Jim Mitchell

Jamie Thingelstad (@jthingelstad) posted a great analogy about the IndieWeb over on his site today, likening it to the quintessence of what makes Punk Rock special to so many…

As Punk Rock was to the music industry of that era, is the IndieWeb bringing the same ethos to the Web of today — minus the mohawks?

As someone who grew up on the Punk of the ’80s, I totally relate to where he’s coming from. To me the IndieWeb is a community of gifted misfits, doing it their own way with the tools they have, and without the need for big tech (the establishment), just like Punk is.

I think Jamie sums it up the best though…

We don’t need major platforms. We have the Web, keyboards, tools, and community. IndieWeb is Punk! Is it time to bring the Mohawks back?

Yeah, Jamie, I say we bring the Mohawks back. Oi!

In the comment thread, Robert Birming (@birming) had the brilliant idea of making Jamie’s rallying cry into a t-shirt.

Always one to answer a call when there’s a need, I hereby present you with the official “IndieWeb is Punk” t-shirts, available through Cotton Bureau, available in black or white designs.

Any and all proceeds ($2 a shirt) will be donated directly to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the leading nonprofit defending digital privacy, free speech, and innovation for 35 years and counting.

As I shared a week or so ago, I underwent an angiogram that found some really bad stuff and will require open heart bypass surgery in a week and a half.

Yes, I’m a little scared. But I won’t bore you any further with that one. It’s going to be a gnarly ride. I know I’ll come out aces on the other side.

Or… (cue morbid humor) I won’t know.

Anyway. To add insult to injury, imagine my joy to learn as part of a post-procedure ultrasound of my neck that “significant narrowing” of my right carotid artery was also found.

Yay me!

That’s right, one of the two arteries that supplies blood to my brain is pretty narrowed. Thankfully the left one is still in good shape, otherwise we’d have a big problem.

What does it mean?

Well, it means that just as I’m getting back on my feet, I get to go under the knife yet again to take care of this little inconvenience. Thankfully, the recovery is not too hard from what I’ve read and I should be good to go soon after.

Let this be a lesson kids… Take care of yourself early in life. Eat the good stuff. Avoid the burgers and fries. Don’t do like I did. It’ll catch up to you and bite you if you do.

Man, this aging thing is beginning to suck just a little…

One final mnml theme update (v2.5.8) for a while. This one tweaks more css and optimizes a couple of templates. Nothing major, really. Just simple things I felt needed to be done. You should be able to update soon if not already.

I had a really meaningful chat with my mentor yesterday about asking for help during my upcoming surgery and recovery. It made me realize something important…

I’m one of those super independent types who hate asking for help. I’d rather tough it out and struggle than admit I need support. This comes from how I grew up. My mom, a single mom, worked long hours to make sure I and my step-sister had everything we needed. I had to do a lot for myself as a kid and figure out how to get by.

Matt (my mentor) and I talked about how letting people help us out will make them feel good about themselves. Even a small task can make a big difference when someone feels helpless.

Matt shared how after his own recent surgery, he let a friend move some clothes in bins from an upstairs bedroom to the garage for him. It was a simple task, but it meant a lot to his friend. Matt wanted to help, but he realized that letting his friend do it would make a difference in both of their lives.

Relying on others helps us realize that we’re important to others too. I’ve gotten so many offers of help from people I never thought I’d get it from. It’s made me realize that I’ve had a bigger impact on others than I thought. It really makes me emotional every time I experience it.

There’s a lot of selfish stuff going on these days, and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. But in the end, we’re all in this together. We don’t need to feel ashamed when we ask for help. And we need to be ready to help those who need it when we can.

So the next time someone asks what they can do for me, I’m going to think of something for them to do, no matter how small. I’m blessed to have the support system I have — and never realized was there.