02 Nov 2025

‘I like cappuccino, actually. But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all.’ — David Lynch

pour over yum

It’s that time again for my weekly update, which includes a short collection of noteworthy finds, posts that inspire, as well as a few reflections from the past week or two. I’ll aim to land these in your inbox by the weekend, in time to pair with your morning coffee (or your preferred cup of inspiration).

The Latest Drippings ☕️

• Take Weird Ideas Seriously. Leaning into new things with a childlike curiosity is a theme that I’ve been building on through 2025 - ‘Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?’ (Charles Bukowski). This post, which explores the works of Jeova Sanctus Unus, was a new one for me. ‘Before his death in 1727, he spent thirty years attempting to discover the vegetative spirit that made things grow and transform. He built furnaces, repeatedly mixed and heated various substances, and carefully recorded observations on color changes, crystallization patterns, and reactions between metals and acids. Over the course of those three decades, he would fill his notebooks with over one million words on the subject. His family was so embarrassed by the work that when he died, they hid the notebooks. They didn’t want Jeova Sanctus Unus to destroy the reputation of the man who wrote under that pseudonym.’ Of course you know him - by his real name, Sir Issac Newton.
• Why Is The Internet Bad Now?. I’ve written several times already about Cory Doctorow’s book, Enshittification. This article has pulled some specific thesis from it, and I found it to be a good reflection. For example, why folks stay on Facebook: ‘People stay on awful platforms not because they like them but because coordinating a group escape is harder than individual suffering.’
• Scientists Created an Entire Social Network Where Every User Is a Bot, and Something Wild Happened. Want to take a quick guess at what happened? The study found that even the AI-only network ‘reproduced three well-documented dysfunctions: (1) partisan echo chambers; (2) concentrated influence among a small elite; and (3) the amplification of polarized voices.’ Shocking, given all these AI models are trained on Internet content (with or without consent).
• Resist Slop World. There’s a lot out there already on how ‘AI is already making people less creative. And how writing is thinking, meaning you’re voluntarily lobotomizing yourself if you stop doing that in favor of letting machines handle this task for you.’ A good reminder on how ‘machines can’t capture your impossibly unique depth and complexity, they can only provide a poor facsimile.’
• Don’t Delegate Thinking, Delegate Work. If there’s one message I keep repeating, it’s that machines can’t replace critical thinking. ‘The bottleneck now isn’t typing, it is understanding and problem solving.’
• Why You Don’t Feel Like Doing What You Planned — And What to Do About It. A good reminder that ‘you’re not a machine — you’re human’, and some good tactics in here centering on ‘productivity isn’t about forcing yourself to follow the plan — it’s about creating a plan that fits the real you.’
• Riding the Waves: A Manifesto for Thriving in Good Times and Bad. A must watch for the week; I have had the pleasure of getting to know Ian Sanders over the last few years, and been fortunate even to spend time face to face, having coffee together and walking around London. A wonderfully brave and brilliant talk he shared recently about how to appreciate both the good and the bad.
• Using Technology Skills for Positive Change. A call out to those who are using their powers for positive change, and some thoughts on how to focus on collaboration and elevating the common good.
• 9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off. Instantly bought this book, from Raymond Biesinger. The summary looks fun for any creative: ‘Biesinger, an iconic designer and illustrator, tells the story of how he got ripped off, what he did to get his own back, how he felt about it at the time, and how he feels about it in retrospect.’
• When Music Stops You in Your Tracks.. I loved this piece on the power of music, and I’m looking forward to seeing what The Buzz is brewing up. Remember ‘the ones that stop you mid-sentence. The ones where music triggers memories and memories bring feelings. The ones that remind you how much music still means to you.’
• 10 Ghost Towns to Visit Across America. Keeping a list of interesting places - movie shoot locations, ghost towns, Atlas Obscura, etc, has been a fun way to see a few off-the-beaten-path places. Here’s a solid list of Ghost Towns to check out.
• How to Whistle for Help. A good reminder on how you can help someone who doesn’t want help? A: You can’t.
• Notes on Being a Man, and Advice for Young Men Who Are Feeling Lost. Another book I’m looking forward to reading that’s due out on November 3rd is Scott Galloway’s latest, ‘Notes on Being a Man’. As a father of two boys, some of the stats Scott talks about are downright scary: ‘1) Men are dropping out of college at higher rates, leading to a graduation ratio of roughly 33:66 (men:women). 2) The percentage of young men aged 20 to 24 who are neither in school nor working has tripled since 1980. 3) Men are 3× more likely to overdose. 4) Men are 4× more likely to commit suicide. 5) Men are 12× more likely to be incarcerated.’ I’ve mentioned this except from his blog, and can’t wait to read the rest of it.

Amor Fati ✌🏻