davideisinger.com/content/journal/dispatch-35-january-2026/index.md

---
title: "Dispatch #35 (January 2026)"
date: 2025-12-11T00:33:58-05:00
draft: false
tags:
- dispatch
references:
- title: "OpenSCAD Is Kinda Neat – nuxx.net"
  url: https://nuxx.net/blog/2025/12/20/openscad-is-kinda-neat/
  date: 2026-01-07T14:53:56Z
  file: nuxx-net-xnrgb7.txt
- title: "December 2025 - Tim Hårek"
  url: https://timharek.no/blog/2025-december-recently/
  date: 2026-01-07T14:55:06Z
  file: timharek-no-dea3rz.txt
- title: "Home is where my stuff is | Ruslan Osipov"
  url: https://rosipov.com/blog/home-is-where-my-stuff-is/
  date: 2026-01-06T05:32:49Z
  file: rosipov-com-qbdcgh.txt
- title: "Aspiration"
  url: https://lmno.lol/puddingtime/aspiration
  date: 2025-09-14T05:24:26Z
  file: lmno-lol-f6bq3n.txt
- title: "Food Comas and Some Bests • Buttondown"
  url: https://buttondown.com/nathanlong/archive/food-comas-and-some-bests/
  date: 2026-01-06T18:39:37Z
  file: buttondown-com-lxmsti.txt
- title: "3 books with Samuel Arbesman (Interconnected)"
  url: https://interconnected.org/home/2025/11/14/arbesman
  date: 2026-01-06T18:40:18Z
  file: interconnected-org-9bc7pq.txt
- title: "2025 Year in Review - macwright.com"
  url: https://macwright.com/2025/12/07/year-in-review
  date: 2025-12-18T15:21:17Z
  file: macwright-com-5fr93r.txt
- title: "My 2026 Q1 Planning and Moving to a New Planner – Writing at Large"
  url: https://writingatlarge.com/2026/01/03/my-2026-q1-planning-and-moving-to-a-new-planner/
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:42Z
  file: writingatlarge-com-3xaqup.txt
- title: "Thin Desires Are Eating Your Life"
  url: https://www.joanwestenberg.com/thin-desires-are-eating-your-life/
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:47Z
  file: www-joanwestenberg-com-4eftax.txt
- title: "Thin Desires Are Eating Your Life. “A thick desire is one th..."
  url: https://kottke.org/25/12/0048079-thin-desires-are-eating-y
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:48Z
  file: kottke-org-hwapp6.txt
- title: "A blog is a biography | Dries Buytaert"
  url: https://dri.es/a-blog-is-a-biography
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:50Z
  file: dri-es-enwpkq.txt
- title: "Lars-Christian Simonsen – Manu"
  url: https://manuelmoreale.com/interview/lars-christian-simonsen
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:52Z
  file: manuelmoreale-com-zl2mwc.txt
- title: "This life gives you nothing - Blackbird Spyplane"
  url: https://www.blackbirdspyplane.com/p/this-life-gives-you-nothing
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:58Z
  file: www-blackbirdspyplane-com-52g1uj.txt
- title: "On reading Proust vs experiencing the world intermediated by..."
  url: https://kottke.org/25/12/0048058-on-reading-proust-vs-expe
  date: 2026-01-07T19:49:59Z
  file: kottke-org-l0focf.txt
---

* Nev 4th birthday
  * Trip to Asheville
* Christmas in Greensboro
  * [Winter Wonderlights][1]
* Lake
  * [Gabby][2]
  * Urban Air
  * Spending time with old people
* Christmas vs. Thanksgiving

{{<dither IMG_9572.jpeg "782x600">}}A child caught in a flurry of snow, wide‑eyed amid glowing holiday lights and a shiny sculpture.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither IMG_9572.jpeg "782x600">}}A child caught in a flurry of snow, wide‑eyed amid glowing holiday lights and a shiny sculpture.{{</dither>}}

[1]: https://www.greensboroscience.org/winterwonderlights/
[2]: https://camp.com/gabbys-dollhouse-x-camp-charlotte

<!--more-->

---

## Music

* “My Favorite Kings”
  * <audio controls src="/journal/dispatch-35-january-2026/My Favorite Kings.mp3"></audio>
  * ["Magical 8bit Plug"][3]
* “Signal Drift”
  * <audio controls src="/journal/dispatch-35-january-2026/Signal Drift.mp3"></audio>
* [Bass pedal][4]

