October 2022

• survived 1,560 weekends
• second “bananniversarbean”
• evacuated home
• funerals
• made a person laugh for the first time in their life
• attended When We Were Young
• shaved off my mullet at a Paramore concert
• became a “DJ”
• played Astro Bears with the boys
• afflicted by the pandy

taylor.town

New Essays

• How do I get the ability to see the gnomes?
• Never Wait for Anything
• The Scourge of “Someday”
• Thank You vs. Sorry
• A Magic Question for Emotional Conversations
• Beware The Grind
• The Only Way to Make Money
• 10 Minutes is 1% of Your Day
• Accept Your Fate
• Extinguish All Notifications

Updated Lists

• Music
• Podcasts
• Blogs and Newsletters
• My Deep Daily Questions
• Bucket List

Project Updates

• finished configuring neovim plugins
• implemented passive life-logging
• completed early designs for secret app idea
• continued home-improvement
• continued spring-cleaning
• registered for 2023 AIDS/LifeCycle
• posted newsletters archive on taylor.town
• switched email newsletter service to buttondown.email from tinyletter

Recommended

People

• Clinton Boys

Purchases

• amber reading lights
• Fellow Atmos Vacuum Coffee Canister

Books

• Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe: These books are extremely subversive, yet the author falls prey to the exact tropes he’s “subverting”. The plot oscillates between mind-bending self-reference and painful self-awarelessness. Some of the twists are incredible. I suspect that this is an excellent book that aged poorly.
• Ubik by Phillip K. Dick: Good sci-fi stories explore “cool ideas”. Ubik miraculously interleaves 3-5 “cool ideas”. And it keeps topping itself with bigger and bigger extensions of its core “cool ideas”. Read Ubik if you like “cool ideas”.
• Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith: This is a self-help book that delivers. It’s an incredibly useful guide on how to enact lasting change in yourself. This book focuses on growth via environmental cues. I particularly liked the concrete advice on daily active questions, accountability partners, and actionable ways to change cognitive contexts.
• Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday: This book was inspiring but forgettable. All the examples of disciplined people got me pumped, but I didn’t find much actionable content.
• Out of Your Mind by Alan Watts: This is one of my favorite audiobooks to revisit. Alan Watts’ brand of secular-ish mysticism is incredibly refreshing. It’s like listening to a pastor speak on behalf of the universe. At every stage in my life, I’ve found life-changing wisdom in these lectures.

Videos

• Ads in Video Games
• 30 Minute Study Model - Here’s How
• Carl Sagan testifying before Congress in 1985 on climate change
• George Carlin: Brain Droppings
• Mechanical circuits: electronics without electricity
• Howl’s Moving Castle Makes So Much Sense
• Andrew Bird & Esperanza Spalding Live 2016
• slightly above average FOV
• the book with a multiplayer first-person shooter inside
• ANIMAL WELL | a game full of secrets

Documentaries

• Kiss the Ground: an excellent documentary on the importance of global soil health and the dangers of modern industrial agriculture

Podcast Episodes

• 99% Invisible: The Safety Bicycle
• Endless Thread: Anti-fans, online hate, and Caroline Calloway
• 99% Invisible: Walk of Fame
• Radiolab: No-Touch Abortion
• Deep Questions with Cal Newport: Work vs. Meaning
• Software Unscripted: Building a Database with Joran Greef
• Patended: Eco Farming
• Endless Thread: Lazy Geoff
• the joe gardener show: The Vital Role of Soil Bacteria in the Garden
• Freakonomics: Are Personal Finance Gurus Giving You Bad Advice?
• Everything Everywhere Daily: The Terrible, Horrible Vogage of the Russion Imperial Baltic Fleet
• 99% Invisible: Vuvuzela
• 99% Invisible: Wickedest Sound
• Everything Everywhere Daily: The Seven Days of the Week

Music