Intro / Preface / Extra Words
Hi Brian!
This is the first issue featuring additional commentary by the incomparable Brian F. I couldn't figure out a good way to differentiate which links were his and which were mine, so I've added our names after the comment to show who wrote it. That's lame, and I wish I knew who ran this software so I could ask them to make this easier...
Anyway, I think all of Brian's links and words are excellent. A strong start that I'm sure he'll continue into next issue (the twentieth!). In fact it was so strong that I kind of phoned this one in. Thanks for carrying the team, B.
Enjoy.
Heavy Rotation
Lean and Dab
Like most cool people I mostly discovery hip music that was popular 3 years ago while attending Daddy Daughter dances with my 9 year old daughter. Bonus points for being out of the loop when it is an artist literally from my own city. Anyway, here’s Lean and Dab. – Brian
Current Things
The Destructive Switch from Search to Social
I had a realization just now that there are literally no segues in my newsletters. And in any case, what would the segue be from Lean and Dab to Aging Millennial Complains About Facebook Again? I digress.
At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old person, I'm going to keep sharing articles about what the Internet (or today's version of it) is doing to our attention spans. I particularly love the "Junk Food Media Loop" described in this article, and the quote below:
Yet many adults get ADHD medication anyway to “get ahead” because it’s a simpler solution than stepping away from the cocaine pellet dispenser.
Preach. – Calvin
Random Things
World of Warcraft Classic Announcement
Several times in my life I have come very close to complete self destruction through unhealthy game addiction. The worst two times were from the same game, World of Warcraft, circa 2005 and 2007. I haven’t played that game in 10 years but Blizzard (the developer) has just announced a new type of experience that will roll back the game to the way it was in 2005. This bodes very, very poorly for my life in the near future. My only hope is not to play but just to scratch the itch on Twitch for a while. The alternative at this stage of my life is basically the apocalypse. – Brian
Food
Chicken Tikka Masala
Calvin cooks amazing and intricate meals that can occur on all the days of the week and include all the different types of time-specific consumption categories. I cook pancakes and egg sandwiches on Saturday morning. So when Calvin posts f00d he has cooked it. When I post f00d I want Calvin to cook it and invite me over. I’ve been obsessed with Indian food recently and found this recipe for Tikka Masala that blows my mind because I had assumed all Indian food was just various combinations of heroin, curry powder and coconut milk. Calvin - cook this for me will you? – Brian
Follytics
I Can Tolerate Anything Except The Outgroup
New category!
I read a lot of political articles, desperately searching for some sort of real human dialogue taking place in the US today. I am fascinated (in the way a train wreck is fascinating) with the complete absence of charity in the conversation. Charity in this case means assuming the best intentions exist within your opponent but you just disagree on matters of facts or best pathways forward. Clearly today we are generally assuming the worst about the other side.
I gravitate towards sober explanations of the situation but also really enjoy analysis from all camps that is genuinely self aware / self critical or shows empathy and charity towards others. Calvin has (wisely) stayed away from the 3rd rail of political discussion but I’m going to attempt to approach the sun here as I think the situation doesn’t improve until we ask how the dialogue has become so broken.
For this first installment we have to set the stage with the incredible Slate Star Codex analysis of the tribal political culture in America. This article from 2014 is in my opinion the defining description of the problem and has only become more intensely relevant in the intervening time. – Brian
I love technology (and science)
Bitcoin and the Blockchain Will Stomp Out Wall Street Fraud
I’ve been loosely following the blockchain for 5 or 6 years. While I’ve avoided actually buying any sort of crypto-currency (I leave the judgement of the wisdom of that up you...I still don’t know whether that was good or bad) I do think the block-chain has the potential to be as impactful as the internet in modern life. Here is a good podcast explaining the implications of it for finance and economics.
And here is a super rambly but still quite short voice note from me if you just want the TL;DR. – Brian
Further Reading
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson was recommended to me by Brian as someone I should read as I prepare to attempt my own book next year. I picked this particular book because I've been to the UK, so I thought I might find this one more entertaining than the Australian one (though Brian would likely challenge that assumption).
To be honest, I haven't actually read this; I listened to it on Audible. If you choose to go the audiobook route, you should grab the one narrated by the author himself. Usually that's a risky move but he's got a good voice for it. – Calvin
Outro
That's it for this issue. There's a chance we're going to have Issue 20 ready by this weekend, which would mean two issues in a week (and we'll be "back on track" or something). Judging by how you folks have read these in the past, having a few issues stockpiled shouldn't be a problem.
Yes, I have creepy stats that tell me if you actually open these newsletters. Sorry not sorry.
Have an excellent rest of the week!