Things I think are cool

Here is a decidedly non-exhaustive list of things that I like or think are cool, within the narrow compass of what I’m willing to share publicly. My tastes are almost certainly mainstream. But I’ve learned that I like what I like.

👨🏻‍💻 The web

I love the web, or at least the idea of the web. You should read Alan Jacobs’s essay on “Tending the Digital Commons,” and Cal Newport’s essay on a similar topic. I wrote a love letter to the IndieWeb.

There are some great independent websites. Robin Sloan is probably the coolest person on the internet, unless it is Paul Ford. These personal websites are great to poke around on: Jason Heppler, Ben Schmidt, Alan Jacobs (and blog), Dan Cohen.

Reclaim Hosting is a great web host. Micro.blog is a fun blogging, social media place.

🖥 Technology and computing

A while back I shared my setup with Uses This.

💻 Websites

Here are some websites I like to read:

• Ars Technica
• Uses This
• The Changelog

📚 Books

Again, this is highly selective, but recent books that I have read are on my weblog. The Epilogue app from the creators of Micro.blog is a lightweight way of tracking reading.

💿 Music

For reasons that need not detain us, I did not listen to music widely when I was young. Well, that’s not quite true: I listened very widely to classical music, which is something I am very grateful for. But now in middle age, I have gotten back into music. (Shockingly stereotypical, I know.) More about the music itself when I have more time, but country music is now my thing.

And yes, this development meant that I got a “proper stereo.” I have been very pleased with the NAD C338 for an amplifier, DAC, and streamer; the NAD C538 for a CD player/transport; the NAD C558 for a turntable; and the Polk Audio S50 for speakers. I couldn’t possibly need anything else, but doesn’t mean I can’t tease my children every time the Crutchfield catalog arrives.