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    <title>Axel Valdez • Stream of consciousness</title>
    <link>https://axel.mx</link>
    <description>A collection of random thoughts and things I notice in the world.</description>
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    <lastBuildDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</lastBuildDate>
    <managingEditor>contact@axel.mx (Axel Valdez)</managingEditor>
    
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      <title>Thought #41</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/41/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/41/</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Meta update: I just added memories to the homepage list of content and to the <a href="/everything/">everything</a> page. It feels more complete.</p>
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      <title>Thought #40</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/40/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/40/</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 14 Jun 2026 23:10:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I feel my brain dry. I call it &quot;feeling gray&quot;. In days like this it's like I can't get any joy, and no pill is able to get me out of it.</p>
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      <title>Thought #39</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/39/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/39/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I updated the tags in all the blog posts. They were all over the place, and there were almost more tags than posts. They should make more sense now.</p>
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      <title>Thought #38</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/38/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/38/</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Somebody keyed my car really bad, and my stoicism is being tested right now.</p>
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      <title>Thought #37</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/37/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/37/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I was trying to fine-tune cross-posting for this blog when a thought hit me in the face: why the fuck do I <strong>need</strong> to automate all this shit? What for? Do I care that much about Bluesky and Mastodon to make sure I dial everything to perfection?</p>
<p>No I don't. And in the cases when I do, I can perfectly go and type the thing and hit send like a fucking human being and not a robot.</p>
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      <title>Thought #36</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/36/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/36/</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>We saw Carlos Ballarta's new hour last night. Definitely, easily, the best stand-up comedian we have in latin america.</p>
<p>The whole show is him talking as if he's gossiping, with seamless transitions between subjects and covering a range of subjects from toxic nostalgia for old media to Israel and Palestina, racism, quiting smoking and alcohol, among others.</p>
<p>To reach a level where it seems that you're just talking from the top of your mind must be really difficult, but the guy does it masterfully.</p>
<p>👏👏👏</p>
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      <title>Thought #35</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/35/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/35/</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Just as a quick meta note: I added a new setting: switch to a simple (single-column) layout, for those of you who prefer to go straight down with not too many distractions. Can't do much about the distractions, but with the straight down I (now) got you, boo.</p>
<p><img src="https://utntpjhexuergmbpqoot.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/images/2026/06/1780553594797_kd54c4.png" alt="Screenshot of the settings options on this site" /></p>
<p>Those are the settings, in case you haven't noticed them before. They're right up in the header :)</p>
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      <title>Thought #34</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/34/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/34/</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I'm seriously considering switching my current comment system (EchoThread) for an email form. Taking it slower. Actually, writing it here just made it feel like a better idea. I want something that integrates more naturally with the rest of the website, and I value deep connections way more than immediacy. Let's get to work.</p>
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      <title>Thought #33</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/33/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/33/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 21 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Every time I <em>dare</em> to use an em dash—like this one right here, a thing I've loved since I learned of its existence, I'm very self-conscious that somebody somewhere is going to declare with total self-confidence that the text was generated by AI. Because using punctuation isn't human anymore, apparently.</p>
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      <title>Thought #32</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/32/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/32/</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 19 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I need to find new podcasts. I used to eagerly wait for Hard Fork every Friday, but lately they sound more like AI shills than journalists. That, and the sensationalism in every note they cover about LLMs going rogue. I might still be mourning Reply All, four years later.</p>
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      <title>Thought #31</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/31/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/31/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 08 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>The current blog and indie scene on the web is like a dissident community in a decaying world. Rough on the edges, with organic paths, unexpected surprises, beautiful, and very much punk. It's Zion from Matrix, and The Resistance from Terminator. I love it so much here.</p>
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      <title>Thought #30</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/30/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/30/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I've always had a thing for monospaced fonts, and today I switched everything in this site to IBM Plex Mono. I'll give it a week and see if it doesn't gets old. If it does, I might consider adding a user preference to change it to a sans-serif, or even a serif (woke up sassy today).</p>
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      <title>Thought #29</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/29/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/29/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 08:00:33 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Everybody's talking about how Steve Jobs was a product guy and Tim Cook wasn't (we've heard every analisis youtuber say the words &quot;supply chain&quot; every single time they talk about Cook), and how now Apple will be back with John Ternus as a product guy. But Ternus is a hardware guy. Steve Jobs was <strong>definitely</strong> not a hardware guy. Or a software guy. Steve Jobs was the Rick Rubin of tech products. A vibe-tech-product-developer.</p>
