Welcome to week 18 of Internet of Literal Things. The weird, wacky, wonderful, and wild of the world wide web seems to be several-too-many “w’s” and a perfect place for me to start. I’m Sara Nason, a fellow person on the internet, who happens to have many hours on hand to read random articles that are tucked into multiple crevices in my phone.
This morning, in true Southern fashion, I went for a paddle down the creek near the house I’m staying in on a Stand-Up Paddleboard (SUP). I love the place I rent from — to the point where I’ll occassionally go early to catch up with the employees to hear about the interesting and not-so-interesting nonsense. A kibitz session, so to speak. And then I launch off the dock and sweat in 110º heat index, 70% humidity Southern climate with my hydroflask, PDF, and Chacos. I returned from my paddle today to encounter a conversation, in which I was asked how old I was (to which I made them guess, because I Don’t Care!) — the responses were 27, 25, and 24; not quite beating the previous guesses for the summer season of 15 (in high school) and 32 (with 2 kids). One of the employees (male, ofc) then asked me to guess his age, and I responded with, “I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Because of all of the things to spend energy on, my five minutes guessing this guy’s age is not on my list. And if he felt that my answer was rude — I’m approaching 22 revolutions around the sun, and no one (including myself) can believe it. Truly, it’s due to the fact that I feel like an 80-year old pretty much every day, and act at least a decade older than I am. I do know and care about the things that matter. But my dude! I DON’T CARE HOW OLD YOU ARE. AND I DON’T CARE ABOUT HOW OLD I AM EITHER.
(I can, however, tell you that I care very much about my astrological signs which have something to do with my age but are more telling and planetarily-aligned. Which one of the guys seemed to grasp when he asked “so are you a Leo or a Cancer?” and responded with “Oh that makes sense why you run your own business” when I said Leo.)
So, strangers of the internet, here we go. I don’t know and I don’t care for the Internet of Literal Things #18.
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What I’m Reading
A drainage project reveals the secrets of a Paris canal (City Lab)
The racist history of tipping (Politico)
Small acts of liberation (The Book of Life)
I found your data. It’s for sale. (Washington Post)
There are 16 million slaves around the world making our stuff (Quartz)
Where Roe v. Wade has the biggest effect (NY Times)
Their family bought land one generation after slavery. The Reels Brothers spend eight years in jail for refusing to leave it. (ProPublica)
It is time to ask very hard questions and to take very rude positions. (Substack)
We were promised moon cities (City Lab)
What I’m Visually Experiencing
Talk Pay (Google Sheets)
89. Scenes From Summer (YouTube)
What I’m Listening To
This is Beyoncé (Spotify)
🏆 A Photo of An #UglyDogs Related Thing On The Internet 🥇
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