Darren Cohen

📌 Welcome to My Site Relaunch

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 05:00:00 +0400

After 15 years I rebuilt my site from scratch. Come see what I am up to.

2026 NFL Predictions

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000

It’s that time of year again where on the Wednesday after Labor Day where we all say “The NFL is back”! Wait, what? Wednesday? Of course the NFL keeps taking more nights, but the people keep watching so here are my predictions for the season.

AFC Division Winners

East: Bills
North: Ravens
South: Texans
West: Chargers

AFC Wildcard Teams

Broncos
Patriots
Bengals

NFC Division Winners

East: Cowboys
North: Lions
South: Buccaneers
West: Seahawks

NFC Wildcard Teams

Eagles
Rams
Packers

Superbowl Predictions

Buffalo Bills over the Seattle Seahawks

Let's Preview the 2026 College Football Season

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 07:00:00 +0000

The start of college football is here which means it’s time for what the world is waiting for! My college football predictions that will be very very wrong. Most prognosticators have a good grasp of the top, but I do think we see some craziness near the bottom of the top 12. Most interesting to me will be at the top of the group of five to determine who grabs the number twelve spot.

🎵 For the first time in a decade... Erykah Badu is Back!

Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Erykah Badu and The Alchemist released their long-awaited collaborative album, Before the World Blows, digitally on August 28, 2026, after spending 18 months recording between Dallas and Los Angeles.

The 16-track project includes “Next 2 U” and “Witch Doctor,” with guests including Westside Gunn, Earl Sweatshirt, Thundercat, Steve Lacy, DRAM, Kamasi Washington, and Joi.

After false starts and cryptic teasers, the duo will support the album with a North American tour featuring De La Soul and Smino on select dates across the 2026–2027 cycle.

🔗 The Death of the Web

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

over one-third of pages published after ChatGPT was released on November 22nd, 2022, “were likely written or substantially edited by AI.”

Source: The Verge

AI Slop is just one part of what is going to destroy the open web, but it will be another nail in the coffin. The biggest nail is still search engines not linking out to sources instead just summarizing and giving overviews or as The Verge calls it Google Zero .

🔗 The End of Google?

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I thought nothing could be worse than the proliferation of websites driven by SEO. That was before I learned of the existence of AEO: answer engine optimization. In my day, I could get lost in the glorious SI Vault; now I can find those old gems only if I know exactly what to search for and deploy the Wayback Machine. Not all of this is specifically Google’s fault. But the company’s new priorities seem like they’ll only exacerbate the general state of dilapidation online.

🔗 Cal Newport on AI

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

This doesn’t mean that AI doesn’t work or is useless. But it does emphasize an important truth: AI is not a magic “infinity machine” that can solve all our problems, and ultimately deliver us a sense of meaning in a cold, confusing world. It’s a normal technology, and perhaps it’s time we start talking about it that way.

Source: Cal Newport Newsletter

Today’s newsletter is based on a few emails Newport got from a software engineer, and is telling a story over months that I am sure we will hear again and again from many others. Like most things, groups of people have lined up on the two extreme sides. Either you turned your life over to a language generating machine, or you think the technology is useless. Of course in the end the truth lies in the middle, and finding that middle is important.

The Joy of Sports

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A short post to talk about the joy of sports. It has now been just over seven weeks since the Knicks won the championship, and everyday I still see a video or post go by about the win that brings an instant smile to my face. I still see people commenting to each other “go Knicks” walking by each other in the streets of New York if they notice a certain hat or shirt on. In a world that can be so negative and cruel the Knicks winning truly was the perfect anecdote.

🔗 No one Writes Like Doctorow

Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Google - a thrice-convicted monopolist - is the gateway to the internet, with more than a 90% search market share that it attained by buying out all its competitors and bribing Apple more than $20b/year not to start a rival search engine:

Source: Pluralistic

It’s a good read, but this quote reminded me just what a master of words Corey is.

What I'm Using

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Coming off my three posts about my attempt at using Obsidian, I thought it would be fun to actually write about the hardware, tools, and services I am using

🔗 Love this Definition

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Digital sovereignty is not about owning everything, it is about ensuring that nothing essential can be taken away.

Source: What is Digital Sovereignty - TDF Community Blog

—

Really like how Libre Office defined digital soverignty here.

