Rachel and I took a quick walk in Murray Forest at lunch today. We saw a box turtle and both a pileated and red-headed woodpecker.

We also saw jack-in-the-pulpit, fire pink, and trillium. The main reason we went today, though, was American columbo (frasera caroliniensis). At some point this morning I came across a mention of this plant and realized it sounded like something I had seen in one of my favorite spots in Murray Forest. Its normal state is as a rosette of large leaves:

But after a number of years—anywhere from five to thirty, from what I’ve read—it will suddenly develop a long central stalk that will bloom into dozens of flowers. According to Midwest Naturalist, the flowering is not on a fixed schedule and it is not known what triggers it. Thankfully there are several in this spot in Murray Forest that have developed the stalk. I hope to see them blooming in the next few days. I will keep you updated!

Harry Marks:

And let’s not forget what everyone brings up when they talk about why “return to office” is so important. “Oh, it’s about collaboration! We have such a great office culture!” What “office culture?” Fluorescent lighting and no privacy? A pizza party in lieu of a proper raise?

Let’s not mince words when it comes to discussing the return to the office and what it’s really about: capitalism. The banks have threatened to devalue office properties if the companies leasing them don’t use them. Apple spent billions on a brand new campus and it’ll be damned if people aren’t going to walk its sterile, glass hallways each day.

Spot on. You should be suspicious whenever certain buzzwords–like “culture”–start getting repeated. That’s a sure sign of ideology and the first thing to ask when you’ve found an ideology is “who does this benefit?” In this case, it benefits those who stand to lose asset value on their balance sheets due to property value markdowns.

It’s May 1st and you know what that means, don’t you? Time to watch The Wicker Man!

It appears we have ourselves a holy fool skating along the boardwalk in San Diego: “Slomo: The man who skated right off the grid”

Patrick Rhone: “The first approximation of others is ourselves.” Along these same lines, the most (the only?) profound thing I have ever heard in a corporate training session is that we always, always fail to realize how differently other people see the world.

Robin Sloan:

The speed with which Twitter recedes in your mind will shock you. Like a demon from a folktale, the kind that only gains power when you invite it into your home, the platform melts like mist when that invitation is rescinded.

This is most certainly true.

HOMEBREW 2, the second mailing of what I’m grandiosely calling an analog media project, was dropped off at the post office today. If you’re interested, you can see pdf scans and/or find out how to sign up for mailing list on this page.

I really enjoyed looking through this collection of random pairings of books from Robert van Vliet’s library. There’s something very appealing about his method.

From the weekend: the view from a lookout point at Brown County State Park

Big news today: the butterfly milkweed is coming back up!