Another year is gone by, and we are still here. May 2026 bring us joy and wisdom.
Humanity is so young. We've just learned to keep our infants and mothers alive, to split the atom, to survive in space. Every year we pull new toys out of the box, look upon them with wonder and clumsily attempt to put them to some use. And every year that we don't poke an eye out is worth being grateful for.
Hank Green has recently released an app (App Store, Play Market) that helps take back the attention we constantly scatter among all the screens we have. No ads, no data collection, no pricetag.
Not getting distracted has become a superpower lately, what with everyone trying to grab our attention, carve it into small pieces and monetize it.
If you'd like some of your mental resources back, this app might help.
By Mondo79 on Flickr
Every year, there is a pipe organ festival in the Freiburg im Breisgau Cathedral. Our lead organ player, Jörg Josef Schwab, gathers the best from all over the world. The music can be uplifting, massive, or playful but always magical, from Bach to jazz.
Today we listened to the brilliant Nathan Laube from the US who did something fantastic with the dynamics and harmonies of his pieces. I came in tired and irritable and came out tired and happy.
We think death is evil, because it takes away. But death takes away what was on loan to us from life. When the parting is in peace and love, death is the final part of all the happiness we shared. But the pain is still soul-crushing.
Sonya supported me through the dark days of being single and stupid, she was there when we moved in together with my future wife. On the first night, she somehow lured a bird onto a Moscow balcony, killed it, and brought it to Vasilisa as a housewarming present. She supported us through the tumultous Moscow days and through our difficult move to Western Europe. Since 2022, she had been with us here, sharing the joy and pain of building a new life.
Of course, the update wiped all the data completely. Good thing I did not trust the promises of the tech support and backed up the website and the database before upgrading the server software.
Pretty excited to see the things modern tech stack and browsers can do for the UI.
