Links #162

Anya Kamenetz on how nothing is ever going back to normal, listing out some of what we’ll have to do to rebuild after we emerge from the superpower suicide the current administration is putting the country through. Found this hopeful and energizing.

Matt Glassman on influencing politics (by talking with policymakers). Liked this.

Rob Henderson on how he reads. Also see James Marriott’s similar post. I love these kinds of posts.

L. M. Sacasas on reading as counter-practice. “By counter-practice, I mean a deliberately chosen discipline that can form us in ways that run counter to the default settings of our techno-social milieu.”

Hollie on commonplace books. I’m trying to do more of this when I’m reading. (Normally I just read and don’t take notes.)

Sebastian Pagel’s Termcraft, a 2D sandbox survival game in the terminal. Wow.

Ibrahim Diallo on being comfortable modifying hardware to meet your needs. “If you own a tool, whether it’s a car, a computer, or a line of code, you own the right to change it. The manufacturer designed it for the ‘average’ user, but you are a specific human with specific needs.” I don’t think I’m comfortable filing down the edges of my MacBook (at least in part because I might want to trade it in eventually), but the mentality here is still good to remember.

The No CSS Club. Fun! So much nostalgia. While I don’t think I’m realistically going to join the club, lately I’ve been itching to scale back the amount of CSS on this site, to go as minimal as possible while still being something I’m happy with. We’ll see!

David at Raptitude on how social media is the opposite of social life. “This is because social media doesn’t really allow you to interact with people. People are living beings with beating hearts and live emotions. Social life has always been about engaging in the immediate physical presence of such beings. Social media avoids exactly that part, while allowing you to exchange information and symbols of approval.” Yep. I don’t regret leaving social media behind.

Chris Ferdinandi on the anti-work movement. “But this obsession with hard work as a virtue, as a good and righteous thing to do, the glorification of toil and sweat and labor… that’s a tool the wealthy who don’t work for a living use to oppress those who do.”