I'll go first: My name is Jason and I live in VT with my two kids. I'm struggling with the increasing darkness & cold of stick season here in VT and some early-onset empty nesting, but I'm trying to combat it by biking as much as I can before the snow flies.

My son and I are watching Devs (a rewatch for me) and I'm listening to Percival Everett's James on audiobook, which is incredible so far.

I can be found on Instagram, Threads, and Mastodon, but I'm enjoying Bluesky the most these days.

Oh and thanks to Caroline G. for suggesting that we do this again!

My name is Stephanie and I live in Athens, GA (go dawgs) with my husband and 1 year old daughter. I'm a analytical research scientist specializing in glycobiology. Unlike Jason, GA in the winter means fun happy outdoor time and not death-humidity-in-summer time.

I have several interests on hiatus due to the tiny human consuming my life, but I'm very excited by episodes of Bluey.

Working in educational IT since the 90s (K-12 and Higher Ed). Smarter than Reagan. Left of Liberal. Native North Carolinian. Army vet. Grandfather 13x. Taco fan. Appalachian Trail Thruhiker. Blogger at Living Out Loud and App Addict Find me on Mastodon @[email protected]

Hello from Lawrence, Kansas, where I work in the School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. I'm a longtime newspaper journalist — mostly an editor and designer. I think I've been reading Kottke for more than 20 years now!

Yen, artist and writer in NYC, with one teen still at home but one at college, and a very similar burgeoning empty nest. My greatest joy in life is finding something interesting on the interwebs that Jason hasn't already shared. I still love seeing what people are up to on Instagram and I love how Gen-X my Threads is.

My name is Peter and I live on the outskirts of Amsterdam, NL (but my family and I spend a lot of time in NYC, where we lived until late 2020). I'm feeling my way forward while starting my own software business in the Netherlands (after a decade in academia and then another decade in high tech), which is both interesting and kind of a lot. I just signed up to run the Amsterdam marathon next September (celebrating the 750th birthday of the city of Amsterdam), a distance I have never run!

Between the nervousness of starting my own business, the upcoming US election, and the generic worries that come from being a parent, it makes sense that I am also really noticing it as the days get shorter and shorter.

I am most active on Bluesky and Github, but have made an effort to be pboothe in almost every namespace, so if you see that handle it's likely me, even if I'm no longer active there.

This is David, commenting from the Frozen North of Minnesota - where it's actually snowing today!
I'm a long time Kottke lurker, going back to 2006, I think? It feels like the site has evolved alongside me, going from being a single person, to a parent with young kids to a parent with near teenagers, so it always feels relevant. And yes, I play a lot of Fortnite with them, as GoxBoxer (Dr Seuss reference).
I always have a hard time describing what I do professionally, I guess it's management consulting for small to midsize companies that I care about, there's usually a lot of low hanging fruit around tightening up their organizational processes. I also do a lot of organizing in my community around sustainability and elections.
I can feel myself getting pulled back into my escapism science fiction hole because of political stuff. During the 2016 to 2020 phase I worked through all of the Expanse books, all the Foundation books, three body problem trilogy, Neal Stephenson, etc. Hoping other folks have some deeply immersive science fiction to recommend!

Oh, hi! I'm Andy Baio, a writer and coder in Portland, Oregon. I've written on my blog Waxy.org for the last 22 years. After 12 years, we just wrapped the final XOXO in late August and released all the talk videos, and I'm in the early stages of working on something new.

I also do all the print/web production work for Pink Tiger Games, my wife Ami's tabletop games studio. We just released her sixth game, Hurt Party: A Game of Bad Apologies.

As of last month, we're also empty nesters, with our 20-year-old son transferring to a university. So many changes at once!

Aside from my blog (RSS 4ever), you can find me on Mastodon and Bluesky.

Hi, I'm Bud. Loooooong time reader and lover of this site. I live in SF. I have a 3 year old son, an Aussie wife, and an anxious rescue dog. I play bad guitar and have picked up bad golf recently because it's a really nice walk and mindful activity. I don't know where to be in social these days as I just can't support Elon. I blog over here infrequently and publish work-related stuff here (I do org design and change work). If I have time, I like to paint and take infrared photos.

I’m Tim Carmody! I was born in Detroit but live in Philadelphia. I first moved here 22 years ago to get my PhD in Comparative Literature, but that field imploded so I wound up in tech journalism. Now I work for the marketing team for an education company called DeepLearning.AI, writing blog posts and newsletters and such. I started out as an internet writer on a personal blog called Short Schrift, then joined the group at Snarkmarket, and eventually became a semi-regular guest host and contributor here at Kottke.org. I’m married to the illustrious web-maker-better Karen McGrane, and we have a Boston Terrier named Orzo. I think that’s everything! Vote Harris/Walz, free the hostages and stop the genocide, go Lions and Eagles!

Hi All, I'm Esther Wu, a graphic designer living in Brooklyn, NY where its 80 degrees F today. I'm a generalist by practice and temperament (and I'm open to work and collaborations), but have been doing key art for theater/theatre as my niche. I showcase work on instagram, where my dog, Ingo, has about 5x more followers than I do. I foster dogs and do silly little lettering projects.
Thanks Jason, this is a great idea. Love hearing a bit about other readers' lives.

I'm Ziad 👋🏼 I've been reading this site since its yellow era. Really enjoying the comments now too. I live in Paris, and work in figuring out ways to make life less miserable to healthcare people who have to use computers for stuff. I like to play IF games, read poetry and graphic novels, libraries and textile crafts - I've been trying to stay further away from tech and computers stuff, I feel they're bringing me less and less joy.

