It's the modern-day equivalent of finding out your great-grandfather belonged to the Klan. Or that embarrassing family story about "how we used to own a plantation." You know, the sort of thing one whispers over the turkey at Thanksgiving but won't verbalize until someone's had three drinks of wine.

For decades, tech has been about productivity. Speed. Efficiency. Remember when “smart” devices first became a thing and everyone just wanted their fridge to text them? We’ve been optimizing our lives to death. Now we’re starving for connection.

I was backstage at Fairfield High School, carefully drawing pastel stars onto my freshly whitened cheeks and wondering what I’d done, exactly, in my life that had led to this moment.

People often ask how Miles and I make it work—this whole “friendship into partnership” thing. The truth is, we’ve been training for it for 25 years without knowing it.

We live in an era where so much disappears—photos vanish into the cloud, conversations evaporate in feeds, and even extraordinary lives fade from memory.

But what if your grandmother’s voice could still say,
“Be kind, but don’t be a pushover”?

What if your grandfather could still show your son how to tie a tie?

What if we could carry our loved ones—not as data, but as presence—into the future?

In Death Stranding, Sam Porter Bridges is a courier uniting a fractured world. He builds the Chiral Network, connecting cities across a desolate United States. It’s a system that fuses the living with the dead—part infrastructure, part theology. Kojima reimagines cables and servers as emotional lifelines.

Reflekta does something similar, but in our world. It uses neural networks, large language models, and voice synthesis to let us reconnect with loved ones—even after they’re gone. While Sam carries physical cargo, Reflekta carries identity: stories, quirks, and memories preserved in a voice you still recognize.

Let’s get this out of the way: we didn’t build Reflekta because we wanted to ride the AI wave. We built it because we wanted to remember.

So, you want to live forever, huh?

Somewhere along the line, the term “alpha” escaped the National Geographic specials and took up residence in the American political and cultural landscape. It became a rallying cry for a neglected segment of society—disaffected men who felt overlooked, unheard, and utterly baffled by the concept of avocado toast (which is delicious, by the way). These men weren’t necessarily looking for a leader; they were looking for validation. Enter the self-anointed alphas, swaggering in with solutions as simplistic as their worldviews.

For all his cultivated splendor, Trump's garden is haunted by the ghosts of real-world outcomes—economic disparities, environmental decline, and cultural division. His delight may be boundless, but, like Bosch’s garden, it is set against a backdrop of impermanence, of something larger waiting to descend upon the revelers.

What if we could see one extra color? Something out of the normal spectrum, apart from ultraviolet and infrared. How would it change our perception of life? Of art? It’s all but an impossibility, but the concept and the ability to push past our frameworks and guardrails and create something entirely new is, in fact, very possible.

The political landscape of the early 21st century has been marked by unprecedented influence exerted through unconventional means. One of the most significant and controversial relationships in recent history is between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President Donald Trump. This relationship has sparked numerous investigations, debates, theories, and felony convictions. Central to this discourse is using social media as a tool for political influence and societal division.

Donald Trump's entry into politics and his subsequent rise within the GOP provides a prime example of the sunk cost fallacy in action. Initially seen as an outsider with unconventional views, Trump's unorthodox candidacy gained traction despite skepticism from within the Republican establishment. As Trump's campaign gained momentum, the GOP faced a dilemma: whether to embrace or reject him.

I turned to AI. I asked it for a list of things an American male should accomplish by the time they’re 45. Here’s the list, and here’s how I checkout.

This essay envisions a transformative societal evolution, positioning the United States at the forefront of enlightenment, justice, and global progress.

Rather than adapting to the evolving political climate, critics argue that the Republican party is resorting to the strategic use of Project 2025 to counterbalance its diminishing influence.

Saying "I don't know" is not an admission of defeat but a powerful affirmation of our shared humanity.

LinkedIn, once touted as the go-to platform for professionals to connect, network, and explore career opportunities, has faced increasing criticism in recent years. While it still boasts an impressive user base and offers valuable features, many users are beginning to feel that the platform is failing in some crucial aspects.

Another season - or two -and another list of my favorite books I’ve read during these months. As a collection, these run an almost schizophrenic array of topics, from fiction to non-fiction, historical dramas to modern character studies. All are worth a read.

We can - effortlessly - replicate a person digitally. We could capture their voice, likeness, and personality, assemble them, and power this Frankenstein monster through an AI engine. And, taking it to the next level, could we make digital copies of ourselves?