A Connection with the Past

I am teaching my students about the coming of the American Civil War. Today we read about and discussed the Compromise of 1850 and the attendant Fugitive Slave Law. Considering we are two days out from the murder of Renee Nicole Good and a day out from federal agents having shot two people here in Portland, students made some connections. Of course, some of my students are currently quite frightened by what is happening in our country. Others are seething. I noticed that it was quite easy for them to understand the anger and outrage northern abolitionists must have felt in the 1850s, when their federal government was behaving in such a patently immoral way. Unlike any other year that I have taught this, students are connecting in a unique and powerful way.

You might say events, along with an understanding of the past, are waking them up.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is Overpaid and the Leader of a Shitty Company

Comcast was so unpopular they had rebrand as Xfinity 15 years ago. Well, Xfinity sucks just as bad Comcast. They are essentially a monopoly, and they act like it (with high prices, shitty customer service, because what are you going do about it??). Yesterday our internet was down for a good 9 hours. They said they were going to improve service. Once it was turned back on, it was slower than before. Today it went out again, and we got no heads up via text. Then, when I went to the app to deal with it, it wouldn’t let me sign in. I knew my password, but it still wouldn’t let me in. Then, of course, I tried to call them to get some help. Did I get a chance to talk to someone? Nope….No humans available.

The CEO of Comcast is a guy named Brian Roberts. He made approximately $34 million in 2024. That was a step down from 2023, when his total compenstaion was $35.5 million. He’s a billionaire, so these earnings are a mere pittance. Guess how he came to the CEO of Comcast? Yep, he’s a nepo baby. His daddy was the founder. He apparently owns ‘only’ 1% of the company via ownership stock, but he owns approximately 33% of the B shares (i.e., the voting shares). The top 3 Shareholders (by equity) are The Vanguard Group (~10%), BlackRock, Inc. (~8.8%), and State Street Corporation (~5%).

Oh, and Comcast also owns a controlling stake in NBC Universal. That means that a nepo baby who didn’t earn shit owns one of the biggest media companies in America, as well as the means of providing the media to your home or computer.

This is another example of someone with too much power, making tremendous amounts of money he merely has the privilege to be earning. Roberts inherited his company, and therefore his disgusting salary. And to be clear, the service they provide, especially their customer service, is shitty.

Funny side note: I just asked Google’s Nano Banana Pro to generate an image of people with pitchforks marching up to a castle named Comcast for my tiny little blog. It wouldn’t do it. Said it was a violation of their guidelines. I read the guidelines and think their explanation is a stretch. Anyway, Google’s got the back of their fellow corporoate overlords covered. Checks out.

OK, rant over.

5 Recommendations

It has been a while, so here are 5 recommendations for your consideration.

  1. This article by the YouGov folks documenting the sad dearth of reading in our society. To say it explains a lot is a large understatement. This is a deep dive loaded with easy to understand renditions of recent data.

  2. Musical Artist Miles Miller. I few years ago I came across a few of the tunes from his inaugural record and became a fan. I especially love Highway Shoes. Recently, at the Phish show I was lucky to see, his new album was played in it’s entirety pre-show. It also has some great tunes, like Stormy and Get Busy.

  3. Jeff Su’s tech YouTube channel. Su’s humor is self deprecating and his videos are both clear and helpful (assuming you use the software he teaches about). He has a newsletter as well that I subscribe to because I am deep into the Google ecosystem. His AI knowledge has also been helpful to me.

  4. The Achilles Trap by Steve Coll. This book was a Christmas gift and covers the background to the US invastion of Iraq. Probably not for everyone, but for history nerds and news junkies, it’s a great read. He does a fantastic job humanizing some of the big players, like the sadistic weirdo Saddam Hussein. (Did you know he wrote novels?) Considering the hubris we are seeing at the moment in present administration, this is relevant reading.

  5. A cool new blog with similar vibes to this one (but with better writing!). The author is a friend and I know his take on the world will be worth reading. Good luck Androsian!

New Year, New Books to Read

I recently visited three bookstores in New York City and three in New Haven, Connecticut. I had received some gift cards to book stores but I didn’t want to buy books back east and have to deal with traveling back home with them. Instead, I was happily conducting research. I took note of what interested me and then went shopping when I got back home.

The photo below is what I came home with, except for the John le Carré novel, which was a gift I received in New Haven. Pretty good mix; a little poetry, a little philosophy, some memoir, some history. I even managed to get one novel. The surprise of the litter was The Coming of Neo Feudalism. I am also excited to read Brandon Stratton’s Dear New York, since I am a huge fans of his other photography/interview books.

I hope you got something new to read, as well.

On Being Sick

Being sick is no fun. I am lucky that I don’t get sick all that often. Unfortunately, today is one of those rare times. I woke up in the middle of the night and knew my body was fighting something. My Oura ring data confirmed things in the morning (not that I needed confirmation, though it is somewhat comforting to know the ring is able to pick up on important changes in my biometrics).

My illness is complicated a bit by the fact that I need to spend a good part of tomorrow afternoon and evening flying across the country. Normally that would throw me for an additional mental loop, perhaps worsening my condition. That situation has me leaning in hard to developing a positive mindset. I am lucky I can take today off and just relax. However, I am also actively working in my mind to convince my body that I am healing and that my trip tomorrow will arise without incident. We shall see.

Being under the weather brings up a few other thoughts about mental framing. For me, I can easily get down on myself for not being as ‘productive’ as I should be. I’ve put off grading for most the past couple weeks and I had hoped to get more done today. I am reframing this as a forced pause that was needed. I am hoping that feeling better, along with the start of the new year, will give me a ‘fresh start effect’ as I dive back into teaching.

It is also a reminder that the body must be respected. I’ve been out of my own bed for almost two weeks now. I spent the night in the Charlotte airport recently, and stayed up late seeing Phish in the Big Apple. My diet, being away from home, has also been off kilter. I respect that my body is sending me a message.

Ultimately, illness interrupts our narratives and sense of control. It demands more rest and more listening, at least for a time. I’m hopeful the lesson is not soon lost on me once I’m recovered and back to my usual grind.