The facial recognition is completely out of control story from the NY Times was a terrifying way to start the week. It’s also not new. Previously terrifying: 2019 and 2018.

This whole piece on publishing in the last decade is really good. I hadn’t ever thought of ordering from Barnes & Noble as a way of pushing back against Amazon. I’ll keep IndieBound and the used bookstore down the street as my new defaults, but it’s nice to log other options.

The Washington Post’s candidate matching quiz was interesting. I matched with Warren for 14 of 20 questions. Biden and Buttigieg tied for last place at 7. How I match with Warren but agree more with two billionaires than Joe and Pete will remain a mystery. ??‍♂️

I’ve barely paid attention to the Houston Astros sign stealing scandal, but enjoyed reading Steve’s “MLB and the Astros Billionaire” and Om’s “Just get paid & our culture of lies“—both interesting and comprehensive takes.

I appreciate Steve’s idea of a post-season ban for cheaters. Om agrees the billionaire isn’t being blamed enough, though seems to put a bit more pressure on the players than I would.

How players act in these scenarios brings to mind Tyler Hamilton‘s excellent “The Secret Race“, in which he talks about cycling being the one thing he wants in the world and how hard it is as a newcomer to speak up when the veterans around you are all cheating. And then all of a sudden you’re in it and the circle continues.

The money is different in the MLB—I’m guessing fewer major league athletes are living out of vans—but the general pressure to comply must be intense.

I’m annoyed at how often I’ll reach for Twitter on any given day, so I added their AS number as one of Facebook’s in the script I use to block all Facebook traffic. My laptop is now Twitter and Facebook free.

I think I’m getting closer to wanting to find an alternative way to read Twitter. By turning off retweets and reducing the number of people I follow, there’s much less to keep up with.

And it worked! I updated this post with the above, closed the tab, and then immediately tried to open Twitter. Habits!