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Welcome to Somethings, your weekly dose of highlights, recommendations and notes from my notebook. If you would like to receive this in your inbox, subscribe now. If you want to support, do checkout the links in the Friends of Somethings Section.
First post of 2026 and already late. Though I have a good excuse; family obligations. That’s the most you’ll get out of me. I did manage to get some writing done. Still this will be a short one.
🛠️ Somethings to Use
Uniball Zento
A few weeks ago I told you about how you should journal. My preferred way is a pen and notebook. And I love this pen. It writes clearly, and it very comfortable to hold. Also it looks cool. I know this sounds like an ad, but what more can you have say about a pen?
📕Somethings to read
Do Humans dream of Electric Sheets?
This is a book length essay by Paul Ford on what is code. It is quite revelatory in the age of “vibe coding”.
When you “batch” process a thousand images in Photoshop or sum numbers in Excel, you’re programming, at least a little. When you use computers too much—which is to say a typical amount—they start to change you. I’ve had Photoshop dreams, Visio dreams, spreadsheet dreams, and Web browser dreams. The dreamscape becomes fluid and can be sorted and restructured. I’ve had programming dreams where I move text around the screen.
— Paul Ford, What is Code?
📺 Somethings to watch
A Man on the Inside
Calling it a sitcom would be incorrect. Man on the Inside is about a retired engineer that just lost his wife. In the first season, he goes undercover in a senior home to investigate a theft. Hijinx ensues. But so do discussions on mortality, life, and friendship.
🎵 Somethings to Listen
Mini-Stories: vol 21
This collection of short-segments from the podcast 99% Invisible. All the stories are great but the best one is about the person that survived not only the Titanic, but it’s sister ships Olympic and Britannic. Both of which also sank.
Thank you for joining me this week. If you know some who might enjoy this, please forward this email to them. See you next week.
Mudassir Chapra