026because the protesters were shot. <em>That\u2019s not even an exaggeration!</em></p>\n\n<p>As I <a href=\"https://theinternet.review/2025/05/13/you-do-not-get-to-die-on-the-vibe-coding-hill-simon/\">keep saying until I\u2019m blue in the face</a>, we <em>desperately</em> need a reset when it comes to the AI conversation because if something doesn\u2019t change fast, <strong>we will end up making many of the same mistakes society made in the last round of automation reshaping civilization.</strong> And I am unconvinced we\u2019ve even made it out of <em>that</em> hype cycle with our moral fiber intact.</p>",
        "text": "Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one:\n\n\u201cGee, we have all sorts of automation when it comes to manufacturing goods, and sometimes that\u2019s put people out of work and stuff. Oh well! The Industrial Age has been great for humanity. So what\u2019s wrong with automating intellectual work sometimes? The Age of AI will also be great for humanity!\u201d\n\nThe foolish person would concede the first point, while continuing to engage on the question of intellectual automation.\n\nI think it will benefit us to apply some wisdom here and question the initial premise. Because, y\u2019know, maybe\u2014just maybe!\u2014the automated manufacturing of physical goods is also bad.\n\nShock! Gasp! Horror! \ud83d\ude31\n\nLook, I won\u2019t pretend to argue we shouldn\u2019t have any factories and machinery. I can\u2019t even imagine a modern world without industry. There certainly wouldn\u2019t be the Internet, computers, etc., so it\u2019s rather pointless to debate that, right?\n\nAnd yet, I think we should have a debate on just how much \u201cjunk\u201d gets manufactured, sold, and then discarded\u2014ending up in ever-expanding landfills. The amount of literal trash modern society generates is unfathomable. The deleterious effects on the environment are truly alarming. The poor quality of life of many factory workers across the globe is appalling. The loss of skill, the death of craftsmanship, the fact that so many people\u2019s homes and places of work are filled with crappy mass-produced items of little meaningful artistic merit instead of handmade objects by creative individuals\u2014these are real issues of grave concern.\n\nI think it\u2019s shameful that a glib response to the rise of \u201cintellectual automation\u201d (assuming #generativeAI is even truly capable of that now\u2026itself a highly contested point!) touting the perceived success of industrial automation is just taken as a given. Is it really the totally coolest thing ever that you can buy a mass produced scarf for cheap (maybe not so cheap now\u2026thanks Trump tariffs! \ud83d\ude02) at Walmart rather than purchase a one-of-a-kind shawl by a local craftsperson which undoubtedly costs more?\n\nOn a related note\u2026\n\nAre you aware of the huge uprising against automobiles taking over city streets in the early 1900s? Are you aware of the massive campaigns by auto makers to sway public opinion? Did you know they literally invented the term \u201cjaywalking\u201d to make the perfectly reasonable goal of, er, walking across a street perceived as foolish? Even illegal?\n\nDid you know that when someone accuses you of being a \u201cluddite\u201d for avoiding some newfangled technology, they are (likely unwittingly) referring to a movement in England which smashed looms in protest against horrible factory conditions and whose leaders were subsequently executed for their \u201ccrimes\u201d?\n\nThe Industrial Revolution was a \u201csuccess\u201d\u2026because the protesters were shot. That\u2019s not even an exaggeration!\n\nAs I keep saying until I\u2019m blue in the face, we desperately need a reset when it comes to the AI conversation because if something doesn\u2019t change fast, we will end up making many of the same mistakes society made in the last round of automation reshaping civilization. And I am unconvinced we\u2019ve even made it out of that hype cycle with our moral fiber intact."
    },
    "name": "Maybe Automation is, Like, Uh, Y\u2019know, Actually Kinda Bad",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44839440",
    "_source": "2783"
}

Star Wars: Andor is Indisputably Phenomenal

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250516/star-wars-andor-is-sublime",
    "published": "2025-05-16T20:56:57-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p><em>Star Wars: Andor</em> is a triumph, outstanding, sublime in its perfection. It not only does the job of elevating the <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/scifi\">#scifi</a> genre as one of Disney+\u2019s prestige <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/tvshows\">#tvshows</a>, it transcends genre and becomes a work of art\u2026a G.O.A.T. Not since the original <em>Star Wars</em> film and its even more impressive sequel <em>The Empire Strikes Back</em> have we seen quality of this caliber. There, I said it. This is the best we\u2019ve seen out of Lucasfilm since <em>Empire</em>. <strong>Boom.</strong></p>\n\n<p>When the Season 1 finale aired, <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/links/20221211/andor-is-the-best-star-wars-since-the-last-jedi\">I wrote the following:</a></p>\n\n<blockquote>\n  <p>Perhaps <em>Andor</em> won\u2019t be to everyone\u2019s taste across the broader fandom, but I can tell you right now: THIS is the kind of Star Wars I like. <strong>More please.</strong></p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>And more we did indeed get with an incredible epic Season 2. I will say it started out a bit slow, but the momentum kept building and building and never stopped until the closing credits.</p>\n\n<p>It\u2019s strange: I must admit I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of <em>Rogue One</em> when it came out. I enjoyed it. <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/articles/my-top-5-scifi-films-of-2016\">But I didn\u2019t love it.</a></p>\n\n<p>I very much look forward to a rewatch now that so much backstory has been laid down. I hope I enjoy it more, but I fear no matter what it won\u2019t quite reach the heights of its chronological predecessor.</p>\n\n<p>No matter. <em>Andor</em> stands on its own: two seasons of some of the best television I have ever seen. Well done, Kathleen Kennedy, Tony Gilroy, and crew. <strong>This is one for the history books.</strong></p>",
        "text": "Star Wars: Andor is a triumph, outstanding, sublime in its perfection. It not only does the job of elevating the #scifi genre as one of Disney+\u2019s prestige #tvshows, it transcends genre and becomes a work of art\u2026a G.O.A.T. Not since the original Star Wars film and its even more impressive sequel The Empire Strikes Back have we seen quality of this caliber. There, I said it. This is the best we\u2019ve seen out of Lucasfilm since Empire. Boom.\n\nWhen the Season 1 finale aired, I wrote the following:\n\n\n  Perhaps Andor won\u2019t be to everyone\u2019s taste across the broader fandom, but I can tell you right now: THIS is the kind of Star Wars I like. More please.\n\n\nAnd more we did indeed get with an incredible epic Season 2. I will say it started out a bit slow, but the momentum kept building and building and never stopped until the closing credits.\n\nIt\u2019s strange: I must admit I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of Rogue One when it came out. I enjoyed it. But I didn\u2019t love it.\n\nI very much look forward to a rewatch now that so much backstory has been laid down. I hope I enjoy it more, but I fear no matter what it won\u2019t quite reach the heights of its chronological predecessor.\n\nNo matter. Andor stands on its own: two seasons of some of the best television I have ever seen. Well done, Kathleen Kennedy, Tony Gilroy, and crew. This is one for the history books."
    },
    "name": "Star Wars: Andor is Indisputably Phenomenal",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44831349",
    "_source": "2783"
}