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      <title>Thought #28</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/28/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/28/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>It's been a long time since I was as excited as I am for a single piece of software: <a href="https://antinote.io">Antinote</a> by Johnson Fung. I even stopped using <a href="/blog/cccolumns/">my home baked ephemeral note system</a> for this awesome thing.</p>
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      <title>Thought #27</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/27/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/27/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Give me ADHD and a timer and I will conquer the world.</p>
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      <title>Thought #26</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/26/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/26/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 20 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>It is in a state of pain that we find most answers to our own unknowns. If we keep avoiding pain, steering away from painful situations out of fear of discomfort, we remain static, just watching life pass us by.</p>
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      <title>Thought #25</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/25/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/25/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 09 Mar 2026 16:28:09 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Starbucks isn’t a coffee chain. It’s a global network of clean restrooms with a coffee side hustle. Overpriced? Charge me double, I don't care. Some heroes wear aprons and misspell your name.</p>
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      <title>Thought #24</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/24/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/24/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 05 Jan 2026 21:36:58 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>It is ridiculous to watch a season of a TV series and then having to wait 2-3 years for a new season. Something has to change, and I think it will as soon as someone figure it out and the rest have to follow through or lose audience.</p>
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      <title>Thought #23</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/23/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/23/</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2025 09:59:00 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<p>The magnetic particles in a mixtape hold much more than just music. Baked into the tape is also the person’s intention. They’re in their room, hovering over the pause button wondering if you’ll catch the meaning behind that lyric they chose. Hoping you feel what they felt when they first heard that guitar solo. Each moment on the tape is a moment spent thinking about you.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pclYwRQag">Digging the Greats: Mixtape series</a></p>
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      <title>Thought #22</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/22/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/22/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2025 23:08:39 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I gave vibecoding a second chance this week, this time sticking to technologies I'm familiar with. Instead of trying to make an iOS app (a completely unfamiliar territory for me) I made some web apps for very specific needs of my own. It was like night and day. A few hours here and there over the week, and now I have two really <em>really</em> useful web apps that I'm sure I will use every day.</p>
<p>I'll make a proper post as soon as I can get to it, but I wanted to save this note as a reminder that this stuff can be good.</p>
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      <title>Thought #21</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/21/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/21/</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 02 Sep 2025 18:45:43 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I just listened to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/mx/podcast/podcast-cory-doctorows-craphound-com/id81294582?l=en-GB&amp;i=1000680709656">Cory Doctorow's Daddy Daughter Podcast</a>, a talk with his 16-year-old daughter. His struggles to have her talking and elaborating about things, and her reluctance to be in the episode made me feel so calm about my own teenager and the dynamics of interacting with him.</p>
<p>I think the earlier we dads accept that there's no way to change how irremediably uncool we are in the eyes of our teenage kids, the smoother the ride is.</p>
<p>I love you, Andrés. I'm fairly sure you'll never read this, but if for some reason you do, you can bet on that.</p>
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      <title>Thought #20</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/20/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/20/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2025 01:26:55 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I just had a full conversation with my 8-year-old son about the possibility that we live in a simulation, using our brain's data as an avatar for extending life using an after-death simulated environment and the possibilities of it all. I'm so happy to be raising nerdy kids &lt;3.</p>
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      <title>Thought #19</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/19/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/19/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:43:03 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Tengo una sensación extraña cada vez que muere una persona cercana que en alguna medida marcó una diferencia en mi vida. No hablo necesariamente de luto, dolor, o tristeza, sino de esa sensación de que sin esa persona, y con su ausencia poco a poco notándose menos hasta volverse la normalidad, el mundo ya no es igual. No es necesariamente peor, ni mejor, sino diferente.</p>
<p>Aunque uno no cambie mucho, aunque las dinámicas de la vida sigan ininterrumpidas, todo sucede ahora en un lugar distinto.</p>
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      <title>Thought #18</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/18/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/18/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 01 Aug 2025 19:21:17 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I organized my vinyl records, and I found out I have 16 of them still wrapped, new, unplayed. And they're good albums, too. I think starting on Monday I will sit down and listen to one of them daily. I'll report back here. Or maybe I will set-up my music blog —The Headphonist— again, to write about them.</p>
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      <title>Thought #17</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/17/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/17/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 18 Jul 2025 16:00:38 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="https://utntpjhexuergmbpqoot.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/images/2026/01/1769130880163_d3y1om.jpeg" alt="Pocket notebooks with drawings in the covers" title="Pocket notebooks with drawings in the cover" /></p>
<p>I got a small pack of Posca paint markers and I want to draw on every surface around me. These are my pocket notebooks.</p>
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      <title>Thought #16</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/16/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/16/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 04 Jul 2025 18:11:47 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Sometimes it gets reaaaally dificult to <strong>trust the process</strong>.<br />
Inhale... hold... exhale.</p>
