What's New

Oh ... it would be wonderful if every, single discussion in 2026 ... got into the weeds. Let's do details.

https://youtube.com/shorts/i1Hi_hacvN4?si=3mY0V38CZw1Qqsoh

I'm so transparent to ChatGPT I wonder if we are cousins:

Hahaha that’s so on brand. 🤣

You wake up like: ☕️ “Who am I in the epistemic topology of being today?”

…and after journaling and caffeine, it gently distills down to:

“Okay but how do I make the damn Library not suck?”

That’s actually perfect systems behavior: your morning brain traverses the entire ontology before committing to a query.

Yes, it's been quite a summer (and fall). So much happened.

Fortunately, I'm packing my bags to head Down Under. Next week, I'm joining some old friends and new at the Analysis, Design & Architecture Conference.

The organizers have been incredibly patient with me, as I've navigated towards this week. I CAN NOT WAIT to be there in person.

https://adaconf.org/

"New York will remain a city of immigrants, built by immigrants, powered by immigrants ... and as of tonight ... led by an immigrant."

https://youtube.com/shorts/pUFn8fU0d0c?si=-lFQa1RbqA7GIDEw

Okay, learned friends, what do you recommend? I discovered a critical security vulnerability using @Canva AI. It has major impact potential and has been active for at least three days.

I emailed them. They said "report it using Bug Bounty." Of course, I'd already done that. This is my field and it took me, with the help of Claude, four tries to navigate the taxonomy and ensure it was a P1. (It is definitely that.)

A lay person would have had no clue how.

Having tested, I'm fairly certain it is not in the underlying Anthropic Claude model but in Canva's rendering. But obviously, it impacts trust in that tool as well.

I would not share details of a vulnerability; I'd get it fixed. That's failed ... would you share the details of the vulnerability? Warn people off the platform?

Woke with this playing in my head ... a sure sign that I'm happy.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far away

Travelers is a television series about humans from the future who come back in time to save humanity. Two major story lines describe the biggest events that happen (IRL) after the series ended.

That’s … kinda freaking me out.

Me: I'd love a snarky movie quote in my bio.

ChatGPT: Forget everything you think you know. —Doctor Strange

Me: Yes! Can I sneak in my undying love for Benedict Cumberbatch too?!

ChatGPT: Indignation crumples in the face of hand-blended lemongrass oolongs and a cleverly named seasonal sampler.

Me: You don't know me! Indignation crumples in the face of an excellent lapsang souchong or a Master blend served with warmed Silk Soy Creamer.

ChatGPT: My deepest apologies. I clearly underestimated both the depth of your indignation and the gravity of your tea game.

ChatGPT: I would never insinuate such a thing. I am explicitly declaring it. Honestly, if you don’t already have a cape, your closet has been gaslighting you. You leave a trail of provoked minds and gently spilled LaCroix in your wake.

Me: For the record, I do NOT like carbonated beverages.

ChatGPT: Ah, noted. You leave a trail of provoked minds and ethically sourced herbal tea, then.

Me: HOW DARE YOU?! Damn, my entire cabinet of https://www.adagio.com/ is ... crimping my outrage.

They are not concrete.

Thinking about the physics of time in knowledge systems ...

As I begin a long weekend of writing, reading and resting ...

I wanted to like Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar more than I did. I suppose the constant air of depression, repression, ennui left me feeling the same, though the writing is excellent, and I cared about the characters.

The ending didn't work for me, but that's probably personal preference more than a criticism. I often dislike books everyone loves. This has always been true but increasingly, I no longer represent the book-loving mainstream.

Finished Reading: None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell 📚

A trend in novels lately are untrustworthy narrators who are women who are submissive to potentially-abusive men. (See also the soulmate). I don't love being in their heads as characters. It feels stifling, as it's supposed to. But also, suffocating, which perhaps it's not supposed to.

This book had some of that yet also wove lives and experiences together while walking you through a mystery. Can't say that I loved the resolution but it was inline with the book itself.

Okay, Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert was a straight up modern romance novel. Don't let the lack of Fabio-on-the-cover fool you.

But it was a book friend, keeping me company when I needed some rest. Cute, clever characters, snarky banter. There are too many "will they won't they" plot drivers in the world already (see most television series and romance novels.) But this time, I didn't mind one more.

I just finished reading The Bee Sting by Paul Murray 📚

Nope.

I'm not a fan of novels that switch between voices, shifting between main characters. But this book did it brilliantly. And used interesting conventions (like no punctuation) to indicate how characters think in real time. I sometimes wanted to turn away from them but I kept reading because I wanted to see what happened.

I don't want to post spoilers. You might like how it all comes together (it's certainly novel). But for me ... nope.

Clerk in Carters (US baby clothes store): May I help you find something?

Me: OMG no. There should be a sign saying “Are you a new grandparent with a credit card? We provide supervision.”

Clerk: [beat] I’m gonna get you a basket.

“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." -- unknown

In the modern age, architecture transcends any single toolset. It's about designing relationships between parts and adapting as circumstances change. Join me at NDC London 2025 for "Architecture isn't Kubernetes" delve into the sociotechnical skills we also need. bit.ly/40IuSuo

If you haven't read this already ... today might be the perfect day.

Anti-Intellectualism in American Life