At XOXO a few weeks ago, Erin Kissane proposed that we – people of the internet – come together to brute-force a fix for the broken social internet. It’s a wonderful, thought-provoking talk that has me fired up to help create a better internet for future generations.

Interesting take from Marty Cagan on the topic of Product: Art or Science:

There can be real art and beauty in the engineering, real art and beauty in the design, and real art and beauty in the solutions we build, and this beauty can contribute to the value and desirability of our products.

I’ve always considered product management to be ~ 70% science and ~ 30% art, and over the years that’s been a somewhat controversial opinion. It’s cool to see Cagan acknowledge this important blend of perspectives.

I bought my first pair of Birkenstocks and have been wearing them non-stop the past few weeks. What took me so long to get on board? I am finding them to be great active recovery shoes, in addition to casual everyday wear.

Andrew Schmelyun gets his daily news from an ’80s era dot matrix printer. Awesome.

Molly White puts a name to the practice of syndicating posts from a personal/owned domain to external social media platforms:

The short-term solution to these problems is a little-known acronym called POSSE. Short for Post (on) Own Site Syndicate Elsewhere, it’s not a protocol or even a piece of software, but rather a philosophy.

I’ve been doing this for a while now and highly recommend it.

Bright Eyes cancel their remaining 2024 tour dates. Pitchfork reporting a statement from the band:

Over the past week, Conor has undergone multiple tests to determine the cause of his recent vocal problems. It’s come to light that he has developed a condition that is exacerbated by excessive singing, requiring both treatment and recuperation.

I’m wishing Connor a swift recovery and I hope to see him on stage in 2025.

Buddy enjoying a lazy & rainy Sunday morning. Contrary to popular belief, he is extremely well-read.

I’m lucky to work on a product team that builds solutions in close partnership with our users. David Allison (engineering lead on our team) describes our process on the REI Engineering blog. This approach creates such a high signal to noise ratio, and it shows in the work we are able to deliver.

As an avid cyclist, how can I be this bad at marking all the reCAPTCHA squares that contain bicycles?

In my continued effort to eradicate algorithmic recommendations from my life, I am exploring alternatives to Spotify for music & podcast streaming. Current thinking is a local file library with iTunes Match enabled (music) and freestanding podcast app. How are y’all doing it? Advice welcome!

Finished reading: Filterworld by Kyle Chayka 📚

This book scratched the right itch for me at precisely the right time. It affirms my choice to walk away from corporate social media and go all-in on the indie or open social web. Chayka’s thesis asserts that proliferation of algorithmic recommendations flattens and homogenizes culture. He weaves a detailed thread from the origins of algorithmic thinking in ancient times, through the early days of Facebook’s News Feed which brought algorithms into every home, through the current algorithmic landscape that feeds from people’s time and attention at every turn. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in mindfulness & digital culture.

The ultrarunning community is usually super chill & we are typically very supportive of others as they crush epic runs. This report of Camille Herron removing accolades from the Wikipedia pages of Courtney Dauwalter and Kilian Jornet - and ‘fluffing’ her own - are surprising and troubling.

I was digging through an old hard drive today looking for something and I stumbled upon this pic from the night Jilly and I got engaged in 2003. Pre-cell phones. Pre-selfies. This was at our hotel on 48th & Broadway, I think. Notice the vintage Juliana Theory patch on my bag. Good times.

Facing tremors, insomnia and pain, Pittsburgh-based artist John Peña searched for answers — and came to blame the noxious air in his neighborhood. Read John’s amazing chronicle of his shifting ailments captured through several years of daily sketches. (via PublicSource; support independent media!)

The Outdoor Inclusion Coalition is hosting it’s first annual BIPOC Climbing Festival. Taking place November 8-10 in New River Gorge National Park, the festival’s mission aims to bring together BIPOC climbers to build meaningful community in nature. Looks like a fantastic event with great guides!

Current status.

Welcome to town, Pittsburgh Riveters! It’s great that we are adding a pre-professional women’s soccer team to our city’s incredible sports legacy. Our family is looking forward to supporting when the season kicks off next spring.

Update: Dani on Bluesky rightly pointed out that the Riveters are not a professional team, but rather a pre-professional team in the USL W League. This post has been updated to reflect that detail.

I am not a huge baseball fan (my Pirates are forever cellar dwellers), but what Shohei Ohtani did last night was something for the ages. Cresting fifty home runs and fifty stolen bases in one season, via a 3 home run (10 RBI) game. Unbelievable.

Can we all agree public libraries are awesome? Whenever I walk into a library, I feel a profound sense of calm. This photo essay by Brian Sholis highlights some really interesting library spaces from all over the world. BRB…I’m going to go update my travel bucket list to include some of these.

Tomlinisms hit different when the Steelers are sitting atop the AFC North. Coach Tomlin responding to a question about motivational tactics used in a closed-door locker room after Sunday’s win over the Broncos:

I can’t give you all the ingredients to the hot dog. You might not like it.

I think fall is absolutely the best season for trail running here in western Pennsylvania. This morning I ran party pace on the orange loop in North Park, starting at the church and cruising through the sunbeams as they pierced through the trees.

William Peterson breaks the Long Trail FKT and becomes the first person to complete all 272 miles in less than 4 days:

On the morning of September 1, William “Sisyphus” Peterson reached the Vermont-Massachsetts border and set a new Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Long Trail. Peterson completed the route in 3 days, 21 hours, and 10 minutes, breaking John Kelly’s previous record of 4 days, 4 hours, 25 minutes, 50 seconds. Stretching 272 miles (437.74 km) through the state of Vermont, the Long Trail climbs 67,000 feet (20,421 m).

I got out for a nice little sunrise city rip this morning. The weather has been absolutely perfect here for getting out on the bike lately. This is Pittsburgh’s Color Park, a short stretch of river trail on the city’s south side where graffiti and street art abound.