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2024-12-05: ✱ Bentleyville is Like Stepping Into a Holiday Movie Last week was our third year straight year of a tradition in going up to Duluth for Thanksgiving, …

2024-12-05: Part of me likes this book-reading weight, but it also seems fitting for hardcover books only — I …

2024-12-04: You have an entire article about the virality of splitting the “G” on an official …

2024-12-02: Louie Mantia has been on a tear lately releasing (or re-releasing?) new icon packs, the latest of …

2024-11-26: Really digging Tom Bihn’s holiday product release aesthetic — dripping in that 1970s/1980s …

2024-11-26: After 15+ years, it’s astounding to me that when working with folks across multiple time …

2024-11-25: The Trials & Rewards of Modifying the Most Mundane Things in Life This sounds way more dramatic than it is. Both 2020 and 2024 were the years I decided to re-think …

2024-11-24: Watched the French film The Taste of Things twice this past week, and can’t get its immaculate vibe …

2024-11-20: I love how Bear blog deploys its lean analytics (cleverly via CSS) for users of the platform — …

2024-11-17: Placed new batteries into an old Dreamcast VMU I had sitting in an OEM controller, in anticipation …

2024-11-17: Phenomenal animated short film, Return to Hairy Hill, found via Colossal, who describes it best: …

2024-11-14: Jim VandeHei (Axios co-founder) on The Grill Room podcast regarding new media vs the old: “What I …

2024-11-13: This place gets it — charge that extra $3 to cook the frozen pizza. (Loony’s Brew up in Ranier, …

2024-11-13: Westenberg’s How to Destroy a Generation: When every feeling becomes a guiding star, resilience …

2024-11-10: Sometimes new stories are just old stories badly remembered. Susanna Clarke, afterword: snow …

2024-11-07: China tightens control of rare earth minerals — what’s the plan here?

2024-11-07: This scene hits harder and darker.

2024-11-03: At least Steve Ballmer is trying to reinforce the “twin pillars” of democracy and capitalism through …

2024-10-31: How endemic will AI feeds and content become? Sounds like this is the plan for Meta, at any rate, …

2024-10-29: CW&T's M.R. Tape Dispenser Exactly like it sounds: The humble tape dispenser, rebooted with industrial integrity › The M.R. …

2024-10-28: At this point, what industry hasn’t been upended by private equity.

2024-10-25: ✱ The Short Letter ✱ Oct 25 Joan Westenberg builds a summarized, paywall-less news feed highlighting the news atop the …

2024-10-23: Ridge Biflex Wallet Review I’ve stayed away from Ridge wallets for years — they always looked bulky, …

2024-10-22: Finding out about this UK publication for the first time – Delayed Gratification. Purposefully …

2024-10-21: An intriguing idea, as I for one am interested in seeing Submerged but am not buying a Vision Pro to …

2024-10-18: ✱ The Short Letter ✱ Oct 18 If only I was collecting and listening to vinyl… The Lost Recordings does such incredible …

2024-10-17: Ben Thompson has a thorough, future-gazing interview with Hugo Barra about Orion and Meta’s AR …

2024-10-15: Studio Neat starts a patch club concept with the focus on simple designs within the confines of …

2024-10-14: A few weeks into using the new Reeder app. Still enjoying it. Some interim thoughts: You have to …

2024-10-12: The Martini is Special The martini is special. I respect the craft. But I also dig this new age shit in NYC attempting to …

2024-10-11: ✱ The Short Letter ✱ Oct 11 A list. Of things. Of interest. Podcast interview from Scratching the Surface with Taylor Levy …

2024-10-09: Green Day de-masters their landmark Dookie album into 15 inconvenient, throwback musical formats in …

2024-10-09: Movie theater popcorn solved: refined coconut oil and Flavacol. Butter has nothing to do with it.

2024-10-07: Corporate Imperialism, Lifestyle Subsidization & Behavioral Malaise A reminder of the rationale for investment capital into corporate imperialism companies: Companies …

2024-10-05: You aren’t alone, Ben. Am I alone in preferring an offline, analogue, tactile reading experience? …

2024-10-05: The hype is on point for Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead. 📚

2024-10-04: Really digging the vibes of this hulking skeleton yard decor — saw this before dipping into Halftime …

2024-09-30: Sometimes the Economist’s book reviews are (probably) a just-as-good reading of the …

2024-09-29: This Strib article really should have linked to my pull-tab library, but alas, at least it’s a good …

2024-09-28: Hey there.

2024-09-28: Olga Tchepikova-Treon’s piece about Bong Joon-ho’s ‘The Host’, intersecting with the Coen brothers’ …

2024-09-27: Thank you for writing this, Kevin (from @overkillwtf@overkill.social). My partner and I feel the …

2024-09-27: Chicago. Six years after moving out, it still drips that high-octane energy whenever I visit. And …

2024-09-24: One of these days… my dream job.

2024-09-23: Good to be on top — while just one of many airport rankings, J.D. Power issued its 2024 report and …

2024-09-21: The call for returning to lunchtime chatter that fuels the City and a new London restaurant flexing …

2024-09-17: I concur, Matan Budy, on buying things you use: …I press the pay button with love. It makes me feel …

2024-09-11: ➔ A big concur to Dr. Drang’s thoughts on the most important update for watchOS — kayaking will be …

2024-09-11: The New Reeder App (Review) When Silvio Rizzi released the new Reeder app, it didn’t explicitly replace the previous, fourth …

2024-09-10: Dang, the new iA Writer app logo is beautiful.

2024-09-10: One of those unexpected, sudden rising to fame stories that happens every so often in the literature …

2024-09-09: ➔ Patrick Rhone has a nice “Rhoneism” today regarding clothes, and remarks specifically: [...] …

2024-09-07: Stumbled upon a pull-tab that oddly looks like an angry JD Vance. I don’t like it, and I …

2024-09-07: Hey, I am using the new Reeder app & I like it So I took the bait and am using the rebooted Reeder app, and I like it. The gist this time around is …

2024-09-05: MN State Fair 2024 - Back to Tradition A few days overdue, but had a great time at the MN State Fair. Went a few days, including the …

2024-09-03: I’ve been the same exact way Nick Heer does about a number of small iPhone interactions lately …

2024-08-29: Playing a Dragon Quest game immediately lightens the mood and lifts the soul. I’d credit the …

2024-08-27: Agree with the take here (we need an “iTunes for streaming TV”), but doubt it’ll …

2024-08-20: Fun piece from the ‘rebooted’ Minnesota Star Tribune on the state’s long-standing …

2024-08-15: Six Colors' Interview with Zach Gage on Puzzmo and specifically, Pile-up Poker. He’s got an …

2024-08-14: Ingenuity in ’re-agriculture' has led to successfully transitioning out of factory farming …

2024-08-11: The most magical restaurant on the North Shore has, and always will be, New Scenic Cafe.

