Link Round-Up

I don't have much to put down this week based on my recent self commitment. Mostly a combo of being out of town visiting family and trying to be a little less online during that, plus the absolute speed of major events these makes it tough to do medium level takes. It feels like this moment of history only works for super hot takes, or something considerably more in depth requiring lot's more dedicated time.

So in order to keep my habits up here are a couple of links I read that are interesting and worth a look.

Earlier this year my wife and I purchased a cargo ebike. And while it's not as robust as this one, we've definitely found ours to be a game changer. I've taken it to work at least a couple days every week since we bought it. If you can make it happen, I strongly recommend taking the plunge and buying an ebike.

This is cool Minnesota connection I want to delve more into.

The last couple months I've been enjoying listening to various selections from The Great Courses series via the Libby app. If you are a weirdo like me who actually enjoys hearing someone drone on endlessly about a topic to great detail (assuming you find the topic interesting, then I highly recommend perusing the selection. I recently wrapped up The Fall of the Pagans and the Origins of Medieval Christianity, presented by Kenneth Harl. Great stuff covering big stretches of events that tend to get yadda-yadda-ed even in western history courses.

Too many Bluesky complaints are some combo of vague, in denial about social media writ large, or so in-actionable at the individual level that it begs the question of "What's the purpose of this criticism?" However I do like when I come across a critique that is specific and at least points to a plausible change.

Finally, if you follow and enjoy the Saint Paul, MN themed Pig's Sky Feed I made for Bluesky, take a look at my Pig's Sky: TNG Feed. I finally got my invite to the Surf app, and while there are parts of it I am underwhelmed with, credit where it's due it is a great app for making and updating Bluesky Feeds on the fly. So the Pig's Sky: TNG Feed is becoming what I've been seeking since I began; A feed that is both topical pulls of Saint Paul related posts + posts from selected* Saint Paul locals regardless of post topic. Give my creation a look. And maybe I'll do a review of Bluesky client apps sometime soon.

Stay safe everyone.

*Mostly my personal friends, while slowly adding certain public figures who have a specific Saint Paul focus.