Joshua Wood

Microblog

“What ergonomic keyboard should I buy?” he typed with his thumbs as his fingers curled around his iPhone

“For legends attract the very best in our times, just as ideologies attract the average, and the whispered tales of gruesome secret powers behind the scenes attract the very worst.”

— Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

I just did the most adult thing ever and bought de-icer for my driveway. Before my driveway is iced over. Please clap.

Some dreams were only ever meant to be dreams

This is a thoughtful article, and it resonates with me. My interest in coding as a pastime has waned, and I try to view running my business as a job these days.

Hustling is fine when you have the energy but it takes a lot. And sometimes a new idea/opportunity sparks the energy to pursue it.

Feeling slightly less tired:

  1. Quit work early
  2. Slow 5K run on treadmill at the gym
  3. Grocery shopping, got some salad and chicken to grill for dinner
  4. Had dinner and fed the kids (who didn’t want chicken and salad, of course)
  5. Headed to a movie with just me (my favorite thing)

Almost all of the “worst” situations I’ve seen involving kids is when they feel they’ve gotten into a hole and have no where else to turn. Make sure they know they can always turn to you if they’re in trouble, or if they feel they made a mistake. (Mike Masnick)

This is such an important point. There is so much exploitation (online and off) that depends on isolating kids from adults and their peers.

Jonathan Haidt’s Book ‘The Anxious Generation’ Is Coddling The American Parent; Giving Them Clear, Simple & Wrong Explanations For What’s Ailing Teens

Moral panics never end well, and gloss over all the nuance and root problems as Mike Masnick mentioned. I will dump some thoughts on digital parenting as an exvangelical who was raised by fundamentalists…

My kids are 6 & 8. We use parental controls and keep things age appropriate unless they are clearly ahead in some areas. But our goal is to teach them to be emotionally and digitally literate at every stage of development.

Right now we’re discussing the risks of user-generated content and online anonymity. Many of their friends play Roblox, but we’ve waited. Same with unsupervised YouTube. Nothing is “forbidden,” though.

They’re currently playing Among Us because it’s multiplayer but has tighter communication/parental controls. Seems like good training wheels for online Roblox/Minecraft.

In the past we learned what adverting is. Both my kids can spot an ad and tell you what they’re selling and who the market is. That’s a great reason for a live TV subscription imo.

We also aren’t too worried about screen time. They’ve had iPads and TV basically always.

I worried about screen time at first, until I caught them looking up drawing/crafting tutorials on YouTube when they got bored with it (yes, they already circumvent our best efforts at times, which is also OK and expected, and as a former child myself, it makes me proud).

They both love books and reading, and collaborate on writing/illustrating comic books together.

No social media yet, but tbh I’m looking forward to introducing them to All the Things as they develop and show they’re capable of handling it.

Same goes for alcohol, swearing, etc. (already taught them most of the curse words so they can hopefully avoid getting in trouble with teachers/other parents. 😂)

In general, that’s our approach. Everything eventually, supervised at first, with diminishing oversight as they earn trust.

I know I’m still early, but so far it’s working out—but I’m under no illusions that they’ll “turn out alright.” Adolescence is hard, and so is adulthood. I just want to prepare them for it as best I can.

It’s a travesty how Thomas Paine’s words have been laundered. We learned about Paine in the context of the Revolutionary War and that was it. Imagine my surprise when I read his other books.

Certain individuals in my house will make entire desserts, put them in the fridge, and forget about them. Guess who doesn’t forget about them? 😭

Senior devs: Tell us about that time you took down prod (source)

When we first launched HB I deployed a change that broke notification grouping, so it sent a flood of notifications to all of our users. 🤦

I learned to be very careful when making changes that affect grouping.

Runners: Once you’ve built up some endurance/fitness, can you maintain while running one day per week, assuming a gym/strength routine on the other days? Or must you run multiple days per week?

I convinced my kids to just sit and watch the grinch yule log with me for 30 minutes.

