Rest in peace, DJ Maxi Jazz. (1957-2022)
Journal
I’m A Keto Failure
For the last two weeks, I’ve been doing my best to follow a ketogenic diet. I haven’t approached it casually, either. I’ve been logging everything I eat in an app, weighing portions, checking nutrition labels, and making conscious decisions every time I sit down for a meal. The app even tells me whether a food is considered keto-friendly, and as far as I’ve been doing everything the right way.
The only thing I’ve been eating that even comes close to making me second-guess myself is the plain Greek yogurt I have for breakfast. Even then, it’s supposed to fit within my daily goals. Nothing about my meals has felt reckless or like “cheating.”
General Chang Had No Honor
Christopher Plummer’s portrayal of General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is magnificent. He is intelligent, theatrical, endlessly quotable, and commands every scene in which he appears. It is no surprise that many fans consider him one of Star Trek’s greatest villains.
Ironically, I would argue that Chang is also one of the least honorable Klingons the franchise has ever produced. That might sound absurd. After all, Chang constantly speaks of honor. He quotes Shakespeare with almost religious devotion. He despises peace with the Federation and presents himself as the defender of Klingon tradition.
Yet if we judge him not by his words, but by his actions, almost everything he does violates the values Klingons claim to hold sacred.
Learning to See
Living with chronic pain has changed the way I move through the world. Sometimes literally.
I don’t walk very well anymore. Every trip to the grocery store, every doctor’s appointment, every afternoon running errands means quietly evaluating things that many people never have to think about. Where can I park? Is there a curb cut nearby? How far am I going to have to walk? Is there a place to sit if I need to stop for a few minutes?
Accessibility isn’t an abstract concept when you live like this. It’s the difference between something being inconvenient and something being impossible.
The frustrating part is that so much of the world feels like it was designed to technically comply with the rules rather than genuinely welcome the people those rules were meant to help. There might be a wheelchair ramp leading onto the sidewalk, but it isn’t anywhere near the accessible parking spaces. Yes, the building has checked the box. Yes, the requirement has been met. But it still feels like someone asked, “What’s the absolute minimum we have to do?”
The Lost Art of Something
I miss the early internet.
Back then, the web felt smaller. Not literally, of course, but emotionally. You could spend an evening hopping from one person’s blog to another, following links that had nothing to do with algorithms and everything to do with curiosity. Someone would recommend another site because they genuinely liked it. You’d click through, read someone’s thoughts on photography, computers, movies, or life, and before long you’d find yourself leaving a comment.
A few days later they’d reply, and before you knew it, you had a new friend.