2024-08-10: Watched the Olympic Men’s Basketball game at Roscoe’s in Duluth. Dive bar with the sound on was the …

2024-08-08: Looking up at the St Paul Cathedral after dinner around the corner on Selby Ave. The architecture is …

2024-08-08: A lot of eyes on Minnesota over the past few days, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the country awash …

2024-08-02: Great new video from coffee guru James Hoffmann covering celebrity coffee products. Few have …

2024-07-31: Kudos to Matt Birchler’s simple declaration about the AeroPress making a phenomenal cup of …

2024-07-27: Say what you will about the Mall of America, but the architects and teams running it have designed …

2024-07-22: A sad reality for the book industry… via No one buys books - by Elle Griffin: in 2020, only 268 …

2024-07-21: Annie Jacobsen’s Nuclear War: A Scenario requires constant reading breaks in order to stomach the …

2024-07-17: The Best Local MN Hop Waters As breweries continue to excel at their core product, but look to monetize in adjacent ways, several …

2024-07-16: July 4 Roadtrip to Michigan A few photographic impressions from the roadtrip from the Twin Cities to west-side Michigan and …

2024-07-08: A list of some lists, from Field Notes. A quintessential kind of post for the notebook brand, …

2024-07-03: Riven Remake is Wonderful So... Cyan released a remake of 1997’s adventure game Riven (the sequel to Myst) this past month, …

2024-07-01: Caught up on a few posts from The Obsessor, and came across a recommendation for a new camera app …

2024-06-26: Is there any other state in the US with such a breadth of grocery store non-dominance as Minnesota? …

2024-06-25: Beer & Cheese from Vermont We went cruising across Vermont last week for a vacation, staying in a variety of towns (including …

2024-06-15: The people have been talking about Gabriel Smith’s Brat, and after picking it up at a local …

2024-06-15: This guy, absolute connoisseur of north Minnesota/Wisconsin dive bars. A pleasure bumping into his …

2024-06-13: Ambitious collaboration of companies using “luminescent pigments [from FibreTrace’s tech] into raw …

2024-06-11: Om’s great suggestion for Apple resonates on a number of levels — donate to national park …

2024-06-11: Very pleased to see Christina Nguyen win Best Midwest Chef at the James Beard Awards last night. The …

2024-06-09: Nothing quite stirs an emotional energy like waltzing into your local bagel shop with “Never Gonna …

2024-06-05: This MagSafe, slide-out Nintendo DS-like iPhone game controller is brilliantly conceived, and one of …

2024-06-01: Good to hear the use of QR code scanning for restaurant menus is reversing. This has been an …

2024-05-31: There seems to be a changing tide to hustle culture — whether it’s the folks I follow getting …

2024-05-31: Kino was released today as a 1.0 — a powerful, fun new video recording app from Lux, the makers of …

2024-05-19: As an admitted bandwagoner, it’s been an absolute pleasure watching the Minnesota Timberwolves …

2024-05-16: Love this quest to make a mass-manufactured paper bottle (alc bev brands Diageo and Pernod Richard, …

2024-05-14: Worthwhile, fun article on the very talented actress Sarah Paulson, whose performance in The People …

2024-05-13: Love that this is the example of how LLMs working together as teams, called multi-agent systems …

2024-05-08: I just received the email about Five Dials closing shop after a wonderful 16-year run. It’s …

2024-05-04: Jason Fried is finding his niche with the Once software` portfolio that 37signals is building out. …

2024-05-02: Declaring it here: Dragon Quest IX has the best battle music in the series.

2024-04-29: Zippers Deserve a Holiday I’m not usually one for randomly invented holidays, but if today is ‘Zipper Day’, …

2024-04-28: The absolute disregard of reasonable proportions in the wedge salad at Manny’s Steakhouse is …

2024-04-26: 8BitDo Micro Controller is a Super Portable Wonder With the new Delta game emulator out for iOS, I decided to invest in a super portable controller to …

2024-04-23: Every time I land…. feeling in good hands with Delta. Something about this airline is reassuring …

2024-04-13: A warm day here in St. Paul to kick off the weekend. Enjoyed a scooter ride up and into Como Park, a …

2024-04-04: The Atlas Ankle Sock Review - Simply the Best, Probably Socks are such a standard attire item that we don’t talk enough about them. But they are some of the …

2024-04-01: Jemima Kelly has an invigorating opinion piece pondering where all the admirable, virtuous role …

2024-03-28: This is an absolutely bonkers story detailing how a man named Mickey Barreto stayed in the New …

2024-03-27: Another notch towards disinformation dystopia… Microsoft researchers warn us (as if we …

2024-03-24: Great piece from Bryan Hansel on unread books: Unread books are a way to know that we don’t know. …

2024-03-19: Aggregator Review Sites & Hints of Their Degradation Ben Brooks has a well-appointed linked commentary up for a post by HouseFresh, detailing the …

2024-03-12: Another concerning trend — 80% more people are tapping their 401(k) accounts than pre-Covid. This, …

2024-03-07: Truly epic and inspiring achievement from Cole Brauer, the first woman to race non-stop (and …

2024-03-05: Casual, introspective interview with The Zone of Interest’s director, Jonathan Glazers, who I only …

2024-03-01: My favorite detail about the Kottke.org redesign is the share button at the bottom of each post is …

2024-02-29: Nice piece on the Criterion Collection. I like the details on their approach to streaming: …

2024-02-28: You could have guessed this would happen… “Ghost Kitchens Are Advertising AI-Generated Food on …

