What Jack Baty’s Blogging Anniversary Post Reminded Me Of

Auto-generated description: A vintage keyboard sits alongside a spiral notebook, pen, and an instant photo on a dimly lit wooden desk.

I was reading Jack Baty’s blog the other day via RSS and saw his post, “25 years of blogging”. That was three years before I started on Blogger, in the pre-Google days. I had a website before blogging: an about page, photo galleries, a guestbook, and a reading page, hosted by my ISP (GTE) around 1998. I really loved Microsoft FrontPage. I would change the theme and galleries and update the book page at least once a month, but it wasn’t a blog.

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My Battle with Subscription Fatigue: Mid-Year Update

Reviewing the long list—trimming expenses brings a mix of relief and challenge.


I figured I’d give an update on my ongoing battle with subscription fatigue. This is a mid-year check-in, and I might start doing these quarterly just to keep myself accountable. Over the past few months, I’ve whittled down my subscription list by several more services. Most were dropped by choice because of price or lack of use, while one disappeared on its own when my cell phone plan changed.

Gone by choice are Netflix, SiriusXM, Yahoo! Mail Plus, Mail.com, Pocket, Peacock, and Protopage. The only one I lost due to my Verizon Wireless legacy plan was Google Play Pass. Why these services? Mostly, they became too expensive or the promotional deals ended. For example, I had the Netflix/Peacock bundle through Verizon Play+. I not only let it lapse, but Verizon also shut down the entire service. It was a good idea to have everything in one place, and it could have been even better if Verizon had used their influence to get better deals from the streaming services. It would have made things more convenient for people, letting them manage everything in one place and maybe even get a discount. But it seems Verizon didn’t want to treat it as a concierge perk for loyal customers, and they were probably losing more money than it was worth, even if it worked well as a small loss leader.

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I Didn’t Need a Report to Know Tampa Traffic Is Bad

Traffic camera view of I-75 Southbound near Fowler Avenue in Tampa at night, showing heavy congestion in the right lanes with long lines of red brake lights.

I was just watching our local news on fox13tampabay.com, and they had a story on a ConsumerAffairs report about which cities have the worst traffic. The city I have to travel to for work (Tampa) was ranked 13th worst in the nation and number 3 in the state, behind Miami and Orlando.

I will say I don't know much about Miami. I’ve only been there once for a few hours before leaving. Orlando, though, is definitely worse than Tampa. I've lived in the City of Tampa proper and now live in the suburbs, Brandon, and the traffic has always been bad in both places. But over the last couple of years, since everyone returned to the office, it has been the worst I’ve ever seen.

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It’s pouring outside right now 🌧️. This has been happening a lot this rainy season. Late-night showers, sometimes mid to late afternoon ☔. It’s helping with the heat at night 🌡️. Now there’s low, rolling, window-shaking thunder too ⛈️.

#Florida #rainyseason #weather

 A nighttime scene captured from a security camera shows a rain-soaked street and garden with neatly trimmed bushes and a glowing lamppost.

Heads of State, 2025 - ★★★★

This was fun and felt more like an action comedy than a straight action movie 🎬. Some parts were a bit unbelievable, but overall it was enjoyable 👍. This is one of the better movies Amazon’s Prime Video has made ⭐. I’d watch it again if there was nothing else on 🍿.

Just found out it’s National Watermelon Day! 🍉 Not an official holiday, but definitely a day worth celebrating. I love watermelon, so eat some today!

Auto-generated description: A picnic table with watermelon slices, drinks, and fruit salad is set near a fenced watermelon field.

Old Tech, New Posts: My Most Productive Blogging Year Yet

Vintage beachside desk with Blogger on screen and ocean view.

I have so many ideas running around in my head. I've been blogging more than ever this year, and it's been my most productive stretch since I started blogging and building my own website—23 years ago. Although I don’t think I have many readers, and what I write may not be interesting enough to spark much interaction, I still enjoy doing it.

I remember when ISPs gave you what seemed like generous personal website space. My first real ISP was GTE, now Verizon. Before that, I had dial-up with AOL and those limited minutes, but I mostly used it for email and a bit of web surfing—usually hunting for information about new computer games.

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Living with HOCM: A Mid-Year Update

Black-and-white hand-drawn illustration of a doctor’s office, showing a doctor with a stethoscope seated at a desk, attentively listening to a male patient. The office includes a computer, medical supplies, bookshelves, and an anatomical heart chart on the wall, all rendered in detailed pen-and-ink linework with subtle cross-hatching.

