Happy 132nd birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

My wired headphones went through the washer AND dryer and still work. And even if they didn’t I’d only be out $20. Take that, AirPods!

Skillful use of music in movies can heighten the mood to such an intense degree. Aren’t you glad your life doesn’t have a soundtrack? Allows for a certain obliviousness…

I love Tom Johnson’s antique restoration channel. This video is one of my favorites because of his range of skills and meticulousness.

I never tire of opening a new bar of Dr Bronner’s hippie soap and seeing “All-One!” stamped across it.

Just received a shipment of coffee that a neighbor recommended to me.

Some of us have been saying to upset Christians for years that “Happy Holidays” does not exclude Christmas. Then the HR dept at work puts up signs that say “Happy Hanukkah” and “Happy Kwanzaa” but not “Merry Christmas.” Folks, you’re not helping. Also, should I complain that there’s no Yule sign? ;)

Amazing story (via @ayjay) on newly discovered ways that redwoods survive fire. We went on Tom’s Muir Woods walking tour in 2022. He told us that redwoods are practically immortal, if only humans would stop screwing things up.

Thank God for “thought leaders” who help us “pre-solve” problems.

So the lesson from this weekend’s hullabaloo at OpenAI appears to be that not even the board of directors of the world’s most prominent AI company can stop “progress” over concerns about the technology moving too fast. Duly noted.