fluffy beesbuzz.biz

Doldrums

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-16T18:41:33-07:00",
    "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/7951-Doldrums",
    "category": [
        "mental health",
        "depression",
        "fatigue",
        "sleep",
        "chronic pain"
    ],
    "name": "Doldrums",
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "fluffy",
        "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
        "photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44830382",
    "_source": "2778"
}

fluffy beesbuzz.biz

Some Comma 3X followup stuff

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-16T13:23:58-07:00",
    "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/8657-Some-Comma-3X-followup-stuff",
    "category": [
        "EV",
        "comma",
        "self-driving"
    ],
    "name": "Some Comma 3X followup stuff",
    "content": {
        "text": "Some comments have happened on certain other sites from my last post about the Comma. Most of them are in the form of, \u201cThis person is insane/irresponsible/reckless for doing this.\u201d\n\nSome points:\nThe vertigo attacks are triggered by anxiety, and only last a few seconds. Having the safety net of automatic steering has cut down on my anxiety significantly, and I haven\u2019t had a vertigo attack while driving ever since I installed the Comma 3X.\nIf an attack were to last more than 1-2 seconds I would still pull over.\nI have over 30 years of driving experience and have never caused an accident. In fact the only time I\u2019ve ever been in a car accident while driving was when someone rear-ended me at a stoplight. This was 30 years ago.\nI live in an area with a lot of Teslas, where it is almost certain that many people are using Tesla FSD. I am having the Comma do way less for me than what people \u2014 possibly several of the same people making comments questioning my safety \u2014 entrust Tesla FSD with. I would absolutely trust Comma\u2019s training process far more than Tesla\u2019s.\nI am disabled, basically unemployed (and what little work I do, I do it from home), and don\u2019t have reliable access to transportation otherwise. Without the Comma unit I would be completely stuck at home or reliant on Lyft/Uber, which would get very expensive very fast and not allow me to do most of the things I actually need a car for. On days when I\u2019m having worse anxiety/vestibular issues I still don\u2019t drive, I take Lyft or put a trip off. I am still not driving all that much, and I have, so far, about one hour total of drive time with the Comma.\nI am taking on the full liability of using this device, and I am still in control of the braking and acceleration.\nAlso, notably, even when I have had vertigo attacks while driving, I have never lost control of my vehicle. I just feel like I might, and having a supportive presence is the best thing to pull me out of an anxiety state.\nChoose kindness and charity.",
        "html": "<p>Some comments have happened on certain other sites from <a href=\"https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/14719-Comma-3X-Initial-impressions\">my last post about the Comma</a>. Most of them are in the form of, \u201cThis person is insane/irresponsible/reckless for doing this.\u201d</p><p>Some points:</p>\n<ol><li>The vertigo attacks are triggered by anxiety, and only last a few seconds. Having the safety net of automatic steering has cut down on my anxiety significantly, and I haven\u2019t had a vertigo attack while driving ever since I installed the Comma 3X.</li>\n<li>If an attack were to last more than 1-2 seconds I would still pull over.</li>\n<li>I have over 30 years of driving experience and have never caused an accident. In fact the only time I\u2019ve ever been in a car accident while driving was when someone rear-ended me at a stoplight. This was 30 years ago.</li>\n<li>I live in an area with a <em>lot</em> of Teslas, where it is almost certain that many people are using Tesla FSD. I am having the Comma do way less for me than what people \u2014 possibly several of the same people making comments questioning my safety \u2014 entrust Tesla FSD with. I would absolutely trust Comma\u2019s training process <em>far</em> more than Tesla\u2019s.</li>\n<li>I am disabled, basically unemployed (and what little work I do, I do it from home), and don\u2019t have reliable access to transportation otherwise. Without the Comma unit I would be completely stuck at home or reliant on Lyft/Uber, which would get very expensive very fast and not allow me to do most of the things I actually need a car for. On days when I\u2019m having worse anxiety/vestibular issues I still don\u2019t drive, I take Lyft or put a trip off. I am still not driving all that much, and I have, so far, about one hour total of drive time with the Comma.</li>\n<li>I am taking on the full liability of using this device, and I am still in control of the braking and acceleration.</li>\n<li>Also, notably, even when I <em>have</em> had vertigo attacks while driving, <strong><em>I have never lost control of my vehicle</em></strong>. I just feel like I <em>might</em>, and having a supportive presence is the best thing to pull me out of an anxiety state.</li>\n</ol><p>Choose kindness and charity. </p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "fluffy",
        "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
        "photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44828750",
    "_source": "2778"
}

Everything Changed That Day

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250515/everything-changed-that-day",
    "published": "2025-05-15T23:39:09-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>It\u2019s curious how most days are \u201cjust another day\u201d\u2014even if you happen to have a particularly jovial or even noteworthy time\u2014and then every once in a great while you have A Day to Remember. A day when <strong>everything changes</strong> (hopefully for good and not ill).</p>\n\n<p>It\u2019s particularly curious to me how much my present life can be traced back to two specific days within the past year. I think about these two days\u2014one last summer and one at the start of this year\u2014on a regular basis. If I told you what happened on these days, it wouldn\u2019t sound like much.</p>\n\n<p>One of the days, I went on a long walk late at night along the Willamette River in Portland.</p>\n\n<p>Another one of the days, I sat in my car in a parking lot in Lincoln Beach and stared at the Pacific Ocean.</p>\n\n<p>In both those cases, something profound shifted within my psyche. <em>I was affected by the universe.</em> There was a fork in the road\u2026even if I didn\u2019t fully understand that yet.</p>\n\n<p>I am amazed by days like this. Whenever they come along, <strong>treasure them.</strong></p>",
        "text": "It\u2019s curious how most days are \u201cjust another day\u201d\u2014even if you happen to have a particularly jovial or even noteworthy time\u2014and then every once in a great while you have A Day to Remember. A day when everything changes (hopefully for good and not ill).\n\nIt\u2019s particularly curious to me how much my present life can be traced back to two specific days within the past year. I think about these two days\u2014one last summer and one at the start of this year\u2014on a regular basis. If I told you what happened on these days, it wouldn\u2019t sound like much.\n\nOne of the days, I went on a long walk late at night along the Willamette River in Portland.\n\nAnother one of the days, I sat in my car in a parking lot in Lincoln Beach and stared at the Pacific Ocean.\n\nIn both those cases, something profound shifted within my psyche. I was affected by the universe. There was a fork in the road\u2026even if I didn\u2019t fully understand that yet.\n\nI am amazed by days like this. Whenever they come along, treasure them."
    },
    "name": "Everything Changed That Day",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44823985",
    "_source": "2783"
}

