2026-01-05

A Metabolic Workspace #productivity

There is a rude but clarifying question here: are you collecting information to use it, or are you collecting information because collecting feels like intellectual work? If it's the latter, you're not building a Second Brain; you're building an anxiety management system that happens to look like productivity.

Ranking Classical Philosophy Books

From: Correcting an Error - by Jared Henderson

It's a 4hr video, so not sure when I am gonna get around to it. But wanted to log it here so that I could point to it next time.

2025 GenZ Trends

Nostalgia Economy and Analog Awakening #genz #buzzwords #slang

For some random reason I have this GenZ trends newsletter in my feed reader which has become a bit of a guilty pleasure to read.

In the 2025 recap, I came across this long list of buzzwords. Some of my favorites

Slop life: Acceptance of overstimulating, low-quality consumption as a default mode. (I, II, III)

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Locking in: Self-optimization as a seasonal ritual. (I, II)

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Restivals: Festival culture shifts toward livestreaming and at-home experiences rather than physical endurance. (I, II)

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Floodlighting: A dating term for oversharing trauma early to manufacture intimacy; an emotional jump scare. (I, II)

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Monkey barring: Dating behavior where someone lines up the next relationship before letting go of the current one, swinging from partner to partner without ever being single. (I, II)

Monk mode: A self-imposed period of extreme discipline and withdrawal framed as productivity-driven, often involving no dating, no socializing, and obsessive self-improvement. (I, II)

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What To Buy That Improves Quality of Life

What To Buy That Improves Quality of Life #things #buyitforlife

A good list.

2026-01-08

Coffee in California

A California Gesha Makes Its International Auction Debut | Sprudge Coffee #coffee #california #usa

TIL, coffee is grown in California

When you think of coffee production in America, the first place that comes to mind is undoubtedly Hawaii, Kona in particular. But it is not the only state commercially growing coffee. California is home to a few extremely small coffee farms, though few have risen above novelty; even the most avid specialty coffee drinkers are unlikely to have ever tasted any. But that may be changing soon thanks for Frinj Coffee. The Ventura-based farm will be the first continental American producer to take part in an international coffee auction.

2026-01-10

Should you have a library in your loo

Should you have a library in your loo? #library #loo

I swear I had not thought that an entire article could be written on this topic.

The design world, for the most part, is on board. Furniture maker Matthew Burt recently launched the Loo Library, a beautifully compact shelving unit in walnut and stainless steel with semi-circle cutouts in the corners, designed to fit snugly into even the smallest cloakroom. “The idea was to create something with interest and gravitas, while ensuring books could be easily reachable from the loo,” says Burt.

Because it’s not just an issue of title selection (we’ll come to that) — positioning is key in a loo library, too. Books can’t be too close to the pan or too low to the ground, but must be within grasp from a seated position. Unlike the bedside table, in the loo you are privy to both hazards and logistical impediments. The books must be light enough to be easily held, not too precious, but also not too dog eared or well thumbed.

…In Japan, there is a term, mariko aoki, to describe the urge to defecate when entering a bookstore — a phenomenon born, perhaps, from some deeply held or Pavlovian association of reading and the loo.