Bryan Robb

  • I was listening to a podcast this morning that used the phrase “toxic positivity” to describe LinkedIn. Perfection 👌

  • Holy crap, that national alert just scared the bejeezus out of me.

    Thought the aliens had arrived.

  • Having been in a software developer heavy social media world for the last year (Mastodon et. al), I’ve come across the word “opinionated” often to describe certain FOSS or site templates.

    I understand it doesn’t exactly have the same meaning in that context, but it got me thinking that being opinionated in my field (urban planning) is equivalent to activism and is heavily discouraged. It can ruin people’s careers.

    This is probably the most difficult part of the job for me. When your livelihood and family rely on you for support, it’s very difficult to risk it all just to share opinions, particularly unpopular ones.

    When I was younger, I thought conformity was stupid. As an adult, I see it as necessary for survival. And my thoughts on freedom have changed as a result. I’m now thinking that people that make their own lunch so to speak, the business owners and self-sufficient, the wealthy, are the only ones who can truly share their open and honest opinions without major repercussions.

  • The photos app is always showing me memories of all the fun times I had pre-kids! Halloween 2010, Lansing, Michigan. Quality Dairy parking lot, on the way to a party on the River Princess.

  • Some happy little Micro.blog news for me. I had been struggling to find a simple username I liked. Someone already had the [@bryan](https://micro.blog/bryan) handle but he hadn’t updated his blog in 5 years. I reached out to him on Mastodon and he agreed to let me take it over! Very gracious of him and I’m grateful!

  • Currently writing a personal bio as a professional introduction for other staff in my new department. One of my least favorite things. Striking a balance between accomplished yet humble is a struggle. Stick to the facts I guess.

  • In about a month I get to take my son to his first concert. Ever since watching the Scooby-Doo and KISS movie, he’s loved KISS. So, in yet another experiment in parenting, we’re taking a trip up to Seattle on Amtrak to see them for their farewell tour. Should be entertaining!

  • Man, the Hudson Tower in Detroit is getting massive. What a beauty by SHoP Architects. Photo by [dcholmes](https://instagram.com/dcholmes?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==) on Instagram.

  • Just got a second line for work on my phone with eSIM through Tello. Surprisingly easy and affordable, so hopefully the service is OK. No more desktop-based NEC Softphone for me!

    Looks like I can also run a time-based iOS Shortcuts automation to disable the secondary work number after hours.

  • This album dropped 28 years ago this month and it rocked my 14-year-old world.

  • Does the iOS share sheet to the Micro.blog app work for anybody? This is what I get no matter what I try to share.

  • I have the hardest time remembering how to spell the word for ‘weekly’ in Italian: settimanalmente.

    That word is far too long for its meaning 🙂

  • Hopefully, as we mature, we reach a certain point in our lives when a combination of self-awareness and good judgment of others’ character keeps us out of bad relationships.

    Too many times I’ve seen close friends get into bad relationships for the wrong reasons and it just pains me to see.

  • I heard Saddle Mountain in the Oregon Coast Range is back open. I miss that hike. It’s a few years old, but here’s a photo at the top.

  • Signed up for a premium Micro.blog account to host audio, so here’s a quick and dirty test. A cover of ‘Hard Times’ by Gillian Welch.

    [link](https://indw.blog/2023/09/30/signed-up-for.html)

  • Getting into the spirit.

  • This Michigan-Nebraska game is a blowout.

  • At the in-laws’ place for my FIL’s birthday. This view will never get old. Columbia River looking across to Oregon from Washington.

  • I can’t name a single song of Paul McCartney’s since 1980’s “Wonderful Christmastime”.

    Pretty amazing considering every beloved Beatles song was written during a span of just 10 years but somehow the man hasn’t written anything memorable in 43 years.

  • Reminder to always look at insurance billing in detail. Just had a crown put in and the dentist tried to charge me an additional $230 when in fact they owned me that money from overpayment. As if this stuff isn’t expensive enough 😬

  • Imagine being such a megalomaniac that you start a magazine and put yourself on the cover every month 😂

  • > Dad, this is like a chicken nugget potato. It’s crispy on the outside, potato on the inside!

    ~My son upon eating a McDonald’s hash brown for the first time today.

  • >This is my lunch. Taquitos and chocolate milk.

    -my wife

  • It’s amazing how critical we can be of ourselves and our art. All these years of playing guitar and singing and I’ve never released anything official because of fear of my abilities and anxiety about what others will think. I get a lot out of playing for myself, but it would be nice to put something out into the world.

    I have been considering doing something ambitious and writing a song per week for a year. Maybe starting a second Micro.blog account for it and using the podcast hosting to do quick acoustic songs with no mixing or editing. Just let them be what they are.