Jacob Grier

Am I great at WordPress? No. Could I benefit from some AI assistance? Probably. But all this gave me was a design with clashing colors, nonsensical AI-generated photos, and pre-populated vacuous blog posts I need to delete.

Screenshot of options to start with WordPress on Blue host. Option 1 is an AI site creator, option 2 is to import an existing site

Man, what the hell? Went to build a new WordPress site and the only options on my host were to import a site or have it built by AI. Not even a presented option to start by customizing WordPress directly, which tons of people have been doing for decades.

I don't know how we made it so far in life without a French chestnut knife, but now that we have one nothing will stop us roasting on an open fire.

A small latte in a mug with a rosetta latte art, a cookie in a blue patterned bowl, on a wooden table

Rare opportunity to pour my own latte art. Still (mostly) got it!

Chestnut cookie by @blueskybeth.bsky.social.

If you'd like to log off for a little bit and immerse in music, happy to recommend the new Bill Callahan album.

I feel petty reposting this but God damn, I'm not over the libertarians who talked themselves into believing that putting someone with the mind and temperament of Donald Trump in charge of a nuclear arsenal and the American military was "our best hope" for anti-war foreign policy.

TIDINGS: Squeaky clean edition

Soap and sex in today's squeaky clean edition of Tidings, our weekly newsletter of recommended stories. seabird.kit.com/posts/tiding...

Photo of a tricolor Australian shepherd chewing on a dog chew. He has striking blue eyes.

Our little house wolf turns 3 today. In recognition of his excellent work (chewing on sticks, barking at deliveries), we're renewing his contract.

As a former balloon twister and current magician, you just never know when you're going to catch a stray on Bluesky.

I Was a Barista Snob. Would I Hate the Latest Big Trend in Coffee? A technique called co-fermentation is on the rise. It’s controversial.

Throwback to writing about these weird coffees last year:
slate.com/life/2025/02...

The Future Mai Tai | Black & White Coffee Roasters Inspired by a tiki cocktail classic, this coffee blends flavors of banana, pineapple, rum esters, and spice for a tropical escape that’s worthy of a toast.

I'm rarely tempted to pick up cofermented coffee but this one, designed to mimic the flavor of a Mai Tai, got me curious enough to hit that order button. www.blackwhiteroasters.com/products/r-t...

To be clear I'm not performing in either of these. Maybe the latter if I work out more.

Headline: A pair of Princess Diana's shoes is coming to Portland -- in part, to headline a mall magic show

Ad for a show called "The Naked Magicians"

You can say Portland isn't weird anymore but in the next month or so we have magic shows featuring shoes worn by Princess Diana and naked Australian dudes.

Originality in mixology is overrated at this point but putting your own name on a drink that has old-fashioned right in the name is a bit much.

Longtime Lake Oswego business owner detained by ICE, faces deportation to Vietnam  - Lake Oswego Review This story was updated from its original version. The Quachs lived the American dream until it became a nightmare. After the fall of Saigon, Danny and Mary Quach’s families separately […]

I searched a local business I've liked for years (Happy Sparrow Cafe) to confirm they're still open (they are) and the first article to come up is about how the original owner is now in detainment facing deportation. I hate this administration so much.
lakeoswegoreview.com/2025/11/14/l...

Important non-SOTU content:

This is pretty much the topic of the first article I ever wrote for @liberalcurrents.com: decades of stigmatizing smokers made it harder for the anti-smoking movement to advocate on their behalf when safer sources of nicotine came along.
www.liberalcurrents.com/respecting-t...

Looking forward to tonight's long monologue from a guy who's like a thousand years old and somehow repeatedly escaped cancellation.

(Watching old episodes of Doctor Who.)

Only one of these has the potential to avert millions of preventable deaths, and it's the most negatively viewed.

This is partly why we made @seabirdreader.bsky.social the complete opposite of this. No screenshots, no posts without links!

Both World Naked Bike Rides Announce Portland Summer Ride Dates Two chances to strip down to your skivvies (or less) and take a spin.

Permanently having two dueling naked bike rides (Portland World Naked Bike Ride and World Naked Bike Ride Portland) is somehow even more Portland than having just one big one. www.wweek.com/bikes/2026/0...

This is going to be great!

Well it was nice for one day. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/21/b...

This one could make you cry. (For years international adoptees became U.S. citizens only when their adoptive parents took the needed steps to get them naturalized; a 2000 law automatically naturalizes legal adoptees on arrival, but that came too late for this woman).

This post seems to have hit the discover feed and if it's still being seen tomorrow morning I hope it hasn't aged extremely poorly 😬

Love it!

TIDINGS: You've got mail

Lots of new followers this week, so hi! Here's the weekly newsletter I edit, out on Fridays with a bunch of reading recommendations gleaned from @seabirdreader.bsky.social. Check it out and subscribe if you like. (It's free!) seabird.kit.com/posts/tiding...

Is this what it's like to wake up and read good news? I'd almost forgotten.