[3]: https://ymck.net/app/magical-8bit-plug-en
[4]: https://zoomcorp.com/en/us/multi-effects/bass-effects/b1-four-b1x-four/

---

## 3D Printing

* [Bambu Lab P1S][5]
* Toys
* Crap catchers (["fancy new kitchen knives"][6])
* [Blender][7]
* [OpenSCAD][8] ([via][9])
* James / plastics / pet causes
  * AI, Twitter

{{<dither crap-catcher.jpg "782x600">}}A 3D model of a long rectangular tray or catch basin in Blender, shown in wireframe-style shading with the scene axes visible.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither IMG_9650.jpeg "782x600">}}A refrigerator with a 3D printed shelf above a strip of knives.{{</dither>}}

[5]: https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/p1s?id=583855874739507208
[6]: https://www.macknife.com/
[7]: https://www.blender.org/
[8]: https://nuxx.net/blog/2025/12/20/openscad-is-kinda-neat/
[9]: https://timharek.no/blog/2025-december-recently/

---

## Misc.

* [Post about stuff (at getting rid of it)][10]
  * [Cf. post about the word “want”][11]
* AI talk
  * These tools don’t replace thinking
    * They reward good & clear thinking
  * Good software development practices still apply
    * And in some cases, matter even more
  * Abundance mindset over zero-sum
* Health post series

[10]: https://rosipov.com/blog/home-is-where-my-stuff-is/
[11]: https://lmno.lol/puddingtime/aspiration

{{<dither IMG_9467.jpeg "782x600">}}Big sister in a purple puffer hugs her giggling little brother on the playground, both in bright blue shoes and grinning wide.{{</dither>}}
{{<dither IMG_2575.jpeg "782x600">}}Dad in a gray robe laughing as he hauls two giggling kids through a leaf-covered yard.{{</dither>}}

### This Month

* Adventure:
* Project:
* Skill:

### Reading & Listening

* Fiction: [_The Will of the Many_][12], James Islington ([via][13])
* Non-fiction: [_The Magic of Code_][14], Samuel Arbesman  ([via][15])
* Music: [_Septet_][16], John Carroll Kirby ([via][17], though one track is on my [Lisbon playlist][18])

[12]: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Will-of-the-Many/James-Islington/Hierarchy/9781982141189
[13]: https://buttondown.com/nathanlong/archive/food-comas-and-some-bests/
[14]: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/samuel-arbesman/the-magic-of-code/9781541704480/
[15]: https://interconnected.org/home/2025/11/14/arbesman
[16]: https://johncarrollkirby.bandcamp.com/album/septet
[17]:  https://macwright.com/2025/12/07/year-in-review
[18]: /journal/dispatch-15-may-2024/#fn:1

### Links

* [My 2026 Q1 Planning and Moving to a New Planner – Writing at Large][19]

  > That’s it. There are no stickers in my planner, no highlighters, illustrations and such. It’s a practical tool for me. I won’t photograph it for the blog or social media because it’s so personal, and that’s its job – to work for me, not to generate content or likes. It isn’t pretty, but boy is it functional. I reference it at least one or two time a day every day. From it stems my daily to-do list, my weekly review, my long and short term plans. It’s an investment that’s paid dividends over the years, and from what I can tell my new format promises to pay me back even more.

* [Thin Desires Are Eating Your Life][20] ([via][21])

  > The business model of most consumer technology is to identify some thick desire, find the part of it that produces a neurological reward, and then deliver that reward without the rest of the package.

* [A blog is a biography | Dries Buytaert][22] ([via][23])

  > If that idea feels compelling, this might be a good time to start a blog or a website. Not to build a large audience, but just to leave a trail. Future you may be grateful you began.

* [This life gives you nothing - Blackbird Spyplane][24] ([via][25])

  > When we do this, we don’t just find ourselves with more time on our hands, but with more life on our hands, too. Because we set things back in motion. The world remains the same, but the way we see it changes.

[19]: https://writingatlarge.com/2026/01/03/my-2026-q1-planning-and-moving-to-a-new-planner/
[20]: https://www.joanwestenberg.com/thin-desires-are-eating-your-life/
[21]: https://kottke.org/25/12/0048079-thin-desires-are-eating-y
[22]: https://dri.es/a-blog-is-a-biography
[23]: https://manuelmoreale.com/interview/lars-christian-simonsen
[24]: https://www.blackbirdspyplane.com/p/this-life-gives-you-nothing
[25]: https://kottke.org/25/12/0048058-on-reading-proust-vs-expe