Hi, Josh Kramer from Washington, DC here 👋. I'm a longtime Kottke reader and recovering journalist and cartoonist. I used to freelance nonfiction comics, and you can still see that stuff at my site. Now I work for New_ Public, a small tech nonprofit trying to come up with some new, better ideas for social media, including community forums. I do communications for them, so feel free to say hi on social or our newsletter.

I'm Mike. I'm a real estate attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area. I have seen prints of Hokusai's Great Wave Off Kanagawa in person over the past year both here and in Tokyo. I am currently watching through The Wire television series for the 5th time.

Hi I'm Josh, long time lurker first time commenter. I live in jersey city and work in manhattan. Constitutional lurker too but have been reading this site since i want to say the mid/late aughts, so wanted to comment and thank you and it for being a place of respite for me, rarely a day goes by that i don't get to come here and see something that takes me away in the most interesting way from whatever i was doing. My kid picked up soccer a few years ago so i apparently watch almost nothing but (turns out there is always a game on), except for the west wing which i am lucky enough to be watching for the first time now

Hi I'm Betsy and I'm in the SF East Bay in Northern California and have read this site with much fascination for a long time!
I'm an artist/cartoonist/illustrator and am rewriting a speculative scifi novel series that was trad published in 2014-15. One of my cartoons is set decoration in the movie "San Andreas" starring the Rock (fame!).
I make a comic called Sloth and Manatee. Their motto is "Wherever We Go, We Are Friends."
I'm currently reading Suttree by Cormac McCarthy and just finished Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. I adored An Immense World by Ed Yong. Huge fan of all the kinds of music and all the art.
I send out comics and silliness on Saturday Mornings.
I'm on Bluesky and Instagram and Mastodon.
There are so many wonderful people and creatures in the world doing beautiful things.

I’m Lorem, but my family and friends call me “Mark”. I live in Massachusetts. Collector of nearly useless information; interested in pop culture, art, cooking, 3D printing, novice automata maker, and general puttering around. I work in higher ed collating data. I hesitate to post my political leanings; let’s just say, “Go, Democracy!” next Tuesday.

Stephen in SF. Came for the design and graphics, stayed for the rest because it's one of the smartest reads I've found. Currently in SF by way of NYC. Former chef and current higher ed admin. Doing some nonprofit work and restaurant admin work as side hustle to keep out of trouble.

Hey there, I'm David. I live in northern Colorado and have been a regular reader since, I'm guessing here, around 2001. Happy to be in a position to start funding the site, which I love reading as much as when I was much younger. I've started and ended a few blogs myself, but they've generally been for a private audience.

I have been a web developer since 1998, and I am now moving into more management-y roles, but reluctantly. I picked up a master's in AI/ML over the pandemic and am exploring that development as well.

Jeremy in Oakland, CA. I work as a video editor and motion designer. Got featured once on Kottke for a video I made about the Origin of the World Map. These days I make videos for places like the WSJ & Johnny Harris. Long time fan of the site and really appreciate all of the hard work you've put into it.

Hiya! I'm Eric Kissack. Born in New York City, I now live in Los Angeles with my wife, two kids and black terrier/chihuahua rescue dog. I edit film and television and am currently gleefully working on a noir version of Spider-Man starring Nicholas Cage.

I also direct the occasional short film... each of which you can watch at my website.

My wife is also an editor and I just finished proudly watching her work on Agatha All Along. Next up, trying to find time to go see Anora and Conclave in the theaters.

I'm a terribly slow reader which means I'm always years behind what everyone else is reading so I'm currently finishing reading Normal People. I like it!

Find me on Instagram and Threads.

Mrs Doubtfire voice: Helloooooo

My name's Eric. I live in Chicago and run marketing for our public transportation agency the Chicago Transit Authority.

I've been doing digital marketing for about 20 years. I regular make the joke: been doing social for work back when you needed a .edu to join Facebook

That's also about as long as I've been a Kottke.org reader. Love how Jason finds the unique of the web.

On the personal side I'm married with two kids. The 10yo loves Roblox. The 6yo loves coloring. And my current addictions are:
- Balatro - an amazing poker meets yahtzee meets rogue like game
- Cocktail making - got into this during 2020 instead of bread making
- The Penguin / Great British Bake Off - my favorite shows on currently

I'm Eric, a long time reader going back to the late '90s and Jason's 0sil8 days. Originally from Cedar Rapids, IA, I'm in my mid-50s and live in Minneapolis. My 2 kids are 18-22, with one in college, and I love sending them Kottke links that I think they will love.

I'm eagerly awaiting The Tournament of Books' long- and short-lists to supplement my reading list. Big Swiss (Jen Beagin) is the best book I read recently, and The Deluge (Stephen Markley) was the most recent book that profoundly moved me with it's frighteningly realistic take on what climate change could do to the US over the next 20 years politically, socially, and environmentally. I also love books by Neal Stephenson, DFW, and Amor Towles.

I make music (guitar, piano, choral), run marathons, and collect/drink pinot noir. I'm an actuary and do employee benefits design and strategy for a living. I am a huge Kottke fan and am ever grateful for Jason's curation and enthusiasm.

Hi I'm AJ.

I can't remember how I found the Kottke.org but I think it was from a blogroll on draplin.com. After spending way too much time in PDX I now live in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. I am a husband, a father of two little people and one big dog, a graphic designer and one big fan of the site.

Currently trying to finish Chokepoint Capitalism by Cory Doctorow, I actually made it through the "what's wrong" section and happily reading the "what we can do about it" section.

