Bytes, Books, and Bikes

Hello, friends. After a few months of writer’s block on this newsletter, I’m trying a new format to see if it helps me get un-stuck. For as long as I’ve been writing on the Internet (19.5 years!) I’ve called the publication “Brian’s Brain,” and it’s covered whatever was on my mind at the time. Recently, though, it’s also lead me to self-censorship. I worry that people who originally started reading for funny kid and parenting stories might get confused when I start writing about mindful AI use, and the people who started reading me for my viewpoint on working for different tech companies might wonder why I’m writing book reviews.

I contain multitudes!

Here’s my attempt at a solution. I’m going to try to write shorter things more regularly about the full range of what is on my mind. Keeping the alliteration going: The main thing on Brian’s Brain these days are bytes, books, and bikes.

Bytes

My personal Notebook Index project is metamorphosing! Since I last wrote about it, I’ve hit a huge milestone: For my own personal use, it’s done. I’ve used the app to scan all 12 of my paper notebooks (1,853 pages spanning 17 years). I review the “On this Day” entries as part of my morning routine. This project has taken a good chunk of both my time and brainpower this summer. Even if I did nothing more with this, it would be one of the more rewarding personal projects I’ve worked on.

Enough people have reacted positively to this project, though, that I’ve decided to do the work to prepare it for the App Store. Anyone who kept a paper diary in their younger days, or who handwrites their diary now, can benefit from creating a digital copy for easy search and long-term archiving.

First up is a rebrand! I’m excited by my new name for this project: Inksightful. I also commissioned the great design firm Iconfactory to create an icon, and it turned out better than I’d hoped:

I do these programming projects to learn things, and what I’m excited (and a little scared) to learn about in this next phase of Inksightful is how to run a small side business. Unlike all of my other projects, this one costs money to operate. I pay OpenAI for every page that I send out for handwriting recognition. Thus, I need to figure out how to bring in money to cover ongoing costs, turning the next stage of Inksightful into a crash course on App Store APIs, taxes, and business bank accounts.

If Inksightful sounds like something you or a friend could use, you can get on the waiting list here: Inksightful. I can’t wait to get it out into the world!

Books

Late last year, I decided that I would read all of Jane Austen’s novels in 2025. I just finished Mansfield Park, and I have only two of her novels left to read (Emma and Persuasion).

I don’t know what first inspired me to do this, but after I set this goal I found out that this coming December is the 250th anniversary of Austen’s birth, so there are a lot of people riding with me on the Austen train this year. The more the merrier! If you are thinking of tackling Austen’s novels, I do recommend David Shaphard’s annotated editions — they’ve taught me a ton about life in Regency England. (Here is the edition of Mansfield Park that I just read.) I’ve also really enjoyed the commentary and insight from The Austen Connection on Substack, which is also reading all of Austen this year.

However, I was a little shocked to read this recently in the New York Times:

It was one of the most erotic things I ever heard. A man I know said he was reading all the novels of Jane Austen in one summer.

Then I stumbled on this Onion article: Man Wishes Women In Crowded Bar Would Let Him Read Jane Austen Novel In Peace

Really, this is not what I’m going for! Ladies, stay away. I’ve been happily married for nearly 25 years.

Bikes

I finished my fifth Seattle-to-Portland bike ride in July of this year. I think everybody should do this ride once. 208 miles over two days is long enough to be “epic” and give you the glow of accomplishment, but not so long that only freakishly talented endurance athletes can accomplish it. With training, any person with normal fitness can ride the STP.

The days will start fun. You’ll draw energy from the crowd, the summer sunrises are beautiful, and the temperature in the early morning will be right at the edge of “a little chilly” and “perfect” — it feels great when you start moving. Here’s thing, though. At some point, the ride stops being “fun” and switches to something you endure. Exactly where that spot is will be different for different riders, but I guarantee every one of the 6,000 riders will get to that point.

One thing that helps push people out of “fun” and into “endurance” is heat. If you don’t live in the Pacific Northwest, something to understand about our climate: Spring is cool and damp. Summer-like dry and warm weather comes suddenly and it comes late — the saying around here is summer starts the 5th of July. So while you can and should train to spend long days in the saddle, but no amount of springtime riding can prepare you for riding in the heat. That’s a salt-crusted treat you get to savor for the first time on STP weekend itself.

However, these are your rewards for pushing yourself beyond this is something fun and through this is something I will endure:

• The watermelon in Tenino at mile 88? It’s the best watermelon in the world.
• The fresh, hot, salty French fries in Centralia at mile 101 are the best French fries in the world.
• No feeling compares to the blissful shock of riding through a sprinkler after pedaling for hours in 90+ degree heat.
• And the finish line beer? You see the pattern: It’s the best beer in the world.

You only get to experience these things after your body’s spent hours operating right on the edge of what it can handle. Ride STP, and you’ll repeatedly get those electric reward jolts that the body sends the brain when it takes a break from endurance for these little treats.

Until next time, that’s all that’s going on in Brian’s Brain!