I won’t be here next Thursday. Thanksgiving is the one Thursday I do not post.
So here’s the end-of-the-month wrap-up, a week early.
Thinking about:
My Algorithm.
Facebook and Instagram show me the content I consistently pay attention to. The algorithm tracks how long I stay on a post and whether or not I “like” or comment on it.
Then it keeps showing me that kind of content over and over again.
So, if I ever want a picture of what I’ve been obsessing about lately, I look at what Instagram keeps showing me.
Last year at this time, my feed was full of fashion influencers. That’s because I was into style and building a capsule wardrobe.
Now the fashion influencers have largely disappeared, only to be replaced now by sourdough influencers. And yes, sourdough influencer is a thing.
My feed still contains a lot of political rage, because so do I.
But it also contains a lot of heartwarming and hilarious material involving foster dogs, AI cats, and smart satire about the human condition.
It’s the humor that keeps me scrolling.
Paris and all things French, trended big last year. Now, Swedish design, and mouth-taping have replaced it.
It’s astonishing how quickly my Algo responds to my behavior. It’s creepy. It sees you when you’re sleeping. It knows when you’re awake. It knows what you’ve been liking and buying, so beware, for goodness sakes!
Sourdough
I’ve named my starter Baby.
My whole life revolves around feeding her. The other day she overflowed her jar into my little dough house, making a colossal mess.
But she’s getting stronger and reassuringly predictable by the day. I’m ready to bake with her again. But. after two failed attempts, I’m switching recipes.. I finally understand what a levain is, so I can do this.
Bulk fermentation is the frustration. I can’t assess whether it’s under or over-proofed.
My New Car.
Here she is, Pearl.
That’s my cool salesguy, Zeph.
Here’s a better view:
The dogs’ first ride:
With dog as my co-pilot:
Pearl and I are still getting to know each other. I haven’t driven her much, but I have learned how to use the self-starter. As I’m cleaning up the studio after class, I can start her from inside, and she’s all toasty when I get in to drive home. I like that a lot.
My Dumpster
G asked me what I wanted for Xmas a few weeks ago, and I said a dumpster.
It came the other day. I don’t know what’s making me happier at this point, my new car or this dumpster.
For me, the biggest obstacle to clearing clutter is all the stuff I have that can’t be donated or recycled. I want this coming year to be devoted to paring down to only those things we use, value, and are willing to maintain. I haven’t read this book yet, but it’s on my list:
The dumpster will reduce friction. It will make it easy to get rid of the kinds of things that need to go to the dump, but I will never take them there myself.
The garage and the basement are now in my cross-hairs. I will be posting lots of before-and-afters in the coming months.
Which means my Algo is probably about to become deluged with de-cluttering videos.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers. I feel happy and grateful that you take the time each week to read about my ridiculous life. My hope is that there is something here each week that makes you think: Same.
Inspiration Location 