![\"\"](\"https://micro.blog/photos/50/https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/387359/2026/img-1176.jpg\")
: personalhistory.ayjay.orgI’m still trying to discover (a) why no copies of my book were available in the U.S. on pub day; (b) why, if no copies of the book would be available on pub day, pub day was not delayed until they were available; (c) why nobody at OUP bothered to tell me that my book would not be available on pub day; (d)...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/29/im-still-trying-to-discover.html","date_published":"2026-09-29T13:15:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"13:15","date_timestamp":1790687727,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98332904","content_html":"It’s been a rough day, so: whisky, chocolate, Sinatra. 🎵
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/28/its-been-a-rough-day.html","date_published":"2026-09-28T22:38:40+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 22:38","date_timestamp":1790635120,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98327974","content_html":"Turns out that this is not really the publication date for my book at all. See the update here. I am a pretty unhappy camper.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/28/turns-out-that-this-is.html","date_published":"2026-09-28T20:35:24+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 20:35","date_timestamp":1790627724,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98319251","content_html":"It’s pub day for my biography of Dorothy L. Sayers! Sayers is a fascinating person and I had a wonderful time writing about her. For this one week I’m gonna emerge from my social-media Faraday cage and be prepared to answer questions, here and at my Buy Me a Coffee site. (I’m not turning up on X or BlueSky....
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/28/its-pub-day-for-my.html","date_published":"2026-09-28T17:34:02+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 17:34","date_timestamp":1790616842,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98310992","content_html":"@KevinHoltsberry Her best novel is The Nine Tailors, so it’s tempting to name that one as the starting point, but it’s unusual in several respects, so I would probably say Strong Poison (the first novel that introduces Harriet Vane alongside Lord Peter).
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/98310992","date_published":"2026-09-28T14:26:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 14:26","date_timestamp":1790605581,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98309823","content_html":"@KevinHoltsberry That would depend on whether you’re interested in detective fiction, theology, drama, literary criticism, or medieval poetry!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/98309823","date_published":"2026-09-28T13:56:23+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 13:56","date_timestamp":1790603783,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"98308472","content_html":"I’ve been suffering from eyestrain, so for my evening reading have turned to Stephen Fry narrating the Sherlock Holmes stories, which ranks as one of the three best narrations I have ever heard, the other two being Fiona Shaw’s The Mill on the Floss and Andy Serkis’s The Lord of the Rings. Spot-on in all...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/28/ive-been-suffering-from-eyestrain.html","date_published":"2026-09-28T13:26:54+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 13:26","date_timestamp":1790602014,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98304393","content_html":"\n\nsocial.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/28/paul-chan-sometime-during-the.html","date_published":"2026-09-28T12:00:10+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-28 12:00","date_timestamp":1790596810,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98235825","content_html":"Sometime during the mid-2010s, I noticed photographers, videographers, and artists of all kinds referring to what they made as “content,” as opposed to photos, videos, or art. The case was the same with writers: Blog posts, essays, and articles were lumped together and called content. The term “content creator” also appeared, which further collapsed distinctions among writers, artists, and performers. In 2023, for the first time, I heard a representative from the entertainment industry rebrand it as the “content industry.”
\nAs I understand it today, content is a type of expression that...
\n
When AI can mute my TV during commercials and unmute it when the show/game comes back on, I’ll be all in. Not until.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/26/when-ai-can-mute-my.html","date_published":"2026-09-27T01:25:25+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-27 01:25","date_timestamp":1790472325,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98211505","content_html":"As we’re seeing more and more sophisticated robot/drone warfare, I find myself wondering whether the next step is what Adam Roberts described in his fabulous 2010 novel New Model Army — which I wrote about here.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/26/as-were-seeing-more-and.html","date_published":"2026-09-26T14:04:09+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-26 14:04","date_timestamp":1790431449,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98209335","content_html":"![](\"https://micro.blog/books/9781598535051/cover.jpg\")
\nCurrently reading: Loren Eiseley : Collected Essays on Evolution, Nature, and the Cosmos by Loren Eiseley. I’ve written occasionally over the years — here for instance — about how much Eiseley has meant to me since I discovered him at age fifteen or thereabouts. But how did I discover him? I well remember:...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/26/currently-reading-loren-eiseley-collected.html","date_published":"2026-09-26T12:56:00+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-26 12:56","date_timestamp":1790427360,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98174236","content_html":"Whenever an organization says “There is no place for XYZ in this organization” or “We have zero tolerance for XYZ” the proper translation is: “Making this statement is all we’re going to do about XYZ, and you’ll just have to deal with it.”