Absolutely love coming here and learning about the world from Jason and now w/ comments from all of you!

alanwasem.com
alanjawn.bsky.social

Hi! I live in Hamilton, but was born in St John’s, and went to school in Vancouver (any other Canadians in the crowd?). After a couple decades working in bars and record stores and spending all my money on travel, I finally settled down (got pregnant) and have been doing non profit administration for the last 5 years, currently at a local environmental education and climate action organization. I’m not very online, but everything cool I see and inevitably forward to my friends is from kottke, so I figured I should finally support the site. I love books, records, and cooking, and my software developer husband, 7 year old daughter, and our two cats keep life comfortably full. Thanks for creating such a great space Jason!

Hi! My name is Drew. I live in California. I spend some time in the San Francisco Bay Area, and some time up in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Yosemite. I run a software development consulting firm called 33 Teams.

I've been hanging around kottke.org for so long that I can't remember how long it has been.

My media diet recently is watching a lot of BBC Crime Dramas and reading a lot of Science Fiction (mostly post-apocalyptic and time-travel related). I have gotten a lot of good recommendations in both categories from other kottke readers in various comment threads (got any for me?).

Hobbies include Amateur Radio 📻 (KN6TBJ), riding my Peloton 🚲 (drewmcmanus), and following the news 🗞 (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and San Jose Mercury News daily) and a lot of RSS feeds.

I have been considering doing a lengthy watch of all the Star Trek series and movies, starting at the very beginning (I really have only ever seen The Original Series, which I watched as a kid), but I'm a little daunted by how long it would take.

I have accounts on all the social media things (handle is always drewmcmanus), but I really only post on Mastodon lately.

Hi! Stefan here from Philadelphia where I live with my wife and elderly pitbull. Started reading around 2009 I think with my first desk job, but definitely more frequently since 2018ish. I work at a university with clinical placement software for students as a kind of superuser/trainer. I'm not in IT but I'm often tech-ing the tech for people (generally I talk to the ____ so the ____ don't have to). My work days generally vary between tackling grandiose strategic projects and applying digital duct tape. I'm generally self-deprecating but did get the opportunity to talk twice at a conference last month.

I generally lurk social media and rarely post. I think if things go the bad way next week I'll have to figure out some way to disconnect.

Hi, I'm Paul. 👋🏻 First time commenter, long time reader (early 2000s, maybe?). I'm a fairly new resident of Chicago. I've been working on the web about as long as I've been visiting this site; mostly for small-er web publishers.

I'm an avid eater and cook, runner, and reader. I'm currently reading A Walk in the Park, which is about hiking through the Grand Canyon the hard way (which has me thinking about hiking through the easy way... someday).

Howdy! I live in the Boston area and work in HR at some fancy biomedical research place but I really wish I could afford to work in collections management in museums. I make wonky quilts, garden poorly, and love to sew little guys. I'm terrible at comments but have enjoyed the site for at least the past 13 years (or at least that's what my RSS feed tells me, so probably longer RIP GoogleReader). I'm currently enjoying the Decameron on Netflix and reading old scifi paperbacks I come across. Currently Gordon R. Dickson, but I have a stack of Ursula Le Guin up next!

Hi, I'm Shane. I live in the Twin Cities area and work at the University of Minnesota Libraries. I actually met Jason way back in 1999 working on a website for our local PBS station. I've been following his website ever since. I learn a lot thanks to this website and Jason's unique take on culture. In fact, I'm traveling by train to Chicago this weekend to view Hokusai's "Great Wave" at the Art Institute of Chicago. I learned it was on display right now thanks to kottke.org. Thanks for the years of great content, Jason!

Hi, I'm Tim. I'm "older" - I spent 38 years in a mainframe career, 5 of them in COBOL-era application programming, 33 of them as a "systems programmer" which is the mainframe equivalent of what you now call a sysadmin. I was usually the person asked to figure out new stuff, which is why I know _some_ deep tech about a broad array of things. I've connected mainframes to a ton of different things using a bunch of different protocols; I've administered email on a mainframe, and probably _not_ the one you've heard of; I've implemented an Apache web server on a mainframe. I'm interested in lots of tech things off the mainframe as well, I end up learning enough to get something working, and where to look for help when something is messed up.

I'm also interested in many genres of music, tons of art, and other eclectic things. I perform with the Mickee Faust comedy cabaret troupe in Tallahassee, a raucous group of irreverent individuals who believe in 'community theater for the weird community' and that theater can include everyone which is why we have ramps in the wings, and have had actors with various disabilities blossom on stage with us.

All of which might explain why this site is so great for me.

I'm on Facebook and Mastodon. I've an Instagram account but I don't post, it's just to follow artists.

Bio/geo information: born in Western Massachusetts (we're the ones that don't "pahk the cah"), secondary schools in South Florida, college in North Florida, and the rest of my life there so far.

Hello again! I'm Enrique. I'm raising some teens across the Golden Gate from SF, previously NYC. I'm between gigs right now, so trying to get my head on straight after an incredible 15 years in Cupertino. Good thing all is right with the world and there's nothing on the horizon to stress me out.

I am Bill. I have lived in Manhattan for the last 28 years but consider myself a fourth-generation NYer because my great-grandparents had a farm on Staten Island. I got laid off a year ago and have been searching for a new gig. (I work in B2B media and events) It's been difficult and I am trying not to succumb to depression. I am an everyday urban cyclist. I love art, and with extra time on my hands, I go to The Met a lot. It has been a blessing to get to know such an expansive place as well as I do. I love showing people the museum. If you're in NYC and want a tour you can reach me @BAMstutz on Twitter. My son made me a Knicks fan, and I love following the NBA. It is the best sports league.

favorite thread—lovely learning about others here.
antitext. online since 1999. riding a bike every day in austin. swimming in barton springs and deep eddy pools at every opportunity.