2024-02-25: Didn’t realize the Honeycrisp apple was such a delicately engineered fruit that many thought …

2024-02-23: The Advancement of Circular Fashion One area we’re seeing a lot of commerce sustainability innovation in is apparel. Several companies, …

2024-02-22: Disappointing to hear about these pullbacks from the financial behemoths, but… at the very least …

2024-02-21: A Trip to Fargo for No Particular Reason It’s mid-February, and we decided to make a drive up to Fargo, North Dakota. We had planned this in …

2024-02-21: Finally posted a proper blogroll on my site. Saw some others rebooting this idea and had to fall in …

2024-02-20: True Detective: Night Country was a succinct masterclass in whodunit that delivered a rewarding …

2024-02-14: Not sure if this actually counts as urban sketching or simply watercoloring, but I made an attempt …

2024-02-13: The Simplebits team rolled out a whimsically experimental club today called Simple Type Club. It …

2024-02-11: Joan Westenberg wrote an impeccably-tuned condemnation of the injustices of societal engineering …

2024-02-10: More of this, please — using AI to literally unravel the writing from a two centuries’ old papyrus. …

2024-02-02: Crisp, clean, and clear product landing page for the new, standalone, pay-one-time-only Campfire by …

2024-02-02: End of an era… Google drops cached pages from its results pages. Their …

2024-02-01: Savvy tome that Actual Source just put out (Shoplifters 10: New Type Design Vol 2). Looks fabulously …

2024-01-31: Coffee bean production is in a difficult spot, and Arabica beans in particular will face harvesting …

2024-01-30: Really dig this concept and its content — Low-tech Magazine is a solar-powered website, mostly …

2024-01-29: Another good essay on the slowly disappearing internet and the dwindling skill of curation. And the …

2024-01-26: Not only is the origin of this shirt a mystery, but the iconography is also excellent. I hope one of …

2024-01-25: Loving overview of the incredibly-focused German furniture maker, Vitsœ. They’re famous for …

2024-01-24: The NYT has a huge article with curated restaurant menus that dissects trends across menu design, …

2024-01-24: It seems like credit card spending and delinquency rates could be heading heading towards a minor …

2024-01-23: More bad news for journalism: [Google News] ultimately does not focus on whether a news article was …

2024-01-20: Egg on ball.

2024-01-20: Finished ‘North Woods’. Lumbering exercise in cross-genre short stories woven together across time …

2024-01-14: Succinct retrospective on The Sopranos, exemplifying its radical impact on television and …

2024-01-12: Why is No One Talking About Bidets Look, I know this superlative isn’t entirely true, but in the circles I follow online, which tend …

2024-01-12: This Ezra Klein Show episode is stellar — “How to Discover Your Own Taste”. Discussion …

2024-01-12: The Mobis e-Cornering system on the wheels of this future Ioniq 5 is the dream.

2024-01-11: Another great generative AI perspective (this one from John Siracusa) about the coming foibles of …

2024-01-11: Digging Chuck Wendig’s rant about generative AI and the creative arts, notably that the timing isn’t …

2024-01-10: Heavenly headline — Gartner predicts that half of consumers will abandon or limit use of social …

2024-01-09: Matthew Panzarino joined the startup TipTop (posted about it on The Obsessor). A more modern, …

2024-01-09: Just a shout 👋 out to the wonderful Mac development company, Panic. They have made wonderful …

2024-01-08: The Verge went hard with this piece about the homogenization of websites, pointing the finger at …

2024-01-05: Been a while since I read a David Mitchell novel, but I just finished The Bone Clocks 📚 and wow: an …

2024-01-04: Notable Entertainment from 2023 I log all the entertainment I go through every year, dating back to 2009. There’s something about a …

2024-01-04: Astute observation from Airbag Industries on the impressive feats of independent teams building …

2023-12-28: Re:Form Wallet Review While I don’t usually do this, I’m writing a brief review of the Re:Form wallets (RE:01 and RE:02) …

2023-12-27: Agree with Panzer on this over at his new blog — Opinel knives are an exceptional deal. Inexpensive …

2023-12-23: Already missing this excellent Variedad Colombia F6 Natural coffee from SK, which alas, was in short …

2023-12-21: Kudos to this concept — solo dates, artist dates, dates with oneself, whatever you want to call it, …

2023-12-20: We’re entering the era of streaming platforms licensing their content back to Netflix. Hard to …

2023-12-20: This Reading Rhythms party in New York needs to gain traction elsewhere. This is my kind of vibe: …

2023-12-19: While hearing about additions to the Apple News+ offering is good, I agree with Dan Moren — the UI …

2023-12-16: So glad someone wrote in detail about Uniqlo’s incredibly well-designed self-checkout system. So …

2023-12-15: App Appreciation Lots of folks have been posting about the default apps they use, but I’d rather just shout out a few …

2023-12-13: The Truncating of Physical Retail Saw this piece from the WSJ, and they’re certainly onto a significant change sweeping across …

2023-12-09: This Solo Magazine, dedicated to all things coffee, looks wonderful except for the eye-watering …

2023-12-08: Huge advocate for iA Writer (been using it since it launched years ago), and they just unveiled …

2023-12-07: Making a few predictions in commerce for 2024 via MediaPost. Let’s call it a fairly informed …

2023-11-29: Scavengers Reign is one of the most surprising, strange, and best shows of the year. So glad I …

2023-11-28: Ann Kim’s take on Spam at her new restaurant sounds fabulous, even if Hormel is policing its usage …

2023-11-27: You rarely hear about the failures of screen productions, but the New York Times has a thorough one …

2023-11-26: Partially agree with Dave Winer on journalism in the AI era — they need to stop leaning so heavily …

2023-11-22: A seat at the Dubliner.

