Ping

Writing legal documents is a necessary evil, but there is nothing enjoyable about it. No creativity, no excitement, just endless, excruciatingly mind numbing details. Some work feels rewarding, some feels draining, and this is absolutely the latter.

The wind rages relentlessly outside. The road is off-limits, but a choice remains. Do I bring the bike indoors, immersing myself in a virtual ride, or surrender to stillness, allowing the muscles to recover and strength to rebuild?

Another meticulously executed Monday morning ride. The Tamagawa presented a striking visual anomaly, its surface a near-perfect specular reflection of the stratiform cloud cover suspended just above. The interplay of refracted light and fluid dynamics rendered the sky and river indistinct, an optical continuum where atmosphere and water merged into a singular, seamless entity.

Another real-world ride rocked out today, covering just a hair under 50 kilometers. The contrast between the open road and the static hum of indoor training is undeniable.

Riding outside is not just movement. It is engagement with the elements, a sensory experience that cannot be replicated in the confined predictability of the virtual world. There is nothing better than breathing in fresh air while exerting maximum effort to push insane wattage while on the road bike.

It felt amazing to mount Xanthos, my beautifully "lemonade" colored single speed bike, this morning, and hit the tarmac for an invigorating outdoor ride. It was an utterly delicious feast for both mind and body.

The crisp air awakened my senses, the rhythm of the road sharpened my focus, and every push of the pedals fed a deep hunger for continued momentum. This was more than a ride. It was a banquet of clarity, energy, and renewal, a rare indulgence leaving me fully satiated.

For clarity, and in case you were curious or confused, but Pings will never be sent through the newsletter. Only long-form articles are worth delivering via email. Pings are brief by design, meant for quick bite-sized updates rather than inbox clutter, and will remain exclusive to the site. The same applies to upcoming speaking engagements, unless they warrant a full post before or after the event.

I slightly refined the visual design of the new "Upcoming Speaking" section, ensuring it is both polished and responsive across devices. It now feels like it better aligns with my design philosophy for the site, which I am quite happy about.

I dedicated some time to adding an "Upcoming Presentations" section to the front page, offering a clearer view of the events I will be attending and speaking at. Visibility is not just about presence. It is about purpose. Every interaction, every talk, and every engagement is an opportunity to help people better understand the landscape I navigate.

I appreciate the efficiency of tasks in ChatGPT, but requiring users to open the app just to view the output is wholly counterintuitive. Receiving an email merely confirming execution without delivering results is wasteful.

A more thoughtful approach would offer the option to include the output directly in the message, reducing unnecessary steps, and improving the overall experience.

Unemployment is rarely ideal, yet these past few months have been a paradox of challenge and renewal. The absence of a work ritual has granted me the freedom to confront what I once discarded, to reclaim time lost to procrastination, and to reset my focus.

While I am eager to rejoin the grind, I am profoundly grateful for this period of reflection and healing.

The longer form post is now live, and goes into exquisite detail about the migration from WordPress to Ghost.

Longer post forthcoming, but here are some quick thoughts.

Not that my own little personal site means anything in the grand scheme of things, but after using Wordpress religiously for almost 20 years, I have fully migrated this web site to Ghost Pro.

While i admire Wordpress as a technology, the way Matt Mullenweg handled the WP Engine situation left a really sour taste. Watching a company so deeply embedded in the open web mistreat its own ecosystem was enough for me to walk away. I refuse to support a platform not respecting the people and businesses that helped build it into what it is today

It has been an incredible run, but it is time for a platform that is faster, leaner, and built for the modern web. Ghost offers exactly what I need: a streamlined, blazing fast tool with arguably the best online writing experience available

So long, Wordpress. Thanks for the incredible memories.

A busy and productive day. I have an in-person presentation in Singapore coming up in a few weeks, and today I finally finalized the topic and outline. Now the real challenge begins. I need to stitch together a story that is not just coherent, but thought-provoking, insightful, fun, and worth remembering with some solid takeaways.

Every idea in this story must connect, every argument must resonate, and every moment must hold value. I have fifty minutes for this adventure, and intend to make every minute count.

This is not just about presenting. It is about making people think, challenging assumptions, and leaving a lasting impact.

I am looking forward to this. It is going to be a lot of fun!

DNS propagation for jark.me is complete.

The migration from Wordpress.com to Ghost Pro is finalized, and jark.me now resides in its new permanent home.

The shift was not just technical, but philosophical. Wordpress has become bloated, sluggish, and cumbersome. Writing in it feels like an uphill battle, buried beneath unnecessary complexity. It remains a great CMS, but has lost its way as a writing platform.

Ghost, on the other hand, is a masterclass in balance. Elegant and minimal on the surface, yet powerful and sophisticated beneath. It moves with speed, responds with precision, and strips away the noise.

Writing tools should never get in the way.

More thoughts on this transition later.

Okay Tokyo, it is time to break free from this relentless cold. Raise the temperature, push beyond the single digits, and let the air carry something more than this lingering chill.

Here is an idea: consider increasing the temperature to at least be in the mid-teens. This daily sub-10°c existence is not doing it for me.

Crafting a powerful thought leadership piece demands time, precision, and relentless refinement.

Today, I spent four, maybe five hours immersed in the process, shaping each idea with intent, revising, iterating, and reworking until it aligned with the vision. Yet even now, it feels unfinished.

True thought leadership is never static. Hopefully, the result is compelling, sharp, and filled with unique insights.