Author: Craig Constantine

You must choose →

Published June 5, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 5  ·  

Then there was a moment. A short one. Social media was perfect. The bubble popped, and suddenly there were voices from outside the bubble. But it was still small, still manageable, not yet the all-consuming force it is today.

~ Jacob Kaplan-Moss from, The Moment

Elsewhere, this is 4ujaae3. — slipbox

Today, we have asocial media. I’ve not seen anyone else point out we’re still misspelling it, “social” media. I agree with Kaplan-Moss, and I’ll point out that I am happily still living in that moment. I use the Internet, and I use my phone (and tablet, and computer, and my connection of people, etc.) — none of those things use me any longer. That’s the key. Figuring out what sources of interaction and information you find valuable, and then acting to make them a part of your lived experience. What made asocial media’s moment great was that it showed us that the Internet could be useful. Now it’s up to you to make it so for yourself.

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Feelings scare us →

Published June 4, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 4  ·  ,

You don’t know if your idea is any good the moment it’s created. Neither does anyone else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And trusting your feelings is not as easy as the optimists say it is. There’s a reason why feelings scare us—because what they tell us and what the rest of the world tells us are often two different things.

~ Hugh MacLeod

Elsewhere, this is 4a907. — slipbox

Deep conversation →

Published June 4, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 4  ·  

People benefit from deep conversations, but we often stick to small talk with strangers because we underestimate how much they’re interested in our lives, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

~ University of Texas at Austin from, Swapping small talk with strangers for deeper dialogue offers surprising rewards

I didn’t find this at all surprising. None the less, it’s nice to see it demonstrated in a repeatable experiment. I often talk about simply being curious, and how that curiosity generates conversations full of wonder. I’ve had hundreds of conversations now with people I know and total strangers, countless times they’ve expressed delight at the conversations we’ve created. The best part? It’s not a trick I’m performing; I’m genuinely curious.

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Yes and no →

Published June 3, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 3  ·  

Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.

~ Josh Billings

Elsewhere, this is 4a906. — slipbox

It’s the forums →

Published June 3, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 3  ·  

Forums are the dark matter of the web, the B-movies of the Internet. But they matter. To this day I regularly get excellent search results on forum pages for stuff I’m interested in. Rarely a day goes by that I don’t end up on some forum, somewhere, looking for some obscure bit of information. And more often than not, I find it there.

~ Jeff Atwood, from Civilized Discourse Construction Kit

Elsewhere, this is 4ucoci1. — slipbox

That’s a wonderful unpack by Atwood of why Discourse, (a piece of software that powers forums,) was created. Along the way there’s also a load of great information about discourse, (the concept.) And this article is now 9 years old.

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Always writing →

Published June 2, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 2  ·  , ,

I cannot find any patience for those people who believe that you start writing when you sit down at your desk and pick up you pen and finish writing when you put down your pen again; a writer is always writing, seeing everything through a thin mist of words, fitting swift little descriptions to everything he sees, always noticing.

~ Shirley Jackson

Elsewhere, this is 4a905. — slipbox

12% battery remaining →

Published June 2, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 2  ·  

Productivity hacks are fun, but they don’t always produce the greatest returns on your time. If you care about productivity, be sure to invest in your energy levels.

~ Chris Bailey from, Don’t forget the basics of productivity

Elsewhere, this is 4uaido1. — slipbox

I don’t do productivity “hacks.” I do productivity. My aversion to “hacking” anything runs deep. All of my productivity comes from doing things which return, the way compound interest returns. Whenever I can, I try to do the hard work up front. I am literally trying to pass gifts, (of time, energy, money, sanity,) to my future self.

It’s wise to occasionally erase the whiteboard to see what something could be like if built from scratch. It never ceases to amaze me when absolutely nothing happens nor changes when I entirely stop doing things. I recently removed an entire project—no one has even noticed. I recently was completely unreachable, (by everyone other than my wife,) for four days—no one noticed. If you started from a clean slate today, what would you choose to do?

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Today →

Published June 1, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 1  ·  

I don’t complain about the lack of time… what little I have will go far enough. Today—this day—will achieve what no tomorrow will fail to speak about. I will lay seige to the gods and shake up the world.

~ Seneca, Medea, 423-5

Elsewhere, this is 4a904. — slipbox

Silence →

Published June 1, 2022  ·  All posts on Jun 1

The universe makes a sound — is a sound. In the core of this sound there’s a silence, a silence that creates that sound, which is not its opposite, but its inseparable soul. And this silence can also be heard.

~ Etel Adnan from, Shifting the Silence to Find the Meaning: 95-Year-Old Artist, Poet, and Philosopher Etel Adnan on How to Live and How to Die

Elsewhere, this is 4uteee1. — slipbox

I am not a poet. Who knows, maybe if I were, I’d still be at a loss for words. On one hand, having read Popova’s short article I feel relieved; At the least, I’ve now noticed a person named Adnan has lived, and I’ve enjoyed a small sip of her writing. On the other hand, a gripping panic begins to rise up as it’s painfully clear that I will never make even the slightest progress in experiencing the totality of what this universe has to offer. Anyway, go take a sip.

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Influence with Robyn Triggs →

Published May 31, 2022  ·  All posts on May 31

What are the challenges and rewards of starting and maintaining a podcast, and how can podcasting serve as a medium for personal and therapeutic expression?

Exploring the unexpected emotional connections created through podcasting.

There’s something to be said for the beauty of, oh, this person really doesn’t actually need an answer; what they really just need is another person to go, I see you, I see this struggle, I acknowledge the struggle is real.

~ Robyn Triggs (9:52)

The conversation explores the personal and emotional dimensions of podcasting. Topics include imposter syndrome, the experience of creating a podcast, and the choice to step back when priorities shift. It highlights how feedback from others, especially moments of profound resonance with listeners, can reaffirm the value of one’s work. The therapeutic aspect of podcasting, including the opportunity to process emotions and connect with an audience, emerges as a recurring theme.

The discussion also touches on the practicalities of podcasting, such as starting with minimal resources and deciding whether to publish episodes. The idea of podcasting as a platform for authenticity and vulnerability resonates throughout, with the emphasis on how sharing personal experiences can foster connection and healing, both for the creator and their audience.

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