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/25/whenever-an-organization-says-there.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T20:32:23+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 20:32","date_timestamp":1790368343,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98160929","content_html":"I decided a couple of weeks ago that I needed to write a biggish essay on what it means to me to be a Southerner. Since then I’ve struggled with it. Today I decided I needed to post it. Think of this not as a completed work but as one abandoned in public.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/25/i-decided-a-couple-of.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T15:45:35+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 15:45","date_timestamp":1790351135,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98160365","content_html":"\"Why do you hate the South?\" : personalhistory.ayjay.org
\nCurrently reading: Loren Eiseley : Collected Essays on Evolution, Nature, and the Cosmos by Loren Eiseley. I’ve written occasionally over the years — here for instance — about how much Eiseley has meant to me since I discovered him at age fifteen or thereabouts. But how did I discover him? I well remember:...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/25/currently-reading-loren-eiseley-collected.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T15:28:00+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 15:28","date_timestamp":1790350080,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98151874","content_html":"Just a note on how I use micro.blog, in response to some emails: not as a social-media platform. Instead, I follow people in my RSS reader, and only open micro.blog to reply to someone I follow. Also, I write my posts in MarsEdit. So if you reply to me, I am very unlikely to see it. (And I guess I should add...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/25/just-a-note-on-how.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T12:46:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 12:46","date_timestamp":1790340376,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98149306","content_html":"Really interesting comment by Ethan Iverson in his interview with Deborah Gordon, the owner of the Village Vanguard. She asked him who he wishes he had seen at the Vanguard:
\n\nsocial.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/25/really-interesting-comment-by-ethan.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T11:52:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 11:52","date_timestamp":1790337173,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98122547","content_html":"Well, like you I would have seen Monk … Coltrane and Miles Davis, of course … But you know what? I like Bill Evans but only up to a point. However, those that saw Bill Evans live said the sound he got out the piano was really extraordinary and that the overall ambience was utterly seductive. I hear that extraordinary sound on the records, but I think I could have learned something by sitting close to Bill Evans at the Vanguard one...
\n
Always interesting when you’re reading a work of history, in this case Charles Norris Cochrane’s matchless Christianity and Classical Culture, and find something that shines a bright and direct light on your own moment.
\n\nsocial.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/24/always-interesting-when-youre-reading.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T00:48:09+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 00:48","date_timestamp":1790297289,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98122270","content_html":"\nTo Eusebius the glorious and unexpected triumph of the Church constituted decisive evidence of the operatio Dei, the hand of God in human history. At the same time, by an easy and natural confusion of thought, it suggested the dangerous error that Christianity was a success-philosophy. Eusebius quotes with approval the emperor's own profession of faith, made after the defeat of...
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Inordinately pleased with my little hack of hanging the jacket of the album I’m listening to from a binder clip. This record, by the way, is a neglected masterpiece, with Miles as a sideman (if Miles ever actually is a sideman, which I doubt). Also: Blue Note’s design staff in this era! This jacket was...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/24/inordinately-pleased-with-my-little.html","date_published":"2026-09-25T00:34:55+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-25 00:34","date_timestamp":1790296495,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98095145","content_html":"![](\"https://micro.blog/books/9780141439549/cover.jpg\")
\nCurrently reading: Middlemarch by George Eliot. This won’t be my last time reading this infinitely lovable book, but it will be my last time teaching it, so I’m warning my students to expect some melancholy moments. 📚
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/24/currently-reading-middlemarch-by-george.html","date_published":"2026-09-24T14:08:30+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-24 14:08","date_timestamp":1790258910,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98038715","content_html":"I’m very frustrated by Ezra Klein’s timidity in his interview with Jensen Huang. Ezra seems unaware that Huang is a salesman; he should have conducted the entire interview with that in the forefront of his mind. He offered very little pushback and effectively let Huang make a 2-hour sales pitch for his...
