Scott

I have a new #urbanism enemy: bag policies at venues. Sorry not all of us travel with a giant lock box where we can leave our belongings
(Let alone those who have medical needs that don’t fit into a small clutch/purse, though at least some venues are willing to accommodate that with prior communication)

I never understand why people these days close the windows on planes. I just got to watch a ramp agent forget to un-chock the wheels and attempt drive away on a baggage loader! Free comedy that all these other folks are missing out on!

Mast.

(this is just a ship post)

Had a busy day, and it was so nice to be able to finally comfortably bike between my many activities. This winter has been brutal.

Google just sent me a "Welcome to Gemini" email with the notice at the bottom "This message was sent to you because you signed up to use Gemini."

THE HELL I DID. I TURNED OFF EVERY SMART FEATURE I COULD FIND. I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR GEMINI. FUCK ALL THE WAY OFF GOOGLE.

Me, when my schedule is packed: “I should really hang out with [cool acquaintances who I want to be better friends with] sometime”

Me, when I finally have a free night: “I know absolutely nobody and can think of no people to do things with”

Thrilled to report that I, the least sports-inclined of the family, am currently in first place in my family’s March Madness bracket tournament. My strategy of “pick the school I like more, and if I don’t know either, pick my favorite logo” apparently is paying off.

Tonight was a nice night.
Got bonus hangouts with partner while finishing the workday from a local brewery. Ran into an acquaintance bartending when we went for dinner. Sat in on auditions for the improv show I’m in and knew the majority of folks auditioning so I got to just have fun and play with friends.
Community is good.

My kingdom for a theater in #Boston that

1. Is rentable hourly
2. Has a real lighting setup with a board
3. Has a real sound system with a board
4. is T accessible
5. Has a bar and maybe even food, and
6. Is vaguely affordable for small independent productions.

Bonus points for a green room and lobby.

I think The Rockwell may be the only space that achieves this, and they're booked solid.

however I also have a lot of complicated technical wishes like

• Good recommendation engine
• Smooth compatibility with Sonos
• Smart loading/buffering so play is never interrupted
• Search UI that turns up what I'm looking for in an easy to find manner

Fediverse continually has some of the best recommendations, so I come to you once again to ask:
Any recommendations for things to do around #SanDiego? Food & drink, nature, infrastructure, history, and broader #SoCal day trips accessible by #transit? Thanks!

#recommendations #travel #California

*unfortunately, the bar for a music streaming service to not suck is rather high. I mean the ethical basics should be easy:

1. Doesn't use AI music
2. Pays artists fairly if not generously
3. Doesn't run ICE ads

Shoutout to everyone who is taking initiative to start and advertise new communities in new places. This week I've joined two discord servers spun out of FB groups, and I'm seeing a lot of my friends post their Pixelfed, Mastodon, and/or Bluesky handles on the old places.

Currently atop my list are:

• London: seems like an interesting city to live in but not necessarily be touristy; lots of evening theater opportunities I imagine, but probably pricey
• Barcelona: Never been but want to
• Amsterdam: Easy to access flights, interesting infrastructure

I'm coming to terms with the fact that my home audio setup has now been sufficiently enshittified that I need to find an alternative. Here's what I want

1. The ability to play music from a decent sounding speaker without needing a phone or laptop plugged into it.
2. The ability to control that music's playback using my smart phone.
3. The ability to walk more than 100 feet away from that speaker with my phone and have it continue to play music.

Does this exist?

Faucet poll! because I’ve run into this a few times. When confronted with a kitchen faucet with a single temperature lever that moves forwards and backwards, what should pulling the handle towards you/away from the wall do? (Photo example in next post)