Steven Splinter

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 11:27:46 -0400

Last night, I stayed over with friends in Western MA. They live 20 minutes from today’s conference, much better than the 2 and a half hours from my house. I treated them dinner at a nearby Indian hole in the wall, where we caught up and shared news and advice about moving to Western MA.

The night was full of crickets and warm summer air. A Tuesday evening in Greenfield isn’t a bustling event, just people taking their time settling down and enjoying the cooler breezes.

This morning, it was quiet. Cool. A ceiling fan kept the air busy, softly. The fog was lingering on the roads and sidewalks, and those of us up early were quietly moving, so as to not disturb our still waking neighbors. Across the street from my friends, a cat slowly stalked their morning meal through the grass. I had breakfast at a local diner, the kind of place that emphasizes good cheap food while the local men come in and shoot the breeze before the main rush. I drove to the conference, and only regretting not stopping to take a gorgeous picture of the fog lifting from a river.

The conference itself has been a shitshow, and it’s only two hours in. But I wanted to capture this morning, just to remind myself and you, that this is what life is. Quiet, non-intrusive beauty that you don’t have to buy, just be open to receiving.

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:02:27 -0400

I’ve recently finished Ducks by Kate Beaton, and will return to to my good friend today. I also need to start Kushiel’s Dart for book club, which I read a long time ago and for the life of me cannot find anywhere in my house.

Serendipitously, my travels today took me by a local Barnes & Noble. A quick stop in to get both… and neither are there.

I’m less annoyed than confused. Every sizable bookstore I’ve been to has Kushiel’s Dart in the fantasy section. And Ducks won awards! Maybe one or the other might not be available, but both?

Well, I know what my weekend chores will include now!

The best four hours of your week.

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:58:57 -0400

A recent meme I saw said, “Never say no to a 30 minute beer with friends, because that hour and a half can turn into the best four hours of your week.”

It wasn’t beer, but it was a phone call. My friend Dawn called, worried about a friend in the hospital facing a tough decision; the details aren’t mine to explicate. All I could do is listen to her worry and agonize and wonder what she could do while realizing the answer was and always going to be, nothing. 15 minutes of patience and being a safe space for her to vent in.

And then it shifted. We caught each other up on the shows and books we’d watched. I told her about my troubles focusing on getting a new car, and how I really wanted a Jeep for sale but couldn’t justify it’s long term maintenance and fuel costs practically, but everyone else was telling me to get it becuase I wanted one. She said she wanted me to get a Jeep so she could put those big eye lash decorations on the headlights. I said that instantly killed any desire I had for the Jeep, or any vehicle with circular headlights, and she cackled and howled over the phone.

An hour later, we were still talking, but my headphone batteries were dying. We said good night; I’ve made a note to check in on her tomorrow. I’ve also been reminded to virtually tap on the shoulders of Lee and Nicole and remind them we need to get some drinks again soon. I know just the place, with some beautiful bartenders we can enjoy as we chat about whatever.

I need more half hour beers, phone calls, meetups like this in my life. No matter how I feel at the start, I tend to come out feeling better for it.

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 20:16:02 -0400

It’s an interesting dilemma to be in, when you have so much you have and want to talk about, but you cannot, because to do so would be to share parts of your life you don’t want to share. The book I just finished, well, it deserves every award it was nominated for and won. It also touches on an event that I have also experienced, and expresses it in a way I both deeply appreciate and feel seen by. But it is a painful, traumatic part of my life. I wish the friend who’d lent me this book had warned me it; they know this event happened to me, and it’s a major theme of the book. I’m not upset they lent it to me, just that I’d have appreciated a warning. Still, I’ve read it, it has burrowed and curled and settled into my heart. I ache for what the author went through, and am grateful to be seen and acknowledged by how she put it to page. But I could not speak of this to my dinner companion. I could only discuss politics and plans for her surgery.

Sat, 27 Jun 2026 20:58:14 -0400

Finished Season 4 ofThe Legend of Vox Machina. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐︎

I like how they’re deviating from the actual play story, to tell a story that can surprise and shock longtime fans. It can be uneven in a spot or two, but overall, it works. And that ending! 🎬

Finished reading: Evocation: The Summoner's Circle

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 07:58:21 -0400

Evocation Book I in The Summoner’s Circle by S.T. Gibson ⭐⭐⭐⭐︎⭐︎

(Warning, I don’t spoil the plot, but I do talk about some elements that might ruin the story.)