Back in March, I had my six-month checkup with my cardiologist. I told him I was feeling tired and fatigued all the time, more than usual. I thought it might be the medication. My last echocardiogram in August 2024 had shown some improvement, and my PVCs (premature ventricular contractions) were down. So I figured it was just the burden of the meds.

At the time, I was taking Metoprolol 100mg ER twice a day and Diltiazem 240mg ER once a day. My heart had been doing okay. The few times I went into AFib, the episodes were short. Sometimes just a minute or two, long enough for me to catch it with my Galaxy Watch 6 Classic or my Kardia device, and then it would stop. These episodes only happened maybe every other month.

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📺This TV Week’s Watchlist

Anime-style digital illustration inspired by Studio Ghibli, showing a person relaxing on a sofa while watching TV in a cozy living room. The room includes a glowing screen, a media console, and a bookshelf with colorful books, a cross, and a Starship Enterprise model, all bathed in soft, warm lighting.

From Paramount+:

🎬 Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Season 3, Episodes 1–2 ⭐⭐⭐½ No spoilers!

I liked it overall, but I wasn’t thrilled that Season 2 ended on a two-part episode. 🎬

🎬 Tracker – Season 1, Episode 12 ⭐⭐⭐½ No spoilers!

This continues to be a solid series with a compelling storyline. Justin does a great job, along with his co-stars. 🎬


From Amazon Prime:

🎬 The Chosen – Season 5, Episodes 6–8 (Season Finale) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “No spoilers” doesn’t quite apply here—it’s based on the Bible.

This show continues to amaze me. The acting is phenomenal, and what a way to end the season. I can’t wait for the next—but I’m glad I already know how it ends. 🎬

#tv #ParamountPlus #PrimeVideo #Entertainment #Reviews

Ed Zitron Might Be Right, But I’m Still Using AI Every Day

AI at your side—just another tool on the desk.

Lately, I’ve been listening to Ed Zitron and his podcast Better Offline. He’s not shy about his views: he believes that most AI companies are burning through cash and are likely to fail because they don’t have viable products. I respect his perspective. He clearly understands the tech industry and sees AI as mostly a kind of “magic trick”—a system that assembles words in ways that appear intelligent, but in reality don’t demonstrate real understanding. That’s my paraphrase, not his.

As for me, I don’t claim to fully understand the business models of these companies or whether they’re financially sustainable in the long term. But to be honest, I’m not especially concerned. I’m not investing in them. The only money I’ve put into this space is my $20 per month subscription to ChatGPT from OpenAI, and for that amount, I get value in return.

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Keep Trek Running

Futuristic starship gliding past a distant planet with nebula clouds in the background, symbolizing Star Trek's enduring journey and its vision of an attainable future

I was just watching an old episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I’ve always been into Star Trek, every series except Star Trek: The Next Generation. I’m not sure why, but I never fully got into that one. The others: The Original Series, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and all the movies (except the Next Generation ones), I loved and eagerly awaited. Whether it was a new film release or the next week’s episode, I was always excited. I never watched Star Trek: The Animated Series either, even though I own it on DVD.

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📺 This TV Week’s Watchlist

A vintage television displays a split screen: on the left, a black-and-white courtroom scene with an older man in a suit; on the right, a colorful modern sitcom scene with a young smiling couple in a cozy living room.

From Paramount+:

🎬 Matlock – Season 1, Episodes 11–19 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ No spoilers!

I just finished the first season. What a different take on the original Matlock. Overall, I liked it and was really pleased that CBS decided to renew it for a second season.

You might remember I canceled my subscription to this service. Well, that’s true, but they offered me two months for 99 cents to come back. I figured, why not take Paramount+ up on the deal and finish the seasons I didn’t get to complete, including this show and the one below. 🎬

🎬 Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage – Season 1, Episodes 14–22 ⭐⭐⭐ No spoilers!

I finished the first season of this one too. I liked it. It fits nicely into the Big Bang Theory universe and is pretty enjoyable. I’m glad it got picked up for a second season as well. Nothing much more to say. It’s just a good show when you want something light and funny. 🎬

#tv #ParamountPlus #entertainment #reviews

The Ballad of Wallis Island, 2025 - ★★½

Just finished watching The Ballad of Willis Island. It was... fine. Not terrible, but nothing that really stood out either. The story didn’t quite pull me in, and while the setting had potential, it felt underused.

This won’t be making my buy list. One viewing was enough.

Capturing a Rare Visit

Family gathered for a rare visit — grateful to be the one behind the camera 📸💛


Some of my cousins came by with my aunt and uncle to visit my parents. It’s not often we’re all in the same place, so I gathered everyone for a photo: my parents, aunt, uncle, and cousins.

