As the consistency of my writing has been piss-poor, we will endeavor to do our very best to change that in 2024 with a publishing schedule of weekly whimsies delivered straight to your inbox. I can’t promise that the writing produced will have value to anyone (including myself), so please don’t open these weekly missives with high hopes of finding wisdom contained herein.
Instead, I hope to accomplish the following goals:
Exercising a writing muscle that has sorely atrophied;
Sharing links, resources, and other esoterica that caught my fancy during my digital excursions;
Building a community that builds bridges instead of walls
All that being said, I intend to use this platform to share information regarding books, technology, music, the thoughts between and other writers that I stumble upon who touch on these subjects, and more.
As always, thank you for joining, and you’re more than welcome to stop by anytime.
The Dreaded Year-in-Review
Historically, I have been a fan of the concept of the “Year in Review,” whether that meant people highlighting their books read, miles ran, places traveled, or music listened to. But this past year, I noticed a couple of companies1 flaunting the amount of data they’d gathered on me as a consumer throughout the year.
336 Inches
I know what you’re thinking, but go ahead and lift those heads out of the gutter. We’re talking about 336 inches of…meat, cheese, and bread delivered freaky fast wherever you may be.
Yes, it’s true. Jimmy Johns - my go-to sub sandwich chain of choice - decided it was necessary to tell me how many inches of subs I’d ordered throughout 2023. I specify “ordered” because, thankfully, I live with my significant other and often will order for us both. If I weren’t ordering for two on occasion, this year in review would be depressing, to say the least (don’t get me wrong, it’s still depressing).
There and Back Again…with Starbucks?
Starbucks was another company that appeared to be a little too proud of how much data they’d gathered on my coffee drinking.
While I’ll never know what the 2023 year-in-review they put together for me held (because the link they emailed opened in a web browser that I was supposed to log in to), I do know that the email indicated a highlight of the various places I’d traveled to in my Starbucks drinking excursions.
I appreciate the kind gesture and know that the data used to generate this year-in-review is easily gathered by the company (ordered coffee through the app at these locations). Still, I don’t need a reminder of the data I willingly part with to order my standard black grande americano that I need to function as a somewhat normal human being.
Not to mention, the data they collected in 2023 would be boring, to say the least: customer ordered the same cup of coffee, no variations, at 1 of 2 different locations, all within a few miles.
It’s not exactly riveting stuff meant to be shared on social media.
2023: A (Truer) Recap
Because, Why Not, Everyone Else is Doing It
Speaking of my 2023, it wasn’t only boring ass corporate coffee and 28 feet of deli meat and white bread. I also ran sporadically, read less than I ran, and wrote even less than I read. I wouldn’t say it was a total loss, though; the stuff that I’m most proud of isn’t easily quantifiable by data that corporations have gathered on me.
I switched careers midway through the year and started a new job that both challenges and educates me, where so far, knock on wood, things have been going well. It’s been a smooth transition, even though it was an entirely new position with a new company after nearly six years of employment doing something I was worried I’d be doing forever: a big transition after also growing my family by one the year before.
Which brings me to my next celebration: 2023 was our son’s first full lap around the sun, so you could say that my priorities have shifted somewhat (i.e., becoming a parent is easy, but being a parent is a work in progress, and sometimes feels like a fight for survival). If you have tips/tricks, please reach out because we need all the help we can get.
None of this would be possible without my better half, who made 2023 the year it turned out to be: freaky fast subs, coffee, child, and all.
Links and ‘Tingz
Currently Reading
Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (more on this topic next time)
Currently Listening
“Overpass” by Cousin - Discovered via
’s Deep Voices #81 (01/02/2024) playlist, which I thoroughly enjoyed2.Here’s a link to the
Substack issue that spread the love of music as well:Other Digital Food for Thought
If you’re like me, you most likely have a growing photo/video library on your smartphone in the thousands (currently sitting pretty with somewhere in the neighborhood of 7k’ish). I recently discovered a strategy for Marie Kondo’ing my photos that’s more divide and conquer rather than wading through years and years of photos.
Found on, I hate to say it, Artifact, the strategy is perfect for a new year because it involves searching your photo library by a given month and day (for instance, “January 4”).
If you’re on iOS and have an iPhone, this search should reveal all photos taken on January 4th, no matter the year (in my case, it also uncovered screenshots and other text containing what the software thought was January 4th). Review the media discovered, delete what you don’t like/need or that which doesn’t bring you joy, and keep the rest.
Do this once a day every day, and you will be cleaning up your photo library one day at a time across multiple years.
Here’s the original post and the author that brought this to my attention: Nash Pitre (or Nash P) from their newsletter Morning Coffee 85 November 27th, 2023 (the rest of the newsletter also contains an excellent strategy for organizing another facet of your smartphone that most likely also needs some taming: home screens and, wait for it, app library.
There’s More?
While I have more to say and am already surprised at how much I’ve said so far, I must leave you in suspense until my next missive. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below and until next time when we meet again, dear readers.
Your friendly neighborhood digital nomad,
n0madz
Honorable mention goes to Spotify for sharing the geographic region with the listeners featuring musical tastes most similar to my own: Asheville, NC, for anyone interested.
It’s safe to say that this playlist helped produce this newsletter; I’ve been head-bobbing, toe-tapping, and just generally vibing almost the entire time.
Glad to have a newsletter from you to read today!! Happy New Year and stuffs, dude!!
HelIo friend, Congratulations on the new job. Hope '24 brings you and yours everything you deserve. Only advice I have on being a dad is read to them early and often. Read, read, read. Take care brother.