I can’t decide if I don’t like the characters, or if I don’t like the way the author wrote these characters. Moira especially seems like she should be one of the most dynamic characters, walking multiple worlds while growing from a people pleaser to someone who asserts her boundaries. The way she’s written, though, she comes across as whatever David and Rhys need for plot development. That could be said for David and Rhys too, but they’re so unlikable that I never really cared. I never got the sense that these are three complete people who grow against and with each other, but that they’re mutual plot devices for each other. I always knew what each of them would do, and that made the story more bland that it could have been.

Moira does get her own story in the sequel, so maybe she’s rounded out there. Maybe the sequels also delve more into the occult societies and magics that somehow exist in modern day Boston. If so, I’d likely rate them higher than this book.

Have you ever had a puzzle ruined because you’re an idiot?

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 09:01:15 -0400

Have you ever struggled with a puzzle, spending hours over days trying solutions that lead you back to the same dead end? To the point that you look up a walkthrough for some hint?

And the walkthrough, in 5 seconds, shows you not only the path to the solution, but how much of an idiot you are for misunderstanding the rules that would have given you the solution?

My brain is rolling a lot of 1s these days.

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:13:00 -0400

We Can’t Invent a Better Robot Than These Ferrets

This video has: - Tom Scott being his endearingly nerdy self, - A business of adorable young ferrets, and - James McKay, a ferret raiser with a great sense of humor.

This will brighten your day, I promise!

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:12:12 -0400

Fables: The Last Castle, read in Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers.

Just… wow. An epic in 35 pages. Utterly beautiful, rich in hastily taken joys and brave sorrows. It’s an emotional thing to read this warm summer morning. 📚

Fri, 22 May 2026 18:10:45 -0400

AI as a Design Medium - Harvard Design Magazine

Three examples of how LLMs can be creatively used to explore spaces and materials, rather than get to an answer the asked wants to hear.

If you treat AI as a tool, you ask: how do I get the right answer? If you treat it as a medium, you ask: what happens if I push this?

I’m curious to know how these projects worked with LLMs. If they used cloud offerings, like Gemini or Claude, could they replicate the same results using a local machine and a local model? I’m convinced that is the future: no data centers, no profit seeking enterprises or token maxing, just a curious seeker and a machine they can physically touch.

It shows that AI does not just produce outputs; it produces trajectories. And those trajectories have shape, drift, bias toward the familiar. That is material. We are spinning up whole systems, questioned and investigated and visualized.

Mon, 18 May 2026 22:03:37 -0400

Whenever I come across a link with poor anchor text, I like to read it voiced with sudden ridiculous emphasis.

“To find out more, CLICK HERE!“ “The paper’s sources, found HERE and HERE, illustrate this point.” “THIS is a funny thing I found!”

I picture the writer wearing a comical outfit having wandered off a Monty Python set. It’s quite entertaining!

Fri, 15 May 2026 15:49:54 -0400

This week has utterly flattened me.

Work projects shuffled around, leaving me in chaos;
My manager is taking unexpected sick leave, leaving my vacation plans in a lurch;
Weather rollercoasters doing numbers on my joints;
My D&D character died in yesterday’s session, and the cherry on top:
When I’m planning to create a new one, the GM says he’ll be taking a well deserved summer break to deal with burnout, starting after our next session.

None of it is insurmountable, nothing that happened is worth throwing a pity party over. But damn if it isn’t a heavy load on my soul this afternoon.

Recently Watched: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Wed, 13 May 2026 21:00:51 -0400

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ⭐️⭐️⭐️

There is something to be said for giving up depth for rhythm. This is a gentle film with fine and nuanced acting. If it hits some notes a little too often and maybe a little too well, like the projections of fantasy into reality, it exceeds them with movements of gorgous scenery, wonderful characters, and the lesson that living in the real moment won’t bring your fantasies to life but can reward you with stories and experiences that are better. And isn’t it just like fantasies to be monotonously repeated notes of frustrated passions, while real life is cinematic in ways you don’t expect but that feel right? 🎬

Subvert: a member owned music store

Wed, 13 May 2026 07:38:02 -0400

Now this is a cool idea I’ve only just heard of through Zöe Keating. From their FAQ page:

Subvert is a cooperative-owned music marketplace. Artists and labels sell digital music directly to listeners. Listeners buy and own what they pay for. The platform itself is owned by the people who use it.

