#nowreading
"The Welfare Marketplace: Privatization and Welfare Reform" by Mary Bryna Sanger.

Hello! I'm Stephen. Here's a real #intro:

I've been a lawyer for ~8 years. For 6 years I represented marginalized folks in Ohio's courts, mostly appeals. For the last 2 years I've worked in systems and data for public defenders. Now I live in NYC and work in the Bronx.

I work with #data, #ethicaltech, process/systems improvement, #policy, #communications, #cjreform, and where all of that intersects. Let me know if you want to talk about any of that! (Also into #maps, #scifi, #hiking, my cat)

Over on Twitter, @jessamyn said about a project that she'd be "happy to help" with something but didn't want to run it. "Happy to help but don't want to run it" will be printed on my tombstone when I die from being crushed by a toppling pile of unfinished to-do lists.

I had a one-on-one meeting with a paralegal at my office to write up a process for attorneys requesting her help, and she made an agenda for the meeting, and the first item was an icebreaker! For just the two of us to do!! It made me really happy.

Bonus bird content: cardinal, red-bellied woodpecker, mandarin duck.

I spent four hours in Central Park yesterday. It was a very nice day.

There is a stereotype that the best coffee comes from coffee shops with the rudest staff. I never found this to be true until I moved to New York City. Columbus, Ohio managed to make good coffee AND be nice, but NYC can’t seem to do it.

I have finally reached the point at the diner where my server knows my usual order before I say it. This is an important milestone for me in living in a new city.

Also this is the first Captain Disillusion video I have watched, and his catchphrase, "love with your heart, use your head for everything else," really really resonates with me.

I absolutely love this video, both as a concrete and thorough debunking of a persistent internet myth, but also as a thesis on why debunking myths is so important, especially right now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLAwG7CjF_k

Just saw a car with the bumper sticker “work hard, be nice,” and I think that’s great.

I mostly agree with this: "The Beatles were so good that they're not very interesting to talk about-- it's like listening to someone drone on about the Grand Canyon. No other band has generated as much dull commentary, even as the music remains unimpeachable."
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/9669-love/

Sometimes I forget how cool "Beatles for Sale" is. This song absolutely hammers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgFo9STa70E

And also it lets Chicago cops say things like "this outrageous story sullies the good name of Chicago." Which rings so false to me, a guy who was almost beat up multiple times in Chicago for being Jewish.

From a certain perspective, this whole story is an overlapping set of victories for a certain conservative mindset: it makes law enforcement look great and fair, it makes progressive-leaning folks look like they'll manipulate facts to get what they want, and it makes conservative folks look like victims. These are all, in my opinion, dangerous outcomes, especially given the current political climate.

I bought a shop vac and cleaned the living room of my apartment, and I feel like I’ve completed an epic quest. Has anyone ever cleaned more than one room at a time??

Pro: the design of the pools is beautiful and meaningful.
Con: powdered and liquid soaps are banned from the premesis.

Some people I have spoken to seem to think this is totally obvious and sensible. One person at the Apple store said “yeah man, it’s ground zero.” Sure, but more specifically this is an Apple Store.

There are no trash bins at the 9/11 memorial for “security reasons.” This is interesting to me.

I love the Marie Kondo show so much that I'm going to take my to-do list, fold it in thirds, and store it standing up. Just to see if it helps.