Tools and resources I try to use instead of the big names. Of course that's not always possible, but we can try. Email: Hey (clearly). Browser: Mozilla Firefox (nonprofit) Books: Bookshop Search: DuckDuckGo eReader: Kobo (I'm not sure if this counts as ethical, but it's not Amazon). Microloans: Kiva

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson The Enemy of All Mankind by Steven Johnson I, Robot by Isaac Asimov The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Power of Crisis by Ian Bremmer

I don't like it. It's chaotic. Being customizable isn't always a feature - it's a distraction. Just throwing that out there.

Reflections on PBS' Growing Up Poor In America, aired 2020-09-08. It follows three families living in poverty during the 2020 pandemic. I was fortunate to grow up not worried about money. I knew my next meal was just around the corner. I had a computer at home for school work (and some games). I slept in a bed. I had clean clothes. I h...

As Eurovision 2021 ramps up, I was reminded that Eurovision 2020 never chose a winner. The pandemic shut down the contest, and instead of awarding a winner remotely without live performances, they simply did not choose a winner. That means Russia's 2020 entrant, Little Big, was robbed. Little Big came to Eurovision 2020 with their song...

Seven years ago, the New York Times produced the short film What Is a Photocopier? as part of its Verbatim series.