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Book Update

**Recently read**
– A World Without Email by Cal Newport
– Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
– Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

**Currently Reading**
– The Every by Dave Eggers
– Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
– Two Old Men and a Baby by Hendrik Groen
– The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
РA Philosophy of Walking by Fr̩d̩ric Gros

**In the stack**
– Deep Work by Cal Newport
– Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar
– untangled by Lisa Damour
– The Great Mental Models vol. 2 and 3
– The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
– The Odyssey by Homer / Emily Wilson translation
– Think Again by Adam Grant

One common thread of these recent books is the impact of technology and science on society. (Well, maybe not *The Remains of the Day* I’m not too far into it thus far to know.)

I’ve recently done a major cleanup of some old computers I had, but then quickly went down a bit of a classic rabbit hole again. I wonder a lot about being more intentional about when and where I use technology, social media, etc.

Anyways, would love to hear from you if you’ve read any of these or have recommendations!

2021 10 20 A.J. Books Comments (0) Permalink

The end of an era

I made the call today to donate the Nancy. Many fun times had on the boat.

2021 10 19 A.J. General Comments (0) Permalink

Apple Music, Spotify, Algorithms

Followup to my previous lament. This is a really interesting and nerdy post: I Decoded the Spotify Recommendation Algorithm. Here’s What I Found

2020 11 17 A.J. Music Comments (0) Permalink

The iPod

I’ve been spending some time cleaning up all my old junk in the house. Old papers, boxes. Shoes that are worn out, clothes I no longer wear, etc.

As you might imagine, I have a lot of old technology lying around as well. Old computers, chargers, cables. (Just in case I need them!) The pack-rat genes run strong in my family. I really have to take a moment with each thing before put it in my tech recycling bag.

I have several old iPods laying around. Most of which, I found, no longer worked. The battery won’t take a charge, or the hard drive (when pressed up against my ear) goes, “click, click, click” when it tries to boot up.

But one still did fire up. A 30GB iPod from around 2006. I had loaded music onto it a several years ago, before I finally signed up for Spotify, and then Apple Music (and then back to Spotify).

I’ve been trying to put my finger on this feeling for a while. What is special about this collection of music? Why does having all of the millions of tracks available to you on Spotify somehow feel less special.

This article from back in 2016 pretty much nails it – An Ode to the iPod Classic – I guess the author would put me into the music nerd category. I still love kicking back and listening to an album straight through. Call me old fashion, but as much as I enjoy Infinite Indie Folk on Spotify – I probably couldn’t name a single track off the top of my head.

But for the meantime, I’m planning to pass along this working iPod to someone who I know will appreciate it.

2020 11 17 A.J. Music Comments (0) Permalink

Make Blue America Great Again

Matthew Yglesias has a new blog, Slow Boring, and the first posts I’ve read have been great. I love a hefty dose of commuter rail discussions any day of the week. Check it out!

Progressive politics needs ambition

Now I hear you saying, “wait wait this started with talking about how we should build social democracy in blue states and ended with a bunch of deregulation and union-busting — it smells like neoliberalism.”

Make Blue America Great Again

2020 11 16 A.J. Trains Comments (0) Permalink

What a well-funded passenger rail system could look like in the Midwest under “Amtrak Joe”

What a well-funded passenger rail system could look like in the Midwest under “Amtrak Joe”:

There’s little doubt that one of President-elect Biden’s favorite federal programs is Amtrak, America’s 50-year-old, subpar rail system.

While I am very excited that Joe Biden is not Donald Trump – his overall platform is pretty moderate. However, he is a huge proponent of rail travel, and I would love to see a major expansion in passenger rail in this country. (I’m sure a very obvious statement for anyone who has ever read my blog)

An infrastructure program that would generate jobs, create mobility and be good for the environment. Let’s go.

2020 11 13 A.J. Trains Comments (0) Permalink

Rock the Garden 2021, we hardly knew ye

Well, that’s a bummer…

Rock the Garden 2021 won’t happen; SPCO cancels the rest of its 2020-21 season:

COVID has taken its first punch at summer in the Cities 2021, knocking Rock the Garden into summer 2022. The Walker Art Center, co-sponsor with The Current, issued a statement this morning saying, in part: “Due to uncertainties around planning for a large-scale outside event next summer, the Walker and The Current will not present Rock the Garden in 2021. After thoughtful consideration of how Rock the Garden could be coordinated and held in the time of COVID-19, the two organizations determined that the event in its current form could not be done in a way that would guarantee the safety of community members and artists.”

2020 11 11 A.J. Music Comments (0) Permalink