2023-11-16: The sustainability scorecard that Nisolo provides is a great example (and direction for others to …

2023-11-15: Really dig the Volvo CEO’s take on focusing recurring revenue outside the car (e.g. maintenance) and …

2023-11-07: Received my physical mail (including two puzzles) to unlock access to Puzzmo, and it was a …

2023-11-06: Love taking public transportation for a slower but more appreciative immersion in moving about a …

2023-11-03: Piles & Piles of Books Came across this article via Tracy Darnell's blog, and what an essay! A masterstroke of reflection …

2023-10-31: This retrospective on The Exorcist is marvelously done. Excellent headline typography and placement …

2023-10-27: The Slimmest Wallet Pursuit 🕖 Last updated: Dec 18, 2023 Back on my bullshit again. I've been searching for, putting through the …

2023-10-27: I used to follow Aisle One for years, but at some point the RSS feed I had must’ve dropped off …

2023-10-27: A short but note-worthy take on management and career-pathing that really resonates with what I’ve …

2023-10-26: Who isn’t loving the Midwestern autumnal vibe right now.

2023-10-24: This worm celebration by Camryn Bynum was perfect last night.

2023-10-23: Love this sketch card of a classic Tom Bihn Synik bag and the things you can pack into it. Comes …

2023-10-21: Mural at Groundswell.

2023-10-20: Nice to see the dev behind Really Bad Chess returning to gaming with Puzzmo, which — I quote — …

2023-10-19: Warehouse and fulfillment are a curious industry to shift into “gig work”, but …

2023-10-17: Om sums up the soulless hell of social media quite nicely in this piece: “In this reality, …

2023-10-14: Films are longer. Blame blockbusters and prestige directors. Or maybe streaming competition. Who …

2023-10-14: The wonderful world of dive bar politics by way of the Men’s bathroom door — Anchor Bar, Superior …

2023-10-09: Bayfield, WI from a perch on the Madeline Island ferry. Pleasant sojourn at the island for the …

2023-10-09: You hit a certain age… and you start to think more about aging. So I’ve been savoring …

2023-10-04: Great find from Kottke (actually a repost from a decade ago) about the Japanese artist using …

2023-10-04: My first concert in several years was fantastic at the Turf Club. Saw Islands perform, alongside …

2023-09-28: The Economist has a fantastic focus in their latest Technology Quarterly about the pursuit of …

2023-09-26: What a way to open this article on the FTC suing Amazon.

2023-09-24: Sea of Stars has been a really charming throwback to so many great SNES-era RPGS. Reminds me of the …

2023-09-20: A really neat app from the makers of Halide was released today called Orion. In a throwback homage …

2023-09-18: While I rarely think about playgrounds (no kids here), from a zoning perspective and for …

2023-09-15: I’m an idiot and have started curating a library of pull-tabs. If you’re into weird art, …

2023-09-12: Maybe I’m old, maybe I don’t get the 5E rule set, but no dice roll for ability points in the …

2023-09-09: Freshly-roasted SK Coffee beans (Colombia Variedad F6), ready for a pour-over. ☕️

2023-09-08: Molly Young nails the feeling of paralytic anxiety many feel when confronted with high art of any …

2023-09-06: How to Solve the Plastics Ecosystem Before it Kills Us This fact-laden piece by The New Yorker ("How Plastics Are Poisoning Us" by Elizabeth Colbert) spins …

2023-09-05: Curly’s Bar up in Duluth was the perfect complement to a splendid dinner at New Scenic Cafe. This is …

2023-09-02: Grabbing an excellent dawg up in Duluth outside Bent Paddle. Love this area.

2023-08-31: This headline had me second-guess an EV investment as my next vehicle… replacing bumpers, …

2023-08-30: Amusing that some men still think certain glassware is “too feminine” to drink from.

2023-08-28: Evergoods’ Undyed Mountain Pack Performed Like a Champ at the Fair I was so enamored with Evergoods’ choice to go undyed with a set of their bags to build a more …

2023-08-27: The new Islands album (‘And That’s Why Dolphins Lost Their Legs’) is fantastically catchy, like all …

2023-08-27: Hey, hey! For anyone who is remotely interested in getting these posts (short and long-form) via …

2023-08-25: The Minnesota State Fair - 2023 Edition In Minnesota, the end of summer brings with it one of the best two-week stretches. Leading right …

2023-08-25: First day of the big Minnesota Get-Together was a near-perfect success rate of food choices. Union …

2023-08-23: CW&T just opened the door for orders on a new batch of their solid state watches, an …

2023-08-22: Love this 1980s scan of an ad for the Twin Ports up in northern Minnesota/Wisconsin. (via Perfect …

2023-08-21: MUBI’s Printed Notebook (film magazine) Just received my first issue of MUBI’s Notebook, and it’s an incredible print production. Absolutely …

2023-08-15: Finished reading: The Museum of Rain by Dave Eggers 📚 Marvelous short story that seamlessly world …

2023-08-14: Evergoods' Undyed Collection is Pragmatic Sustainable Manufacturing One of my favorite bag brands, Evergoods, has announced a new line of products under the banner …

2023-08-10: Finished reading: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine 📚 It has an incredibly inventive concept …

2023-08-09: Minnesota continues to be a driver of THC-based business growth, and it’s booming for its …

2023-08-08: Cuts right to the chase.

2023-08-04: Great to see the push for a front-runner 3D scene standardization (USD) and its adoption by the …

2023-08-03: Encountered a treasure chest in the neighborhood. Didn’t have the guts to open it.

2023-08-01: Real-life Twisted Metal in Mexico. Absolutely wild what the drug war has wrought.

2023-07-28: Fascinating global race for lithium battery recycling and closed-loop supply chains. USA is getting …

2023-07-28: Another cinema rant: Khoi Vinh observes Wes Anderson like he truly is, for better or worse: …

2023-07-27: We’re finally starting to see a contraction towards pragmatic efficiency in the VC market. …

2023-07-26: While I enjoyed Oppenheimer, Keith Harris’s full review here helps solve my askew feelings about it.

