Staff Meal
Off the clock
The rest of this site covers my work. This page is for the books, shows, apps, and slightly obsessive way I plan trips. The list changes as I do.
Reading
Ready Player OneErnest ClineNostalgia, technology, and a story written for people who grew up around computers. 
Kitchen ConfidentialAnthony BourdainRequired reading from my first career. Bourdain wrote down what every kitchen already knew. 
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72Hunter S. ThompsonPolitical journalism that does not pretend the writer is invisible. 
For Whom the Bell TollsErnest HemingwayShort sentences, big stakes. I think about the prose as much as the plot. 
Europe Through the Back DoorRick StevesThe manual. Half my trip-planning habits trace back to this book.
In print
WildsamTravel writing with hand-drawn maps. I like how slowly it asks to be read. 
OriTravel stories that give people and places room to breathe. 
The Flow TripLifestyle and culture in a format worth keeping around.
Watching
- The BearSeriesI ran those Friday nights. It’s accurate enough that my shoulders tense.
- Slow HorsesSeriesA group of supposed rejects doing good work. The writing is wonderfully mean.
Mike OkayYouTubeTravel videos that feel more like walking with someone than watching a guide.
Bald and BankruptYouTubeHe goes to places the guidebooks usually skip.
Peter SantenelloYouTubeHe spends time in communities many of us know only through other people's opinions.
On my phone
FlipboardApp StorePart of the inspiration for Ripple.
ClaudeApp StoreLets me work on my projects from my phone.
LibbyApp StoreBooks and magazines, checked out from my library.
CodexWebAnother way to keep a project moving when I am away from my desk.
PokeWebAI inside iMessage. It watches my email and texts me when something needs me.
Doing
I am almost always planning a trip. Right now it is Japan or a month alone in Europe, whichever wins. There is usually a new app taking shape too. The folder count on my Mac keeps climbing.
One habit that may sound odd: I watch walking-tour videos on YouTube with Google Maps open on my phone, following along street by street and bookmarking places where I might eat, drink, or wander. By the time I arrive, I have already walked the neighborhood from my couch. It comes from the same curiosity that led to Ripple: wanting to understand places beyond the one where I am standing.