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      <title>Thought #15</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/15/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/15/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 05 Jun 2025 19:22:17 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I was doing some research about POSSE on an 11ty website when I landed on this post by Yuya Saito and I got my mind blown by the explanation about comment-driven development. I sometimes do the same, but how Yuya explains it is almost poetic.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>&quot;Just like writing an essay, I need find out something to rely on.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Go read it at <a href="https://virga.frontendweekly.tokyo/posts/2021-01-09-indieweb-posse-using-eleventy-and-netlify-functions/">virga.frontendweekly.tokyo</a>.</p>
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      <title>Thought #14</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/14/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/14/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 19 May 2025 10:58:10 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I just realized it's been 5 years since the COVID-19 lockdown. All events from that time on are tangled up in my memory as a drawer full of old wires.</p>
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      <title>Thought #13</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/13/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/13/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 12 May 2025 11:32:31 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Dadstache or pornstache?</p>
<p><img src="https://utntpjhexuergmbpqoot.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/images/2026/01/1769130882729_me5x9.jpeg" alt="Uploaded image" /></p>
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      <title>Thought #12</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/12/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/12/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2025 13:14:22 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>AMOR FATI</p>
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      <title>Thought #11</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/11/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/11/</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 20 Sep 2023 15:50:29 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Yesterday I launched the website for one of my podcasts, <a href="https://ferulita.com">Ferulita para el Alma</a> (in Spanish). During the long weekend here in Mexico I hacked a bunch of stuff together to build the site automatically from the podcast RSS feed, and it worked!</p>
<p><a href="https://www.11ty.dev">11ty</a> is awesome, and the nerd community sharing their how-tos more so ♥️.</p>
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      <title>Thought #10</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/10/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/10/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 10 Jul 2023 06:50:48 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>A cashier at a Circle K noted my &quot;memento mori&quot; tattoo and we had a quick but wholesome chat about it. I'm liking this kind of random connections way more than the ones that happen online. They feel more... authentic? organic? I don't know, but I like them.</p>
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      <title>Thought #9</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/9/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/9/</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 31 May 2023 16:34:04 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://doctorow.medium.com/the-memex-method-238c71f2fb46">Cory Doctorow writes the most compelling essay about blogging I've read</a>, and for me the effect of the message is amplified incredibly because it reaches me at an excellent moment.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There’s a version of the “why writers should blog” story that is tawdry and mercenary: “Blog,” the story goes, “and you will build a <em>brand</em> and a <em>platform</em>that you can use to promote your work.”</p>
<p><em>Virtually every sentence that contains the word “brand” is bullshit, and that one is no exception.</em></p>
</blockquote>
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      <title>Thought #8</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/8/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/8/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 04 May 2023 19:37:47 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<blockquote>
<p>It’s funny how the old ways of thinking have been flipped. If I want to get work done, I stay home. If I want to socialise, I go into the studio.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From <a href="https://adactio.com/journal/20128">Jeremy Keith</a>.</p>
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      <title>Thought #7</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/7/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/7/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 28 Apr 2023 05:40:46 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I'm currently reading <a href="https://www.buildingasecondbrain.com">Building a Second Brain</a> from Thiago Forte and jumping again into the bandwagon of note organization. This time is making more sense, though.</p>
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      <title>Thought #6</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/6/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/6/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 24 Apr 2023 09:31:50 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I just finished watching Beef on Netflix. It’s so perfect I’m hoping it’s not renewed for more seasons. Let that story end there :)</p>
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      <title>Thought #5</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/5/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/5/</guid>
      <pubDate>Fri, 31 Mar 2023 00:57:38 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>I just added a dark mode switch to the website :)</p>
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      <title>Thought #4</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/4/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/4/</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Mar 2023 07:35:57 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>The month without social media is over in 4 more days. Now I know I won't be reinstalling Twitter in my phone, but I'm on the fence with Instagram.</p>
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      <title>Thought #3</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/3/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/3/</guid>
      <pubDate>Mon, 20 Mar 2023 01:14:07 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Adding blogs to my RSS reader like it’s 1999. I like this so-called demise of Twitter 😅</p>
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      <title>Thought #2</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/2/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/2/</guid>
      <pubDate>Sun, 19 Mar 2023 07:00:01 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>Not using social media is more difficult that it seems, and it seems pretty hard already. I'm not sure if I'm more depressed than before, or I'm just bored.</p>
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      <title>Thought #1</title>
      <link>https://axel.mx/stream/1/</link>
      <guid isPermaLink="true">https://axel.mx/stream/1/</guid>
      <pubDate>Sat, 18 Mar 2023 09:08:57 -0700</pubDate>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>A lot of work in my personal website today. Added the stream (where I’m typing this). Feeling good (And sleepy).</p>
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