social.ayjay.org","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/23/im-very-frustrated-by-ezra.html","date_published":"2026-09-23T15:28:06+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-23 15:28","date_timestamp":1790177286,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98038487","content_html":"![\"\"](\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/404/2026/img-0025-m.jpg\")
Chilling after a nice long walk through the neighborhood, during which two different people I don’t know said “Hi Angus!” So my dog is a local hero as well as an internet celebrity.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/23/chilling-after-a-nice-long.html","date_published":"2026-09-23T15:22:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-23 15:22","date_timestamp":1790176968,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98029104","content_html":"When Grant conquered Vicksburg, did Lincoln say, “The Union now controls the full length of the Mississippi River”? He did not. Instead he said, “The Father of Waters flows unvexed to the sea.”
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/23/when-grant-conquered-vicksburg-did.html","date_published":"2026-09-23T12:20:47+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-23 12:20","date_timestamp":1790166047,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98029009","content_html":"New post at Cosmos Malick: IRL.
\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/23/new-post-at-cosmos-malick.html","date_published":"2026-09-23T12:19:23+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-23 12:19","date_timestamp":1790165963,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":false,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"98024470","content_html":"IRL ![\"The](\"https://micro.blog/photos/50/https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/315326/2026/the-new-world-terrence-malick-pocahontas.jpg\")
![\"EugeneRichards](\"https://micro.blog/photos/50/https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/315326/2026/eugenerichards-thykingdomcome-10.jpg.png\")
: cosmosmalick.net
@patrickrhone I’ll be saying that in two months.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/98005353","date_published":"2026-09-23T02:24:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-23 02:24","date_timestamp":1790130256,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"97994435","content_html":"These are just lovely.
\n![\"\"](\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/404/2026/8d35e065fe-m.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://cdn.uploads.micro.blog/404/2026/img-0042-m.jpg\")
\n\n\n","summary":"","url":"https://social.ayjay.org/2026/09/22/clare-coffey-european-resistance-to.html","date_published":"2026-09-22T17:47:46+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-22 17:47","date_timestamp":1790099266,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":false,"is_podcast":false,"note":"","syndication":[]}},{"id":"97837932","content_html":"European resistance to air conditioning is often framed as a story of puritanical self-flagellation, as an insistence on managing energy crises by a regime of perpetual austerity rather than building out clean, abundant energy sources. But I think this is an over-generous framing driven by pundits who have never had a frivolous bone in their effectively altruistic bodies. Some of us just really hate looking at ugly things, and we’re willing to make you suffer so that we don’t have to.
\n
@patrickrhone My favorite iPod ever.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/97837932","date_published":"2026-09-19T23:47:33+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-19 23:47","date_timestamp":1789861653,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"97755413","content_html":"@wcaleb Time is a flat circle.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/97755413","date_published":"2026-09-18T12:13:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-18 12:13","date_timestamp":1789733617,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"97651718","content_html":"@adampalm Maybe something like that? I’ll have time at the end of the semester to do some serious thinking about it.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/97651718","date_published":"2026-09-16T18:42:04+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-16 18:42","date_timestamp":1789584124,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"97516755","content_html":"@philbowell I guess I’m thinking they’re fine where they are?
