'2026' Archives

Books - 2025 (1/4/2026)

Here's what I'd read in 2025. Only a couple of books related to Oscar. I finished an OBOB book at the beginning of the year. At the end of the year, I read a book while volunteering with a group of students (including Oscar) in his class.

I never did try to start "Gravity's Rainbow" again. It still sits beside the bed.

1. The Name Of This Book Is Secret - Pseudonymous Bosch
2. The Infernal Machine - Steven Johnson
3. The Demon of Unrest - Erik Larson
4. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
5. Cocaine & Rhinestones- A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette - Tyler Mahan Coe
6. Love Goes To Buildings On Fire - Five Years in New York that Changed Music Forever - Will Hermes
7. The Overstory - Richard Powers
8. Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine - Alan Lightman
9. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
10. Our Band Could Be Your Life - Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 - Michael Azerrad
11. Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates - Tom Robbins
12. Big Day Coming — Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock - Jesse Jarnow
13. Reign Of Terror — How The 9/11 Era Destabilized America And Produced Trump - Spencer Ackerman
14. Blazing Eye Sees All - Love Has Won, False Prophets, And The Fever Dream Of The American New Age - Leah Sottile
15. This Is What It Sounds Like - What The Music You Love Says About You - Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
16. The Ministry For The Future - Kim Stanley Robinson
17. The Book Of Philip K. Dick - A Treasury of the Author’s Most Unusual Science Fiction - Philip K. Dick
18. Cabin - Off the Grid Adventures with a Clueless Craftsman - Patrick Hutchinson
19. The Magic of Code - How Digital Language Created and Connects Our World — and Shapes Our Future - Samuel Arbesman
20. Playground - Richard Powers
21. Corporate Rock Sucks - The Rise and Fall of SST Records - Jim Ruland
22. Wish - Barbara O’Connor
23. The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

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Technical Blog Post (1/7/2026)

This web site is fun to create, build, and play with. However the data that creates it is still a hassle. 25 years of part time work will do that. I wanted to create a modern blog post targetting a technical audience. So to make it look good, I've posted it on the wiki page for the SiteApp. Someday this here blog will also be created from Markdown files. Today is not that day. #

Talking Heads as a Trio (7/12/2026)

One of the bands I most regret being unable to see live is Talking Heads. Awhile ago I came across a terrific video of when they were still a trio. Awesome versions of songs, including live marimba! #

King Kong Mini EP (7/17/2026)

King Kong has two albums (Me Hungry and The Big Bang) that are a full on concept albums. He likes to tell stories with music. Awhile ago, he posted videos that have not had an audio release. There are three great tunes, each with their own story. I'd seen them back then, and recently was thinking about them so here they are again. #

Hum Archeology (7/18/2026)

Hum is the band I've seen most often. After seeing them in Los Angeles a couple months ago, lots of videos were showing up on my social media. First is a low quality capture of Hum playing their hit song "Stars" on Howard Stern. I remember this via the radio at the time, and it still sort of surprises me they were on at all. Next up is a show I was not at, solely since I'd moved away from Chicago by that time. However it is Hum at Fireside Bowl in 1997. I liked the lo-fi nature of this one. When I watched it, I was just back from Los Angeles, and it was fun to note how Jeff & Tim switched sides and how much their mannerisms remain the same. #