Roland Tanglao, Vancouver, Canada. Extrovert who misses people. Any kottke.org member please visit me in Vancouver and I'll buy you a coffee (or tea or some bevvy) at Revolver at 325 Cambie. We'll be drinking coffee outside because always COVID cautious in fall and winter. Good for the first 10 kottke.org subscribers who I have the honour of sharing coffee with . Offer invalid where prohibited by law :-) Offer valid until December 31, 2025 or until 10 folks take me up on it :-) whichever comes first.

Helloooooo, I'm EK and I live with my two young kids and husband on the east coast of Australia. I'm really grateful for this space on the web and I'm excited to be part of the club now, thank you Jason for encouraging us lurkers to put our money down! I live in a beach town and I'm trying to become a beach person after 30 odd years of not being one, it's going well and I love swimming at the beach this time of year when the weather is heating up but the water is still cold from winter. I consume vast amounts of media, most of it pretty trashy but some of it really wonderful. I recently finished watching an Australian series called Plum, it was really remarkable and I recommend it. It was about an ageing footy star that begins to notice mental decline caused by CTE and the fallout it causes to the people he loves. It was written and starred in by Brendan Cowell, he wrote the book of the same name and did a really incredible job.

I’m Kris. I’m originally from Rochester, NY, but I’ve lived in NYC for over 2 decades.

I enjoy skiing and my recent media consumption has consisted of Polostan by Neal Stephenson, Shogun on Hulu, and too many podcasts (the latest seasons of Slow Burn and Against the Rules have been insightful).

My social media these days is mostly Mastodon.

I'm Aaron, born outside of Boston and now living slightly less outside of Boston, where I spend time with my family, work teaching kids how to ride bikes, do lots of local politics stuff in our town, and sometimes do hospital technology & innovation things.

I spend a lot of time on bikes, rock climbing, and thinking about how people think about, value, and use their time. Recently, I passed my time by converting a 70's vinyl Samsonite briefcase into a bluetooth boombox (a third iteration) and look forward to continuing to improve the design and function.

I really appreciate this site, miss stellar.io, and am glad to support the important work of finding interesting and meaningful things on the internet (sorry my subscription had lapsed for a while).

As someone already said, I love seeing the stories of everyone in the community!

I commented last time so I'll do a quick media diet update - reading through C.V. Wedgwood's histories of the English Civil War. I think she is one of the all time great writer-historians, her work focuses on early Modern Europe (16th and 17th Centuries). I'll leave you all with this passage for her Introduction in The King's Peace

"No historian [is] omniscient in his knowledge or infallible in his deductions. None can see the whole and undivided truth. The contemporary could not do so either. Puzzled by the variety of events which came so confusingly upon him from day to day, and ingorant of much that time alone would bring to light, he steered his way through his own world -as we do now- by the imperfect judgement of an ill-informed mind. But the contemporary knew one thing that the historian can only imagine: he knew what it felt like to be alive at that time..."

I'm P.J.
I live in Alexandria and have been reading Kottke for a long time. I love how it still feels like stumbling on new, random, and weird corners of the web like my first experiences with it in the mid-90s in college. In addition to liking this website, I enjoy coffee, bicycles, and photography.
Lately, I've been plowing through audiobooks while biking to/from work (an hour each way). Mostly Laura Lippman, Agatha Christie, and Martha Wells's Murderbot Diaries lately. I also adore my hometown's radio station, 91.9 WFPK, when I need some music.

Hi neighbors, I'm Tim 👋🏻. I've been reading Kottke for so long that my fingers automatically type ⌘+L kott ↩ every time I open a browser window. I'm a native Californian, though about 10 years ago I moved from SF to DC. Fun to see a few other DC-area folks here, too.

Speaking of eight years, just yesterday I had déjà vu from a moment about eight years ago when I was hearing some bad people talk about doing a bad thing, using another bad thing we did about 80 years ago as a precedent, and I got angry enough to activate my very particular set of skills (extremely nerdy about photography, extremely close to a lot of public libraries and archives) to put together a thing to remind people that we’ve been there before, and it wasn’t good, and we have photos. Yesterday I had an ill feeling that I’d failed in that mission and we might be back there again now eight years later. Let’s hope not. I’m feeling rusty.

The intervening eight years have been mostly great, though! My wife and I have two beautiful daughters, my wife started a neighborhood bakery, we survived the pandemic, and I’m much less online than I was then. Now I just watch Youtube videos about how to fix up our ridiculously-small bread delivery van.

Hi everyone, and happy Halloween! Longtime reader and lurker. I'm a nerd and professional organizer in Pittsburgh, where I spend a lot of time trying not to work to hard. Also trying (with varying amounts of success) to avoid being terminally online, but finding the right balance of engagement feels like a lifelong project.

I'm jeff. I'm a 5th generation Washingtonian, living in the mid-city area with my husband (14 years legal in DC, together 25) and dog. I've been online since '85 and on the internet since '87, but I don't think I ran across Kottke (and 0sil8) until probably 2001 when my then co-worker, Tom Vander Wal introduced me.

Beyond that, I'm a geographer who's been developing digital mapping tools as a federal contractor for going on 30 years. I love to ski, ride bikes. I also fly and build kites and have been invited to kite festivals all over the world. I even spent a week being paid to fly kites at Epcot Center.

