62/365

I feel like I’m neglecting my plants. This lavender on the side of the house really needs to be trimmed back, but I just haven’t had the time. Or, maybe I haven’t made the time. Of course, it’s rained the last three weekends so I didn’t feel like doing yard work and landscape maintenance in the rain and mud. And, the time change “spring forward” is next weekend. 

61/365

stock and flow 

…I think most of all about the concept of stock and flow.

Do you know about this? It couldn’t be simpler. There are two kinds of quantities in the world. Stock is a static value: money in the bank or trees in the forest. Flow is a rate of change: fifteen dollars an hour or three thousand toothpicks a day. Easy. Too easy.

But I actually think stock and flow is a useful metaphor for media in the 21st century. Here’s what I mean:

  • Flow is the feed. It’s the posts and the tweets. It’s the stream of daily and sub-daily updates that reminds people you exist.
  • Stock is the durable stuff. It’s the content you produce that’s as interesting in two months (or two years) as it is today. It’s what people discover via search. It’s what spreads slowly but surely, building fans over time.

Flow is ascendant these days, for obvious reasons—but I think we neglect stock at our peril. I mean that both in terms of the health of an audience and, like, the health of a soul. Flow is a treadmill, and you can’t spend all of your time running on the treadmill. Well, you can. But then one day you’ll get off and look around and go: oh man. I’ve got nothing here.

—via Snarkmarket 

60/365

March 1, 2023

First sunny day here in week. Too bad it’s been accompanied by strong winds and a freeze warning. 

The freesia in the backyard is budding. At least there are some signs of Spring. 

Some of the succulents in the backyard suffered some major frost damage this past month. Sadly, I don’t have enough room for all of them. The workbench in the printshop is already crowded with succulent planters.