A friend of mine* recently texted me a photo of a pair of Banana Republic pants on sale at Costco for $20. There’s obviously a level of irony in this, because if you mouse on over to the Banana Republic website, you can see that their typical pair of their pants goes for about $100+. … Continue reading Where’d you get your pants?
In 2024, I read 45 books — an average of just under a book per week. In the heady days of early 2025, I took a modest victory lap and wrote a blog post about how I effectively doubled the number of books I read, year over year. I figured that, with similarly rigid usage … Continue reading What I Read in 2025
My kids all have Google Home units in their rooms, which they use to play music, listen to podcasts, and set alarms and timers. Although Google is decent at returning song requests, it struggles with podcasts, let alone specific episodes. A typical interaction goes something like this: My six year-old daughter: “Hey Google, play the … Continue reading No Screen, No Apps, No Problem: A Millennial Parent’s Nostalgia
I’m currently on a Delta flight that I paid for eight years ago, in 2017. Well, more specifically, I bought a gift card for the flight using an Amex Offer back then; if memory serves, I paid $240 for a $300 voucher, saving me a cool $60. At the time, it seemed smart: I’d flown … Continue reading Discounted Gift Cards are Great — Except for When They Aren’t
It’s not a great time to be a political centrist. As I look at the current political landscape, I find myself disappointed by what I see on both sides. I’ll use examples from current events — and even an ongoing election — but it’s not merely about one individual or one election; a given candidate … Continue reading Stuck in the Middle
This past year, I doubled the number of books that I read. In 2023, I read 22 books. In 2024, I polished off 45. I didn’t have any more hours in my day than I did last year, and, in fact, thing were busier: Work was more intense, I ran a lot more races, and … Continue reading The Minutes in Each Hour
I read a lot this year, including a number of books that were, well, bad. I’m not going to go into why I thought the below books were disappointing (though I may write individual reviews at a later date), but I did find an overarching theme. Every book below earned rave reviews from cultural tastemakers … Continue reading Vibes Over Verbs
I read Heaven and Earth Grocery Store nearly a year ago, after it was recommended to me by friends, fellow readers, and the New York Times Book Review. But it’s been on my mind since I read it, for reasons I’ll cover soon. For those not familiar, Heaven is nominally a murder mystery: in the … Continue reading The Trouble with Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
As many folks have observed, ChatGPT has pretty remarkable potential for changing the way many of us work — particularly those of us in marketing. For those who might not be up to speed on ChatGPT, it’s an AI chatbot that can generate pretty convincing content. Continue reading Using ChatGPT to write Facebook Ads
You can, in fact, have ChatGPT plan your trip for you. It’s eerily good. Continue reading Using ChatGPT to do Trip-Planning
Silicon Spatula 