Hey hey! Huge fan of kottke.org and Jason’s periodic reimaginings of the space. I introduced myself the last round and I’ve been actively trying to divest from screens, so my media diet update: painting watercolor flowers by hand and sending these cards to folks you love and don’t see on the regular is very soothing. Particularly this week. But also, currently savouring the recent season of Pachinko and 100% stingeing the final season of My Brilliant Friend. Just finished the second book in Octavia Randolph’s Circle of Ceridwen Saga, which is a lot of books for how uncertain I am about how I’m feeling about it. I’m going to read the third to see if that helps…

Hi all! I’m Shannon in Portland, OR, and I love these intro threads where we get to see who is reading alongside us here.

As a 20+ year PNW resident, my rain gear and merino wool sock game is strong. I try to be outside — on trail and/or in the saddle as much as possible. My media consumption never not includes BBC crime procedurals, two in-process books, sooo many bookmarked articles and more vegetarian recipes than I’ll ever make.

Shogun and Slow Horses have been my fav shows this year. Recently I watched the French film, Athena, and then re-watched the opening sequence about 5 more times in awe of the choreography….incredible.

I’m a creative director and a ceramicist. My last freelance gig combined both of these endeavors where I created the brand platform and designed product for a modern urn start-up. I now know A LOT about cremation and the death industry — which, btw is super weird and very much needs intervention.

Hi, I’m Ben. Currently live and work in Western Colorado. I’m currently enjoying the fall colors (Cottonwood), and waiting to get back out in the desert with my telescope.

Hej allihopa! I'm Daniel, a music lover and software development enthusiast in Sweden.

I'm not really sure this narrows down my interests in software development, but I do web, desktop, assembly, graphics, and games stuff as a hobby. And I've barely worked, because I've had schizophrenia since failing university 20+ years ago, but I still work as seriously as I can on a few, various personal projects (which remain private/unpublished for now, but really important to me).

When my mental stamina is low, or I'm in the mood, I listen a lot to music. Most of what I would describe as country, bluegrass, americana, and alternative rock. To highlight a few, most albums by Sarah Jarosz, Will Hoge, and Paramore are among my favorites.

I'm still thinking about having a Mastodon account, maybe, one day.

Disclaimer! I'm not the astronaut in the linked clip, though we share a similar a/s/l and haircut, but I feel exactly the same about this kottke.org "spaceship." ❤️

Hi, I'm Mike posting from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. I've been reading Kottke's excellent site since (I think) the late 90's if that's possible. I own a reasonably successful business with my brothers selling electrical supplies to the commercial and industrial markets.

I am fairly introverted, to the point that COVID lockdown was enjoyable to me because I didn't have to attend any functions for a year. I wouldn't want to live that way permanently but I was mindful to appreciate that aspect of the Pandemic. I had my wife and my (not identical) twins at home so that was my happy place, and still is.

My kids are both out of the house now, which is more challenging than it should be. Going from no kids to twin, then from twins to an empty nest is jolting. It pulls the metaphorical rug out from under you and is still something my wife and I are navigating.

Like Jason, I hate the short days of fall. I'm ready for bed by 8pm because the damn sun sets sooooooo early.

I'm left leaning politically. I used to be more republican 20 years ago but as that party has slowly self destructed and drifted off into never never land (climate change denial, science denial in general, no concern for healthcare costs, etc) and became billionaires helping billionaires, I find myself firmly in the Democratic Party.

I enjoy listening to music and am an amateur loudspeaker builder.

I hate social media and take almost no part in it. How people can find X engaging is beyond me but when I find a good blog, I'm all over it.

Hello I’m Sara. I’m originally from Connecticut but make my life with my lovely wife in Massachusetts. I work in Tech as a Technical Consultant which mostly means I solve the problems no one else can and I contain large volumes of knowledge about things in my brain.

I’m on Bluesky and enjoying seeing it come to life. In my free time I watch videos of cats on social media.

Hey I’m Blake. I live in Brooklyn and I teach in the Journalism + Design program at the New School. I'm building Share a Story, a daily practice for cultivating healthier news habits, which we use in our introductory journalism classes. Among the inspirations for Share a Story are social bookmarking tools like Metafilter and This. as well as the kind of link sharing Jason does.

I also make podcasts for other people, and I'm about to launch my own podcast, about subway photography, called Metropolitan Faces.

I just went to see Paris, Texas again on the big screen, and it totally holds up. I'm in the middle of Killing Eve, which I missed when it came out, and up to date on Slow Horses. I've been too scattered recently to get lost in a book, but earlier this year I enjoyed a bunch of non-Ripley Patricia Highsmith novels and Jean-Patrick Manchette's _néo-polars_. I root for the Knicks, the Mets, and Everton (who are more like the Chicago White Sox than the Mets) and listen to the free Second Captains episode on Mondays. Less well known podcasts I like are Meduza's The Naked Pravda, The Little Red Podcast, and The Martin Chronicles, about Martin Amis.

I don't do Twitter any more, but you can find me on Mastodon and other social networks @bdeskin.

Hello I'm Jeremy. Long time reader of Kottke, if not from the very beginning then close to it. I live in Los Angeles, and am an architect mostly, with some designer, artist, and musician stuff on the side. I used to run a blog called Rise Industries (its a .org if you go looking for it) with my wife and some collaborators, which while technically still there hasn't been touched in a decade or so. Kind of tired of social media stuff lately so might even revive it. I got to guest edit on Coudal partners way back when.. miss that site! Can be found mostly on instagram @jjqad these days. For media, I read a lot - now working on Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer, and just finished the new Neal Stephenson Polostan, James by Percival Everett, re-read Huckleberry Finn to prepare for that, the new James S.A Corey The Mercy of the Gods and All Fours by Miranda July. Its been a good several months for book releases! Currently watching Slow Horses which took a couple episode to get into but now totally hooked. Recently got back into indoor climbing, so have been doing a lot of that.

