Disclosure: I started writing this blog post on Saturday, January 3, 2026, and so much has happened since then. The Stranger Things ending has become such a telling online social experiment. (I have to clarify that it's "online" because none of the conversations I've had with people in real life about this ending contained the amount of vitriol and disappointment that I've been seeing in online discourse). I really believe that we as a society are becoming way too uncomforta

I was a 90s kid. I grew up with all those robo toys and virtual pets, surrounded by Y2K futurism and sci-fi movies, books, and TV shows, and I always wanted a robot assistant or AI sidekick. I was so excited for the 21st-century future of Zenon , Jimmy Neutron , and Dexter's Laboratory . I was ready for AI. So, how did I become anti-AI as an adult? The artificial intelligence (AI) we got was not exactly what was promised to us. This technology has the potential to be a great

The privilege of owning a pet is such a rewarding experience. I truly believe that we as human beings are chronically deprived of nature, and any kind of connection we can make with it is healing for our souls. We can learn a lot from animals, especially when we're living with them. Over the span of seven years, I had three hamsters, and they taught me a lot about life and about myself and what I can handle. Hamsters are particularly attuned to nature because they were domest