At the moment, my life is in disarray. A record Arctic cold snap has turned normal routines upside down. The water to the upstairs is shut off. We’re going crazy each night to keep the remaining pipes from freezing. An ice dam is causing water to leak into our house. I’ve injured my knee, not through anything cool like snowboarding, but because the cat slept on it wrong. The new web development class I’ve spent months preparing for has turned into a dumpster fire because of incorrect assumptions, snow days, and a fractured schedule.
To say the least, I’m feeling out of sorts, which has me thinking about the pressure to curate ourselves online, presenting our lives as these perfect, effortless entities. But things get messy. I know this chaos isn’t permanent, just like I know that when things are going well, that state won’t last either.
It’s okay for life to be messy. It’s okay to struggle. It’s okay to be honest about it. Through understanding the adversities we face, we can better appreciate the supports we have and recognize that both the hard times and the good ones are temporary. Plus, it was a pretty good month for other things, as you can see by my picks, posts, and grooves below.
My Picks
How Will the Miracle Happen Today?
This post by Kevin Kelly grabbed me by my metaphorical lapel and shook me up in all the best ways. I’ve done so much thinking about how I can be kind to other people, and never once thought about how important it is to let myself be the recipient of direct, non-reciprocal kindness in turn.
Robin Sloan’s new AI pop-up newsletter is worth reading for anyone interested in AI’s impact on all of us. The first missive is a barn-burner, too. He makes the compelling case that the dreaded/ lauded “artificial general intelligence” milestone was actually met a while ago.
MTV Rewind h/t Kottke
Experience old-school music videos the way I did as a kid with this free player. The last time I was on this page, it was playing videos from the first full day in order. Pat Benatar is still incredible!
The Lowdown This FX series is exactly what I needed right now. Sterlin Harjo’s new show is a gritty, Western noir with fantastic characters, a propulsive plot, and laugh-out-loud scenes that kept me interested and entertained throughout. Stars like Ethan Hawke, Keith David, and Kyle McLaughlin bring stellar performances, and the soundtrack brings it all together.
Recently Published
Using Claude Code Beyond Coding
Anthropic’s AI coding tool, Claude Code, is getting a lot of buzz lately for good reasons. It’s an amazing tool, but limiting its use to programming tasks is leaving vast capabilities untapped. Their newest tool may just be the way to get folks to see the power of a co-intelligence that has access to files on your computer.
On December 31st, 2025 I reached ten years of daily journaling, and I learned a lot from all those entries. What I didn’t expect is what would happen on January 1st.
In the Groove
For record collectors, there are a few “holy grail” platters that you can search for your entire life, but never find. One of those rarest of unicorns was a 1982 album from the London suburbs that combined Indian wedding music with a cutting edge (for the time) drum machine and synthesizer.
It’s called Punjabi Disco, it’s finally been rereleased, and for the first time it’s available digitally for everyone to enjoy. The story is that the mom, Mohinder Kaur Bhamra, was a prominent traditional wedding singer for the Indian diaspora, but she became frustrated because the men and women weren’t dancing together. She asked her children to help, and they brought along their electronic instruments.
The result is something unlike anything I’ve heard. Danceable beats, new wave hooks, and amazing vocals combine into a whole that makes me smile from ear to ear. It also grooves, with basslines that make you want to get up and start moving. Standout tracks for me include Disco Wich Aa, Par Toon Ki Janay, and Ve Tu Jaldi Jaldi Aa, but the entire thing begs a listen. It’s all exceptional, and I’m so glad we can now access it.
Until Next Time
Things are already starting to look up. My knee is improving, and the forecast promises relief from the Arctic air soon. The days are getting longer, and I know that when spring comes, I’m going to be happier about it than I’ve been in years.
I hope things are going well for you as you read this. But if not, I get it. Hang in there, and I hope things start to improve soon.