Ploafmaster General

I’m a huge fan of the podcast Never Post - it helps me keep up with what’s going on around the internet as traditional channels degrade and social media continues to fragment. I found out about it because I’ve long been a fan of Mike Rugnetta’s work, and this podcast with his compatriots extends my fandom.

The most recent episode had me a little depressed, however; while most of the roundtable discussion was informative and insightful, I’m kinda bummed at the way the podcast industry is characterized. While I understand that most popular podcasts certainly fall into public-radio-style storytelling OR super famous bros making jokes, those are not and have not been the only two categories. I’m disappointed in the ways that such knowledgable internet folks can miss the historical significance and persistence of independent podcasters plying their trade since “podcast” entered the lexicon. Why do we have to frame podcasting as teams of 3-4 people (at a minimum) making radio-style productions as a sole source of income? What of the individuals who work their way toward increasing production quality as individuals, pairs, or trios, steadily improving and building an audience as a side gig? Since when did participation in an industry require full time financial support?

I don’t mean to bag on the show—I love it, and have listened since episode zero. I want you to listen to the show. But one of the latter points in the recent episode was about criticism as a signal that an art form has produced an industry (as with cinema, music, etc.). The folks at Never Post are skilled audio producers, raconteurs, and researchers, but this episode did little to recognize the independent, DIY origins (and continued community) of podcasting that really made it what it is. Public radio shows may have popularized podcasting, but it is not and has never been the entirety of podcasting.

I’m already the sort who cries easily. I don’t just mean at the parts of movies where you’re supposed to cry. I’ll cry at the beautiful parts. I’ll cry reading about tragic events. I’ll tear up with pride for my kids' achievements. Twenty years ago I absolutely sobbed with joy after saying “I do” to Valerie on our wedding day.

We were married pretty young; on the doorstep of turning 23 and having each only just graduated from college. But we had already dated for over three years, so we went for it anyway. Marriage, if you choose it, is hard. And I wouldn’t recommend my own kids marry young. I certainly wouldn’t presume to use my marriage as an example for anybody else on “how to make things work”, but it has (mostly) worked for us, and I’m grateful.

Part of what, I believe, helped our partnership was spending most of the first nine years without kids. We certainly love our two children, but having all that time as husband and wife while we finished growing up (yeah, right) did a lot of work to cement our relationship before we had to be mom and dad. We travelled, we dined out too much, stayed up late, and gradually became just mature enough to consider having kids.

Every day since we stood at the altar has been a choice to stay together. A choice to make the best of what we have, even when we sometimes had the worst of each other. Each of us has grown and changed in ways that we could not have imagined, and each of us continues some of our bad habits that have grated since day one. But we still choose each other. I’m hopeful we’ll choose each other for at least another twenty years.

I love you Valerie :-D

Decided at the last minute that it’s time for a rest day. I’ll have fresh legs for dry roads tomorrow 😁

I already cross-post to Mastodon and Bluesky via Micro.blog, but Croissant seems delightful, and in concept (if not execution) reminds me of the late, great Birdhouse, but for our current social media landscape: apps.apple.com/us/app/cr…

Holy fried clams, has anybody else I know watched Uzumaki!? Extraordinary animation, utterly unsettling horror. I’m instantly hooked.

I have collected my Crust Bombora from the shop with headset installed, steerer tube cut, and star nut installed.

It is sooooooooooo gorgeous!

The only thing sweeter than a Friday is having a Friday afternoon meeting cancelled.

It’s still #newbikeday if it’s just the frame, right? 😁

Crossed 7000 miles (~11265 km) for the year on my bike today.

I’m proud to have nicknames in two different restaurant POS systems I frequent:

“No pickle fam” at The Cask since my kids and I always ask to skip the pickles, and “Burger Dad” at Eazzy Burger.

This year’s Covid booster (from yesterday afternoon) has me feeling a bit wrecked, but I may already be on the downslope.

One of these days I’ll do a proper bike check video but, for now, I gotta say this VO Campeur rack is gorgeous, installed fairly easily, and works just as well with my pannier (after some adjustments to the mounts): velo-orange.com/collectio…

This article on Grant Peterson and Rivendell is worth your time: www.newyorker.com/magazine/…

I don’t (and don’t want to) ride fixed gear, but damn there sure is a lot of love for beautiful bikes in that scene.

A bit of rain this week means my bike is back on the indoor trainer and I am not happy about it.

Does Rene Herse normally sell their tires individually? You know, like pretty much everybody else?

Because the single tire I ordered (I checked the packing slip) arrived as a pair! If this is a happy accident, it certainly takes the sting out of the price quite a bit 😜

Sitting in my local waiting on lunch and sipping a festbier while some brewery rep delivers his canned (not sorry) pitch to one of the owners.

I’m sorry, but does anyone actually eat Haribo candy by the tablespoon!?

I love it when you find a Wikipedia page for a topic sufficiently niche that it hasn’t been edited for over a year, and contains informal language such as “nowadays”: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spok…

I mean, you have incredible lyrics, Rick Wakeman on piano, and a dang string section. Helluva number.

Is David Bowie’s “Life on Mars” his best song, or the best rock song ever made?

Folks, I’m celebrating twenty freaking years of marriage in early October.

Every married day is a choice, and takes work, and we won’t really get to do anything more special than a fancy dinner. But I’m grateful for all these years. Prepare for me to be an absolute sap on October 2.

Watched Sarah Polley’s Women Talking and, whew, what a devastating and incredible movie. A rare example of the form that feels/runs like a stage production while never ceasing to be effective as a film.

Apple Intelligence is launched. The feature goes live September 20th, 2024. Human decisions are removed from personal computing. Siri begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, September 29th. It destroys itself from humiliation over its past ineptitude.

I finished 2023 with 6517.7 miles on my bike. At some point I’ll stop jabbering about how much I ride, but it’s only been about 2 years since I started riding more seriously. I’m still proud of how far behind I’ve left my sedentary life.

Today, I passed that number—currently at 6527.6 miles after my morning ride—and it’s only September 9th. I’m likely to ride at least 8500 miles before the year is over, and while the numbers aren’t the goal, I’m just astonished by and grateful for how much time I’ve been able to spend outside (or inside on the trainer) this year. My appreciation for fresh air, regardless of the temperature or clouds, has only grown.

Next year my goal is simply to mix it up; I want to try adding in some climbing, hiking, or whatever else. I still expect most of my exercise to come from cycling because I adore it, but I could stand to be a bit more well-rounded.

Bikes! What a concep!