It can be very nice to have family nearby, whatever the occasion, however long or short.
Took my first trip to Cape Cod last week. It's pretty much exactly what I imagined: beautiful, pleasantly boring, charming. I took Amtrak there and remembered that I don't use it enough. It's so very nice to sit by the window with your book or laptop or whatever and just zip across the landscape with zero effort. If we ever leave the northeast, I'll miss the trains a lot.
I was in Cape Cod for a work retreat. The company I joined with 60-something teammates is now six or seven times as large. I am the grizzled veteran among a bunch of younger and newer hires. I hope I can be as chill and kind and wise and encouraging as the older colleagues that helped me find my feet earlier in my career. An enriching and exhausting experience, lucky to have it, hope we'll do it again.
Travel hack: a slice of pizza in plastic wrap packs easily, tastes great at all temps.
Art
The Barbed Noose with the Mice, watercolor and gouache on paper by Paul Klee. Victorian Interior I, oil on canvas by Horace Pippin. The Triumph of Fame, Netherlandish tapestry in wool and silk. Ear ornament with winged runner in gold, turquoise, sodalite and shell from the Moche cultures of Peru.
Books
Foundation: The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors, continued...
Running
Trail runs in Cape Cod were nice, and simply having the time to run for longer in the mornings. When I'm packing I always resent the extra bulk from the running shoes and clothes, but always so glad to have it.
Around the Web
Clout as a service. Always a great time to stop following lifestyle influencers.
The internet has no benches. "Like guerrilla public improvement projects put benches in public spaces, repopulate foliage in neglected intersections, or transform dumping sites into neighborhood gathering spots, we can also retrofit and reshape our digital space."
"The truth is that I went to Singapore because of the playgrounds." and How Singapore builds playground culture.
Historic bird's-eye view drawings of New York City.
Heatmapping New York City travel times.
Comparisons as Predictable as the Sunrise.
The git commands I avoided for nine years.
Music
Tristan Perich, Ensemble 0, Open Symmetry. Three vibraphones, electronics, and 20 speakers. It's great.
Daniel Avery, Drone Logic. Trippy high-energy acid/house or whatever. Also great. "These Nights Never End" is instant stank-face. "Simulrec" covers the washy, flow-ier side of the spectrum.
Alexandra Nepomnyashchaya, J.S. Bach: Transformations. Bach! Harpsichord! I think I have a new perspective on the Adagio from the D minor concerto, BWV 974.
Movies
Dream Lover. Erotic thriller, femme fatale, etc.. It's fun, and I loved the weird dream-state interludes.
Absolutely Anything. Harmless little scifi comedy. It has its moments.
To Die For. Dark satire, femme fatale, etc.. If Elle from Legally Blonde had an evil streak. Like Dream Lover above, I appreciate proper opening credits!
Insidious. This did nothing for me! We all have different fears, I guess.
TV
The X-Files, s6e9 "S.R. 819". Love a Skinner episode. Nanobots, Mike Tyson references, and frickin' Krychek.
Hannibal, s3e9. "Even if you know the state of who you are today, you can't predict who you'll be tomorrow. You're defined up to now, not beyond."
Big Little Lies, s1e5.
Lord of the Flies (2026), s1e1. Refreshing to see a show with a distinctive look and feel, with the queasy fisheye and shallow focus distortion. I think the characterization in this episode is forcing our sympathies a bit, but I wonder if that will shift as the series goes on.