## 6/19/2025

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### 9:17pm
Interactive mixed media, Internet-native narrative nonfiction essays. Where there's sentences or paragraphs that mix text with imagery, with audio, with user interaction, where the user, the reader, can hover over a sentence to hear the horns honking or a picture of the guy that I'm talking About flashes visible in the margin. Or video from the Ray Ban metas, microphones to help create this, multi-sensory environment (almost the way that Craig mod brought the high fidelity microphone to these quiet places in Japan). I just feel like there's a lot of opportunity for this mixing of mediums that I haven't really seen done well on the internet for narrative, non-fiction (I've seen it for data visualization). It could work in the realm of travel dispatches that include maps and GPS coordinates. This full sensory reading experience. 

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### 8:30am
Without regulation or oversight, the barbell effect will arise in any marketized situation, including generative AI.

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## 6/18/2025

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### 11:52am
I'm realizing another one of the more pervasive issues with technological dependence is when it becomes centralized and mediated by gatekeepers. A platform forces you to exist within their bounds and they control the connection to the network and your visibility within it. That is user-hostile.

Ideally, the platform operates as a utility for middlemen and their value comes in providing that service, but the pervasive and unsustainable economic model and incentives encourages them to just prioritize user lock-in and dependence because of the misaligned north star of monetary valuation -- much value can I make from this, how much value can I provide through this.


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## 6/17/2025

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### 9:07pm
It's important to remind myself that if I establish enough of a presence and consistent relationship with a group of fans they will follow me wherever I go, platform agnostic.

As long as I have their email to keep me tethered to them that's all I need and with my creative pursuits once I've gotten past my personal roadblocks the focus should be on establishing that core group of true fans.

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### 2:05pm
Using AI to help with coding and creativity, is similar to using machinery to create bodywork for cars (versus hand-molding it). Total adoptance as AI without any human touch leads to homogenation and  commoditization of output. But its not the best strategy to _everything_ by hand, you can focus on the most important parts that you want to build by hand, in the way that Singer does. But where do you draw a line between what's useful for the assistance and what's taking away from the experience the making it. And maybe it's not black and white, maybe it's gray and it's the spectrum, maybe it comes down to not needing every capture or automate or offload all of these experiences to our to other tools and kind of let our subconscious and our non-strategic parts of ourselves have space as well.

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### 1:54pm
Related to Logbot (and personal AI agents, that aggrate personal data and inputs, I would love to have a (privacy-focused) AI agent that runs locally on my computerthat's fed a directory of plaintext files (with minimal medadata and keywords). I could use a markdown directory from something like Logseq or Obsidian, and it returns information or advice based on a prompt. Eg. That brand lotion irritated your skin.



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## 6/16/2025

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### 6:51pm
In the same way that I would never look at my bike ride as something I _have_ to do, but rather something I _get_ to do, I want to reframe my end-of-day review as a "daily discovery" session. Instead of viewing it as a chore, I treat it as an opportunity to explore and connect the dots in my thoughts and experiences from the day. By giving it a more positive, fun name and approaching it with curiosity, I can make the review process feel less like a task and more like a personal exploration. I think of it as a chance to reflect on my day's insights and learnings in a way that feels engaging and enlightening.

As a matter of fact, that's why I'm considering moving my writing back over to my personal site because I want to figure out how to make all the systems that I use rejuvenating and fun to interact with.

It's also fun and empowering to use AI and automation to help me through the hurdles that trip me up from starting and sustaining these creative habits and pursuits.


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### 6:29pm
Ray Bradbury is very much on the train that says it's a worthwhile skill to relearn how to trust your intuition for leading you in your creative pursuits I believe this is the reason why so many people are drawn to Rick Rubin writing and thinking about creativity, in that he shares the same underlying belief as Ray Bradbury that the subconscious is a wellspring of creative energy and that stripping away self-doubt and removing whatever barriers possible to get to the core of something is what he focuses on enabling in his producing. Furthermore the reason I think this is prominent in our current day and age is because of how supercharged competition, commoditization, commercialization, and instant feedback loops are. We're already highly social creatures that are incredibly sensitive to how we're perceived by others. And never before has it been made so aware to us and measurable to us how we are perceived by other. And developing the mindfulness to let this go in such a delicate field such as creativity is an extremely important skill to develop. That's some of the allure of artificial intelligence and vibe coding. in that they can help remove the skill and self-doubt barriers necessary to create art or build software in the virtual, digital world

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### 9:08am
The only way I'm going to affect change in my own life, and eventually maybe in the lives of others is to commit to getting things done by certain times and stick to that. First to rebuild trust in myself, then to rediscover my intuition, then to build on skills through consistency, and by getting—and testing—these thoughts in the world outside of my head. Malleable goals and vision are valuable, but they are on the rings of the concentric circle of change.