We don’t see each other much these days, and moments like this feel more meaningful with time passing. We're all getting older, maybe a little wiser too. 📸💚

I’m not in the picture since I was the one behind the camera. The only editing I did was to clean up a bit of clutter on the counter.

#CherishedMoments #MemoryLane #GenerationsTogether #FamilyPhoto

Balancing Simplicity and Style Online

A stylized digital illustration of a man sitting at a desk, typing on a laptop. A soft green glow emanates from the screen, projecting a holographic website interface onto the wall in front of him. The atmosphere is calm and modern, evoking a sense of focused creativity and digital craftsmanship.

I recently made a few updates to the theme on my website at michaelmitchell.blog, which is hosted through Write.as. The goal was to modernize its look and feel while also complementing my micro.blog site.

Feel free to drop by and take a look. I’m really happy with how it turned out. If you happen to spot any bugs or quirks, just drop me a line. Thanks!

I tried to stargaze tonight under the full moon 🌕, but the mosquitos were relentless. I couldn’t stay outside. Florida summers don’t mess around. 🦟 #FullMoonFeels #FloridaLiving #SummerNights

Capturing the Moon with My Seestar S30

I’ve always wanted a telescope. Something I could use to take photos and videos of the night sky with my phone or camera. I recently came across a YouTube video about the Zwo Seestar S50, but since this is my first telescope, I decided to start with the more beginner-friendly S30 and bought it for my birthday.

I’ve owned it for a couple of months, but only recently started using it seriously. Here are some of the first photos I captured with it on July 4, 2025:

Auto-generated description: A detailed photograph of the moon shows its craters and surface features against a black sky.

Auto-generated description: A detailed view of the moon's surface, highlighting its craters and dark patches.

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Blogging My Way: Typora + Git + Cloudflare + Micro.blog

This post serves two purposes. First, it marks the inaugural entry 🥳 on my new blogging system. I'm using Typora ✍️ to write and save my posts locally in a folder. From there, I git push them to my GitHub repo 🔁, which then deploys to Cloudflare Pages 🌐. Finally, the RSS feed is imported into Micro.blog 📰.

It’s not as elegant as MarsEdit 💻—the polished Mac-only tool—but it works for now and lets me keep using Typora, which I really like. I tried Obsidian 🧩, but it felt too complicated. The whole "vaults" system 🤯 didn’t click with me. Typora is just simple and clean ✅.

#blogging #typora

Happy 249th Birthday to the United States of America 🇺🇸

 A cinematic oil painting of a 1776 Independence Day parade in a colonial village. Continental soldiers in blue and red march down a dusty road, led by a large Betsy Ross flag. Civilians on both sides cheer and wave flags, with women and children in period clothing celebrating. The warm tones and painterly texture give the scene a nostalgic, historic feel.

Today, we celebrate the 249th birthday of the United States — my home country and my birth nation. Nearly two and a half centuries have passed since our founding, and in that time, we’ve experienced triumphs and trials, unity and division, progress and setbacks.

Some might say we’re not in a good place right now. And yes, it’s true — we are in a turbulent chapter. But I take comfort in history. Nations go through cycles. England, France, and the rest of Europe have weathered centuries of political and social upheaval. They have survived monarchies, revolutions, world wars, and more — and they endure. So will we.

Europe was home to many of history’s greatest empires: the Greeks, the Romans, and the vast British Empire — the largest the world has ever known. In modern times, however, the American nation was instrumental in bringing an end to both World Wars. That matters. We have never been perfect, but we have often stood firm in moments when history demanded courage, sacrifice, and leadership.

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I see Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” has passed. I think it will ultimately cause more harm than good. If it works the way it’s supposed to, I should personally benefit from the overtime provision and maybe, in a couple of years, the new car interest tax rebate. But I also know a lot of people it will hurt. 🤷‍♂️

As a no-party-affiliated voter who leans just right of center on most issues—and definitely left of center on healthcare—I’ve always believed we should have universal healthcare. 🏥 I don’t have all the answers, and I’m not sure how we’d fund it or make it work in a way that’s both sensible and doctor-patient centered, but I believe it’s the right direction.

I think the cuts to Medicaid are harmful. I’m not totally against work requirements, as long as they’re applied equally and fairly to people who aren’t disabled in any way.

And once you factor in looming tariffs and the removal of undocumented farm and construction workers, I think inflation will come roaring back. 📈 Any breaks I might get will likely be eaten up.

That’s just my two cents.

#Politics #Healthcare #Economy #Opinion