🎶 Creep: Stone Temple Pilots
When I was in college and got a dorm room through a scholarship, I had a friend who dealt more closely with the grunge of life. We were both part of the staff of the college’s newspaper, often working long nights that stretched into tired mornings of drip coffee and cheap Chinese food.
When it was time to head back to my room, KU would go to the parking garage, where he’d sleep in his car, or if it wasn’t too late (and by that I mean to early in the morning), in the office under one of the desks. Going back home was a long drive to South Jersey, and since he was ready to crash anyway at this point, he shrugged it off as a better option. At one point, I remember someone opened a drawer and saw his toothpaste and toothbrush and people got worried that he had nowhere to go. I guess he understood it was “weird,” but to him it was just a thing to do. No biggie.
In college, KU was tough but approachable. He quickly became one of my best friends, whom I always respected. He was a true-to-life example of “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
He was so good at it that he didn’t stop to perceive the lemons as lemons; he always saw the lemonade he could make. An excellent writer with a sharp mind, he worked his way up to the head of his fraternity, landed an internship at NASA, and became an astrophysicist.
STP was one of his favorite bands, and I imagine Creep was one of his favorite songs. I didn’t know this until I researched the song today, but according to Scott Weiland, Creep is about “the idea of being a young person somewhere, caught between still being a kid and becoming a young man. It’s that youth apathy, that second-guessing yourself, not feeling like you fit in.” Wow. Nailed it. I don’t know whether KU knew that, but this song was written for him:
I’m half the man I used to be
(For as I feel as the dawn, it fades to gray)
Well, I’m half the man I used to be
(For as I feel as the dawn, it fades to gray)
I’m going to write him an email.
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Crucial Track for July 2, 2026
"Rooster" by Alice In Chains
I'm testing this out. What a great idea. Here's a song I haven't listened to in a while.
Someone posted my little rant about restarting my Mac on Hacker News, and it went viral. As in more than 10,000 hits. 10… thousand… I don’t even know what this number means.
To be fair, it’s mostly the discussion taking place (over 300 comments over there) but.. still… whattttt???
Bloggers Should Shake Fists at Clouds and Say the Obvious
Jim says blogging is like being the kid who points out the emperor is naked, and I say I’ve been pointing at naked emperors since college, when my journalism college offered its condolences to me for “having the germ”. So I’m still yelling at clouds - come join me.
You know how you have a busy day, task after task, meeting after meeting, and your spouse/partner/significant other (whatever you have) messages you with a single line or a short video, and you laugh and everything seems easy and bearable again…?
I might be grumpy, but I’m also thankful 😆
My Inspiration Checklist for Writing Blog Posts
Over the years, I’ve built a checklist of items that get my writing juices going. Here’s a thorough explanation of it. Feel free to borrow and use as needed 😄
Sisters, 1972 - ★★★
An indie horror movie from the 1970s, with very fake blood and everything.
It had an interesting story, though I'd say some of the concepts of the time didn't age well - tropes of mental disabilities, conjured twins, hypnosis, etc. Still, it was fun to watch, a nice trip from that era.
Subnautica: A Great Game That Deserves a Better Ending
Some games end as they should, while others should end before the developers check out mentally. Unfortunately for Subnautica… warning: major spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk
Have You Restarted Your Computer This Week?
There’s something about restarting my Mac on a Saturday morning. No real reason to do it anymore, but I like it. A clean slate for the weekend.
Well, I did it. I finished Subnautica. Next, Sub Zero, and then in a few months (I guess?) Subnautica 2. Or… not. There are other games as well. 🎮