2023-07-23: Pleasantly surprised to see dismantling innovation in the scrapyards business. …the firm will build …

2023-07-21: Anne Helen Petersen reads an academic paper, and then pontificates (in a good way) on the hell of …

2023-07-20: The sage keeps on keeping on. 🌱

2023-07-19: Breathing New Life Into the Weber Spirit E-210 Grill I’ve been using this thing for going on 7+ years now, and as I’ve noted in the past, it keeps on …

2023-07-18: Throwing this out here again – ooh.directory is a magical place to find writers, bloggers, and …

2023-07-12: 🌱 Not sure what kind of carrot we grew here…

2023-07-12: Jason Fried has an encouraging piece about who and why you do business with selective companies, and …

2023-07-09: Reworked the fence gates with very direct instructions. (If you’re interested in these, you …

2023-07-07: Willamette Valley Wine Country is Worth the Trip One of the first forays into our Pacific Northwest trip last month was Willamette Valley, sprawling …

2023-07-06: Nice to see Japan Airlines’ sustainable traveling push (by way of carbon reduction) by encouraging …

2023-06-28: The Tom Bihn Store When we were planning our Pacific Northwest crawl and decided to head into Seattle for a few days to …

2023-06-26: A vastly important federal push for reducing reliance on foreign sources for battery materials by …

2023-06-21: Curious to see how this pans out in court, but the FTC suing Amazon for “allegedly duping millions …

2023-06-16: Negotiating with AI companies for licensing IP to be fed into LLMs is a slippery slope, especially …

2023-06-10: Truly, a masterful multi-year run as not only the best, accessible gateway into Reddit, but also an …

2023-06-08: Om’s darkly acute perspective on the future: …as a society, the idea of what a human-to-human …

2023-06-04: Plenty to say and share (in the coming weeks) on the incredible wine country, seafood, and natural …

2023-05-30: Charming Newberg town in Willamette Valley. This caught our eye while passing through on the search …

2023-05-23: Paris Dining Club is the Meal Delivery Service to Rule Them All We only had one opportunity to try Jamie Malone's Grand Cafe in Minneapolis, a well-regarded spot …

2023-05-23: Love this bit by Philip Mallegol-Hansen: As the ecosystem of blogs have moved between the various …

2023-05-18: There have been a flurry of great 📺 shows dropping. Controversial timing as the weather warms here …

2023-05-16: Fantastic sale on Micro.blog, an exceptional, independently-run content management system for short …

2023-05-16: Resale – On my Om Resale is shorthand for not knowing the true joy of ownership.

2023-05-10: SK Coffee in St Paul You never really stop seeking out the best a locale has to offer when it comes to coffee. Ever since …

2023-05-08: The Future of Search & Engagement Imperils the Notion of 'Websites' I spent a great deal of my early career working towards he betterment of website experiences for …

2023-05-04: The Weber Spirit E-210 Seven Years Later It's been seven years since I started grilling on this beast, and it has held up remarkably well. …

2023-05-03: “When ‘postulates’ rears its head…” — fun ‘Close Read’ in the latest Believer …

2023-05-02: Tom Leighton’s (@tomleightonart) Geomorphology photo series is stunning.

2023-05-01: All I could think about after reading Maggie Appleton’s cogent case on the ‘expanding …

2023-04-28: Via John Gruber — I’m not jazzed about where the auto industry is going, either. …

2023-04-28: If I’m reading this piece right, it appears fine dining has eroded quick serve’s and fast casual’s …

2023-04-26: Cannabis Seltzers in Minnesota & the Chill State Collective Ever since Minnesota’s accidental (or secretly intentional) legalization of hemp-derived …

2023-04-25: Using Generative AI to Summarize Articles While I am a voracious, enthusiastic reader, there are more than enough times throughout the day …

2023-04-23: Does anyone choose to use the stickers they get from various DTC brands as bookmarks? Well… I do.

2023-04-21: A fellow after my own passions – modifying zipper pulls. Love this piece by Ben Brooks. Heat …

2023-04-16: NYT rounds up recent biopic films about consumer products in lieu of a single person. I see this …

2023-04-15: Cabel Sasser finds an architecturally-derived secret at the Lotte Hotel in Seattle. Great …

2023-04-13: Really thorough design notes on the 2023 Wikipedia redesign, particularly for such an in important, …

2023-04-12: Our Fascination with Violence Our cultural fascination with violence is endless. When it comes to meeting it up close in various …

2023-04-11: Back to pleasant, evening outdoor fires. 📷

2023-04-11: Highlights on the retail resurgence from Monocle, including a bit on Montpellier’s cafe …

2023-04-10: Couldn’t agree more with @jaredwhite@indieweb.social ‘s succinct note on the Banshees of Inisherin, …

2023-04-09: Always learning composting nuance from Cass Marketos’s The Rot, like: “A compost with good fungal …

2023-04-09: Continued investment in RFID tech for supply chain tracking and management also paved a way for …

2023-04-08: Financial Times runs GPT-4 and Bard through the ringer on a few imaginary scenarios, including …

2023-04-07: First time coming across the html review, an infrequent curated literature drop designed to be read …

2023-04-07: Folks have been worried about the side of AI creative generation ripping artists without …

2023-04-06: Celeste Review While a few years late to this one, I picked up Celeste on a whim and got right into the "masocore" …

2023-04-06: You have to admire the work that went behind this Streaming Optimizer by Axios, which takes inputs …

2023-04-05: Look, it’s inevitable bars will continue to diversify their drink options and cocktail recipes to …

2023-04-04: Taking a gander at Modist brewery in Minneapolis.

2023-04-03: I’d bump Wine Thief & Ale Jail higher on this list, but a finely curated St. Paul liquor store …

2023-04-02: Winona - Small Town, College Vibes An impromptu thought earlier last week: let’s visit Winona and check out a coffee shop that is up …

2023-03-31: 🔗 Concerning piece by Fionn Pooler on “coffeewashing” practices in the industry. A Short …

2023-03-31: Metroid Prime is Still Great 21 Years Later It's been 21 years since I played the original Metroid Prime, released on the purple-clad Gamecube …

2023-03-30: Boludo Pizza - Re-Posting my Review A “short” review of the best pizza place in the Twin Cities Parked on a worthy block at …

2023-03-30: Yeah, we’ve all been wondering about this. They are terribly annoying. …

2023-03-29: Minneapolis' Paris Dining Club Delivers A short appreciation post to one of the best (well, the best) local monthly meal-delivery service …

2023-03-25: Amusing to see EDC land on A1 of the WSJ.

2023-03-24: Private Markets Shoring Up an Insurmountable Lead on AI Investment The dangers of industrial capture by the private market could spell a slow progression for …

2023-03-23: Assuming he’s actually going to do this… it’s a very thoughtful (and obvious) …

2023-03-13: Heggies, the GOAT.