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### 5:54am
As I question how to build an audience in an increasingly crowded online space, and think through who my archetypes are (Bo Burnham, Craig Mod); a commonality that arises: early adoption of (and consistent execution on) a medium (Youtube, blogging) seems to be a key component of their sustainable careers. These places are increasingly saturated and siloed, but they were both forunate enough to build a core group of fans that have helped them maintain their creative pursuits. That and (seemingly) living well below their needs/means. Timing seems to be as important as execution. Whats the next wave thats building on the horizon? I think its the earnest and artisan work that will float to the top in the age of AI.

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## 6/15/2025
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### 9:51pm

After reading these graphic novels adaptions of Sapiens and Slaughterhouse Five, I'm increasingly impressed how much a well-executed comic can consolidate information, how much context can be relayed through imagery (if it's storyboarded well). It's an extremely compelling  medium for storytelling. What could it look like executed on dynamic interactive medium like the internet?

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### 9:39am
I'm really enjoying how much the camera is getting me out into the world, amongst people — looking for experiences to document, and noticing how much more attuned my eye and intuition are becoming at leading me to the emotion in given moments. Compelling frames and moments that resonate energy. Taking inspiration from Craig Mod, and not getting lost in aesthetic pursuit ("_I'm not a fine-art photographer. I treat photography as a process of record-keeping. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, the records are beautiful._") but using the minimum viable tool to create artifacts of my experiences. And with something like a 35mm camera, it really puts in _in_ the moment, in the crowds with the people.

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June



## 4/2/2025
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### 8:02am
It's a trip that nature is a novelty to us now. Like how I was surprised when I saw _a whole family_ of deer up in Sierra Madre. How in our quests for comfort and control we've eradicated species, interactions with the natural world. And how there is this visceral longing in my soul to have these magical experiences; to hear birds singing to each other, or to watch how bees communicate with each other by dancing, or study how ants share chemicals to find food.

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## 4/1/2025

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### 10:50am
An good essay is volley between questions and answers. The overarching piece, the subsections, the individual paragraphs all partake in this play. While writing, I've begun to ask myself, "what is the job of this paragraph? What question is it trying to answer?" Looking at piece as a hierarchy of questions trying to answer the main thesis.

April

## 3/27/2025

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### 1:56pm
Seeing Charles Barkley doing a Fan Duel commercial hammers home, how much money these gambling companies are willing to throw in to essentially create addiction peddling for sports and how this short-sighted cash grab is going to cause everyone to lose sight of pure enjoyment of these competitive events. But then again, maybe it's gambling is a problem as old as time.

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### 1:09pm
Competition is not, "I'm going to dominate you". It's more playful, collaborative. It's more, "I'm going to set this level, can you match that"? To compete **with** each other, not **against** each other. (Via Bill Murray, Hot Ones - talking about improv comedy ethos)

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### 7:45am
> "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." - Mark Twain


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## 3/26/2025

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### 7:27am
Have you ever thought that because our brains aren't used to this modern day abundance and frictionlessness, and that it will make up problems because it thinks it needs to stay vigilant for our survival?



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## 3/19/2025

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### 11:31am
Its important to consider the the appropriate contexts for technologies, asking ourselves if this usage or behavior brings us closer together or futher apart. Or if its usage comes at the expense of other's well-being. Tools inevitably change how we interact with the world. We need to build technology that enables experiences and opportunities to bring us closer together.

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## 3/12/2025

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### 6:58am
> "Among all the diseases of the mind there is none more epidemical or more pernicious than the love of flattery." - Richard Steele

This is the danger of social media mind rot.

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## 3/4/2025
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### 1:02am
Its not about being perfect it's about sharing your growth and journey with others

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## 3/3/2025

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### 2:31pm
When I talked to Michael about feelings of helplessness with current state of the country and politics, he replied that he thinks that are moving away from monoculture, but there has never been a more opportune time to build a subculture that can be a force for good. This aligns with James Clear's notion of changing the world in concentric circles; starting with self (me), then community (people like me), then globally.

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## 3/1/2025

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### 8:05am
Get it into prose. Encapsulate into paragraphs (building blocks). Distill down the theme and concept of that paragraph. Gather the materials, sort and categorize them, then worry about constructing the building.

March


## 2/27/2025

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Gear Acquisition Syndrome: the habit of buying gear in anticipation of it being a catalyst for creativity and skills improvement.

A trap that I find myself falling in with my outdoor activities (in the guest for marginal gains), but a trap that I also worry will inversely rob me of the enjoyment inherent in doing the thing (which is the opposite of its intended effect).

