(Here's what I'm up to around the web…)
Published by my web software company Whitefusion, INTERSECT features articles about supporting the open web, security & privacy, UI/UX, and Ruby programming.
A blog & resource site + YouTube vlog for independent workers. Here I teach people how to embrace the free agent lifestyle and flourish as creators.
My alter ego as a producer of synthwave, chillout, and thematic electronica. Yarred combines cutting-edge DJ-style live groove production with classic keyboard playing on analog and digital synthesizers.
(The latest from The Jared White Show…)
In this episode of the show, Jared lounges by the pool and stays out of the rain to dive right into such heady topics as the new Nike ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, racist reviews of Crazy Rich Asians, the mobbing of Wil Wheaton, the release of Mastodon 2.5, and more. Also, you should believe people. Just sayin'.
We’re approaching the end of the main season for rose blossoms, so I was thrilled that the Rose Garden up in Washington Park in Portland, OR still has some exquisite roses blooming. Check it out if you’re in the area…one of my favorite spots in the city!
#portland #oregonexplored
A critical examination of the Statement on Social Justice & the Gospel and what it means for America's culture war.
“I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” –Vincent Van Gogh
#oregonexplored #Beaverton #quote
Even the geese in Portland are hipster.
Alternate title: “you lookin’ at me, punk?”
😂
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” –Martin Buber
#quote
Been going through my photos at Cannon Beach this summer and picking out the cream of the crop. This is one of those places that gets hyped up as a big tourist destination, but it’s absolutely justified. One of the best oceanside experiences I’ve ever had my life. #oregonexplored
It was my idea to attend. Nobody forced me. Why then did I feel like such a spy?
Tim Cook's Apple
Tim Cook wasn’t and isn’t a product person, not like Jobs. He didn’t dream up the next world-changing device. What he did was make those dreams a reality. Famously, he didn’t invent the iPad. He figured out how to make it for $500.
It would have been easy for Cook and his cool, steady Southern charm, to have continued as CEO much as he had as COO — running things by the numbers. But, even early on, Cook showed signs of something more.
@jared@openweb.social on Mastodon
The “business model” (if any) and development model of Mastodon vs. App.net (may it rest in peace) is radically different…however I see them as both fulfilling the same important need on the web: aligning the goals of a social network with the needs of its community, rather than the actual paying customers of nearly all proprietary social networks: advertisers.
Mastodon is nothing without the community. And I love that.
So I’ve been on Mastodon, the #openweb federated social network, for a while now. I’ve seen it grow and grow, and lately with all the wackiness with Nazis and other unsavory characters on Twitter—combined with the mind-numbing lack of awareness on the part of Twitter’s top brass—I’m seeing a ton of “influencers” in the tech/geek crowd migrating over to Mastodon. It’s very exciting. What’s also exciting is I decided to set up my own instance of Mastodon! It’s called (oh how I love that I was able to snag this domain name): OpenWeb.social. The link above lets you see my account there, and you’re welcome to sign up on the instance if you want to try out Mastodon yourself. I’ll be happy to show you around!
Trailer for Free Solo: in Theaters This Fall
“Alex Honnold’s Free Solo climb should be celebrated as one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever.” —The New York Times
So this guy climbed up the side of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. By himself. Without a rope. If you’re already getting queasy and feeling a touch of vertigo just thinking about that prospect, you’re not alone! I definitely look forward to seeing this documentary film—the subject matter is truly astounding—but I’m not so sure my stomach is ready for the ride…
Sometimes I find it intriguing to take a serene, pastural image of a corporate park landscape and grunge it up big time. Gives it some edge… #Hillsboro
Megan Westra recently asked an interesting question on Twitter: “what have you done in the last year to decenter and/or deconstruct whiteness in your life?” I appreciated her question and answered it thusly:
I’ve come to admit my white privilege. I used to recoil at the idea, thinking if I hadn’t personally committed any overt racist acts, I was not a racist and thus not to blame for anything. I’ve since come to realize I have a reponsibility to fight back against systemic racism.
If I’d had more room in my tweet, I would have admitted I’m not sure what the most effective way is for me fight against racism and #bigotry, but I do know I’ve started by examining my own actions. I intentionally try to go out of my way to listen to and respect the voices and art of people of color, and I encourage their promotion in all fields of endeavor. And if I’m ever given any authority to recommend candidates for a team, panel, conference, whatever…I intend to put in a lot of effort to find people from the margins to make sure they get first dibs. This doesn’t make me a great person. It just means I’ve grown a little bit more aware than some of my white peers, for which I am grateful.
There’s something magical about summer twilight in #portland.
I needed to take some time off work to think, to dream. Instead I listened to the advice of family and friends and charged into a new business opportunity. Was it successful? Was it an utter disaster? Read my story to find out.
I Wasn't Bullied as a Child, But I Got Made Fun Of a Lot
I know everybody has some type of complex that they deal with internally. And many people would probably say that while I may be short, at least I’m Intelligent, or have good hair or cool tattoos. I am definitely thankful for the things that I have in my life, but I have always had an issue with being short. It started in middle school when boys used to call me “small fry” or “bug,” etc. Throughout high school, many of my good friends were really tall, and even one of my best friends would call out about how small my hands were.
Fast forward almost 20 years later, and (as I mentioned earlier) people still comment on how short I am. I never really put that much thought into why I hated it so much. I would just try to push it out of my mind as quickly as possible and leave the conversation. It wasn’t until a recent bachelorette party with friends from high school that I realized how much I was bothered by it. Not by the fact that I’m short, but by having been picked on because of it my entire life.
I appreciated reading this article by Shana Bull because I can relate—not that I’m short, but because I got made fun of when I was young too. I was a really chubby kid and a bit of a klutz, and so I grew up thinking of myself as being just hopelessly nerdy and out of shape. Not athletic in the least. Certainly not “cool” in any sense.
It’s taken many years for me to get the point where I feel good about my body. Loosing weight, going to the gym, walking and running a lot…all things that have helped my mindset change. I’m not saying I’m ready to join a sports league now 😜, but I definitely no longer feel like the fat klutz of my youth.
It’d hard to shake off the labels people place on us. One of my primary goals as a parent is to help my kids feel confident in who they are and how they were created; to know that they have the power to define for themselves what they want out of life and to ignore the external voices of ignorance. I realize I can’t stop people from making fun of them, but I can help them resist the temptation to take it to heart.
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A good summary by Rene Ritchie on Tim Cook’s seven year tenure as CEO of Apple.
In my opinion, Cook has been a better CEO than Steve Jobs. Jobs was a jerk, but he was also a creative visionary. Cook is neither a jerk nor a visionary, but he’s able to effectively lead visionary people at Apple while also standing for vital principles such as privacy and security.