fluffy beesbuzz.biz

Fuck AI LLM scrapers

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-15T17:46:09-07:00",
    "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/6837-Fuck-AI-LLM-scrapers",
    "category": [
        "admin tax",
        "AI",
        "bullshit",
        "internet",
        "cloudflare"
    ],
    "name": "Fuck AI LLM scrapers",
    "content": {
        "text": "Wellp, my whack-a-mole approach finally got to be too much to maintain. The last day or so my server has been absolutely inundated with traffic from thousands of IP blocks, all coming from China, and I got sick of trying to keep up with it myself.\n\nI looked into setting up Anubis and preparing to just whitelist a lot of IndieWeb things, but it\u2019s all just so very overwhelming and for now I\u2019ve gone with Cloudflare, problematic as they are, because the amount of energy I can put into this shrinks every day and sometimes I just want things to stop sucking for a while.\n\nAll of my DNS has propagated but of course it\u2019ll be a while before the bots decide to update their own DNS caches, so my server is still getting absolutely hammered, but hopefully things will subside, and in the meantime things are at least responsive.\n\nI guess at some point I\u2019ll have to figure out how to actually set up TLS with Cloudflare (since I\u2019ve been using Letsencrypt wildcard certs but obviously those don\u2019t work anymore when Cloudflare is handling my DNS) but that\u2019s a problem for future me. Also I\u2019ll definitely be on the lookout to make sure that Cloudflare is properly honoring my login cookies. It\u2019d definitely be unfortunate if it gets confused about logins, which is one of the more common failure modes with HTTP proxies.\n\nI\u2019m also super worried that this will interfere with IndieWeb stuff, because of course most of the anti-bot things assume that any traffic coming from data centers or from headless/scriptless user agents is abusive. Which is, y'know, 99.99% accurate, but that 0.01% is stuff I really care about (namely interop).\n\nAnyway. I resent that this is the state of the Internet right now. It\u2019s getting really difficult for me to find anything positive about AI when this is how the industry treats everyone.",
        "html": "<p>Wellp, my <a href=\"https://beesbuzz.biz/articles/9050-Blocking-abusive-webcrawlers\">whack-a-mole</a> approach finally got to be too much to maintain. The last day or so my server has been absolutely <em>inundated</em> with traffic from thousands of IP blocks, all coming from China, and I got sick of trying to keep up with it myself.</p><p>I looked into setting up <a href=\"https://anubis.techaro.lol/\">Anubis</a> and preparing to just whitelist a <em>lot</em> of IndieWeb things, but it\u2019s all just so very overwhelming and for now I\u2019ve gone with <a href=\"https://cloudflare.com\">Cloudflare</a>, problematic as they are, because the amount of energy I can put into this shrinks every day and sometimes I just want things to stop sucking for a while.</p><p>All of my DNS has propagated but of course it\u2019ll be a while before the bots decide to update their own DNS caches, so my server is still getting absolutely hammered, but hopefully things will subside, and in the meantime things are at least responsive.</p><p>I guess at some point I\u2019ll have to figure out how to actually set up TLS with Cloudflare (since I\u2019ve been using Letsencrypt wildcard certs but obviously those don\u2019t work anymore when Cloudflare is handling my DNS) but that\u2019s a problem for future me. Also I\u2019ll definitely be on the lookout to make sure that Cloudflare is properly honoring my login cookies. It\u2019d definitely be unfortunate if it gets confused about logins, which is one of the more common failure modes with HTTP proxies.</p><p>I\u2019m also super worried that this will interfere with IndieWeb stuff, because of course most of the anti-bot things assume that any traffic coming from data centers or from headless/scriptless user agents is abusive. Which is, y'know, 99.99% accurate, but that 0.01% is stuff I really care about (namely interop).</p><p>Anyway. I resent that this is the state of the Internet right now. It\u2019s getting really difficult for me to find anything positive about AI when this is how the industry treats everyone.</p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "fluffy",
        "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
        "photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44820589",
    "_source": "2778"
}

gRegor Morrill gregorlove.com

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-15 14:27-0700",
    "url": "https://gregorlove.com/2025/05/scam-text-from-509-387-9884/",
    "category": [
        "scam",
        "phishing"
    ],
    "content": {
        "text": "Scam text message from (509) 387-9884\n\nWatch out for a text message that is attempting to get you to enter your Amazon login like this. Amazon will not send you a text message like this:\n\n\n\u201cAmazon Order Review - Your Refund Has Been Approved\n\nDear Customer,\n\nFollowing a recent review of our marketplace activity, we identified that a seller associated with your previous purchase failed to meet Amazon's operational standards. The seller has since been removed from our platform.\n\nAs a result, you are entitled to a full refund, with no need to return the product. This action will not affect your account or purhcase history in any way.\n\nPlease click the secure link below to confirm your refund:\n\n[bit.ly link redacted]\n\nThank you for shopping with Amazon.\n\n-Amazon Customer Support\n\n{3N:E8:91:61:QV:L6:YD:KC:NP}\u201d\n\n\nI\u2019m reporting the link to bit.ly using their report abuse page.\n\nNerd stuff:\n\nThis was a group message, including nine other numbers. It was also an RCS message, not SMS, and was end-to-end encrypted.\n\nVarious Unicode letters were used, making the text appear bold every few words. For example, it used the Unicode \u201cmathematical sans-serif bold\u201d characters to spell out \u201cAmazon.\u201d Most likely this was an attempt to avoid triggering spam filters, though my Android automatically prompted \u201creport this as suspected spam?\u201d\n\nBit.ly\u2019s link checker indicates the destination was guoqushangmao dot com. Obviously, I do not recommend visiting that domain.",
        "html": "<p><b>Scam text message from (509) 387-9884</b></p>\n\n<p>Watch out for a text message that is attempting to get you to enter your Amazon login like this. Amazon will not send you a text message like this:</p>\n\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAmazon Order Review - Your Refund Has Been Approved</p>\n\n<p>Dear Customer,<br />\nFollowing a recent review of our marketplace activity, we identified that a seller associated with your previous purchase failed to meet Amazon's operational standards. The seller has since been removed from our platform.</p>\n\n<p>As a result, you are entitled to a full refund, with no need to return the product. This action will not affect your account or purhcase history in any way.</p>\n\n<p>Please click the secure link below to confirm your refund:<br />\n[bit.ly link redacted]</p>\n\n<p>Thank you for shopping with Amazon.<br />\n-Amazon Customer Support<br />\n{3N:E8:91:61:QV:L6:YD:KC:NP}\u201d</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>I\u2019m reporting the link to bit.ly using their <a href=\"https://bitly.com/pages/trust/report-abuse\">report abuse</a> page.</p>\n\n<p><b>Nerd stuff:</b></p>\n\n<p>This was a group message, including nine other numbers. It was also an <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services\">RCS message</a>, not SMS, and was end-to-end encrypted.</p>\n\n<p>Various Unicode letters were used, making the text appear bold every few words. For example, it used the Unicode \u201cmathematical sans-serif bold\u201d characters to spell out \u201cAmazon.\u201d Most likely this was an attempt to avoid triggering spam filters, though my Android automatically prompted \u201creport this as suspected spam?\u201d</p>\n\n<p>Bit.ly\u2019s <a href=\"https://support.bitly.com/hc/en-us/p/link-checker\">link checker</a> indicates the destination was <code>guoqushangmao dot com</code>. Obviously, I do not recommend visiting that domain.</p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "gRegor Morrill",
        "url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
        "photo": "https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/files/6268/profile-2021-square.300x0.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "44820202",
    "_source": "95"
}

