TRST_Blog

My partner has embarked on her graduate degree and I must admit, I have been a little jealous. She is finding opportunities to challenge herself, to think deeply about issues that are important to her and engage with a tribe with similar interests. The entire process is inspiring. So inspiring, that I am committing to my own studies.

I do not (currently) have any interest in returning to formal academics, but I am interested in continuing my liberal arts education. So, I've picked a number of topics that have plagued my mind for the past few years and I am making an ongoing commitment^[1] to involve myself with them somehow. Honestly, I will probably follow my previous post-secondary training and research, reflect and write about my findings, but mystery has always been a space for magic, so who knows what I might do with my accrued insight.

Here's a short list of some of the topics I have been thinking about recently:

• Performative identity
• Friendship
• Ubiquitous computing
• Post-capitalism (post-consumerism?)
• New aestheticism
• New modes of expression
• Modern spirituality
• Constructivism (meaning making)
• Death and legacy online
• Internet era archaeology
• Globalism and internet politics

To organise my work, I'm going to keep track of these topics in what I am going to refer to as “threads.” It's a simple taxonomy, not unlike tags or categories in a CMS, but I'll reserve and expose these only as a narrative or thread of defined thought begins to emerge from my research.

The likelihood that I'll have anything definitive or valuable to say about any of these topics, let alone all of them, is slim. The goal is not to conquer, rather to explore and—to borrow an idea from Rebecca Solnit—get a little lost.

Author’s Note: I haven't read any reviews, hot-takes, or commentary on Apple’s AirPods since I received mine on the 19th of December (2016-12-19 for you programmer types), so what follows is what I’ve been chewing over for the past few weeks.

These are the headphones I have always wanted.

When they were announced, I knew—I just knew—that these would be the only headphones I would wear for the foreseeable future. I have had Bluetooth headphones in the past and even considered purchasing a pair of Bragi wireless earbuds for a good while, but I could never bring myself to pull the trigger. When these were announced, I put all other alternatives out of my mind entirely. My immediate reaction was probably just “towing the party line,” I can admit to that. However, this is one of the few moments of my insignificant history where my optimism has borne out.

The AirPods cross a crucial nexus point for me in terms of their sound, fit and weight. The free in-the-box EarPods have always fit fine and I've consigned myself to the idea that most headphones sound “good enough” for my ears. These, however, are not in the same league as any of those. No, these headphones are something else entirely.

Subconsciously, I think they have melded into my skull. I often forget they are in my ears and have repeatedly stripped them off when changing. They feel like they are attached directly to the conscious part of my mind. Perhaps it's just me, but I imagine that all audio just floats down into my world. I cannot count the number of times I have made a panicked shoulder check for someone speaking to me at my desk because I've forgotten they were in my ears and playing. The fact that they can “sneak up” on me gives me at all is a delightful part of the AirPods’ charm.

It's tough to try and describe a hard-bodied, white and plastic “technology” (in the harsh sense of the term) in warm and sticky language. But these AirPods aren't mere accessories—I have a hard enough time remembering they're not biology—instead, these are the first truly human focused products I have had the pleasure of using in some time.

This past year, I spent much of my time working harder, achieving more and growing relentlessly. I realised I had reached a boundary which gave me serious pause to contemplate who I want to be going forward. Carrying on along the same vector meant changing some fundamental things about my character. I'm not here to whine about how that changing at all is a bad thing. Change is the consequence of growth, I just want to be sure that whatever change takes place, that it's something I can live with.

Upon reflecting, I don’t think this last year is going to be the model going forward. Pushing for growth felt right when my career was nascent. Now I have a few more years of experience, so I believe my direction ought to be more purposeful and considered to reflect my mildly maturing grasp on the world.

I want my quality time to be better apportioned to the three pillars of my life:

1. Family and friends
2. Creative endeavours
3. Meaningful work

The first is obvious, especially as I type these words separated by thousands of kilometres from my nearest relation. I want more quality time with the people I love. Time’s sweep isn’t slowing, I'm not getting any younger and no one will make the effort if I don't first, thus I need to choose to make the time.

I also want 2017 to be the year I set more time aside for myself. Art does not come easily to me (does it for anyone?) but any exercise for the soul is a worthy commitment. I pulled the sketchbook out in Rome and I have been planning more creative projects in the meantime; however, I want to develop my skills and break new boundaries. In school children sample all manner of art styles and mediums, why let that curiosity whither and fade?

Finally, for my last pillar, I have chosen my words precisely: meaningful work. My career is still enjoyable to me. It provides incredible challenge and very complex (read: constrained) working conditions, which has me running experiments on my productivity constantly. Like you might imagine, this pressure cooker will absorb wanton effort to little effect. If I'm not careful, work can balloon to 14 hour days including my weekends, again to little noticeable payoff. I need to be disciplined and carefully prune my choices to those that contribute most to my career goals.

In 2016, I let some areas creep at the expense of the others, I'm sure no one has really noticed—hopefully—but I will not stand idly by and let priorities slip for another year. I cut distractions and made up my mind to focus on just a few big projects throughout the year.

This coming year—my last full calendar year in London—is a blank slate. Wherever I go is completely up to me. So, 2017 will not be the year of more, nor the year of less. It will be a year to pursue my own ends, strive for more fulfilling experiences and savour quality time in only those areas that enrich my life the most.

Happy new year.

It's done. We made it.

An interesting year all-in-all. Brexit is a thing that happened and Trump became the leader of a world superpower—I honestly thought both couldn't come to pass at all, let alone in the same window of history. Yet, here we are.

Personally, 2016 was one of the best years I have ever had. I married the person of my dreams. And I mean MARRIED! We wrapped a silk bow on our ten year relationship which continues to delight and fulfil me everyday. It is borderline silly how good she is to me. My goal last year was to be the best people-thing I could be, to do right by her, and the coming of a new year feels like there is even more space to grow alongside her. And, boy-howdy, do I enjoy trying to catch up to her example.

Then there are the incredible friendships that I've developed this year. I managed to meet my long-time crush Andy on his whirlwind spiritual world tour. He stopped in London for a spell, so I harangued him into sitting down for coffee with me to talk about his new project—the now dead social experiment, Asocial. My pal^[1] Lorenzo and I meet for coffee (not often enough, honestly) and always run too long on the latest tech gossip. (Don't get him started on privacy, encryption, security, et. al., if you want to be able to sleep soundly at night.) Among the highlights of my year was the opportunity to spend an evening with my dear friends Ryan & Mark to celebrate their marriage. To think, one day, by chance, I ended up recording a podcast with some random dude and only a few years later I would be sharing the same dance floor as their family and friends.

The internet truly can connect people from across the world.

All around, the world seems to be shifting in an unknown direction. If you lift your ear to the wind, you can hear worry, it’s thick around the world. It is typically in my nature to worry about these types of political/cultural/philosophical issues; however, I have found myself reflecting on what I am grateful for instead. Perhaps it’s my age catching up with me, but the ground seems a lot more solid when my focus falls on what is most important.

There's a much longer piece I've started in my drafts folder, but I think this should suffice for now. I've changed the underlying technology that I use to publish this blog from Jekyll to Grav.

The real reason for mentioning this at all is to ask you a favour: if anything is broken, could you let me know?

Thanks, pal.