2023-03-11: Dave Winer has the right read on the ChatGPT situation. Another generation of every information app …

2023-03-11: Impressive to see. “It got denied 100 percent by every county commissioner that was on the …

2023-03-10: Riveting analysis and perspective on idlewords.com (aka the Pinboard guy) as to why we shouldn’t …

2023-03-08: Quite satisfied with this post-dinner haul from Trader Joe’s for the hotel tonight. Twist-top bottle …

2023-03-07: Zipper Pulls & Usability Experience Here I go again with another post on zipper pulls. Why is it I find these things fascinating? First, …

2023-03-05: A little bit of serenity taking a break from the throes of winter back in MN.

2023-03-03: As a hot sauce madman, this incredible report of a stranded sea survivor has me brimming with new …

2023-02-27: You love to see the ambition here… surfing in the dead cold of winter on Duluth’s Lake Superior …

2023-02-24: Stepping through mirrors for short-distance transportation? Count me in. After just forty pages, I’m …

2023-02-23: Haven’t watched the show yet, but I wish there was more coverage on the production of these …

2023-02-22: Really love this piece from the lead developer of NetNewsWire: If we took money, even a little bit, …

2023-02-22: One More Time Is the third time the charm? Resuscitating this microblog one more time to meet my sincere ambition …

2022-04-12: An Attempt at Making Kimchi This is my first go at making kimchi, the beloved Korean use-everywhere fermented cabbage dish. I …

2022-03-26: The Joy of Using the Tom Bihn Zip-Top Shop Bag You have to love the Tom Bihn brand of bags and accessories. They make a great portfolio of products …

2022-03-21: Aer Travel Pack 2 - A Very Good One Bag Travel Kit I picked up Aer's flagship product, the Travel Pack 2, last year in preparation of work travel …

2021-08-06: Garden Fresh Tomato We struggled to grow tomatoes this year, namely because we were out of town for several weeks and …

2021-07-05: Pioneer Wallet - Molecule Card Holder Review Pioneer has been building a special materials series of wallets since 2016, which is right around …

2021-06-14: The Hyper Key Solution for Mac The beauty and efficiency of keyboard shortcuts has mostly eluded me. While I've memorized native …

2021-04-10: Western Rise - Apparel Review These past several years, I've been bouncing around a few technical-fabric apparel brands, seeking …

2021-03-11: Zipper Pulls A fleeting thought about zipper pulls -- the kind that are either natively part of your bag, purse, …

2021-03-09: Updated Take on One Finance - Two Months In In a double-whammy, I've updated initial thoughts on my experience so far with One Finance + …

2021-02-07: Democratized Technology & Its Empowerment of the Predominant Headline Narrative After reading Jessica E. Lessin’s “What Critics of the News Industry Get Right — and Wrong” essay, …

2021-01-17: Switching Banks: Simple Bank to One Finance [Includes updates after using One for four months; scroll to bottom.] January 7th brought …

2020-08-24: ➔ Deep reading being eroded by skim reading via modern child development These processes include …

2020-08-22: Just received my first book from Black Garnet Books, the recently-launched Black, woman-owned …

2020-08-21: ➔ I’m always sleuthing for great advice on meetings, agenda, and whether/why to have one. This is a …

2020-08-18: Just watched Boys State 📺 (Apple + A24 joint). Excellent, superbly cinematic documentary.

2020-08-18: Just grabbed a subscription to Brand New to keep it afloat. I’ve probably read dozens of their …

2020-08-15: ➔ Perlstein’s Fourth volume on the rise of the US right Like trying to keep up with American …

2020-08-07: Chip Butties Really fascinating to come upon such a strange delicacy in the UK. Baffling. But worth …

2020-08-04: Great read from Current Affairs found by Gruber (via Kottke – hah, love how this stuff gets …

2020-08-04: Journalism & Paywalls Great read from Current Affairs linked to by Gruber (via Kottke -- love how this stuff gets around) …

2020-08-01: Tooletries Shower Kits | A Most Notable Review First, Some BackgroundAfter stumbling upon these ingenious (maybe? Let’s give it a few months) …

2020-07-29: ➔ A lovely memoir about family, heritage, and Taco Bell. Taco Bell was easy, and inexpensive, and …

2020-07-23: Delightful to see useful, playful hardware designs again from Sony, like this portable AC unit. Not …

2020-07-22: Writing is thinking. 📝

2020-07-21: Solidarity in the Twin Cities Reading through a few recent posts from Minneapolis’ Trylon cinema blog, Perisphere, I came across …

2020-07-20: Great reminder from Gruber on the differences between the Return and Enter keys.

2020-07-20: Crazy times in hyper-trading ➔ Ranjan Roy on investing in a scathing piece about robot-investment firm, Robinhood: It's …

2020-07-20: I really hoped this guy would have survived more than a few days after he finally bloomed, but a …

2020-07-19: ➔ Matt Mullenwag (Automattic’s CEO), interviewed in this New York Times Corner Office …

2020-07-18: Nicole Cardoza schools inquisitive minds regarding AAVE (aka Ebonics): There is no historical or …

2020-07-18: The BBC has an intriguing examination of an occupied radio frequency that may or may not be used for …

2020-07-17: More on the “why” of the Lincoln Project, explained by Vox. This point is apt: Liberals …

2020-07-15: ➔ Agreed with Dave Winer on this bit: Project Lincoln so far has been great entertainment. Good for …

2020-07-14: Tackling Kaufman’s tome for the remainder of the summer. 📚

2020-07-14: Linked List (First Post!) ➔ Read the New York Times Magazine interview with Charlie Kaufman, who published his first book last …

2020-07-14: July 14, 2020 ➔ Read the New York Times Magazine interview with Charlie Kaufman, who published his …

2020-07-02: Reviving RSS Via Feedbin & NetNewsWire I had an RSS crisis a few months back, if you can call such a thing something so dire. I'd been …

2020-04-30: Back to the Mac It’s been an unusual couple of years for my computing. My primary directive from work is use to a …

2019-11-14: Scenes from Grand Marais We did a pleasant jaunt up to Grand Marais for a few days, taking in the quiet small town before it …

