Writer, musician, wizardly guide to platform independence
Late start for my walks today, and also oppressively hot. This meant two trips to the gym, four miles walking each time, which took about an hour and 10 minutes for each. Still didn’t wrap up all my walking till 9:30pm.
Today is 73 days in a row, and I’ve covered 823 miles so far since May 26th.
So BMW dropped an ad for Spider Man into the big dumb video dashboard. I mean, did we really think advertisers weren’t going to find a way to weasel their way onto those dashboard displays? It’s prime real estate, esp when you can target BMW drivers who have money, right?
Apparently this is a one time thing, but if there’s money to be made I’m sure you’ll see this in many more cars in the coming years.
And this is exactly why I want a older car with a manual transmission with windows I can roll down myself.
I love loathe seeing breaking news and big statements on Substack Notes with massive engagement without a link to a source.
Like, we’re just taking the posters word?
Posting without credit or source is 100% totally ok because EnGaGeMeNt??!
There was a time on social media where you’d get 100 replies all saying “SOURCE!?!?” if you left out a link to where you got your news.
Today was day 70 of walking at least 10 miles per day. Since May 26th I’ve walked 787.6 miles, about 11.2 miles per day.
I start most days with a three mile walk, which takes about an hour.
After I get through some of my work, I try to get in another three mile walk before noon.
My afternoons are still up in the air, but my best days I get in another 2-3 miles before 4pm, then another 3+ miles in the evening, usually at a park or some trails.
I do run some of these miles, but not much. Maybe 10-15 miles per week. I was able to run 30-ish miles per week a few years back, but then I’d get some sort of injury and just grind to a halt. I wanted to do something like this because it felt more sustainable.
I bought two new pairs of shoes during these 70 days, and I’m definitely going to need to buy another soon. Right now I’m fond of the Brooks Men’s Ghost Max 3 Neutral Running & Walking Shoe.
“So let’s say you wrote a post about a tortoise…”
We don’t need a new platform, we need to fucking regain focus on allocate time and attention to the people we say we love and want to follow.
“Oh, I never see my friend’s posts anymore!”
Well fucking bookmark their profile and set a reminder!
Subscribe to their newsletter or RSS or podcast, set a recurring alert to email / call / send a letter.
There’s so much technology available to us to find, re-find, and remind. “Siri, remind me to…” is the probably 85% of the answer to all this.
We don’t need another login, we need to fucking grow up and choose our damn destiny, retake our agency, and dictate our own flow of time and energy.
Another platform run by a bunch of strangers probably ain’t the answer we need.
If you want to be on social media, be on social media. I am not here to convince anyone, or “win” a debate. I don’t want to challenge anybody. I’m not starting a vertical video show called “why the fuck are you on social media?”
But if you’re tired of social media. Worn out. Depleted. Losing hope. Yeah, let’s talk.
Like social media? Cool. Be on social media if you want.
Saying “Hey, watch this video that was uploaded to Facebook / Instagram / TikTok” to someone without an account on Facebook / Instagram / Tiktok is just as bad as a paywall after two sentences.
At 50 my car is filled with running shoes, bags, various gear, and jackets so at certain points of the day I can go for a spontaneous adventures. Today was a run and a hike. Not much has changed since I got my drivers license some 33 years ago.
Good run up and down my favorite hill (880′ feet or so up to the Appalachian Trail). Then a solid hike 3.5 mile hike around the lake. Dusty roads and lots of sun. Day 61 of moving at least 10 miles a day and feeling great.
Look at that! “During the first half of 2026, CD sales surged 16% to 16.3 million units.”
“One explanation may be changing listening habits among younger fans. According to the report, 60% of Gen Z listeners now say they most often listen to music from the 1990s or earlier, a huge increase from 18% in 2021. Whether driven by nostalgia, discovery via streaming, or a wanting to own a tangible piece of an artist’s work, younger audiences appear to be embracing physical formats.”
Via Consequence