Acquisition giving the allure of motivation, the impression of progress. A close cousin of The Diderot Effect. Constraints breed creativity.

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Make something worthy of printing. Only read stuff worthy of printing.

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This morning I found myself silently ridiculing a delivery driver for having his speakerphone blaring while waiting to pick up food at my local coffee shop, but then I quickly realized that dehumanized people are going to be more likely to act in inconsiderate ways. To treat others the same as they have been treated. And then instead of contempt for the guy, I felt compassion.

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## 2/26/2025

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### 9:21am
We are sliding back in time, as corporations pinch profits it's only going to hurt people and environment downstream.

> BP, a British oil giant, said that it would shift back to fossil fuels, about 25 years after it vowed to turn green. It will increase investment in oil and gas projects by $10bn a year, and cut spending on renewables by $5bn. On February 11th it reported that fourth-quarter profits dropped by 61% compared with the same period the previous year

> Stellantis, owner of car brands such as Citroën, reported that net profit in 2024 was €5.5bn ($5.8bn), down 70% from the year before. Shares have toppled by around 45% in the past year.

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## 2/26/2025

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> Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent. - Victor Hugo

Music bypasses our brains and goes straight to our hearts. Auditory (with basis in conversation) hits us different than written (as it requires processing).

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## 2/19/2025

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### 6:44pm
Maybe the worst thing about the pandemic is that it supercharged the all-digital-era. Value is now derived digitally.

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## 2/18/2025

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Noting the insidious side effects of more efficient technology, both of the bullet journals vs TeuxDeux, written vs typed, car vs bicycle — doing something for the speed sake of convenience/efficiency leads to this compulsion to further optimize, to continue to automatic reflexive behavior, the downward spiral of trying to do/go more places — instead of stepping back and trying to understand why or what we are in a rush to do and if that's something we even need to be in a rush to do.

I feel this pressure on my rides, like I'm an inconvenience to others (in cars) — feeling increasingly like an outlier in this supercharged world. It's so abundantly clear how much technology changes how we interact with the world and each other.

How can I encapsulate this tension I'm noticing into a story? Supercharged tech: blindly hurtling forward without consideration of where we're going or how we'll land.

---

I find myself wanting to make products like the Garmin Varia — novel solutions to problems caused by other forms of technologies (see also: noise-canceling headphones at a loud cafe are a similar vein).

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## 2/17/2025

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The digital also hides the complexity and allows for deferral.

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## 2/14/2025

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What is good for businesses is often not good for creative process, not good for human flourishing.

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## 2/12/2025

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Would an explorable explanation/visualization be the best medium for showing how many hours you'd have to work to make as much as Elon, Jeff, or Mark does? I'd like to make something that shows the absurdity and highlight the wealth disparity in tax loopholes that the ultra-rich use while they advocate for cost-cutting and use political donations and money to influence national policy.

---

Kanye West (at the Grammys) is using the same outrage playbook that social and news media use — an attempt to jockey for attention by inducing strong emotion. It does make me wonder how much of his behavior is inherent narcissism and how much of it is media-perpetuated.

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## 2/11/2025

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I need to remind myself that most people default to concern or curiosity not criticism.

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## 2/10/2025

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If glasses are an extension of our human capabilities, just as our phones have become this multi-tool extension of our brains. Is it that far off to think that people wouldn't use smart glasses or smart watches to help augment their thinking?

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The sleight of hand from the con-man is their key to fooling you. If they misdirect your attention then you become gullible.

The balance of economic systems are far beyond Trumps comprehension, and I think it remains to be seen if his policies as they relate to people's money (rich or poor) will backfire on him. Or if people will keep drinking the kool-aid, keep looking where he wants you to look, keeps you thinking that he knows what he's doing, when he really has no plan, no clue.

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## 2/8/2025

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An idea is different than a story. An idea can be sparked by a pattern noticed or an observation seen. But on its own an idea is not a story. A story is a compelling way to communicate ideas to others.

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## 2/7/2025

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I find myself wanting to come to vibey bars like Zebulon with a watercolor kit and a notebook (pure analog), early to grab the seat thats the best perch in the house and just observe the coming-and-goings of people.

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## 2/6/2025

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Why do we care so much what strangers think but think so little about how our actions affect those closest to us?

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## 2/5/2025

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What does it say about our culture when we stop taking risks on things that aren't guaranteed successes? That the Apple giving up on a project because it would take away from something else giving up on their AR project because it would take away from the iPhone or the collapse of the entertainment industry that Ted Goya talks about and how everything is sequels and purchased intellectual property that already has ardent fan bases.

