Jim Willis

  • Beautiful bike ride into work this AM. Roads are very different at 7:30AM vs. riding in at 8AM. Saw many other bicycles out on the roads.

  • Ride home, the long way

    On account of it being the first sunny day in a long time, I left work a little early yesterday so that I could ride my bicycle home the long way. Ended up doing a great 23 mile ride going through some of my favorite areas of Colts Neck (where I took the picture below).

  • Confused about Action Day and Ozone

    So today is an Action Day because the Air Quality Index has reached an unhealthy level. Specifically, Ozone appears to be very high.

    I am confused about the following:

      • Conserve electricity and set your air conditioner at a higher temperature.
      • Choose a cleaner commute—share a ride to work or use public transportation. Bicycle or walk to errands when possible.
      • Refuel cars and trucks after dusk.
      • Combine errands and reduce trips.
      • Limit engine idling.

    It seems contradictory to advise limiting outdoor activity and to suggest bicycling/walking in the same set of guidelines, no? Since I bicycled to work today, does this mean I should just ride home very slowly?

  • Have an hour to get your hands dirty doing some gardening at Red Bank Primary School this weekend? http://bit.ly/mOZfJ

  • cleanup at Red Bank Primary School

    My neighbor Carrie sent me this email with some details about doing a cleanup of one of the gardens at the Red Bank Primary School:

    I am organizing a rather impromptu clean up of the Primary School’s butterfly garden this Saturday, June 27th.  I have toured this area with Rosemary Kopka, the chairperson of the Board of Education’s Facility Committee and have permission to proceed with this project.  There will be grounds and facility work done on the primary school grounds in the coming weeks, thus the reason for the rapid schedule.  We will begin at 10 AM and if there are enough hands working I don’t think this project will take very long at all.  Bring the whole family out, our two children (2 and 4) will be joining us.  There is a new playground just around the corner from this garden so some of us can garden while others play with kids.  I am planning to bring a lunch for my family and, therefore, I am calling this one “Pick it and Picnic”.  There will be limited to no access to the school building so plan accordingly.  We will need to bring our own tools, I will bring all that I have, but more will be needed.  Please pass this on to any other people that you think may be interested in spending a hour or so to improve this site.  This will be a great way for some of you to meet neighbors, parents and staff from the school district.  Fingers crossed that the weather will be as beautiful as predicted.

    If this sounds like something you’d be interested in giving a hand with, drop me an email at sjwillis@willisbros.net. Thanks.

  • looking at live chat options for a client with a retail website. Hab.la http://www.habla.la is being looked at but looking for suggestions.

  • I swear that once upon a time, I remember seeing this large glowing orb in the sky. Some people called it “the sun.”

  • How Safeway Is Cutting Health-Care Costs – WSJ.com

    How Safeway Is Cutting Health-Care Costs – WSJ.com

    Our plan utilizes a provision in the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act that permits employers to differentiate premiums based on behaviors. Currently we are focused on tobacco…

  • I’m beginning to prune. We need a plan to wrest control of this spring’s weather patterns out of Morrissey’s hands.

  • RT @prowns try the grilled elotes (elote loco) at Juanito’s Market on Monmouth St in Red Bank: http://tinyurl.com/ljkf2t

Current Spins

Top Albums

Check out my album Set It All Down on your favorite streaming service.

Posts Worth Reading:

Free Internet vs Internet of Free Stuff

Letterboxd

Reading Notes

  • Read: Why Not Bluesky
    The real problem, in my mind, isn’t in the nature of this particular Venture-Capital operation. Because the whole raison-d’etre of Venture Capital is to make […]
  • Read: The Imperfectionist: How Not to Freak Out, Part Two
    The antidote to all of this, in the broadest terms, is *more reality*, more immersion in the finite here and now: more writing on paper; […]
  • Read: Recording: After the Election – Four Ways We Can Respond
    “Under the worst conditions, what’s the most important thing to have?” He replied: “Friends.” Source: Recording: After the Election – Four Ways We Can Respond […]
  • Read: Mud Boots of Empathy in Spain
    Spain’s unity at this moment is from the bottom up. Or, as Spanish professional soccer player Ferran Torres wrote on social media, “The people are […]
  • Read: Vision Con
    Unable, then, to see the world because I have forgotten the way of being in the world that enables vision in the deepest sense, I […]

Saved Links

  • Doppler Music Player for Mac and iOS — Brushed Type
    Built for people who buy music — Direct link
  • Sill
    Top news shared by the people you trust Sill streamlines your Bluesky and Mastodon feeds to give you a clear picture of what’s happening. — Direct link
  • Techmeme Ride Home
    The day's tech news, every day at 5pm. From Techmeme.com, Silicon Valley's most-read news source. 15 minutes and you're up to date. — Direct link
  • Queue
    Beautifully Simple Podcasts. — Direct link
  • Surveilled (2024) — The Movie Database (TMDB)
    Uncover the insidious ways in which our daily lives are being surveilled by the state. In a gripping chase, Ronan Farrow travels across the world following breadcrumbs and finally exposing a dark world of spywares, hacking, and peddling of private information, where activists and journalists are persecuted, and no one is protected from the watchful and vicious eyes of authoritarianism. #API #Actors #Actresses #Cast #Credits #Movies #Photos #Ratings #Reviews #Shows #Streaming #Synopsis #TV #Teasers #Trailers #User — Direct link
  • The Technology the Trump Administration Could Use to Hack Your Phone | The New Yorker
    Western democracies have been roiled by the use of spyware to target politicians, journalists, and other vulnerable groups. Could it happen here? Ronan Farrow reports. — Direct link
  • The Markup
    The Gentle January series shares one practical privacy tip a day from a Markup staffer who actually uses the advice in their own life. — Direct link
  • ongoing by Tim Bray · Why Not Bluesky
    "to be clear, I’m a fan of the Bluesky leadership and engineering team. With the VC money as fuel, I expect their next 12 months or so to be golden, with lots of groovy features and mind-blowing growth. But that’s not what I’ll be watching. I’ll be looking for ecosystem growth in directions that enable survival independent of the company. In the way that email is independent of any technology provider or network operator." — Direct link
  • The Great Migration to Bluesky Gives Me Hope for the Future of the Internet
    "I have been impressed with the tools that the open source development community is building to bridge the gap between the AT protocol and ActivityPub, and I’m hopeful that some mixture of Bluesky and Mastodon will eventually serve most of my needs as a social media user and, hopefully, as someone who co-owns a website" — Direct link
  • Helium Mobile
    Ditch big telco. Rise above with The People's Carrier, a new carrier owned by the people, and earn crypto. — Direct link