I’ve been thinking about the research showing that strong friendships and social connections are an indicator of longevity. Initially it seems weird. You’d think it would be about diet, exercise, stress reduction, and things like that. But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. When you have close friends and social connections, that sustains you. It gives you things to look forward to, people you can vent to and laugh with. You can find out about their lives, too: what they’re doing, what’s important to them. Then they can do the same for you.
I’m lucky enough to have great friendships, some going back over 30 years. The thing that amazes me about my friends is they accept all of me, including parts that I know don’t always rub people the right way. So I’m starting 2026 feeling really grateful for the people that I have in my life.
My Picks
I’m limiting myself to two geeky shares this month. Let’s start with more general interest things first…
The Secret to Loving Winter [gift link]
Rafaela Jinich explores how embracing the inevitable can help us get through these cold, dark days in this Atlantic article. Poets and deep-thinkers have a lot of good things to say, and it helps, but getting all the way to “love” won’t be easy for me.
Neal Agarwal has created another wonderful online experience for us to enjoy. This one spans life on our planet, from its smallest to its largest. It’s a fantastic interface, interesting topic, and beautiful presentation.
The Mr. Bean Christmas Special
It’s a little late for this one, I realize, but I only found out that it’s available to watch for free online the day before Christmas! I’m a huge Rowan Atkinson fan, and his work as Mr. Bean is among my favorites, particularly because it connects to a long tradition of wordless comedy going back to Jacques Tati, Charley Chaplin, and Buster Keaton. This episode is one of my all-time favorites.
I’ve been considering a lot of different code editors for use in my upcoming web development class, and have settled on Phoenix Code. It’s the winner because it hits the sweet spot between utility and simplicity. It’s also free and runs on Windows, MacOS, Chromebooks, and the web. It has everything you need right out of the box to start working on web development, including streamlined version control (with git), great previews, and tools to check and clean up your code.
The Resonant Computing Manifesto
The way we use technology in our society, particularly online, is due to deliberate choices that have been made. These choices often don’t support human thriving, and are instead optimized for profit and extraction. It’s wonderful to see a general movement against these forces in our society, and this manifesto speaks to the technology choices we make. We can do better, and this is a great way to start.
Recently Published
Last month I saw Cory Doctorow speak about his most recent book, Enshittification. It was equal parts fascinating and infuriating, and got me thinking about similar patterns that might take hold in AI.
Looking back on a full year of writing and thinking online with this newsletter and my website, I’ve learned a lot.
In the Groove
One of the most exciting pieces of news over the last month was that one of my musical heroes, Fela Kuti, was the first African musician to get a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Sadly, it’s posthumous, but still an important recognition of a fearless and fierce career. He was unabashedly political, and paid a heavy price for his advocacy of freedom.
He was my first exposure to the Afrobeat sound, with long, propulsive grooves and a massive sense of power being projected with every beat, riff, and solo. A great place to start is the double-album Best of the Black President that can be streamed on most platforms or purchased from Bandcamp.
I think as we age it’s difficult to make new friends, and it’s very easy for existing ones to drift off. This year my resolution is to make sure I appreciate the great people in my life and let them know how much they mean to me.
I write this newsletter for you, friends I know and perhaps a few I haven’t yet met. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful 2026.