2019-05-30: The Aer Cardholder Wallet Been a while since I’ve tried a new wallet. After using the Trove wallet for years, a new cardholder …

2019-04-28: The Millennial Appeal of A24 Over the last seven years, a small New York studio’s films crept into the film distribution scene. I …

2018-12-04: The Delightful Escapism of 'The Good Place' Trucking through modern television series is usually an exercise in exuberance or exhaustion, no …

2018-05-11: Thorough overview by The Wall Street Journal on "how pizza night can cost more in data than …

2018-05-09: I'm sure people are going to fall into two camps with Google's Duplex: you're for it, or you're …

2018-04-28: Lava Cheese Exploring Iceland’s Snack Directly (But Indirectly)My wife recently jetted over to Iceland for a …

2018-02-17: Just Use DuckDuckGo " data-test="image-block-inline-outer-wrapper" > <figure class=" …

2017-12-09: Apple AirPods Review A Foray into the Future of Audio Platforms While the unveiling of Apple’s AirPods at last year’s …

2017-11-10: A Round of Memorable Op-Eds This Week While I've been around the clock a number of times with some of the most astute and compelling …

2017-09-30: Trove Returns with the Swift Wallet Iterating on a Good Thing The team behind what I've called (and remain firm on) the best slim wallet …

2017-07-15: The Two Faces of Apple The evolution and success of Apple products in the future will likely hinge on how deep their …

2017-06-18: The Listening Machines " data-test="image-block-inline-outer-wrapper" > <figure class=" …

2017-05-28: Facebook's Overreach A few recent reports on Facebook’s activities should have its users, policy makers, and …

2017-05-21: Faster Web & Less Bullshit, Please It wasn’t long ago we were witnessing a cosmic shift in web development to accommodate the influx of …

2017-05-17: Your Referral Here " data-test="image-block-inline-outer-wrapper" > <figure class=" …

2017-05-04: Facebook's Data Dilemma Authoring a tech post on the Guardian this past Tuesday, Antonio Garcia-Martinez, a former product …

2017-04-23: The Trials of Deleting Uber Uber's public image has had a hell of a first quarter. I can't recall the last tech company in …

2017-04-22: "Nobody's Got to Use the Internet" We heard some fighting words from US Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) this week, a stocky old man …

2017-04-15: The NSA & CIA Fail the American People Remember the Apple iPhone / San Bernardino case from early 2016? Here’s a recap: The F.B.I. has been …

2017-04-07: Take the VPN Route with Caution We should have seen this coming. That online scammers are now attempting to piggyback on the …

2017-04-06: New York Strikes Back Against ISP Data Law According to the New York State Senate, there is new state legislation in motion that would combat …

2017-04-02: The End of The Deck Ad Network The Last Bastion of Privacy-Conscious Advertising is DeadBack when the Internet was breaking out and …

2017-03-29: Privacy Sold So Much for Draining the Swamp It's official. In what should have been a non-partisan issue and …

2017-03-23: Congress Moves Toward Eliminating Internet Privacy Rules In another unsurprising feat by the Republican-led Congress, "lawmakers moved to dismantle landmark …

2017-03-20: MN Police Receive Search Warrant for Anyone Who Googled a Name As a former Minnesotan, this story piqued my attention over the weekend. Police in Edina, which is …

2017-03-17: Google Gmail Phishing Scam An important heads-up to anyone using Gmail (particularly on the domain itself): Here's how the …

2017-03-17: Oxford Comma Woes in Maine If you know me at all, there's a particular grammatical deployment of the comma I prefer when it …

2017-03-16: Pod Save the World's Interview with Glenn Greenwald Crooked Media's newish podcast, Pod Save the World, has a great 45 minute interview with The …

2017-03-12: Weekend Reading List - Hope Amidst the Darkness Round-up for March 11-12 Machine Bias: ProPublica's ongoing investigation into machine/data-driven …

2017-03-07: WikiLeaks Unloads 'Alleged CIA Hacking Documents' This happened just a short while ago, but an important development nonetheless. According to the New …

2017-03-04: Weekend Reading List Round-up for March 4-5 New Bill Would Force NYPD to Disclose Surveillance Tech Playbook: Though not …

2017-03-03: The Terms of Service Dilemma Great piece from The Guardian on how no one reads terms of service for apps/services/hardware they …

2017-02-22: Our Privacy, Our Data: A Call to Be Defiant There was once a time when human societies were truly free from mass surveillance — at liberty to …

2017-02-05: Big Changes Ahead: Defiant Sloth Relaunching Hello readers. It was inevitable that this day would come, particularly if you’ve been reading the …

2016-11-30: Newspapers’ Revenue Decline & Ad Blockers Jonathan Irons writes about his defense of using ad blockers on news sites and how these companies …

2016-09-08: Hostile, Ad-Ridden Articles This is a brief bit about hostile reading experiences. I've been keeping a reference gallery of …

2016-07-01: Weber Spirit E-210 - Grill Review Growing up, a summer seldom went by that didn't include copious amounts of steaks, hot dogs, and …

2016-03-30: SlimFold Wallet Review It's been a while, but I'm back at the wallet reviewing game. This time we have a marvelous new …

2016-03-12: The Privacy Quandary Revisiting the advertising industry of yesteryear in shows like Mad Men feels quaint when you …

2015-12-15: Saga of the Leftovers How do we deal with the fragility of life? How do we cope with lost love and lost family? How do we …

2015-09-12: Next Keyboard for iOS Review An Attempt to Change Typing Across iOS Back in February, I backed a Kickstarter project with a …

2015-08-15: What the Ad Blockers Debate Reveals Thoroughly-written post at Monday Note, detailing the woes and triumphs of the advertising industry …

2015-07-15: Is That an Apple Watch? The whole thing was a gamble. We1 had both mentioned our curiosity and disdain for the Apple Watch …

2015-07-11: Trove TAG & Cable Clip Review My new go-to, English-made wallet Trove has released a few more products over the past month, adding …

2015-03-22: The Time I Decided to See a Movie Without Watching Its Trailer I was three hours from wrapping up a ridiculously long week of work, adjusting my posture in the …

2015-01-24: Trove Wallet Review - The Best Slim Wallet I've finally found it. After years of seeking the most minimal, functional, and succinctly designed …