Hi! I commented last time - I’m Sam in Pasadena, CA, living with my two young kids and husband and dog, and working in energy codes. I’m currently reading “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” as I’m doing a lot of thinking lately about mortality, my purpose and how I spend my time. It’s been helpful, and I hear the author has a new book out that is more of a four-week intensive - I’ll look at that next. Also in my media diet: I have gotten really, really into the long-running TV show Survivor. They’re on season 47- these people know how to make a good TV show, and also come up with fun games. The more recent seasons have focused on people and essentially “character development” in a really heartwarming way - there’s less of a focus on being openly mean to other people. I really recommend it. Also, it’s a very easy, very engaging midweek pick-me-up!

Chris here, from Arlington, Virginia. My website is tritonspace.com. I originally found you through John Gruber (Daring Fireball). I appreciate your eclectic finds. Oh, and please get out and vote next Tuesday!

Howdy, I'm Barb from PA (yes I've already voted blue). I'm 60, heading toward retirement after working for the state for nearly 20 years. One grown child in the Peace Corps (we talk every day, thanks to WhatsApp). Currently reading Bewilderment (Richard Powers) and loving his lyrical prose, and I adore the Great British Baking Show.

Hi! I'm Vicky, I'm a cartographer in Washington, DC (originally from Buffalo....go bills). Longtime reader, onetime post subject, but only recently became a member.

In my free time I keep making more maps and am VP of the North American Cartographic Information Society, an organization of people across academia, journalism, government, tech, hobbyists, etc joined by our love of maps. In my non-map free time I play drums.

I’m Laura, and I live in Nottingham in England. I’m a long-time reader - I don’t think I could put a number on it but I’m going to guess 20 years-ish. I’ve always been in love with music, but until very recently had never learned to play an instrument, nor to read music. Earlier this year I decided to change that, and I am now learning the piano on a full-size electronic keyboard. It is humbling to be so bad at something, but I’m definitely making progress. I’m on Threads as lauravanw, and I’m trying to get better at using it, after abandoning ship on the Other Place a year or so back. I like cricket, BBC Radio 4, cake, art, democracy, and watching the wildlife in my suburban neighbourhood.

Hi folks, I’m Michael, and I’m a musician and web developer living in the greater Boston area. I’m also dad to a teenage daughter (whom I constructively coparent with her mom) and an old dog named Luke. I’ve been visiting this site since, well, the very early days, and I’m so glad that it remains a continually active bright spot of the OG internet, full of curiosity and the delight of discovery.

As a web developer, I have been building sites and web apps for clients for many years. Currently, I’m developing my entrepreneurial muscles by working on getting my startup off the ground. It’s called GroupNews.

Musically, my primary instrument is guitar, but I also dabble on a few other instruments. I’m a part time professional, in that I occasionally play gigs of all varieties. Recently that’s included doing my best Brian May at a series of Queen tribute shows, a classical guitar and flute duo set which I play with my partner, and provide ambient soundscapes at a few sound healings(!).

I’m not too active on the socials, but I do sometimes hang out on Mastodon, journal my film diet on Letterboxd (I didn’t think Megalopolis was awful!), and post a bit of guitar playing over on Instagram.

Hiiiii I'm Scott, 61 years old, have two amazing daughters, been in NYC since the late 1970s (had a kickball/dodgeball/bike-around-the-suburban-neighborhood childhood), mostly Manhattan but for the last 15 years in Brooklyn and right now in Bushwick, still have an active, daily crush on my beautiful city and its people, been reading Kottke on the regular ever since I can remember (probably 2003?) though the newsletter really helps reminds me to in these no-bookmarks days, sober 25 years, currently a photojournalist, food writer, and preschool receptionist, all of which I love doing (see my Insta for lots more) , never owned a car in my life, been an avid CitiBike member since its founding ten years ago and it's totally changed the way I engage with my home, grateful beyond measure for all of the above.

Hi, I am Stephen and I am a sexaholic (kidding, I've been married for 45 years, so I'm celibate). Kinsey 6, Myers-Briggs ENFJ, Capricorn/Snake, Pfizer.

I live in Portland, Oregon with my husband and two terriers. I'm a former actor who has appeared in over 100 full stage productions, 12 films and television series, over 50 commercials, and a bunch of print work. I now work as a writer producing pithy little personality profiles for a production company and for Oregon Arts Watch.

I'm big on gardening.

My homes and gardens have been featured in magazines.

I collect correspondence from notable figures who matter to me. I have over 150, including a note from Walt Whitman to painter Thomas Eakins, a postcard from Truman Capote to Peggy Guggenheim, and a letter from Gregory Peck to Dennis Hopper congratulating him on becoming a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

I've visited 49 states. I've lived in Boston, NYC, Los Angeles, and Seattle. I'm a cancer survivor. I'm a fearless public speaker. I'm perpetually grouchy. I'm alarmed by the rise of fascism.

I’m Joel. New dad and tech guy living in SanFrancisco. I’m currently eschewing social media to focus on putting out real physical photography zines at beautifulsomethings.com. Is local tangible art the future? Probably not but it makes me happier with my photography than I’ve been in years.

I'm Caroline. I live in Vermont with my dog. I used to be a frequent commenter around here, but a career change this summer pulled me out from behind my computer and thrust me into the wild world of Working Somewhere That Isn't My House. It's strange to get to the end of a long day and realize I haven't checked kottke.org once—but that just means that reading the site has become a part of the daily wind-down routine. And that I'm now a slightly-less-frequent commenter.

Happy to see so many new folks joining!

Hey there! I’m Margaret, a doctor in my final year of pediatrics residency—it's challenging but always interesting. And peds is a great place to be for someone who happily resonates with Gonzo the Great most of the time. My tendency to wear bright colors and be covered in rainbow paraphernalia is tolerated here.