I met two kids (maybe 11 or 12) at the park this weekend. One was dressed in camouflage fatigues with an American flag patch on the arm; the other wore a tactical helmet with the flag of Ukraine emblazoned on the side, and carried a large flag of Ukraine over his shoulder. Both carried toy rifles.

I overheard one say to the other:

“If my mom finds out I brought the flag to the park, she’ll flip.”

I was there with my own kids, and wasn’t expecting a documentary scene—but I was struck by the earnestness of their play, and snapped a few photos of them.

I asked the one with the flag if I could take a photo, and he posed for me. Not including identifiable pictures here because their parents weren’t around to give permission.

Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT 8MP w/ 50mm 1.8 “nifty fifty”

For Shitty Camera Challenge

A child in full camouflage military-style clothing with an American flag patch sits on a modern playground climbing structure made of brown poles and red bars, with a rope hanging nearby. A flag of Ukraine displaying the national trident emblem against a bright blue sky.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

6yo as he diabolically stabs a water-filled ziplock bag with a sharpened pencil:

“He never packed my lunch”

The concept of original sin. Teach small children they are inherently broken, then weaponize inevitable misbehavior as a sign of their “sinfulness” so they habitually internalize shame, have no self-worth, and as adults become ideal relationship fodder for abusive narcissists. (source)

Many Christians don’t realize/acknowledge the doctrine of original sin isn’t universally accepted across all of Christianity.

Even if you believe, you don’t have to teach your kids this (and punish them for it).

Evangelicals:

What are the dumbest ways to traumatize our kids so they sound like total dorks in therapy?

Here’s what I want to know:

What amount of anti-trans and anti-minority hate are we willing to accept from our open source and business leaders?

Because if the answer is none, then we’re already complete hypocrites.

Just to be clear: the incoming Trump administration is going to war against their own Republican senate majority and the constitution’s advice and consent provision so they can make a man investigated for sex trafficking a minor into the most powerful law enforcement officer in the country.

Chris Hayes sums it up nicely. I’d also add that Gaetz was one of the foremost insurrectionists in congress.

RFK jr. Wants to dismantle health institutions, he doesn’t believe in science, he believes secret powers controll the government and health sectors, and has been dreaming of being able to dismantle the cdc and fda. (source)

It really makes me wonder, do most people know what RFK Jr. believes and has been saying for years? I think the answer is probably no—but they’re sure as hell about to find out.

Someone is playing a beautiful piano rendition of David Bowie’s Space Oddity at the new PDX airport terminal right now. Portland has really gone to hell.

Packing for RubyConf. These shirts came out so good. 100% produced on the US West Coast. Manufactured in LA, designed in Santa Cruz, printed in Portland.

A close-up of a suitcase packed with creme colored T-shirts with a brightly colored Honeybadger graphic on them. The T-shirts are rolled and packed into the zipper compartment of the suitcase that is partially unzipped. A Ziploc bag of dye cut stickers with the same design and a logo for Honeybadger.io on them is also visible.

How does somebody get started in visual journalism?

There are different paths, from going to journalism school to just grabbing a camera and attending events. I like that about journalism—you don’t need a degree to participate. Freedom of the press is a First Amendment right.

Each event is different, but you’d be surprised by the access you can gain by just showing up with a camera. There are also industry groups that can help independent people with journalistic ethics, press identification, and legal support. NPPA is a good one.

ASMP is another one that I’ve found helpful in the past, especially when figuring out things like licensing and business stuff.

Some private events require an extra credential that they’ll grant you after some form of vetting. If you have any kind of presence as an independent photographer/journalist, again you’ll be surprised by how far just asking gets you.

Look for a “media contact” or a contact for “press inquiries”—you can ask around to find out who that is, or ask the organizers. That’s how I was able to photograph President Biden’s campaign stop in Portland in 2022.

Anyway, I’ve only dabbled in photojournalism, but find it fascinating and the little I’ve done has been extremely rewarding personally. Hopefully some pros can weigh in if I missed something or if my understanding is wrong. :)

I should also mention that this is my limited experience as a 6’ 3” bearded white dude.