I have never been as enraptured with a piece of software as I currently am with Capacities.


Good Looks live at Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA

Fun band, fun venue, fun times. I think these guys really have something.

And it’s always great to see the homie The Farmer Jones in person.

Good Looks Concert Setlist at Johnny Brenda’s, Philadelphia on August 11, 2024 | setlist.fm


The Mountain Goats live at Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA

The Mountain Goats might be the best live band currently touring, and I strongly recommend seeing them when they roll through your town if you have the means. John Darnielle is a consumate showman, the band is tight as hell, and the songbook is top-notch.

The Mountain Goats Concert Setlist at Union Transfer, Philadelphia on August 3, 2024 | setlist.fm


We are so back.


Barking On Command: R.E.M.'s Monster Tour

Inspired by this tweet from Matthew Perpetua, pointing out that R.E.M.’s 1995 Monster tour featured a veritable who’s who of contemporaneous alt music, the first half of the playlist is a grab bag of artist who opened for R.E.M. during that international trek, including Sonic Youth, Radiohead, The Cranberries, Grant Lee Buffalo, PJ Harvey, Blur, Oasis, Sleeper and Belly. The second half is a super-sized representation of R.E.M.’s setlists at the time.

(Yes, I know the shows with PJ Harvey opening were cancelled, and that the Blur and Oasis shows were probably more like co-headlining. Shut up and enjoy the playlist.)

Listen on Apple Music, Spotify, or Last.fm.


Once again, we are obliged to ask, “Who’s defunding who?”

The settlement follows a familiar pattern: Delaware police kill someone, their supervisory authorities dispute any wrongdoing, the victims' family file a lawsuit seeking accountability and the litigation ends with a settlement paid by a municipal insurance provider and a gag order about the case for municipal authorities and family members party to the settlement.

It’s likely costs will be passed along to municipal taxpayers through higher insurance premiums, though that is unclear as of now.

What a six-figure lawsuit settlement after 2022 killing by Milford Police doesn’t tell us

Full marks to Xerxes Wilson for speaking plainly and placing this story in the broader context of state-sponsored violence.


Having a “maybe my favorite R.E.M. album is actually Monster?” kind of evening.


It didn't have to be like this

What purpose does this police action serve? Does this type of police violence keep us safe? Do these incidents aid in establishing trust and respect between the armed agents of the state and those they serve? It doesn’t have to be like this indeed.

Another Day, Another Case of Extreme Police Violence - Rob Vanella

PLEASE read REV on yet ANOTHER incidence of state-sponsored police violence in New Castle County.

If you are local, please come to the next meeting of the New Castle County Police Accountability Board on Tuesday, July 16 at 6:00 pm. There are even virtual options if you’re not local!


Good thing Delaware just legalized raw milk!

As of February, at least 165 people were sickened with salmonella infections tied to raw milk products from Raw Farm, of Fresno, California. It is the largest reported salmonella outbreak linked to raw milk in the U.S. in the past decade, according to health officials.

Dozens were sickened with salmonella after drinking raw milk from a California farm | AP News


Today I learned that Phillies reliever (and newly-minted All Star) Matt Strahm has a Youtube channel called Strahm’s Stadium Pulls that features him opening packs of baseball cards, and is extremely wholesome content.


Finished reading: Heavier Than Heaven by Charles R. Cross 📚

I came away respecting Cobain’s artistry more than ever, and understanding the true raw power of Nirvana at their peak in a way I had never appreciated before.

Cross retells the Cobain story in a fresh way, using his unprecedented access to nearly everyone in Cobain’s life and his own experience as a contemporaneous member of the Seattle music scene, to recontextualize the bits we’ve all heard with new sources, new angles, and new insights.

Highly, highly recommended.


Gotta love an establishment that hangs a reproduction of Guernica above the toilet.

A reproduction of Pablo Picasso's Guernica hangs on the wall above a toilet in a public restroom; you can see the hint of a drop ceiling and an accessibility bar.

I am also dependably engaged from 10am to 4pm, but more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, so I really don’t see how this is an issue.


I respect Ted Leo for a lot of reasons, but one of them is that he’s his own guitar tech.


Squarespace’s Events feature has to win the award for “Most Unhinged UI Element, Time Picker.” Behold:

Screenshot of Squarespace's date and time picker user interface. Or particular note is the time picker, which is for some reason a slider rather than a text field or dropdown.

All Under Heaven’s debut album is out today, and it’s a banger. Strongly, strongly recommended if you like Hum, my bloody valentine, Slowdive, Lush, etc.


The overall effect size for police force size on crime is negative, small, and not statistically significant.

Police are not primarily crime fighters, according to the data | Reuters

At this point, the sensible, evidence-backed, research-based policy position is that the most efficient way to “fight crime” is to improve the material conditions of people by housing the homeless and guaranteeing a universal basic income.

Any position that suggests more investment in law enforcement is either unaware of the prevailing facts, or willfully ignoring them.


MLB is “essentially in the business of content creation for the gambling industry now."

Breaking down the Shohei Ohtani-Ippei Mizuhara story by Craig Calcaterra

This captures the dynamic of all major sports in 2024. They’ve all mostly existed to create content for the television industry for decades, but this pivot that subjugates coverage of the actual sport to “how does this affect the spread” has been particularly painful.


Git is the closest thing we have to software from the future. I wrote Minimalist Git because I’ve seen too many developers get lost in its advanced features and I wanted to show there is a simpler way to be productive and keep your codebase safe.

Minimalist git by Ben Garvey

A great reminder that while git is extremely powerful, you can do most of what you need with a handful of commands.


Bookmarked Why Wall Street Won’t Stop Trump by Adam Serwer.

“Woke capital” is a myth, a shallow analysis that mistakes advertising and brand management for ideology. What do corporations really want? The answer is the same as it’s always been: tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation, and a labor market more favorable to employers than to workers.