TAB CLOSER
Things worth reading, with a line on why. No. 88

Hi, Tom here. Seven links this week, in three groups. If you only have a minute, read the first one.


ATTENTION

Why you stopped finishing books
https://example.com/finish-books
The argument isn't that phones ruined us. It's that we stopped choosing books we wanted to finish. Fair, and a little uncomfortable.

A week with every notification off
https://example.com/notifications-week
Short diary, honest about the parts that got worse. Missing a school message on day two is the most useful detail in it.


CITIES

Five years without parking minimums
https://example.com/parking-minimums
What happened to rents, small shops and traffic after one mid-sized city dropped the rule. The traffic numbers surprised me.

The quiet return of the public bench
https://example.com/benches
Photos mostly. Good for a slow coffee.

Who gets to name a street
https://example.com/street-names
A longer read on renaming fights, told through one street and four council meetings.


OLD SOFTWARE

Using a spreadsheet from 1979 for a month
https://example.com/spreadsheet-1979
Someone ran their household budget on the first spreadsheet program. Most of what we use today was already there.

In praise of the printed manual
https://example.com/manuals
Scans of software manuals that explained the why, not just the clicks.


Found something good? Hit reply and send it over. I read everything.

Tom

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