Researchers are important for creating collective knowledge, but artists are important creating collective culture. Compelling storytelling with its corresponding emotional resonance are what underpin this culture.

I'm becoming increasingly skeptical of technology company products' planned obsolescence. Convincing us we need a new tool that will solve a problem we didn't realize we had or one that was created by our use of the previous iteration. Locking people into some proprietary closed off system.

> "In becoming less obtrusive, our devices also become more complicated." (Matthew B. Crawford, Shop Class as Soulcraft)

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## 2/4/2025

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Problems I love thinking about:

1. How do I live my life in alignment with my values, and avoid getting too caught up in outcomes?
2. How can we design our technology to augment our human capabilities, and create systems that incentivize tool-makers to prioritize agency not addiction.
3. What will it take to recalibrate our culture around a more sustainable and egalitarian economic model? (And what role, if any, can networked technology play in that?)

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## 2/2/2025

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Speaking and typing are the best mediums for getting a thought out before its lost, but I'm convinced that synthesizing concepts and ideas is best done longhand (as the additional friction/effort to write it out acts as its own compression filter.

February

## 1/22/2025
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### 9:26pm
I want to develop an AI agent/system that allows me to input my writing (particularly the my logs), and it surfaces suggestions for commonalities, categories, and potential subject matter.



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### 9:21pm
Is an radically transparent auto repair shop that focuses on repairable modern Japanese (aka reliable, easy to find parts) a viable business model? In the spirit of Shop Class as Soulcraft, I would love to run a reputable, dependable, trustworthy mom-and-pop repair shop (not a monopoly), that focuses on delivering the best work and customer service and has no intention of maximize value for any external stakeholders.

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### 9:16pm
We've all been tricked into buying the identity upgrade that comes with a "pro" product, despite the gains being so marginal that its not worth the extra cost. _Ali Abdaal talked about this in one of his iPad reviews, saying that most people don't need to Pro version of it._ I'm curious to determine where this first started—Apple has perfected it—but I think it was with car companies like Toyota or Mini Cooper offering upgrades the double the sticker price of the same underlying car.

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### 5:36pm
Watch Duty as gleaming example of resourceful use of technology (backed by a values-driven founder), that does a better than the government ever could. Collating accessible APIs, available data and presenting to users.

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### 1:27pm
Intrigued to do observational creative expression (writing, photography). Work that forces me to keep my eyes open to things hiding in plain sight in day-to-day life; the paradoxes, the themes, commonalities, the absurdities. To see things in a way that we hadn't before.

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### 1:12pm
The modern tech playbook is to do something at a loss to gain customers, often that skirts regulation or  uses public subsidies or public goods. And once they have their claws in their customers, they stop focusing on making the product good, and they turn to making it something that maximizes shareholder, stakeholder value.

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## 1/21/2025
### 8:48am
> The world’s biggest streaming subscription service has been on a blockbuster run lately, its share price rising by more than 80% last year. Netflix’s quarterly earnings, due on Tuesday, will probably contain more good news for shareholders. Subscriber growth is easing off, as the platform nears 300m members. But operating margins are widening as Netflix raises prices and builds up its advertising business.

Netflix enshittification in full swing. While subscriber growth flattens out, they will make their product worse and squeeze more money out of their existing customers while simultaneously abusing their monopoly position. I bet they eventually start selling customer watching habit data to ad brokers.

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### 7:58 AM
I want to create different GPTs/agents for the various tasks I handle through the day. Inspired by Ali Abdaals's idea sparring partner, Stoic's agents (Plato, Maya, Frida, etc). I'd like to use them for my daily journaling, for thinking through a fleeting idea in more depth (and getting prompts to explore further), for working through thought traps, for helping me with my weekly reviews.



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## 1/20/2025
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### 11:28 AM
Is it too limiting to think that quality storytelling must be confined to prose? That using visuals is too much of an aid to viewer? That not enough is left open to interpretation?

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### 11:22 AM
I want to remove the pressure on myself to make money from my creative hobbies. It pollutes my psyche.


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## 1/17/2025

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### 7:46pm
The idea that's forming in my head recently is how much our digital dependency has been supercharged recently in terms of technology companies convincing us we need a new tool and that that thing will always make stuff better. And more and more it's about locking people into some proprietary closed off system.


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### 6:47 AM
This about face that I've been having with technology stuff is that it's related to this pervasive mentality that everything needs a technological solution without considering the autonomy, upgrade cycles agency that we turn over to these companies with growth values that are likely different than ours. Doing things that are quality and that stand the test of time and that exist in the real world tangibly.

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itsjustmath.net

Logs

Ideas floating along in my stream of my consciousness…

2025

June

May

April

March

February

January