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/20250514/travel-is-like-a-sieve",
    "published": "2025-05-14T20:47:24-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<p>At its best, long-term travel functions as a sort of <strong>sieve</strong>.</p>\n\n<p>It filters out the parts of yourself which are just not as important as you fancied them to be, which then allows the essence of who you really are shine forth all the more clearly.</p>\n\n<p>I have been surprised now that I\u2019m several months into the <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/nomadlifestyle\">#NomadLifestyle</a> just how much I \u201cdon\u2019t care\u201d about certain things which were really gnawing at me, and at the same time how much I still do care about other things. Seeing how my priorities have shifted has been incredibly illuminating, and while sometimes you can get a <em>taste</em> of that effect with short-term travel (a weekend getaway for example), I really do think <strong>\u201cdirectionless travel\u201d</strong> over an appreciable length of time (so not a \u201cvacation\u201d in the strict sense of the word) is <em>unparalleled</em> in its ability to reshape your mind, body, and soul.</p>\n\n<p><strong>I highly recommend it.</strong> \ud83d\ude0a</p>",
        "text": "At its best, long-term travel functions as a sort of sieve.\n\nIt filters out the parts of yourself which are just not as important as you fancied them to be, which then allows the essence of who you really are shine forth all the more clearly.\n\nI have been surprised now that I\u2019m several months into the #NomadLifestyle just how much I \u201cdon\u2019t care\u201d about certain things which were really gnawing at me, and at the same time how much I still do care about other things. Seeing how my priorities have shifted has been incredibly illuminating, and while sometimes you can get a taste of that effect with short-term travel (a weekend getaway for example), I really do think \u201cdirectionless travel\u201d over an appreciable length of time (so not a \u201cvacation\u201d in the strict sense of the word) is unparalleled in its ability to reshape your mind, body, and soul.\n\nI highly recommend it. \ud83d\ude0a"
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "44811507",
    "_source": "2783"
}

gRegor Morrill gregorlove.com

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-14 10:55-0700",
    "url": "https://gregorlove.com/2025/05/todays-forgotten-album/",
    "category": [
        "music",
        "throwback"
    ],
    "syndication": [
        "https://bsky.app/profile/gregorlove.com/post/3lp5lf4ifr22w"
    ],
    "content": {
        "text": "Today\u2019s forgotten album: Pacific Standard Time by Stairwell.\n\n\u201cHearts and Chevys\u201d youtu.be/beBTpV-N7xk",
        "html": "<p>Today\u2019s forgotten album: <i>Pacific Standard Time</i> by Stairwell.</p>\n\n<p>\u201cHearts and Chevys\u201d <a href=\"https://youtu.be/beBTpV-N7xk\">youtu.be/beBTpV-N7xk</a></p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "gRegor Morrill",
        "url": "https://gregorlove.com/",
        "photo": "https://gregorlove.com/site/assets/files/6268/profile-2021-square.300x0.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "44808324",
    "_source": "95"
}

Aaron Parecki aaronparecki.com

Enterprise-Ready MCP

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-12T22:01:23-07:00",
    "summary": "I've seen a lot of complaints about how MCP isn't ready for the enterprise.",
    "url": "https://aaronparecki.com/2025/05/12/27/enterprise-ready-mcp",
    "featured": "https://aaronparecki.com/2025/05/12/27/claude-google.jpg",
    "category": [
        "mcp",
        "oauth"
    ],
    "name": "Enterprise-Ready MCP",
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Aaron Parecki",
        "url": "https://aaronparecki.com/",
        "photo": "https://aaronparecki.com/images/profile.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44800982",
    "_source": "16"
}

Link: A Good Sign: One Hundred Thousand Slate Truck Reservations

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250512/hundred-thousand-slate-truck-reservations",
    "published": "2025-05-12T21:36:27-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<blockquote>\n  <h2><a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/12/slate-auto-crosses-100000-refundable-reservations-in-two-weeks/\"></a></h2>\n\n  <p>Slate crossed the milestone over the weekend, just a little more than two weeks after coming out of stealth mode and unveiling the truck at an event in Los Angeles, California. The company has said the truck will start below $20,000 after applying the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and plans to build the vehicles at a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana.</p>\n\n</blockquote>\n\n<p>In a <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/links/20250424/slate-truck-shows-real-ev-innovation\">recent post</a>, I shared my enthusiasm for the newly announced <strong>Slate Truck</strong>, and apparently I wasn\u2019t alone! As the article emphasizes, online buzz and a modest influx of cash doesn\u2019t guarantee the final product will be good (or even get made\u2026there is a long line of dead EV companies in Slate\u2019s wake), but I still say this is a good sign they\u2019ve hit on a winning formula with broad appeal.</p>",
        "text": "Slate crossed the milestone over the weekend, just a little more than two weeks after coming out of stealth mode and unveiling the truck at an event in Los Angeles, California. The company has said the truck will start below $20,000 after applying the $7,500 federal EV tax credit and plans to build the vehicles at a former printing plant in Warsaw, Indiana.\n\n\n\nIn a recent post, I shared my enthusiasm for the newly announced Slate Truck, and apparently I wasn\u2019t alone! As the article emphasizes, online buzz and a modest influx of cash doesn\u2019t guarantee the final product will be good (or even get made\u2026there is a long line of dead EV companies in Slate\u2019s wake), but I still say this is a good sign they\u2019ve hit on a winning formula with broad appeal."
    },
    "name": "Link: A Good Sign: One Hundred Thousand Slate Truck Reservations",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44791341",
    "_source": "2783"
}

fluffy beesbuzz.biz

Comma 3X: Initial impressions

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-12T16:49:58-07:00",
    "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/14719-Comma-3X-Initial-impressions",
    "category": [
        "car",
        "TV",
        "AI",
        "self-driving",
        "comma"
    ],
    "name": "Comma 3X: Initial impressions",
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "fluffy",
        "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
        "photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44789582",
    "_source": "2778"
}

