The new shooter, Marathon, is proving to be pretty great against all odds and conventional logic. Rather than the Goldilocks rule applying (it doesn’t here at all), it’s actually great because of how imbalanced and hard it is. But only if you have a good crew to play with (and I’m lucky enough to have that). For any solo players or those not into painful learning curves, be afraid. Be very afraid.
(more…)-
3 comments on The thing about Marathon (the game, not running)
-
Mammal Hands, Alexis Taylor, Champagne Bubblebath, and more of my favorite albums from March 2026
This music update is way late. I’ll blame spring break and the nice weather here in North Carolina for keeping me away from my laptop. There has been no break from new music, though, and here is what I loved most in March.
(more…) -
The Sun Never Sets on A8C Relay X
Today we had our semi-annual relay at my all-remote workplace (Automattic). In case you don’t remember (see my past runs here and here), here’s how it works: instead of us all meeting and running together (which we can’t because we’re all remote and all over the world), we sign up for time slots over a 24-hour period and try to have at least one person at the company running at any time to “complete” a full relay as the sun goes around the earth, never setting on our race. This was the 10th edition. I’ve done quite a few of them. It’s pretty cool.
(more…) -
First camping trip of the year (sort of)
Vivian and I did a quick one-night sort-of camping trip to kick off our 2026 camping campaign. I say sort of because we stayed in a campground cabin, so it was really easy (and awesome), and no tent setup was required, but I’m still counting it as camping!
We stayed at Raven Rock State Park campground, which is about an hour from where we live. The campground is fairly small but very well looked after, and the park is also not huge but offers a nice variety of hiking and biking options. Even the bathrooms were nice. Most importantly, there were perfectly spaced pine trees everywhere for the camp hammock, which got plenty of use.
The morning after our stay, Vivi and I went hiking on the Raven Rock trail (kinda had to, right?), which was a bit busy but scenic and just the right amount of not too hard but not too short for my preteen companion.
We’re planning to come back for a couple of nights over spring break with the whole crew, and I’m looking forward to more hammock time.
Our cabin 
Pine pollen season has started 
-
A few words can be much better than none
I tend to err on the side of avoiding small talk with people that I run into. With some minor exceptions, I would go even further and say that I’m often antisocial around those new to me. It’s probably mostly to my detriment and something that I’ve been wondering about a lot recently.
Maybe that’s why this recent issue of Rob Walker’s (great) Art of Noticing newsletter hit me like it did.
The basic idea is to “encourage basic human interaction at a time when feelings of loneliness and isolation are widespread.”
Get out at least once a day, and at least exchange a few words with three people or more.
As Rob describes it:
I think about this all the time. I don’t always make the goal, but the prompt has encouraged me to be a bit chattier out in the wild — and to be aware of it when I’m not having enough basic human interaction.
One thing I’ve learned is that just a few words can change the day. And whatever my reservations about Rosenblatt, his essay is useful in making me realize that this can be true with an old friend as well as a random stranger. Either way, the underlying message and spirit is the same: “They do not need to earn your attention. They receive it simply by existing.”
So I’m going to keep following Kirsner’s prompt, and add a Rosenblatt Addendum to reach out to friends more often, remembering that a few words can be much better than none.
I’m trying to take this to heart and say a few more words today.
-
2026 American Tobacco Trail Marathon
I finished my second full marathon today. It was mostly awesome. The first half seemed to fly by. Just don’t ask about those last 5 or so miles. Brutal.
My watch says I’ve gone nearly 50,000 steps today. My two big toes are so sensitive to touch I nearly howled when Vivian accidentally stepped on one. My knees hurt. I definitely have some “gastric distress.”
Would I do it again, though? Definitely!
The American Tobacco Trail (Half and Full) Marathon is such a well-organized event on a beautiful course it’s hard to imagine missing it. Everything from the pre-event communication to the pre-race expo to the day-of logistics, friendly volunteers, and immaculate course is all top-notch.
I ran my own version of this last year (my first full marathon) because of bad weather, and I mostly followed the same race prep. I was slightly faster this year, but I also feel like I’m paying for it more than I did last year too.
I’m enjoying a beer and can’t wait for bed. I think I’ll take a rest day (or three).
The lines for the toilets were insane… 
Lining up, massive American flag over the start/end, of course 
Kav and the kids made me a sign 
Two slices and a pint of chocolate milk post-race 
-
The Shape of Paris
I’m no connoisseur of skate videos, but I’ve never watched one that made me feel like this one did.
Also, I hadn’t heard of the skater Andy Anderson featured in this film, but I dig that he is infamous for ALWAYS wearing a helmet, which is pretty rare among skateboarding pros.
The Shape of Paris is a balletic short film of skateboarder Andy Anderson zooming, grinding, spinning, and floating around Paris in the summertime. It is also beautifully shot by Brett Novak; Paris has never looked better. As a YT commenter put it: “bro wtf this is the cleanest footage I’ve ever seen. The cinematography and color grading is insane.”
Also, this is the first skate video I’ve seen with “trick acknowledgements” in the credits. Great touch. (via craig mod)
I love the nod to kindness in the streets of Paris as much as the trick acknowledgements.
Beautiful stuff.