Something like Bandcamp, but co-op style. I’ll be keeping an eye on this.

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:11:55 -0400

It would be a perfect day to finish my work on my deck, if the entire city didn’t think it was the perfect day to get an early start on their outdoor mowing and yard’s work too.

One more reason to get out of this city, I guess.

365 Wordle Wins

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:05:08 -0400

Well, I did it! 365 straight wins in Wordle!

This was my third try at it. The first time, I dislocated my shoulder, and broke the streak in recovery. The second time, I had just updated my phone and forgotten to log into my account before playing. This time, I was practically devotional in how I did it. Every morning, the first thing I checked on my phone after I got out of bed, and then checked to see I was logged in and the win was recorded.

This achievement has another significance: I can retire this puzzle now.

I like playing puzzles like this in the morning. Where some people start their day with a morning run, or coffee by the window, or devotional prayer, I wake my mind by stretching it with some online puzzles. It not only helps wake me up and get focused, it gives me a small win at the start of the day, and who doesn’t like that?

Eventually, some puzzles become stale, more rote routine and obligation than joy. Murdle is a bit like that - I should enjoy it, but it doesn’t feel like a win when I solve it, more like a chore I wish I could avoid. Wordle has become that. By January of this year, I was more interested in getting the badge than I was figuring out the word. That’s when I knew I had to put it down. Not before getting that badge, though!

Tomorrow will be the first day I start with a different puzzle. I really should post about them: Raddle, Clues by Sam, Puzzmo, Tiled Words, Thinky Games, sometimes Lex’s Games. They’re all small wins that feel like standing up and stretching, feeling the small tensions release and ease into happiness. Maybe a reader would be inspired to try one and add it to their daily routine.

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:08:18 -0400

“They didn’t explain it to you because there’s not a good reason,” she says. “It’s just how the story is to them, and they don’t know how to read any deeper.” She pulls me closer. “Or maybe they’re just pretending. I think the entire world depends on people pretending they don’t know they’re doing terrible things.“

The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, pg. 205, emphasis mine. 📚

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:28:43 -0400

To the person driving the dirty red Corvette in front of me, blasting Nirvana’s Unplugged album: you have good taste in music. If only your driving skills matched.

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:32:30 -0400

60° today. I have my windows open, and the balance of the air against my bare skin and my warm tea feels both centering and promising. I can hear the day care center across the street, through the hall and bedroom window. The kids are being themselves, loudly, but their calls and shots are proper and grounding. This is how life should be, the world’s gentle hand on our shoulders as we go about our work and lives, a murmuration of works and goings to and fro.

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 10:57:57 -0400

Why can’t Daylight Savings Time ever be synced to my internal clock? Stars above, my internal and external schedule is so out of whack today.

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 23:26:42 -0400

Waiting for me while waiting for a massage. By the end of this week and the rain it’s bringing, I hope the ducks will be here for real!

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:29:49 -0400

Seen on my morning walk to the cafe. I’d say it’s a fairly common sentiment this weekend after a week long street parking ban. 🌨️🚗

The attack on Iran today, February 28th, 2026

Sat, 28 Feb 2026 11:20:44 -0400

I am absolutely disgusted with my country right now. This attack on Iran is morally and politically bankrupt, and will do nothing but confirm for the rest of the world why they are better off without the US.

This “regime change” that they talk about, will have consequences for us down the road. But what do our leaders care? They won’t be around to see the outcomes. The dust will settle on the poor, the maimed, the downtrodden, and the powerless, and our leaders will blame them for being filthy. They will jeer at the opposition to clean up the mess if they care so much, they’re too busy making the world in their funhouse mirror image.

They do not understand - you do not bring about your goals by preparing the way for it. Preparing the way for it is how you bring about your goals. Practicing peace and prosperity is how you bring about peace and prosperity. This will do nothing but salt the earth we live on.

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 08:21:40 -0400

This storm is wild, everyone. It’s shaken the building in just the right way to make me think a window or door has slammed open, all night long.

The snowball fight tomorrow is gonna be epic, though!

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 11:18:41 -0400

Someone left googly eyes behind yesterday at my favorite tea shop. The staff knew what to do!