A Nomad’s Pacific Northwest Travelogue, Part II

{
    "type": "entry",
    "author": {
        "name": "Jared White",
        "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/",
        "photo": null
    },
    "url": "https://jaredwhite.com/articles/a-nomads-pnw-travelogue-part-ii",
    "published": "2025-05-11T20:31:23-07:00",
    "content": {
        "html": "<img alt=\"\" src=\"https://res.cloudinary.com/mariposta/image/upload/w_1200,c_limit,q_65/new-seattle-waterfront.jpg\" /><h2>Messy as hell, yet thoroughly delicious!</h2>\n\n<p>Where <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/articles/a-nomads-pnw-travelogue-part-i\">last we left our intrepid hero</a> (that\u2019s me, in case you were wondering), I had survived a hailstorm in Portland, spent a weekend with my kids in Corvallis, and was ready to hit the road to celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day and stay a couple-ish weeks with my brother Shayne in the languorous hamlet of Kent, Washington.</p>\n\n<p>The drive up I-5 was uneventful, yet quite pleasant. I arrived in Shayne\u2019s neck of the woods in the early afternoon, while he was still at work, so I headed to the library in nearby Covington to get some work of my own done.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6826.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6826.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6826.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Naturally, it was nestled in the woods\u2014cozy fireplace and all<p>Once back at Shayne\u2019s abode, I unpacked and got settled in a bit, then we hightailed it over to Kent\u2019s premier Irish pub, <a href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-harp-bar-and-restaurant-kent\">The Harp Bar and Restaurant</a>.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6830.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6830.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6830.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Sl\u00e1inte! The White Brothers are in the house!<p>Despite the loud festivities and the jostling of too many patrons in too small of a space, our time there was grand. I had the bangers &amp; mash, and Shayne had a lamb stew if memory serves. Though I myself haven\u2019t been back to Ireland since 1998, I felt like the cuisine here had a truly authentic flair and was very tasty.</p>\n\n<h3>An Aside About Mood Swings</h3>\n\n<p>Feel free to skip this section if you are here mainly for the fun pix. I want to be as honest as I can about both the good and the bad of living as a nomad. The good is\u2026incredible experiences traveling, duh! \ud83d\ude05</p>\n\n<p>The bad is something I wasn\u2019t really prepared for, and to be honest it hasn\u2019t completely gone away even though it\u2019s significantly less acute than at first: <strong>frequent mood swings.</strong></p>\n\n<p>Maybe this is a me thing. Maybe other travelers don\u2019t experience this. I don\u2019t know, but I wish someone had warned me that numerous times throughout the course of a single day I might go from some pretty high highs to some pretty low lows and back again. One minute, you\u2019re beholding a breathtaking vista at a time of day you\u2019d never normally be there (perhaps it\u2019s early morning or late in the evening when otherwise you\u2019d be \u201chome\u201d). The next minute, you feel like crap and wonder what in the hell you\u2019re doing wandering across the face of the earth when normal people are enjoying a respite in their secure abode.</p>\n\n<p>Let me be clear: <strong>this is really not a comfort issue.</strong> I have <em>enjoyed</em> the physical activity of traveling and sleeping in my car or at times a hotel room or AirBnb (or in this case, my bro\u2019s place), and I have rarely been bothered by that aspect per se. It\u2019s more of a mental/emotional thing. Sometimes it\u2019s really stressful trying to figure out where you\u2019re going to land, and if you\u2019re going to feel \u201csafe\u201d falling asleep wherever that might be. Other times, it\u2019s more about the status\u2014my \u201cplace\u201d in this world. If I am technically houseless, doesn\u2019t that make me a loser? Aren\u2019t losers the people who don\u2019t have a place to stay other than their vehicle? (Never mind the fact that <em>I freely chose to do this!</em> I wanted to do this. I dunno, brains can be real weird sometimes\u2026)</p>\n\n<p>At any rate, like I said I\u2019m doing much better now on this front than the first couple weeks or so. Spending lots of quality time with Shayne on this particular trip probably helped a lot as well.</p>\n\n<p>Speaking of which, let\u2019s return now to our story!</p>\n\n<h3>Hello Seattle!</h3>\n\n<p>It\u2019s mandatory <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uvc46jujn8\">you play the Owl City song</a> as you read this section. <em>Mandatory, I tell you!</em></p>\n\n<p>The day after St. Patrick\u2019s\u2014once sufficiently recovered\u2014I drove to the Angle Lake train station and took the Link light rail into the city. Shayne had another day of work, and I was planning to meet up with a friend I met on Mastodon. But not before some adequate sightseeing!</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6833.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6833.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6833.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Pike Place Market, of course!<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6838.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6838.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6838.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  The all-new waterfront is simply gloriousYeah, I think not having a freeway blasting through here is pretty swellSeagull cries and all<p>Once I\u2019d played the tourist and ridden my e-scooter up and down the new Alaskan Way bike path enough times, I headed on up to Capitol Hill to meet my friend for lunch. He had selected <a href=\"https://www.oddfellowscafe.com/\">Oddfellows</a>, and like a good Millennial I ordered the avocado toast with a side of poached egg.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6845.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6845.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6845.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Holy pepitas!<p>After our lengthy and delightful camaraderie, I wandered around the neighborhood a bit and made a mental note to come back to this combo bike shop and caf\u00e9 one day!</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6850.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6850.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6850.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Cycles AND a cuppa! What will they think of next?<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6848.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6848.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6848.jpg\" /></a>\n    <a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6851.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6851.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6851.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Left: It was at the end of this picturesque alleyway <br />Right: Yours truly, waiting to hop aboard the Seattle Streetcar<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6852.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6852.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6852.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Destination: Caff\u00e8 Umbria in Occidental Square<p>After spending a while remote working and imbibing on some truly excellent coffee, it was time to grab a train ride back to my car. <em>Or so I thought!</em> I was starting to get hungry again, so I got off at the Beacon Hill stop and rode my scooter down various steep and winding roads to get to the bottom. Fun! But I wasn\u2019t sure where I might partake of a snack. Then I saw <a href=\"https://www.theoriginalphillys.com/\">the most hole-in-the-wall place</a> you\u2019ve ever encountered. I decided to give it a try. Despite it being oriented around the philly cheesesteak I ordered something vegetarian with lots of peppers. It was messy as hell, yet thoroughly delicious!</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6853.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6853.