Dylan Tweney

Rough Drafts

Essays and blog posts I've written that haven't been published elsewhere yet

807 posts
Signing off Facebook for awhile.
Rough Drafts

Signing off Facebook for awhile.

I’m done with Facebook for now, so I am signing off for awhile. Partly I am annoyed with the company for not taking a stand against the Trump administration and its elected leader’s comments about making lists of Muslims and immigrants. For the company’s COO to attend a meeting with Trump yesterday
Dylan Tweney 1 min read
Rough Drafts

Specific gratitude

Keeping a gratitude diary, or less pretentiously, taking some time out of every day to write down the things you’re thankful for, is an effective way to increase happiness. And I’d like to suggest one small addition. In addition to writing down things you’re thankful for (rainbows, puppies, burrit
Dylan Tweney 1 min read
Hope
Rough Drafts

Hope

The radio tells me that calls to suicide hotlines are up 30 percent since the election. The news tells me that racists will be in the white house. Friends share stories with me about how bad things are about to get. A writer I respect says we have less than two months at best. People […]
Dylan Tweney 1 min read
graffiti on a wall spelling out the word Resist
Rough Drafts

Something to lose

In the past few days I’ve been thinking about how much I have to lose. I enjoy the evenings at my son’s soccer practice, overhearing snippets of English, Spanish, and Arabic. I love the Spanish-speaking soccer moms who bring way too much food to weekend soccer tournaments, plying us with sandwiches,
Dylan Tweney 3 min read
Photo of an empty wallet with an IOU slip inside
Rough Drafts

6 financial facts would-be entrepreneurs need to know

So you’re considering quitting the rat race and becoming an entrepreneur — congratulations. Whether you’re working on a killer startup with a few pals or embarking on a career of self-employment, you’re about to discover what life is like when you have maximal control. In many ways, it’s awesome. I’
Dylan Tweney 6 min read
The South End Rowing Club (review)
Rough Drafts

The South End Rowing Club (review)

The South End (aka SERC) is one of two swimming-rowing clubs that share a building in Aquatic Park, right next to Hyde St. Pier. It’s a terrific group of welcoming, fun-loving people who are into all things aquatic. What’s more, it’s a San Francisco institution, dating back to 1873. Serious history
Dylan Tweney 2 min read
Swimming, cold water, and a bunch of awesome veterans.
Rough Drafts

Swimming, cold water, and a bunch of awesome veterans.

I was a kayaker this morning for a group of veterans swimming from Alcatraz to SF. It was a great morning… Beautiful, flat water, warm… And a bunch of men and women hauling ass through the water. Including guys missing limbs but swimming just the same. It was pretty cool. Before the swim I was […]
Dylan Tweney 1 min read
Recapturing the dream of open social media
Rough Drafts

Recapturing the dream of open social media

It’s hard to imagine now, but the web once meant far more than Google and Facebook. In the early days, there was an explosion of optimism and experimentation as people embraced blogging, mostly via a range of sometimes half-baked open standards that let them publish, share, and communicate with each
Dylan Tweney 3 min read
Trail panorama showing mountains, a distant village, and the "crystal" sculpture on the left.
Rough Drafts

What I learned in college

I was one of those students who did very well in high school and college, and then, once I graduated, immediately regretted all that diligence. I knew right away that I should have maybe taken it easier, taken myself less seriously, and been more open to things outside my immediate field of vision.
Dylan Tweney 4 min read
Rough Drafts

Altamont

Driving down from the Altamont Pass, the highway curves through a long, shallow, descending valley on its way down to the flats of the San Joaquin Valley. Wind turbines on either side, and the occasional cow. Karen noticed the hills rising up from us on the left side were covered in dark green trees
Dylan Tweney 1 min read

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