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/97516755","date_published":"2026-09-14T13:45:57+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-14 13:45","date_timestamp":1789393557,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"97363358","content_html":"@ablerism I’m sure these old memories are very strong today.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/97363358","date_published":"2026-09-11T14:38:56+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-11 14:38","date_timestamp":1789137536,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"97360160","content_html":"@manton Just one small data point, but: Here in Waco I have seen dozens and dozens of Talarico signs in yards, and not a single Paxton sign. Zilch. That doesn’t mean that people here won’t vote for him, but he has no enthusiasts; no one even likes him. It’ll be a hold-your-nose vote, and that’s not going to bring people out.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/97360160","date_published":"2026-09-11T13:32:03+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-11 13:32","date_timestamp":1789133523,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96780457","content_html":"@Miraz The live oaks all over campus are old and enormous — I never get tired of looking at them.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96780457","date_published":"2026-09-01T18:36:35+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-01 18:36","date_timestamp":1788287795,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96780381","content_html":"@bloftin2 Here’s hoping they’ll be friends to several more generations.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96780381","date_published":"2026-09-01T18:35:52+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-01 18:35","date_timestamp":1788287752,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96739887","content_html":"@ablerism And sometimes, as Austin K likes to say, “It’s not for me.” Which is fine. You can watch and enjoy Saul without knowing anything about BB, but if you know BB it is deeper.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96739887","date_published":"2026-09-01T01:44:14+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-09-01 01:44","date_timestamp":1788227054,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96729638","content_html":"@ablerism That would help, but since Breaking Bad is the best TV program in history, it would be no punishment.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96729638","date_published":"2026-08-31T21:53:16+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-31 21:53","date_timestamp":1788213196,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96623547","content_html":"@mwerickson Each of us has to discern his or her own calling, but FWIW, I am here to show people the wonderful resources for thinking and living that are available through (a) things that are not online at all and (b) things that are online but obscure and not in any way part of The Discourse. My constraint is that I will not participate in any social media platform to do this – people have to find me on the open web only. Once I realized that participating in The Discourse in any form whatsoever is a betrayal of my calling, I gained real and really-God-given peace. Again: FWIW.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96623547","date_published":"2026-08-29T20:05:01+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-29 20:05","date_timestamp":1788033901,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96558088","content_html":"@manton It shouldn’t bother me as much as it does!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96558088","date_published":"2026-08-28T15:45:40+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-28 15:45","date_timestamp":1787931940,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96558080","content_html":"@mbattles I’m making central Texas great again!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96558080","date_published":"2026-08-28T15:45:27+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-28 15:45","date_timestamp":1787931927,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"96206709","content_html":"@patrickrhone Maybe worth a try! (Though that’s not my preferred way to listen to music.) l’ve got a feeling that the sonic elements that are painful to me are just what the band wants to create.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/96206709","date_published":"2026-08-22T11:53:46+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-22 11:53","date_timestamp":1787399626,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"95765065","content_html":"@manton I would absolutely try this … if Marco did customer support. Seems like too big a risk in the circumstances. Also: Fingers crossed for Wavelength.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/95765065","date_published":"2026-08-14T14:41:25+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-14 14:41","date_timestamp":1786718485,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"95646385","content_html":"@wcaleb @manton Also, I assume that when someone does a Google search and interacts in any way with the Gemini response at the top of the search results, Google counts that as using Gemini.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/95646385","date_published":"2026-08-12T15:49:00+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-08-12 15:49","date_timestamp":1786549740,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94925220","content_html":"@dancohen Ack, I didn’t clock that, though I should have. Trouble on all sides!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/94925220","date_published":"2026-07-30T17:42:10+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-30 17:42","date_timestamp":1785433330,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94805665","content_html":"@manton Same. But I can see millions of people choosing to sweat rather than live without TikTok for a day.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/94805665","date_published":"2026-07-28T18:06:37+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-28 18:06","date_timestamp":1785261997,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94804963","content_html":"@manton I have a feeling we’re not that far from getting text messages saying “If you’d like to have air-conditioning for the next 24 hours, press 1. If you’d prefer to have the internet, press 2.”
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/94804963","date_published":"2026-07-28T17:52:21+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-28 17:52","date_timestamp":1785261141,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94800166","content_html":"@manton So pumped about this!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/94800166","date_published":"2026-07-28T16:11:35+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-28 16:11","date_timestamp":1785255095,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94749066","content_html":"@grmr Steven and I have been talking for a decade about hosting a year-long cohort: four seasons, four meetings, four books — let’s do it!
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/94749066","date_published":"2026-07-27T18:33:48+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-27 18:33","date_timestamp":1785177228,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}},{"id":"94588182","content_html":"@manton I’m hoping (but not expecting) that the two roads will clearly diverge and some people will just do video while others will just do audio.
\n","url":"https://micro.blog/ayjay/94588182","date_published":"2026-07-24T15:11:53+00:00","author":{"name":"Alan Jacobs ","url":"https://ayjay.org","avatar":"https://cdn.micro.blog/photos/96/https%3A%2F%2Favatars.micro.blog%2Favatars%2F2022%2F650.jpg","_microblog":{"username":"ayjay"}},"_microblog":{"date_relative":"2026-07-24 15:11","date_timestamp":1784905913,"is_favorite":false,"is_bookmark":false,"is_deletable":false,"edit_url":null,"is_conversation":true,"is_linkpost":false,"is_mention":true}}]}