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6853.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  The Original Philly's. I believe it!<p>Back on the train again, I returned to Kent for some much needed R&amp;R and hanging out with my bro.</p>\n\n<h3>Issaquah and Bellevue</h3>\n\n<p>It was free Washington State Parks day, so while Shayne was at work I decided to meander my way up to a park not too far away. That turned out to be Squak Mountain State Park, just south of Issaquah. I wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d get much out of this particular trip at first\u2026the day was pretty gray and moist, and initially the trail just looked like firs and ferns\u2014aka pretty much anywhere in northwestern Washington.</p>\n\n<p>But then I got a little ways up the mountain and started to feel those glorious moody forest vibes. <em>Noice!</em> I even shot some \u201cprofessional\u201d photos with my fancy camera (the Nikon Z fc):</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/_DSC3632.JPG\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/_DSC3632.JPG\" alt=\"_DSC3632.JPG\" /></a>\n    <a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/_DSC3617.JPG\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/_DSC3617.JPG\" alt=\"_DSC3617.JPG\" /></a>\n  \n  Left: Yep, that's a temperate rainforest alright<br />Right: Tree guesses what this is<p>Eventually my forest time came to its logical conclusion and I was back on the road headed for Bellevue. I\u2019ve been here a number of times in the past, and despite the very \u201ccorporate\u201d vibes in parts of downtown, I really do enjoy this city. The very large downtown park square is quite a worthy destination.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6863.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6863.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6863.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Ponds and waterways<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6862.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6862.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6862.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Fancy skyscrapers\u2026probably all thanks to tax dollars from Microsoft or something<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6873.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6873.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6873.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  It might be even better at night. Imagine walking under this!<p>That evening I went out to have drinks with Shayne and a buddy of his at a <em>very highfalutin rooftop bar</em> in Bellevue. For some reason I didn\u2019t get any photos of the view, but <a href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ascend-prime-steak-and-sushi-bellevue-9\">you can check out their Yelp page for examples</a>.</p>\n\n<p>The next day wasn\u2019t particularly eventful and the weather wasn\u2019t too good, so mainly I got a bit more work done and hung out with Shayne at home\u2014among other things <a href=\"https://cyan.com/2025/03/18/press-release-new-age-brings-additional-intrigue-to-2020-myst-remake/\">playing the latest \u201cRime\u201d update to Myst</a>.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6881.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6881.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6881.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  I did grab this lovely bit of moss when out on a walk though!<h3>Point Defiance, and the Reason I Was Here at All</h3>\n\n<p>On Friday, it was time for us bros to go exploring (before the big event of the evening\u2026stay tuned for the fabulous details)! First, we stopped to have a delightful lunch at Marlene\u2019s Market &amp; Deli in Federal Way.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6888.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6888.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6888.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  I'm always a sucker for tasty olives<p>Then we headed on out past Tacoma to a point of land northwest of town and arrived at our destination: <a href=\"https://www.parkstacoma.gov/place/point-defiance-park/\">Point Defiance Park</a>.</p>\n\n<p>The entire coastline of the Puget Sound from here down to Steliacoom or thereabouts is absolutely jaw-dropping. The Tacoma Narrows bridge spans a particularly dreamy area, and you can see that from the southern side of Point Defiance. But the park encompasses many other attractions, some of which we didn\u2019t even get to see such as a zoo. We primarily walked through the gardens, along the shore, and across various woodland trails.</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6898.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6898.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6898.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  One section of the gardens is Japanese themed<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6910.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6910.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6910.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  A much-appreciated moment in the sun<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6918.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6918.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6918.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  In the distance, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6919.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6919.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6919.jpg\" /></a>\n    <a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6895.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6895.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6895.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  Left: Attitude! The Sky is the limit when your heart is in it! <br />Right: Jared &amp; Shayne, squinting in the unfamiliar PNW light<p>Eventually the rain came back with a vengeance, and we returned to Kent in the nick of time to attend the <strong>main attraction</strong>. You see, I was destined to be here with Shayne long before I had actually decided to do the nomad thing this year, and that was because he had purchased tickets for us to attend an Irish music concert by the band <a href=\"https://www.lunasamusic.com/\">L\u00fanasa</a>. Yes indeed!</p>\n\n<a href=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6928.jpg\">\n      <img src=\"https://intuitivefuture.sfo3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/travelogue/2025/IMG_6928.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6928.jpg\" /></a>\n  \n  The lads warming up and tuning their instrumentsL\u00fanasa getting into the swing of things with some Irish soulL\u00fanasa playing a rousing Irish reel<p>And with that taste of wondrous Emerald Isle merry-making, <strong>I now bid thee farewell</strong> until my next installment of the Travel(b)logue series. Come back soon and join us as we visit a variety of Seattle museums, each more thrilling than the last!</p>\n\n\n\n  <br /><p>\n    \n      <a href=\"https://jaredwhite.com/tag/nomadlifestyle\">#nomadlifestyle</a>\n    \n  </p>",