I'm a person who's out and proud as both queer and genderqueer (though she/her pronouns still feel right—if it ain't broke, don't fix it). I live in the NYC suburbs and have bounced around NYC and its immediately surrounding counties since moving there for a 4-year stint in book publishing after college, but I'm planning to move back to my home state of Alabama after I finish residency. It's weird to think about; I definitely thought I'd never leave New York when I moved here, but being closer to family as my home base for being a travel doctor (my post-residency plan) just feels right.

Outside of work, I read pretty constantly, especially queer romance novels (there's something to be said for guaranteed happily ever afters when you're working 60–80-hour weeks). I'm neurodivergent and find a lot of joy in little hacks to trick my brain into doing what I need to do to navigate the very neurotypical world of medicine. I’m always experimenting with making things, whether it's crafts (quilting and needlepoint and lego, oh my) or figuring out how to make things online (I learned HTML in school in 4th grade and I feel like that's a keystone in my development somehow). In the presently trendy dichotomy of black cat/golden retriever, I'm definitely the doofy dog. I love sharing my interests with others, just the way a dog loves to show you its sticks.

I've been reading kottke.org since sometime in undergrad; back in the days of the burn-your-eyes-out yellow-green about 20 years ago. Other online haunts have come and gone from my life, but I suspect the days that I have visited the site far outnumber the days I haven't over the past 20 years.

Hello

I’m Matthew. An advertising art director originally from Virginia who was living in Montreal until two days ago and now living in Toronto. Just moved with my fiancé and our dog.

Looking forward to the milder winter in Toronto compared to what I’ve been dealing with for 5 years in Montreal.

I’ve been reading kottke since the glory days of the internet.

I’m currently trying to take more photos and get better at photography in general. Sharing that experience at Dine Alone. As well as go on longer and longer bike rides. Sometimes with the pup in tow.

I’m a bit surprised at my desire to add to this thread as I tend to just surf the internet and avoid contribution. But kottke.org seems like the right place and right vibe to share.

Cheers!✌️

Hi, I’m Courtney. Quite a newcomer in this crowd — found it through Cup of Jo a few years ago and kept coming back. I appreciate the really thoughtful curation! If it’s featured here, I know it’s worth the time to click.

I’m a lawyer working in tech, living in LA with my husband and two small-to-medium kids. I grew up and attended college in New England and have also lived for extended periods in NYC, Chicago, and Beijing.

I will read anything Emily St. John Mandel writes! I’m a fan of speculative literary fiction generally. And British crime procedural shows.

I enjoy lurking, don’t like commenting, but this seems like a great crowd (see supra).

Howdy. My name's Michael Brent. Saw a friend’s name in these lovely comments and that was the nudge I needed to become a member. Like many readers, I’ve been an avid fan of Jason’s site for far longer than I can remember. Really happy, and honoured, to start participating.

Born just outside of Toronto, I moved to NYC in 2003 for grad school, during which time some friends and I started an educational non-profit called the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. I’ve got a PhD in Philosophy and for a good portion of my life was an academic, but now I spend my time helping folks build and deploy machine-learning systems responsibly.

These days, I live with my wife and our two kids in Denver, CO, but we were married at Windswept Farm in the Northeast Kingdom, near Barton, VT. Astoundingly beautiful region, though admittedly I did not stay for stick season.

If you love winter but the grey skies, heavy wet snow, and darkness get to you, I highly recommend spending some quality time this winter in Colorado. The skies are blue, the snow is light and dry, and the sun is warm and frequently visible.

Hey, Dom from Helsinki here. Been reading fine hypertext products here on and off for 25 years or so, mostly through RSS in the old days but now from the newsletter. UK born Aussie.

Hello all! Daniel from York, UK. I design book covers, movie posters, a bit of illustration for New York Times. I used to write for Creative Review but now mostly throw words into my weekly newsletter, Meanwhile – about all the stuff that I find fascinating and assume others will too.

I'm Nancy, and I live in flyover country (in a red state that Shall Not Be Named but Should be Shamed). I'm a writer and teacher who works for a SaaS startup.

Father, lawyer, teacher, Seattle-area dog owner.

Hi, I'm Peter -- I live in Ann Arbor with my wife and daughter, where we enjoy the local arthouse theater, live jazz, and Michigan football & basketball. Love heading into Detroit for indie rock shows, the DIA, and the Detroit Lions. Enjoy wilderness backpacking, lockpicking, playing classical/Spanish guitar, and collecting mechanical wristwatches. Since the pandemic, I've developed a weakness for apocalyptic-y shows like The Leftovers, Silo, The Last of Us, Station Eleven... Just finished reading another Rachel Cusk novel and started There, There; love sitting down with the New Yorker each week and reading the short story. For a living, I design electrical testers for automotive assemblies.

Hi, I'm Laura, a doctor in North Carolina. I found this site in college, probably in 2005? I've been reading often daily but minimum weekly ever since. The art, movies, articles, news, etc that you post have always resonated with me. I appreciate you curating my media diet. I also was glad you took time for yourself when you needed too -- a good example for all of us during a hard time.

My name is Josh. I've been reading Kottke roughly weekly (but going back through every post) for about a decade or so.

I have a job (that part's boring) and slowly but surely write short things that I put online and longer things that I haven't put out yet.

I seem to prefer lurking, but the kids leaving home (1 gone, 1 to go too soon) has brought me back to seeking out online communities for the first time since the pre-social media era. I post at jleto.substack.com until I commit to DIY website work (not any time soon) at joshualeto.com or another service.