Obsidian Setup Part 3, Goodbye Obsidian Hello Plain Text

Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

After a few weeks of setting up Obsidian it’s already goodbye, not because I did not like it it’s just that I realized I had built a complex ecosystem around something that was supposed to be fundamentally simple. Obsidian is a fantastic piece of software, yet over time I found myself spending more brain power and time managing plugins, workspace layouts, and app settings than actually writing. The irony of the entire process is that Obsidian did one major thing right for me: it reminded me why I have always loved the power and simplicity of plain text and specifically markdown. (thanks John Gruber )

🔗 It's the Little Things

Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Climate change is raising temperatures , but one factor that adds to that is often ignored. Walk down a city street and you see what would have been front gardens a decade or so ago have now been tarmacked over and turned into driveways.

Source: The Coversation

Climate change is such a massive challenge that I feel it leads most people to ignore it—not out of disbelief, but out of hopelessness. So much of that hopelessness stems from the narrative that each of us individually has to do “our part.” Sure, we can all do a little more, but the truth is none of that moves the needle on its own. I’m fine with paper straws, even though so many people have made their entire identity about opposing such a meaningless thing. But the paper straw represents something bigger: it represents passing the buck from those responsible for our current situation down to the “little people.”

Setting up Obsidian Part 2

Tue, 21 Jul 2026 13:30:00 +0400

If you did not read Setting Up Obsidian Part 1 you should read that first.

Just a few updates. I am now using my Daily Note as a dashboard where I don’t actually type anything. It is more of a daily table of contents. It has links to my daily journal, which is where I actually type in all my thoughts and ideas each day, it has a section linking to my daily reading, daily fitness log, and then a table of all notes created or edited that day. It is very easy to create and when I am done I will share all of it in my last part of this series.

Setting up Obsidian Part 1

Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0400

After a few starts and stops over the past few months, I have come to the conclusion that Obsidian is the right tool for me. As noted on my Stuff page, I live on different platforms. Right now I am writing the bulk of this on the Obsidian app on an HP laptop running Linux Mint. I also use iOS on my iPhone so I need access to everything my notes app holds. Here is the kicker about Obsidian being my “notes app,” it ends up being so much more than that. So far I am only partially through the process, so this is just part one, but I am going to share my vision.

Ya Gotta Believe?

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 16:01:00 +0400

This year might seem over for the New York Mets, but there is always next year!

🔗 The AI Power Bill is Coming Due

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 05:00:16 -0400

A power auction conducted by a giant grid operator is expected to add $6.3 billion in additional charges to consumers and businesses because of electricity needs of data centers

PJM’s grid serves all or part of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, as well as the District of Columbia.

Source: The New York Times

There are obvious climate concerns with this, but it’s also corporate welfare. The people are going to pay for what the AI companies should ve paying.

🔗 The Women Rebuilding the US Goverment Climate Site

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 04:40:16 -0400

Lindsey became one of the roughly 280,000 federal workers to lose their jobs, she knew something had to be done.

Lindsey joined forces with former NOAA employees Anna Eshelman, and Mary Lindsey, her older sister, to become the core team behind the deactivated site’s successor, Climate.us, preserving over 15 years of key climate data and resources. The trove features key maps, educational materials and climate indicator reports, including the now-deleted Fifth National Climate Assessment, the government’s most comprehensive analysis of climate change that was at risk of being lost to the public.

🔗 F*ck The Glasses, I agree

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 07:25:00 +0400

On Thursday (July 9), Lorde performed at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid and spoke up against smart glasses.

“Increasingly in our world it gets harder and harder to know what is real,” the pop star said onstage. “You don’t know if someone is wearing sunglasses or if they’re wearing those fucked up fucking… Can I just say, for the record, ‘Fuck the Glasses.’ Don’t get the glasses. Not sexy.”

🎵 Two New Albums I have on Repeat

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 07:52:21 +0400

🔗 IPSOS Poll on American Sports Fandom

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The folks at Ipsos chose a perfect time to get a handle on how Americans feel about different sports.

They polled more than 1,000 people during the ongoing World Cup and asked them “Do you consider yourself to be a fan of the following sports?”

The answers could be considered somewhat surprising once you get below the NFL. Has baseball recouped and is now the second-most popular sport in the USA? That won’t make NBA commissioner Adam Silver happy.