        "text": "Messy as hell, yet thoroughly delicious!\n\nWhere last we left our intrepid hero (that\u2019s me, in case you were wondering), I had survived a hailstorm in Portland, spent a weekend with my kids in Corvallis, and was ready to hit the road to celebrate St. Patrick\u2019s Day and stay a couple-ish weeks with my brother Shayne in the languorous hamlet of Kent, Washington.\n\nThe drive up I-5 was uneventful, yet quite pleasant. I arrived in Shayne\u2019s neck of the woods in the early afternoon, while he was still at work, so I headed to the library in nearby Covington to get some work of my own done.\n\n\n      \n  \n  Naturally, it was nestled in the woods\u2014cozy fireplace and allOnce back at Shayne\u2019s abode, I unpacked and got settled in a bit, then we hightailed it over to Kent\u2019s premier Irish pub, The Harp Bar and Restaurant.\n\n\n      \n  \n  Sl\u00e1inte! The White Brothers are in the house!Despite the loud festivities and the jostling of too many patrons in too small of a space, our time there was grand. I had the bangers & mash, and Shayne had a lamb stew if memory serves. Though I myself haven\u2019t been back to Ireland since 1998, I felt like the cuisine here had a truly authentic flair and was very tasty.\n\nAn Aside About Mood Swings\n\nFeel free to skip this section if you are here mainly for the fun pix. I want to be as honest as I can about both the good and the bad of living as a nomad. The good is\u2026incredible experiences traveling, duh! \ud83d\ude05\n\nThe bad is something I wasn\u2019t really prepared for, and to be honest it hasn\u2019t completely gone away even though it\u2019s significantly less acute than at first: frequent mood swings.\n\nMaybe this is a me thing. Maybe other travelers don\u2019t experience this. I don\u2019t know, but I wish someone had warned me that numerous times throughout the course of a single day I might go from some pretty high highs to some pretty low lows and back again. One minute, you\u2019re beholding a breathtaking vista at a time of day you\u2019d never normally be there (perhaps it\u2019s early morning or late in the evening when otherwise you\u2019d be \u201chome\u201d). The next minute, you feel like crap and wonder what in the hell you\u2019re doing wandering across the face of the earth when normal people are enjoying a respite in their secure abode.\n\nLet me be clear: this is really not a comfort issue. I have enjoyed the physical activity of traveling and sleeping in my car or at times a hotel room or AirBnb (or in this case, my bro\u2019s place), and I have rarely been bothered by that aspect per se. It\u2019s more of a mental/emotional thing. Sometimes it\u2019s really stressful trying to figure out where you\u2019re going to land, and if you\u2019re going to feel \u201csafe\u201d falling asleep wherever that might be. Other times, it\u2019s more about the status\u2014my \u201cplace\u201d in this world. If I am technically houseless, doesn\u2019t that make me a loser? Aren\u2019t losers the people who don\u2019t have a place to stay other than their vehicle? (Never mind the fact that I freely chose to do this! I wanted to do this. I dunno, brains can be real weird sometimes\u2026)\n\nAt any rate, like I said I\u2019m doing much better now on this front than the first couple weeks or so. Spending lots of quality time with Shayne on this particular trip probably helped a lot as well.\n\nSpeaking of which, let\u2019s return now to our story!\n\nHello Seattle!\n\nIt\u2019s mandatory you play the Owl City song as you read this section. Mandatory, I tell you!\n\nThe day after St. Patrick\u2019s\u2014once sufficiently recovered\u2014I drove to the Angle Lake train station and took the Link light rail into the city. Shayne had another day of work, and I was planning to meet up with a friend I met on Mastodon. But not before some adequate sightseeing!\n\n\n      \n  \n  Pike Place Market, of course!\n      \n  \n  The all-new waterfront is simply gloriousYeah, I think not having a freeway blasting through here is pretty swellSeagull cries and allOnce I\u2019d played the tourist and ridden my e-scooter up and down the new Alaskan Way bike path enough times, I headed on up to Capitol Hill to meet my friend for lunch. He had selected Oddfellows, and like a good Millennial I ordered the avocado toast with a side of poached egg.\n\n\n      \n  \n  Holy pepitas!After our lengthy and delightful camaraderie, I wandered around the neighborhood a bit and made a mental note to come back to this combo bike shop and caf\u00e9 one day!\n\n\n      \n  \n  Cycles AND a cuppa! What will they think of next?\n      \n    \n      \n  \n  Left: It was at the end of this picturesque alleyway \nRight: Yours truly, waiting to hop aboard the Seattle Streetcar\n      \n  \n  Destination: Caff\u00e8 Umbria in Occidental SquareAfter spending a while remote working and imbibing on some truly excellent coffee, it was time to grab a train ride back to my car. Or so I thought! I was starting to get hungry again, so I got off at the Beacon Hill stop and rode my scooter down various steep and winding roads to get to the bottom. Fun! But I wasn\u2019t sure where I might partake of a snack. Then I saw the most hole-in-the-wall place you\u2019ve ever encountered. I decided to give it a try. Despite it being oriented around the philly cheesesteak I ordered something vegetarian with lots of peppers. It was messy as hell, yet thoroughly delicious!\n\n\n      \n  \n  The Original Philly's. I believe it!Back on the train again, I returned to Kent for some much needed R&R and hanging out with my bro.\n\nIssaquah and Bellevue\n\nIt was free Washington State Parks day, so while Shayne was at work I decided to meander my way up to a park not too far away. That turned out to be Squak Mountain State Park, just south of Issaquah. I wasn\u2019t sure I\u2019d get much out of this particular trip at first\u2026the day was pretty gray and moist, and initially the trail just looked like firs and ferns\u2014aka pretty much anywhere in northwestern Washington.\n\nBut then I got a little ways up the mountain and started to feel those glorious moody forest vibes. Noice! I even shot some \u201cprofessional\u201d photos with my fancy camera (the Nikon Z fc):\n\n\n      \n    \n      \n  \n  Left: Yep, that's a temperate rainforest alright\nRight: Tree guesses what this isEventually my forest time came to its logical conclusion and I was back on the road headed for Bellevue. I\u2019ve been here a number of times in the past, and despite the very \u201ccorporate\u201d vibes in parts of downtown, I really do enjoy this city. The very large downtown park square is quite a worthy destination.\n\n\n      \n  \n  Ponds and waterways\n      \n  \n  Fancy skyscrapers\u2026probably all thanks to tax dollars from Microsoft or something\n      \n  \n  It might be even better at night. Imagine walking under this!That evening I went out to have drinks with Shayne and a buddy of his at a very highfalutin rooftop bar in Bellevue. For some reason I didn\u2019t get any photos of the view, but you can check out their Yelp page for examples.\n\nThe next day wasn\u2019t particularly eventful and the weather wasn\u2019t too good, so mainly I got a bit more work done and hung out with Shayne at home\u2014among other things playing the latest \u201cRime\u201d update to Myst.\n\n\n      \n  \n  I did grab this lovely bit of moss when out on a walk though!Point Defiance, and the Reason I Was Here at All\n\nOn Friday, it was time for us bros to go exploring (before the big event of the evening\u2026stay tuned for the fabulous details)! First, we stopped to have a delightful lunch at Marlene\u2019s Market & Deli in Federal Way.\n\n\n      \n  \n  I'm always a sucker for tasty olivesThen we headed on out past Tacoma to a point of land northwest of town and arrived at our destination: Point Defiance Park.\n\nThe entire coastline of the Puget Sound from here down to Steliacoom or thereabouts is absolutely jaw-dropping. The Tacoma Narrows bridge spans a particularly dreamy area, and you can see that from the southern side of Point Defiance. But the park encompasses many other attractions, some of which we didn\u2019t even get to see such as a zoo. We primarily walked through the gardens, along the shore, and across various woodland trails.\n\n\n      \n  \n  One section of the gardens is Japanese themed\n      \n  \n  A much-appreciated moment in the sun\n      \n  \n  In the distance, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge\n      \n    \n      \n  \n  Left: Attitude! The Sky is the limit when your heart is in it! \nRight: Jared & Shayne, squinting in the unfamiliar PNW lightEventually the rain came back with a vengeance, and we returned to Kent in the nick of time to attend the main attraction. You see, I was destined to be here with Shayne long before I had actually decided to do the nomad thing this year, and that was because he had purchased tickets for us to attend an Irish music concert by the band L\u00fanasa. Yes indeed!\n\n\n      \n  \n  The lads warming up and tuning their instrumentsL\u00fanasa getting into the swing of things with some Irish soulL\u00fanasa playing a rousing Irish reelAnd with that taste of wondrous Emerald Isle merry-making, I now bid thee farewell until my next installment of the Travel(b)logue series. Come back soon and join us as we visit a variety of Seattle museums, each more thrilling than the last!\n\n\n\n  \n\n    \n      #nomadlifestyle"
    },
    "name": "A Nomad\u2019s Pacific Northwest Travelogue, Part II",
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44781407",
    "_source": "2783"
}