I find that while the posts here don't always overlap with my interests, I like the kindness and humanity that gets shared with them.

Hi, I'm Courtney (friends call me Coco.) Longtime lurker, first time commenter in Salt Lake City, Utah. I help develop utility-scale solar, wind, and battery projects nationwide. ENFJ, Leo Sun, Aquarius Moon, Cancer Rising.

You can find me hiking, biking, singing karaoke, eating out, and watching an incredible amount of movies (Letterboxd). Favorites this year: Challengers, Thelma, Anora, My Old Ass. Looking forward to Nosferatu!

Trying to read more. Recently When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron, Wintering by Katherine May, and I Sing the Body Electric, a collection of short stories by Ray Bradbury. Looking forward to Nordic skiing soon--our first snow is happening as I type this!

My name is Barbara, I live in Olympia WA with my sister, her husband, my niece and my step-nephew. It can be a lot, so I'm always looking for ways to cope, including hibernating in my bedroom/office. I take my dog on walks during the day at our nearby creek park and have been enjoying watching the trees and brush turn to Autumn, but damn is the end of Daylight Saving Time harsh in the Northwest. We are not so slowly creeping towards sunrise at 8:30am and sunset at 4:30pm. I want to start sewing again so I can make things for the holidays. I'm trying to avoid all election news since I feel a great despair at what's coming, but making community in our local area is helping.

I'm Pete - I live in Cambridge MA with my wonderful partner, 2 great kids, and a very old dog. I work in healthcare innovation/tech and like to run, bike, hike. Been lurking here every day for 12 years now, introduced by a coworker/friend. I appreciate having some curation to learn about new/interesting projects, exposure to ideas/domains and a safe, non-toxic online community who are way more interesting than me.

I'm Andrew. Been reading Kottke for ages, and just joined. After the election I felt a visceral need to get off Twitter and my usual news sites, and I thought that this would be a much nicer way of being online.

Hi all! I'm Cole and I'm an artist and designer in Los Angeles. I love our community and the comment section. Cheers to another great year, Jason! You're an excellent gardener and cultivator. Thank you for what you do.✨

As for me, I'm launching a new series of advice-filled booklets at the start of next year. They're intended to make people's wisdom more accessible and easier to share. And if any of you would like to be a beta tester, shoot me an email at moss at greyrainbow dot com. I'm looking for folks to tell me what they like and what bumps in each issue. I'll honor this offer through the end of the 2024, so please say hi.

As things get going, I'll post more on my Instagram if you'd like to follow along.

My book club just finished Anna Karenina and last month we read Heart of Darkness. Next up is McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. AK was as moving as people often say. I especially liked the sections with Levin about politics and the value of work to the mind and body.

Sending you all love as we move closer to 2025 💙🏄‍♂️

Hi,

I'm Rob. Living in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with my wife, daughter and dog now that my son has gone off for his first year of college. I'm currently working on year two of a seven year project photographing and writing about every neighborhood in NYC. 72 down, 253 to go...

Just finished reading "The Anthropologists" by Ayşegül Savaş and "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store" by James McBride. Both great.

Currently trying my best not to doom scroll.

So late to the party but I've been not wanting to look at my phone much... 😑

Anyway, hello! 👋 I'm Sara and I've been reading kottke.org since 1999, when I clicked a link from either Derek Powazek's personal site or Camworld. #nostalgia

I live in rural Minnesota now, but I was born and raised in Alaska and then spent 10 years in Seattle. By day I work for the state in an administrative capacity, and my hobbies are reading, cycling, and all things sewing/quilts. I'm introverted to a fault and never get bored. I hate driving and will go to great lengths to avoid doing it. My favorite color is emerald green, and I have 8 screws and a metal plate in my left ankle.

I have lived in Moab, UT since 1999. I retired around 2008 but continued working on contract for a few more years. I was born in Salt Lake City and have lived most of my life in Utah. For the last 30-35 years my focus has been on environmental issues, particularly the designation of Wilderness. Since around 2008 I have mostly worked as
a volunteer with a few organizations. I supported the proclamation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments and served as a declarant for standing in lawsuits opposing the reductions ordered by President Trump. Looks like that is going to start all over again.

Howdy friends! I’m Dylan and I’ve been following kottke.org for over 20 years. I grew up in (far) Northern California, ventured the the Pacific Northwest for college, did a 3-year stint in NYC while my girlfriend (now wife) went to grad school at Columbia, and have now settled firmly back in Seattle, where we’re raising our awesome almost-5-year-old daughter. I’m an avid runner, a vintage VW van owner/enthusiast, a DIY serial remodeler, and a lifelong devotee of learning / fan of the humanities. Currently feeling pretty awful about the state of the world, but doing what I can to improve my little corner of it.

Hi! I'm Ryan and I've been reading Kottke since... Osil8! Shame on me for not supporting earlier. I'm the Great Lakes region, near the Cedar Point amusement park, and I've been a graphic artist and website designer since 1996. For many, many years I worked in the newspaper industry building online communities for local and regional newspapers, and I now work for a small, family-founded specialty printing company. I don't know why I hesitated joining this community, but there's no better time than now. :)

Hi there neighbors on the internet--I'm Rachel in Berkeley, Calif and am belatedly posting. I didn't feel like I had much to add when Jason asked the question five weeks ago. But now I'm in that stage of obsession where I want to say to the world "OMG, do you know musician John Grant?!" He's been around for a long time but somehow I missed him. His albums are all pretty singular but he has a unique lyricism and his voice is bonkers. Also, I treasure this swoony feeling of discovering an artist who connects me to me and to that-which-isn't-me. Art, man. It's a real thing.