My relationship to the internet falls into a few distinct eras:
Down the rabbit hole (1994-1999)
Connecting to other teenagers on Usenet and IRC
Learning HTML and building my first websites
Building a thriving local news website in 1994, complete with classified ads
Writing small shareware games and setting them loose on the network
Releasing an ...
September 30, 2022
We're being told to live by a template. But life can be so much more. ...
September 27, 2022
My sister Hannah Werdmuller hosts a new music show, Pet Door Show, on Shady Pines Radio every Thursday from 2-4pm (5-7pm ET, 10pm-midnight UK time). She describes it as “a unique, cross-genre playlist of new music by independent, under-the-radar artists from all over the world” - and Hannah’s eye for ...
September 22, 2022
I asked OpenAI to write me outlines for some genres of novels, all set in the same post-apocalyptic commune in California. Here they are, verbatim. Prompts in bold are mine; the AI wrote everything else.
Write an outline for a horror novel set in a post-apocalyptic commune in California.
The Last Resort
A ...
September 21, 2022
How America's favorite way to save for retirement funds real harm. ...
September 21, 2022
I’ve changed my website around to reflect that, at least for the time being, I’m doing more bookmark-saving and posting of short notes than long-form writing.
I was actually inspired, of all things, by The Verge redesigning its website to be more blog-like. I’m constantly sharing links to stuff I find ...
September 18, 2022
My colleagues at The 19th just launched our first nationwide poll:
In the weeks leading up to the 2022 midterm elections, The 19th and SurveyMonkey teamed up to conduct a poll to find out what women, particularly women of color, and LGBTQ+ people think about politics, politicians and policy.
It’s an important ...
September 15, 2022
Why does there need to be one primary carer? ...
September 13, 2022
Dear Ma,
My child was born last Friday. I wish you could meet them.
The first time I saw their face in person (strikingly similar to their 3D ultrasound, but here, not an echo of a person but a real-life human being in front of me), they couldn’t breathe. The doctors whisked ...
September 10, 2022
Happy Labor Day to everyone who celebrates the organized labor movement today in the US. This is my monthly roundup of the books, articles, and streaming media I found interesting. Here's my list for August, 2022.
A note: it’s taken me a while to hit publish on this post because our ...
September 5, 2022
It’s late in the evening and we’re in the hospital while our son slowly makes his way to birth. I’m a sea of emotions, but one of the biggest is the feeling of uselessness: just as I couldn’t carry the baby, I can’t help take on the pain of contractions ...
September 1, 2022