davideisinger.com/content/journal/dispatch-18-august-2024/index.md

---
title: "Dispatch #18 (August 2024)"
date: 2024-08-13T00:37:47-04:00
draft: false
tags:
- dispatch
references:
- title: "The Limits Of The Billionaire Imagination Are Everyone's Problem | Defector"
  url: https://defector.com/the-limits-of-the-billionaire-imagination-are-everyones-problem
  date: 2024-08-13T03:35:16Z
  file: defector-com-8wrecr.txt
- title: "The Rot Economy - Ed Zitron's Where's Your Ed At"
  url: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-rot-economy/
  date: 2024-08-13T03:37:13Z
  file: www-wheresyoured-at-7mfome.txt
- title: "AI isn't useless. But is it worth it?"
  url: https://www.citationneeded.news/ai-isnt-useless/
  date: 2024-04-18T16:30:46Z
  file: www-citationneeded-news-loassa.txt
- title: "Recently - macwright.com"
  url: https://macwright.com/2024/08/01/recently
  date: 2024-08-09T03:43:36Z
  file: macwright-com-1msqdm.txt
- title: "The World Beyond Your Head - macwright.com"
  url: https://macwright.com/2024/07/07/world-beyond-your-head
  date: 2024-08-09T03:43:55Z
  file: macwright-com-59hl5f.txt
- title: "Time travelling for parents · Hauken"
  url: https://hauken.io/time-travelling/
  date: 2024-08-12T17:19:44Z
  file: hauken-io-v7sjyb.txt
- title: "The moral bankruptcy of Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz - The Verge"
  url: https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/24/24204706/marc-andreessen-ben-horowitz-a16z-trump-donations
  date: 2024-08-13T04:21:48Z
  file: www-theverge-com-qbbp8t.txt
- title: "Microfeatures I Love in Blogs and Personal Websites"
  url: https://danilafe.com/blog/blog_microfeatures/
  date: 2024-08-13T04:23:30Z
  file: danilafe-com-0cob7b.txt
- title: "A Diminishing Portfolio of Enthusiasms | John P. Weiss - Blog"
  url: https://johnpweiss.com/blog/196014/a-diminishing-portfolio-of-enthusiasms
  date: 2024-08-13T04:25:22Z
  file: johnpweiss-com-ta0xym.txt
---

Our boy's two months old today! Look at this little dude.

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{{<dither IMG_2821.jpeg "782x600">}}Bath time giggles from the happiest little face.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither IMG_2965.jpeg "782x600">}}Smiling baby Dominic stretches out beside a sign proudly sharing he’s two months old.{{</dither>}}

We did a newborn photo shoot with [G. Lin Photography][1], though no one told Nevie she wasn't the star.

{{<dither BabyNico-48.jpg "782x600">}}Snuggled together on the nursery floor, mom, dad, and big sister shower the newborn with cozy kisses and cuddles.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither BabyNico-118.jpg "782x600">}}Smiling parents in their sunny backyard admire their curly-haired daughter while Mom cradles the sleeping newborn.{{</dither>}}

[1]: https://www.glinphotography.com/

We took the kids to a few Bulls games. Snacks consumed: many. Baseball consumed: very little.

{{<dither IMG_3323.jpeg "782x600">}}Family of four all smiles at the ballpark, soaking in a summer evening under the lights.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither IMG_6441.jpeg "782x600">}}Giggles and curls at the ballpark, cheering for the home team in bright pink.{{</dither>}}

I finished Nev's art table as well as a few other small projects. I doubt I'll ever be a great (or even good) woodworker, but I derive considerable satisfaction from building simple pieces and quickly modifying things around the house.

{{<dither IMG_6464.jpeg "782x600">}}DIY workshop vibes: a freshly built wooden rack stands proud beside bikes and benches, waiting for its first project.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither IMG_6463.jpeg "782x600">}}Pink three-tier craft cart overflowing with kids’ art supplies squeezed between a kitchen counter and patio door.{{</dither>}}

I signed up for [Bull City Race Fest][2] half-marathon for what'll be the third year in a row. It is so hot out right now that afternoon long runs aren't really tenable, but night runs work well with my screwed up sleep schedule (though that's how I [turned my ankle something fierce][3] last year). Knowing I need to be able to run 13 miles in a few short months is doing wonders for my discipline.

