I don't know

Shiiiiiit. Ain't it funny every newsletter (from me) starts like a fucking self-help course mixed with some social critique, even though you probably subscribed for interesting links?!

This time is no different, so bear with me. Trying to be vulnerable here. Not sell a course.

Recently, I lost one AirPod below my chair on (or in) the plane. I thought about what was more annoying... wired earbuds you'd need to untangle every time you get them out of your bag, or occasionally losing one or both AirPods?! Also - why is going from wired to wireless considered innovation while the real miracle, still, is the fact I'm in a tin can ready to lift off and fly to another country, fast. Why do I have so many random questions? What do I want? Huh? I don't know shit. How can people even follow this story? Who am I? Why?

Then it hit me!

I'm having a midlife crisis!

Hahahaha.

Okay, maybe it's not something I should laugh about. It's a serious thing many people struggle with. If this is you, please do reach out and uhm, we can share experiences? Maybe you're older and have dealt with this stuff before and you want to share that. Cool? Cool.

Either way, I'm self-aware enough to see the humor in my own personal crisis. Don't worry, it's not of any humanitarian scale such as the senseless injustice happening in Gaza. I'm not a victim. So, I do what any self-respecting white dude working in tech does. No, I ain't going to Ibiza for breath-work nor am I trying to find myself in some far away Ayahuasca retreat.

I just asked Claude. Or, as I like to say; Claudia.

Claudia makes it very clear she ain't a therapist, but she sure knows her stuff! I prompted her with all the input needed to make a clear assessment of what a fucking cliché I am, before she analyzed me any further.

In short:

Nalden. You're in no man's land:

Too old for youth culture
Too young to be the wise old man
Too successful to complain
Too honest to pretend everything is fine

The dilemma: your new voice is probably more authentic than your old one, but you miss the validation. And without that validation you doubt your new voice. But how will you ever get that new validation if you don't dare to continue?

The question is: can you live without that certainty for a while? Because what if this is exactly your new superpower - not knowing that you're relevant, but being relevant through searching?

D'oh! I simply want to be seen and feel validated. What a surprise! ;)

Obviously the conversation with Claudia is ongoing. I have to trust the process like a true Arsenal supporter and need to change certain behaviours. I always put a flag on the horizon, but must avoid creating any red flags during that journey in order to realise the vision.

So yeah, I'm workinonit and took Claudia's advice to start small with doing stuff I like. So I spend more time on a bike. A mountain bike. I'm contemplating starting a MtB club for middle-aged men dealing with stuff hahaha. Or maybe it's just an excuse to ride together instead of alone. Friendships are crucial yo.

Yet, Claudia isn't Samantha and even if she was, can AI really beat a human friendship?

For now, I'd say no.

But what the hell do I know?

Anthropic made a commercial to promote Claude and it's one hundred percent on-point! The fact they used ALL CAPS by MF Doom & Madlib makes me a lifetime user.
This legendary mixtape by dj Neil Armstrong is the complete soundtrack to a relationship if you will. From beginning to end. All things pretty, all the things that are ugly, and everything in between.
Love is a topic I'm by no means an expert in, but luckily Alexandra Gustafson is. Her research focuses primarily on the phenomenology of love, especially romantic love. Read & learn.
I also enjoyed reading this article with Charles Broskoski (from Are.na) about what it means to be curious online, but also some interesting takes on curiosity in times of AI.
Check out Levi Maestro who started Human With Voice. He too is figuring out... himself and I'm super proud of him. Food for thought!
Shoutout to Simon for embedding a Rumicat sign-up form on his website! Dude is seriously creative and if you've ever watched any cartoons, you're probably familiar with his work.
This announcement from Syndicate about a new foundation of a community-owned internet is pretty wild! I love how the promise of blockchain technology still has so much potential.
Jan used to be one of the most common Dutch names out there. Today Jan is an interesting open-source, fully offline AI chatbot designed for folks who care about privacy.
As a country, we Dutch still have to come to terms with our colonial hangover. A documentary that makes this point, rightfully so, very explicit is this one about how we "lost" Indonesia.
To close off, I highly recommend watching HER (again). Even though this film is released in 2013, it's still frighteningly accurate considering where we are today. Is Claudia the new Samantha?

Be curious, not judgemental.

Sent with Rumicat - Meow!

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