Ploafmaster General

I’m out near Charlottesville, cabin “camping” with most of my family (the 11YO is at a Girl Scouts event). This morning we got up early and drove out to Montebello in order to beat the crowds at Crabtree Falls. This trail is in the George Washington National Forest and wanders up to the top of what is supposed to be the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

I loved this hike, switching back and climbing steps just over a thousand feet to the top with gorgeous views along the way. But it was meaningful to me for more than only the time spent with family outdoors.

I have struggled my way up this hike a few times in my youth, perceivably a drag in my fitter high school friends. I remember a trek when I needed so many breaks that my friends eventually told me we could meet at the top. I watched, sweaty and humiliated, as they disappeared into the distance.

That was terrible behavior on their part in hindsight, but now that I am more active I wanted to try this trail expecting to enjoy it. And I did! The hike up (and back down) Crabtree Falls is considered a moderate hike, but was not really a challenge for me, let alone the struggle of my earlier visits. All that and getting to share it with my wife and son. What a day!

Writing out the first paragraph about contemporary social platforms and loneliness before deleting it.

Can’t believe it took me this long to place my first order with Blue Lug (got a Nitto M-1 rack, some pins, and stickers).

Took the family by Sugar & Twine now that their extra space is open. Their pastries continue to be terrific and I had a tasty espresso with Recluse coffee, but my wife and I each had lattes that tasted disappointingly flavorless. Like, lightly-sweet warm milk with a hint of coffee flavor.

I watch 99% of my YouTube videos on my Apple TV. My interests vary, but because their recommendation system seems to think that 1 video about 3D printing means I suddenly want to watch 50 videos on the subject, I spend a great deal of time telling the system that I’m not interested in a video.

On the Apple TV app, this process is already kinda broken inasmuch as I have to provide a reason where the only two choices are “I’ve already watched the video” or “I don’t like the video”. On the web, a reason isn’t required. Do I really not like a video? Or is it simply not relevant to my interests? Am I going to subdue recommendations from a channel I might like simply because I “don’t like” a single video? All of this is opaque to the end user, so there are occasions where I simply select “I’ve already watched the video” just to make it go away.

Today I saw a new option for the first time - on its own row in the interface, a single video displayed. I’ve watched a number of videos from this channel before - one guy riding his bikes around Michigan. But this particular video was about some type of camp stove. On this single row in the app was the heading “Help us improve YouTube”, and beside the thumbnail is the question “Is this a good recommendation for you?” My options are “Not now”, “No”, and “Yes”. I’m certain “Yes” will increase recommendations of similar videos (though YouTube’s definition of “similar” is already questionable - IYKYK). “Not now” dismisses the whole question. But “No”? Selecting “No” displays a new panel with the heading “Why is it a very bad recommendation?”

Wait, what now? How come “no” assumes this is a “very bad” recommendation instead simply “not good”? As if that wasn’t a poor place to start, my choices range from the vague to the horrible:

• Not interested
• Violent or disgusting
• Overly sexual
• Trashy
• Misleading
• Upsetting
• Other

What the heck!? I just don’t care about a camp stove, I’m not offended! I suppose “Not interested” is the safest answer here, but I still question the notion that this is a “very bad recommendation” for me just because I said it isn’t good, and I worry that any answer would have undesirable effects.

Kinda feel like I’m noticing a lot of dead squirrels around Richmond, lately. Like, enough to make me wonder whether something is going on.

Or maybe as I started playing attention I just started noticing all of them?

Sometimes the weather is gorgeous and you just bust out a 50 mile ride on a Monday.

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!?