🔗 Two People Who Need to be Heard

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 06:30:36 -0400

Charlie Taney is the great-great-grandnephew of former Chief Justice Roger Taney, the man who wrote the infamous Dred Scott opinion that helped provoke the Civil War.

“You know, I hope their grandchildren don’t go through what I went through,” he said. “[Having] to slide down on my seat when the Dred Scott case came up because my name was Taney. So the people that would like to be part of getting rid of your birthright citizenship, they might want to keep that in mind, what they’ll do to their own family for the future.”

📚️ Review: Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 07:00:00 +0400

My first big arena show as a kid was Bruce Springsteen at MSG, and it took just one note for me to be hooked. So when I saw that Peter Carlin was writing a book all about the making of the Born to Run album I knew I would have to read it. Let’s just say the book did not disappoint. Carlin had great access to Springsteen and used it to get every detail to tell the fantastic story. Even if you are just a casual Bruce fan this is must read.

📚️ Review: The World That We Knew

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 07:00:00 +0400

I was looking for something to read when I came across “The World That We Knew” by Alice Hoffman. The book tells a story of three girls running from the Nazis during World War 2. Normally I am not into the idea of mysticism, but the author successfully uses it as a vehicle to tell the story. It is well written and a solid read. Another good book in the historical fiction genre.

📚️ Review: Shadows in the Smoke

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 07:00:00 +0400

One word, meh! That is all I can really say about “Shadows in the Smoke” by Tony Broadbent. A post World War 2 crime novel based in London should be one that you don’t want to put down but I found it slow in way too many places. It’s fine if you just want something to read and have access to the book.

The Knicks are Champs!!!!

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I am at a loss for words, but it really happened! Game 4 will be one of those things you never forget.

2026 MLB Predictions

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

American League

East	Central	West
Yankees	Guardians	Mariners
Blue Jays	Tigers	Rangers
Rays	Royals	Astros
Red Sox	Twins	A’s
Orioles	White Sox	Angels

National League

East	Central	West
Phillies	Brewers	Dodgers
Mets	Cubs	Padres
Braves	Pirates	Dbacks
Marlins	Reds	Giants
Nationals	Cardinals	Rockies

*playoff team

AL Champs: Yankees

NL Champs: Dodgers

World Series Champions: Dodgers

🔗 2026 ZiPS Projections

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Despite last season’s collapse, ZiPS projects the Mets as a highly competitive team in the NL East, and one the league shouldn’t dismiss

via Source: Fangraphs

I know it might not feel like it, but the Mets are better today than they were on the last day of the season.

📚 BOOK REVIEW: The Power Broker

Sat, 21 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

🔗 Downside of Using Biometrics to Unock Device

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

New court record from the FBI details the state of the devices seized from Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson: phone was on w/Lockdown Mode; personal laptop was off; work laptop was on w/Touch ID; several Signal chats used disappearing messages. https://t.co/YqLahtQihR pic.twitter.com/cMAEXBXLnD
— Runa Sandvik (@runasand) January 31, 2026

via Source: Runa Sandvik (@runasand) - Twitter

This issue has been talked about for years, courts have been saying that your face and/or fingerprint can be compelled to unlock your phone while they can’t force you to give up the passcode in your head. John Gruber wrote about this a few years ago, and the article contains some good advice that everyone should heed.

🔗 Coffee is Great, duh

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The study has not yet been published. But MindBio’s CEO Justin Hanka recently released the top-line results on his LinkedIn, eager to show that his company was “in front of the curve in microdosing research.” He called it “the most vigorous placebo controlled trial ever performed in microdosing.” It found that patients dosed with a small amount of LSD (ranging from 4 to 20μg, or micrograms, well below the threshold of a mind-blowing hallucinogenic dose) showed observable upticks in feelings of well-being, but worse MADRS scores, compared to patients given a placebo in the form of a caffeine pill. (Because patients in psychedelic trials typically expect some kind of mind-altering effect, studies are often blinded using so-called “active placebos,” like caffeine or methylphenidate, which have their own observable psychoactive properties.)

Stuff I Like

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

My 2026 Reading | Podcasts | Newsletters | Blogs/Sites

Books

Finished (2026 List, Goal of 18 for year)