2,731 karma · joined May 4, 2020
There are lots of challenges to actually canceling subscriptions, but not knowing that you're being charged for something every month? Seems absent-minded to me.
I'm worn down by this kind of chatter, by the hyper-focus on the platforms and the tools instead of the message. It's the same thing with designer portfolio pages. They can't get off the treadmill and they're constantly tweaking their portfolio instead of settling on a good layout and letting their work speak for itself.
There's this endless frenetic energy that pushes people to search for phrases, labels, names, categories, definitions that allow them to rationalize their behavior and justify how they're spending time online.
Listen, I'm the OCD type and I'm guilty of this sort of thing, too. And every now and then I find myself obsessing over tools in a way that's unproductive and I have to stop and pull myself out of that headspace. There's an instant feedback loop to editing themes, messing with fonts, publishing a blog post (that no one will read) and so it's easy to keep going. And it's easy to waste a fuck load of time doing this sort non-work.
Anyway, I feel like I'm watching the progression of a most chronic illness that keeps people tinkering in an anxious state of mind, and that makes me sad. It seems unhealthy to me, but you can do whatever you want!
It’s a garden, a stream, a worry board, a playground. It runs on WordPress, now Jekyll, now Hugo, now Ghost. No no, now it’s “handcrafted” HTML and CSS like the old days.
It's the same psychosis that prevents people from shutting up about their note taking system, their ideal journal setup, whether they should use a Moleskine or Leuchtturm, yellow or white paper, ruled or blank.
I don’t see a “cozy” or “small” web of independent minds on the Internet. I see a group of anxious and nervous and restless people trying in vain to assemble a Self and grasping for meaning where there is none.
If you’ve got a personal website, just leave it the fuck alone.
Seems like a low friction way to collect scraps of thoughts and ideas, put them out there without pretension, and then not worry about how many people are engaging or sharing. It's like your own Twitter-style page where you can riff without all the nonsense that comes from doing so on Twitter.
https://www.scruton.org/building-beautiful
I am also obsessed with traditional Japanese architecture. Lots of simple ornament, warm colors and materials, deliberate use of shadows and light.
Books:
Japanese Homes and their Surroundings
Japanese Architecture: An Exploration of Elements & Forms
Meanwhile we've gone through Parachute, Brooklinen, some sheets and towels from Macy's, and nothing seems to last.
I don't know enough about the brands they sell, but thinking we might buy from here next: https://linensociety.com/
https://www.geappliances.com/profile-laundry#front-load
Smart wash! Smart rinse! Smart dispense! AI enabled!
We have friends in their late 30's and early 40's who still live with multiple roommates. They're "well educated" but can't seem to hold a job, or stay in a relationship, or pay for anything. They've got subscriptions ticking away that they didn't remember they had, and then they're shocked to learn about an overdraft fee or a big credit card bill.
One of them recently got a high paying job at a medical office and then abruptly quit because "there weren't any photos of black people on the office walls." They like to remind everyone of how broke they are, but they have new cars or new car leases, a new iPhone every other year, and seem to have plenty of money for weed. Lots and lots of weed.
When they do get a job, they're always the victim, nothing is ever their fault. Or they'll complain about how much work they have to do, or how fast they're expected to move. But they do nothing quickly, it's like their neurons don't fire. They'll spend 30 minutes in a dazed state trying to figure out how to arrange groceries in a single bag.
And they're always late, to everything. They're late to dinner, to gym class, to the movies, to important events. It doesn't seem to bother them at all. Being late is part of their "woe is me" disposition.
They're all good people, but their brains are a gelatinous mess and they exist in a perpetual state of helpless confusion. Lights are on, no one's home. They got a master's degree but didn't learn anything about how interest works?
We've tried to help in any way we can. We've helped them with job applications and basic communication skills, taught one of them about credit card statements and due dates, and helped another pay down and close out 15 rewards cards.
Yeah yeah, there's lots of nuance that I've left out, lots of reasons for the current condition of a large demographic, lots of reasons for families to live and stay together. I'm just saying, I am constantly surprised (especially when hiring) at how careless and sluggish some people are about...everything.
https://store.hermanmiller.com/office-chairs-ergonomic-chair...
"I’m so fed up with marketing people running projects without acknowledging that we designers might have an idea or two about what communicates and what doesn’t. They’ve been told by tech guys and lazy designers that things have to be simplified to work on screens. This is knowledge from the 90s and not true anymore. Risk and guts have been replaced by bullshit “narratives” invented by people who’ve never taken a risk in their lives.
This is the blandification of our world, where fun has to be taken out of the equation because it cannot be quantified. No consumer cares about a company’s internal reorganization, they want to like a brand. When all brands are beige, the beigest one will not win but will be forgotten.
The enshittification of our world is run by people who read spreadsheets in bed and look at their smartphones to tell the weather instead of sticking their heads out of the window.
Sometimes I’m glad I’m old and don’t have to take orders from gutless employed managers anymore. My best clients were those I could argue with. It wasn’t about winning or being right, it was about doing the best work.
Thank you Audi, Deutsche Bahn, BVG, Bosch, Ottobock, The Economist …"
I much prefer the serif with warm colors for various elements. But the people I might work with strongly prefer the sans-serif with white and black and bold and bright accent colors.