Back with a purpose

Hello. Last month, I decided to take a break from blogging. Today marks my return, and I see the discourse around here is still focused on the merits and hazards of AI, on people's relationship to their tech, and on meta-blogging. So it doesn't seem like I missed much while I was away. A short recap of my life over the last 40 days: I'm happy to report that I've stayed off Reddit; that's almost two months away from what used to be a major trigger for my doom-scrolling. I've also limited my exposure to the news to a few sources—AP News, Reuters, and NPR—and no more than 5 minutes a day to glance at headlines. It's been mentally and emotionally peaceful on my end. This freed up a lot of my time to engage in what's clearly become a hobby for me since last fall: music. I created a Rate Your Music account and it's been fun spending time on a dedicated website with other people passionate about music, without the site itself being affected by the ongoing proliferation of AI. Between RYM and…