2015-01-10: Apple Leather Case for iPhone 6 Plus Product Review For the longest time, I've distanced myself from big phones and phone cases, but last …

2014-11-13: Apple Pay Makes Buying Shit Easy, Fast & Secure The last few months have seen an enormous amount of activity around mobile payments. This has mostly …

2014-10-17: All You Need is Edge of Tomorrow Leaving a movie theater thoroughly entertained is usually rare. Or perhaps my opinionated tendencies …

2014-09-25: Stop Whining About the iPhone 6 Plus Size I made a huge, last minute decision at the crack of 2am Sept 12 -- I decided to shrug off years of …

2014-08-21: Jodorowsky's Dune - A Documentary on Artistry When I originally saw the pre-release poster for the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune on a February …

2014-08-17: The Super Nintendo: A Retrospective Every time I write about a game it seems like I'm pulling out a dusty box of memories and …

2014-07-11: Is Silicon Valley Funding the Wrong Stuff? I don't normally "link-list" stuff on this blog, but I felt this article hit a nerve for the kind of …

2014-06-12: Snapback Slim Wallet 2.0 Review A Wallet Reboot of Sorts Last year, the SnapBack Slim (1.0) was launched as a Kickstarter project. I …

2014-05-25: Canadiano Coffee Maker Review A recent gift from the brother and sister-in-law prompted me to write a review about it. The …

2014-04-07: NYT Now App Review From a Casual News Observer Journalism and news have had a rough decade. Everyone has seemingly …

2014-04-04: Facebook's Paper App & Its Undesirable UI Direction A Review from a Dormant Facebook User For someone who doesn't regularly use Facebook (as in: next to …

2014-03-15: Life Expenses Through Reporting A smidgeon over a year and a half ago, I finally received my invite to Simple, the self-described …

2014-02-20: Colossal's Curation is Amazing There are some sites I follow via RSS daily, and there are others that I visit every few weeks or …

2014-02-10: In the Name of Unread Last week saw the release of a beautiful new RSS feed reader, Unread, from Jared Sinclair. After …

2014-02-01: My TV Show Watching Habits Eclipse Film While it may not seem that extraordinary to the average person, my television show watching habits …

2014-01-25: Squarespace's Logo Creation Tool I have a new logo up on the site, if you didn’t notice. It cost me hardly any time at all. It’s …

2013-12-04: Ephemeral Photos Meteor App (iOS) Review (May 2024 Update: The app is no longer available in the App Store) With the …

2013-11-23: The Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Review " data-test="image-block-inline-outer-wrapper" > <figure class=" …

2013-11-01: New RSS with FeedPress The sorry state of the RSS ecosystem since Google Reader's fallout has left bloggers and news sites …

2013-10-28: LogBlog App Review Every day, billions of human beings poop -- unless, of course, you're this guy (apparently). As most …

2013-09-10: Gaming Achievements in the Modern Era I remember long weekends in ‘96 at my neighbor’s house, swapping turns comandeering the …

2013-08-29: Snapback Slim Wallet Impressions & Review Here we are, back to wallets. Another minimal, thin, elastic-binding money dumpster. The Snapback …

2013-08-06: Pret's American Grapefruit Juice: A Notable Review Have I completely lost my mind? A review of a grapefruit juice from Pret a Manger, of all places? …

2013-07-26: Around the Internet (July 2013) A few things discovered or linked to across the Internet the past couple of weeks that I've either …

2013-07-17: Analog <> Digital An easy guess would be to assume there will be an outcry over the big change when iOS 7 hits Apple …

2013-06-24: For What Shall It Profit An informed follow-up piece to the Verge's article prematurely proclaiming Pocket as the victor and …

2013-06-08: Free & Pro Options for Services Devir Kahan evaluates the merits of pricing digital services with free and paid options, using …

2013-06-01: Instapaper vs. Pocket Updated: Sept. 25, 2013 -- Jump to Scorecard Bookmarking has been part of Internet browsing since …

2013-05-07: Kairo - A Minimalist Exercise in Puzzle Gaming Grainy, misty monolithic landmasses hovering in a field of white. Ethereal music droning like a …

2013-03-25: Introducing an Exhibit on Hostile Reading Experiences If you grew up reading newspapers and magazines in their analog formats, you know quite well the …

2013-03-22: NSFWCorp Tentatively Squats Over Modern Journalism with a Solution "NSFWCorp is the future of journalism with jokes, which basically means we tell you what's going on …

2013-02-22: Defending & Deflating the Use of the Oxford Comma If you know me at all, you know that I'm a stickler for the Oxford comma. Why be a stickler for a …

2013-01-28: Gaslight Coffee Roasters Gaslight Coffee Roasters is the latest entrant near Milwaukee Ave in Logan Square, the street that …

2013-01-27: Words, Words, Words The Web, years later, is still about words. (via 37signals)

2013-01-09: Supr Slim Wallet Review The Minimal Wallet that Gets it Right Twenty-twelve seems to have been the year of minimalism across …

2013-01-05: Favorite Stuff in 2012 But Not Necessarily Made in 2012 It's a series of lists. But they're good lists. Favorite Films …

2012-11-05: Dishonored: Honoring the Genre Looking Glass Studio Built Long dismissed as mere entertainment (as most mediums, like literature and film were in their own …

2012-10-19: Room 237 & Immersion Criticism Chuck Kolsterman's documentary review of Room 237 has me itching to see it at the Chicago Film …

2012-10-12: As Dusty and Torn a Map as Possible Slate has a fantastic essay on Cormac McCarthy's writing style and production. The man is a literary …

2012-10-03: Siri's Humor is Charming From the The Verge's Siri detective work. <div class=" image-block-outer-wrapper …

2012-09-24: Dredd 3D: A Film Review (Really) Though it should be obvious to the intrepid filmgoer, pretentiousness should be avoided when …

2012-09-13: I Finally Understand ADD Kudos to xkcd's ADD.

2012-09-12: Milwaukee 2012 If you happen to be interested in my recent jaunt to the northern lands of Wisconsin (specifically, …

2012-08-27: Defiance Tumblr has been a fantastic writing platform that I used -- admittedly, infrequently -- since …