I’ve been thinking about the gap between the list of things I want to get done and the things I actually get done. For a long time, my attention went almost entirely to what wasn’t finished, and kept getting pushed back. Recently I’ve been trying to flip that around and look at what did happen. Turns out it’s usually plenty. Writing. Teaching. Following through on things that matter. The list of what’s actually getting done is longer than I give it credit for.
It’s a small shift in the way I think, but it changes things. So what should I do with the things I say I want to get done, but always seem to end up putting on the back burner? Let them go? Keep them as open loops until that perfect “someday” comes along? I suspect that what I really should do is figure out what’s blocking me in those areas. Perhaps it’s time to put “personal reflection” on the list.
My Picks
Wes Cook and The McDonald’s Mural
Panic’s Cabel Sasser tells the full story about the most impactful talk he’s given in his life. Be sure to watch the talk first! It’s a wonderful story, and there’s a great message about the benefits of going down rabbit holes in there, too.
These AI Prompts Exposed My Biggest Blind Spots
Daniel Pink, whose advice I greatly admire, shows how LLMs can surface important things about ourselves that we might not otherwise learn. He bravely demonstrates using his own data, even when it stings, and shows us that these new tools can generate real, valuable insights. I found it fascinating.
This Hulu miniseries is far away from my usual watching habits, but it has such great storytelling that I was quickly drawn in and finished it in a flash. It’s about family and grief, hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure. The show doesn’t bang you over the head with a message, it doesn’t drag out for season after season, and it’s geared toward a smart, adult audience. I wish there were more shows out there like this.
As I’m continuing to build my Web Development class, I’m always looking for good examples to share with my students. This ~300-line JavaScript program creates beautiful and elaborate embroidery patterns within a live Codepen web page. You don’t have to be a coder to appreciate the beautiful results.
Recently Published
There’s a lot of buzz about AI agents right now, where the AI does things on your behalf. Computer automation isn’t new, and there are genuinely useful things that technology can optimize in our lives, but a lot of the consumer-facing AI agents that are being pushed out right now are simply not worth it.
Visiting Cambodia last year was such a profound experience for me, the culmination of so many things coming together over many years, that I felt it was wrong to return and just let the whole thing fade away. This is the story about my involvement in helping get The Khmer Magic Music Bus on the road, and what I’m doing now to try to keep this incredible work going.
In the Groove
I’ve always loved the term “in the pocket” when it comes to music. It’s the magic when the performers are so in sync with one another, it takes the music to a whole new level. Each element pulls, pushes, and vamps with the others to lock in a vibe that can be transcendent. It feels inevitable.
I think Grant Green’s 1970 jazz album Alive is a perfect example of this. The groove the band lays down is solid and a perfect bed for Green to soar above with his guitar. It grabs you right from the opening, and introduces an element of funk into the mix that just screams cool. You can see why hiphop producers were inspired by so many tracks from this era.
In fact, sampling introduces another way to think about the pocket, when you can take part of a live performance and reuse it in new and exciting ways. There’s a direct connection between Alive and one of my all-time favorite albums, A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory. Check out Green’s song “Down Here on the Ground,” then listen to “Vibes and Stuff” to see how it’s transformed into a completely different context.
Two different eras, using the same engine. The pocket is real, and it is awesome.
So, what are you making time for these days? More made it onto my “done” list than I’d given myself credit for, and that certainly includes this newsletter. Thanks for reading!