[2]: https://capstoneraces.com/bull-city-race-fest/
[3]: /journal/dispatch-8-october-2023/

Randomly:

* I needed to replace the roof on my house, and so had to research roofing companies, collect bids, and select a winner. I'm used to being in the opposite role as a consultant trying to win work, and it was weird being the one getting pitched instead of pitching, and in a domain I know next-to-nothing about. It definitely gave me more empathy for what our clients go through in selecting a technical partner. I ended up with a company that was price-competitive and just gave me a good gut feeling, and I'm happy with the result.

* I've been thinking about the authors whose worldviews really speak to me, like [David Roth][4], [Ed Zitron][5], and [Molly White][6]. I was initially drawn to these folks because they were able to eloquently express thoughts and feelings I was already having about topics like blockchain, AI, and capitalism more broadly. But over time, I've consumed more and more of this content in an increasingly unquestioning way. I find my views getting increasingly extreme, and I've sort of lost the ability to relate to people who feel more positively about these things.

[4]: https://defector.com/the-limits-of-the-billionaire-imagination-are-everyones-problem
[5]: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-rot-economy/
[6]: https://www.citationneeded.news/ai-isnt-useless/

### This Month

* Adventure: Rehoboth Beach with my family. We've done this trip for the last four years, and every year the number of children in attendance has increased by one, a trend that simply cannot continue.
* Project: [This is one of my favorite albums][7], and here's how they describe the creation process: "write and record a collection of drum-free samples, then flip them into an albums' worth of beats." I'd like to produce a track in this style this month.
* Skill: Finger drumming / drum programming in general

[7]: https://birocratic.bandcamp.com/album/ninety-nine

### Reading

* Fiction: [_Moonbound_][8], Robin Sloan -- quite a departure from _Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore_ but I'm digging it so far; I like an absurd story told in a straightforward way
* Non-fiction: [_The World Beyond Your Head_][9], Matthew B. Crawford -- I've read another book by this author, _Shop Class as Soulcraft_, and Tom MacWright spoke highly of this one in his [recent update][10] and [review][11]

[8]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/wizard-s-design-robin-sloan/20374751
[9]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-world-beyond-your-head-on-becoming-an-individual-in-an-age-of-distraction-matthew-b-crawford/8484056?ean=9780374535919
[10]: https://macwright.com/2024/08/01/recently
[11]: https://macwright.com/2024/07/07/world-beyond-your-head

### Links

* [Time travelling for parents][12]

  > One day, you’ll pick up your child for the last time. You’ll change the last diaper, give the last piggyback ride, read the last bedtime story. But this is the crucial point: You will never know it’s the last time when it happens. It’ll slip by, unnoticed.

* [The moral bankruptcy of Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz][13]

  > Two of Silicon Valley’s famous venture capitalists make the case for backing Trump: that their ability to make money is the only value that matters.

* [Microfeatures I Love in Blogs and Personal Websites][14]

  > In this time, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to improve the site, and I’ve seen quite a few little things that are nice to use, but relatively easy to implement. They don’t really make or break a website; the absence of such features might be noticed, but will not cause any disruption for the reader. On the other hand, their presence serves as a QoL enhancement.

* [A Diminishing Portfolio of Enthusiasms][15]

  > In other words, don’t melt into your couch and stop living. Don’t give up on life just because your portfolio of enthusiasms has diminished. There are always ways to squeeze more out of life, even if you’re old and less able to do the things you used to. 

[12]: https://hauken.io/time-travelling/
[13]: https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/24/24204706/marc-andreessen-ben-horowitz-a16z-trump-donations
[14]: https://danilafe.com/blog/blog_microfeatures/
[15]: https://johnpweiss.com/blog/196014/a-diminishing-portfolio-of-enthusiasms