The Thursday Dispatch - 23 April 2026

I had something totally different I was writing this morning. But then a thought hit me. How much do I want to divulge of myself online?

I want this to be an honest space. But we also live in a world with online scammers and con artists who would love nothing more than to steal just about anyone’s identity. I recently ran across a video the other day talking about just how much someone can learn from the bumper stickers on your car. People like to brag about their kids, for example, if they’re an honor student or play some kind of sport. A little bit of cross-referencing can lead to someone picking up your kid from school or breaking into your home when there’s a game at their high school. Simply knowing my name and where I live can lead to someone impersonating me somehow. Likely, maybe or maybe not, but definitely possible.

So, I’ll probably continue to write what I was going to write. But I may look at how I can make it more anonymous without losing any of the meaning before posting it. Or maybe I just post it as a private note to a couple of friends. But I really am thinking about this a lot of late. I recently noticed when I post to my site, I’ll sometimes get bombarded with ads on social media for what I just wrote about. I’m certain I’m being snooped on by these apps or that they’ve updated their profiles to include my site. It makes me want to try one of those services that delete your data from the web and from the databases of data brokers. I seriously wonder how much less junk mail and email I’d get.

So that’s my thought for now. Going to continue chewing on it a bit.

Weekly Photo

This might be one of the best photos I’ve taken of the moon with a smartphone. It’s crazy how good these things are getting.

This Past Week

• A Listening Gathering

Songs in the Chaos

This is my weekly list of songs that either caught my attention or came to mind this past week. I post these throughout the week on a site called Crucial Tracks, where they’re also added to a playlist on Apple Music. Feel free to follow me on either space.