Marty McGuire martymcgui.re

Made a little Bitsy game

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-11T14:19:33-0400",
    "url": "https://martymcgui.re/2025/05/11/made-a-little-bitsy-game/",
    "category": [
        "games",
        "making",
        "Wonderville"
    ],
    "name": "Made a little Bitsy game",
    "content": {
        "text": "This post is about a month overdue. As compensation, I will waive the customary subscription fee to read it.\nEvery month, Blake Andrews hosts a 2-hour game jam at Brooklyn indie arcade / bar / awesome place Wonderville.\nI attended as my first in-person game jam on April 12th, where we were jamming on Bitsy. With Bitsy's browser-based editor, a bunch of great learning materials, and Blake's thorough live intro, it was easy to dive in!\nJam themes are chosen by asking Wikipedia for a random page. In this case, it was Town of North Fremantle, an Australian municipality that became a \"town\" in July of 1961, only to be amalgamated into the city of Freemantle, across the river, in November of the same year.\nI kind of fixated on the idea of civic bureaucracy, going through a political process, and finding out that it was a pointless exercise. So, I decided to make a little game about collecting and filing signatures.\nWhile Bitsy is lovingly simple, I have very little game jam experience and few skills, so I reused a lot of the default game assets, as I worked to just figure out how things are wired up. The base engine can do some pretty fun and complex stuff, but I found it confusing to find some concepts in the base editor. For example, an \"if / else\" block for dialog is under \"Lists\" because it is a \"Branching List\". My programming background expectations misled me several times.\nIn the end, I made a little thing, and even got to demo it live along with about a half-dozen other folks there.\nYou can find my jam entry here: Civil at Last, on itch.io. (I have my own itch.io page, now!)\n\n    \n  Some screenshots of this work of art.You can also play it right here!\n\n  Bitsy exports games as a single HTML file suitable for iframe embedding!You can find more details about the jam, and links to all the entries, at the 2 Hr Game Jam Club April 2025 page at itch.io.\nLet me know if you play and enjoy the game! Can you find all two endings??",
        "html": "<p>This post is about a month overdue. As compensation, I will waive the customary subscription fee to read it.</p>\n<p>Every month, Blake Andrews hosts a <a href=\"https://wondervilleprojects.org/programs/game-jams/\">2-hour game jam</a> at Brooklyn indie arcade / bar / awesome place <a href=\"https://wonderville.nyc/\">Wonderville</a>.</p>\n<p>I attended as my first in-person game jam on April 12th, where we were jamming on <a href=\"https://bitsy.org/\">Bitsy</a>. With <a href=\"https://make.bitsy.org/\">Bitsy's browser-based editor</a>, a <a href=\"https://make.bitsy.org/docs/introduction/tutorial/\">bunch of great learning materials</a>, and Blake's thorough live intro, it was easy to dive in!</p>\n<p>Jam themes are chosen by asking Wikipedia for a random page. In this case, it was <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_of_North_Fremantle\">Town of North Fremantle</a>, an Australian municipality that became a \"town\" in July of 1961, only to be amalgamated into the city of Freemantle, across the river, in November of the same year.</p>\n<p>I kind of fixated on the idea of civic bureaucracy, going through a political process, and finding out that it was a pointless exercise. So, I decided to make a little game about collecting and filing signatures.</p>\n<p>While Bitsy is lovingly simple, I have very little game jam experience and few skills, so I reused a <i>lot</i> of the default game assets, as I worked to just figure out how things are wired up. The base engine can do some pretty fun and complex stuff, but I found it confusing to find some concepts in the base editor. For example, an \"if / else\" block for dialog is under \"Lists\" because it is a \"Branching List\". My programming background expectations misled me several times.</p>\n<p>In the end, I made a little thing, and even got to demo it live along with about a half-dozen other folks there.</p>\n<p>You can find my jam entry here: <a href=\"https://schmarty.itch.io/civil-at-last\">Civil at Last, on itch.io</a>. (I have <a href=\"https://schmarty.itch.io/\">my own itch.io page</a>, now!)</p>\n\n    <img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/65/48/58/17/64c84b0ddbb3b5a2705e8c636d56a4cdcaaf781834322e8e407c6d3e.png\" alt=\"A human figure faces a long and winding yellow and brown desert road flanked by boulders and houses too close together for comfort.\" /><img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/0a/5f/ae/49/a7689da9b6cbe41aa456daf27770c13c0b894093b95ec5c3ff2397d6.png\" alt=\"I can't collect signatures without my trusty clipboard! Dialog over a scene in a small room with a closed door and a document on the ground. Outside the room is a winding corridor with another figure and two cats.\" /><img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/d2/b7/24/56/d045b7b6aa0c91f5789df40c325dd83a42302ad332a7b82920793012.png\" alt=\"But I wish you luck! Dialog from a stick figure along a desolate and rocky desert road.\" /><img src=\"https://media.martymcgui.re/71/40/7d/e3/8e646f9202ec1cc27cc4c5c235a04f81edb8137b0c178c8aa151cca9.png\" alt=\"Stick figure in a green and white office building corridor surrounded by locked rooms. At the far end is an open office with another figure at a desk.\" />\n  Some screenshots of this work of art.<p>You can also play it right here!</p>\n\n  Bitsy exports games as a single HTML file suitable for iframe embedding!<p>You can find more details about the jam, and links to all the entries, at the <a href=\"https://itch.io/jam/2hrgjc202504\">2 Hr Game Jam Club April 2025 page at itch.io</a>.</p>\n<p>Let me know if you play and enjoy the game! Can you find all <em>two</em> endings??</p>"
    },
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Marty McGuire",
        "url": "https://martymcgui.re/",
        "photo": "https://martymcgui.re/images/logo.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44779707",
    "_source": "175"
}

fluffy beesbuzz.biz

life going on

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-11T14:41:39-07:00",
    "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/blog/11322-life-going-on",
    "category": [
        "mental health",
        "music",
        "furality",
        "chronic pain",
        "choir",
        "gaming"
    ],
    "name": "life going on",
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "fluffy",
        "url": "https://beesbuzz.biz/",
        "photo": "https://beesbuzz.biz/static/headshot.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "article",
    "_id": "44779589",
    "_source": "2778"
}

Marty McGuire martymcgui.re

{
    "type": "entry",
    "published": "2025-05-11T11:23:17-0400",
    "summary": "\ud83d\udcd7 Want to read Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer ISBN: 9780226837970",
    "url": "https://martymcgui.re/2025/05/11/112317/",
    "category": [
        "books"
    ],
    "author": {
        "type": "card",
        "name": "Marty McGuire",
        "url": "https://martymcgui.re/",
        "photo": "https://martymcgui.re/images/logo.jpg"
    },
    "post-type": "note",
    "_id": "44777332",
    "_source": "175"
}