In case you missed it, I built a simple paywall stack that I think any creator could use. if you’d like to try it, sign up for the $3 tier at ko-fi.com/tedium

How I made a very light paywall using the most minimal of parts. tedium.co/2026/03/08/m... new @tedium.co

Pay attention Substackers.

What’s the least you can do to build an effective paywall for creators that’s mostly open-source? If we can figure that out, that might make it easier to cut out the big platforms. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17295750/minimal-paywall-setup-idea

I once turned down Substack because of their design limitations. As they emerge yet again in the news cycle, I thought I’d make my point with some of that design stuff they don’t do. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17288375/betting-against-substack

The problem with making coding easier for more people is that it makes spam more conventionally attractive. Which is bad. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17283566/vibe-coded-email-spam

More spam looks attractive on a surface level—which we can credit vibe coding for. Good luck with not getting hacked! tedium.co/2026/02/25/v...

Old news: 2026 is the year of Linux desktop New hotness: 2026 is the year of the Markdown website tedium.co/2026/02/17/m...

For some reason, a bunch of big companies are really leaning into Markdown right now. AI may be the reason, but I kind of love the possible side benefits. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17278321/markdown-growing-influence-cloudflare-ai

Why do corporate restructuring plans get code names the way operating systems do? And why are the names often so bizarre? https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17277502/corporate-turnaround-code-names-history

Why companies sometimes give their restructuring efforts clever code names. tedium.co/2026/02/16/c...

I’ve had a weird thought lately: For the past 40 years we’ve been completely wedded to the GUI to do graphic design work. What if, at least in some cases, we’re better off in a terminal, or a text editor? Let’s follow that thought monster through: tedium.co/2026/02/14/t... new @tedium.co

Design is perhaps the software paradigm most wedded to the mouse and the GUI. But there’s no reason it can’t be text-driven. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17276365/text-based-design-mindset

Mass layoffs are a fact of life in journalism. Your favorite writers and editors have dealt with them. But they weren’t supposed to happen at The Post. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17272194/washington-post-layoffs-perspective

A mass newspaper layoff, and the chaos it brings. tedium.co/2026/02/07/w...

You know what makes me happy? Publishing a piece by @andrewegan.bsky.social—who I haven’t had on the site in three freaking years! He’s got a great story about the plaques that show up around NYC—and the townhouse that doesn’t have one, but probably should. tedium.co/2026/02/06/n... New @tedium.co

Sometimes consequential places might be hiding right under your nose—no plaques in sight. tedium.co/2026/02/06/n...

A mostly unknown townhouse in Manhattan was the site of a small but significant moment in the history of 20th-century American literature. It also gives insight into how modern society defines its history. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17271801/new-york-plaques-historic-moments

Been doing some server optimizations this AM so in case udm14 or Tedium have been a bit slow, that’s why. I think I got it fixed but give a shout in case you’re still having an issue.

It took a while, but scrolling window managers are finally having a moment. Today's @tedium.co talks about how the form has evolved from PaperWM to Niri, and how setups like DankMaterialShell might make it more approachable for folks sick of GNOME or KDE. tedium.co/2026/01/29/n...

My favorite UX metaphor, the scrolling window manager, is having a moment—and it’s for pretty dank reasons. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17266116/niri-danklinux-scrolling-window-managers

Hey all, back at the @tedium.co commissioned search game—it’s been too long! Our current one comes from Amandeep Jutla, who has a question about two-liter plastic bottles. [thread]

OnePlus isn’t dead, but they’re not exactly functioning from a position of strength. tedium.co/2026/01/22/o...

Recent news about the OnePlus brand has freaked out some of its longtime users. Certainly it didn’t help that when I went to a T-Mobile store recently, the salesperson didn’t know what OnePlus was, despite the fact her store used to sell them. tedium.co/2026/01/22/o... new @tedium.co

Rumors of OnePlus’ possible death are heating up, which would be a real shame, given how much the smartphone market has already contracted. It’s not true, but their grip is slipping. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17261173/oneplus-decline-shutdown-rumors-commentary

OnePlus isn’t dead, but they’re not exactly functioning from a position of strength. tedium.co/2026/01/22/o...

Not every song has the juice to reach the Hot 100. Here’s what happens to the songs that don’t: tedium.co/2026/01/19/b...

We talk endlessly about the Billboard Hot 100, but there aren’t many articles doing an in-depth analysis of the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100—the chart for the songs not popular enough to chart. That’s where I come in. tedium.co/2026/01/19/b... new @tedium.co

The tale of the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, the place where hits go to die—in some cases, over and over again. Let’s talk about the chart through the lens of its two most iconic artists. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17256459/billboard-bubbling-under-hot-100-chart-history

Not every song has the juice to reach the Hot 100. Here’s what happens to the songs that don’t: tedium.co/2026/01/19/b...

Look at this weirdo running our brand into the ground

I am trying to do something that freaks me out. I’m trying to make video on the internet. If you would like to follow along, I have a channel. It has 41 subscribers. Maybe you could be #42. www.youtube.com/channel/UCZi...

How the virtual machine, a foundational element of cloud computing, found its modern footing after a couple of scientists proved a couple of theorems wrong. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17251925/vmware-virtualization-history

I’m sorry, you’re reading a website run by a virtual machine fanatic. tedium.co/2026/01/12/v...

Look at this jerk trying to promote his content. www.youtube.com/shorts/Cuyd8...

If I’m going to do video, I’m going to commit to the bit. Anyway, some thoughts on what I want out of @tedium.co in 2026. I shot this with a Connectix QuickCam. (No I didn’t.)

The number 26, which gets back-burnered compared to numbers with neater divisibility, is an essential digit. And you’re gonna be hearing all about it in 2026. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17245690/tedium-trends-2026

26 is more important than you think. tedium.co/2026/01/02/t...

OK, have another year-end @tedium.co award to give out—this time for Best Feature Story. Maybe it’s obvious, but I mean, the sheer farce of the Signal leak, where a White House official dropped the editor-in-chief of @theatlantic.com into the chat, is too much to ignore. tedium.co/2025/12/31/b...

The absurd comedy of errors that led to the year’s best feature story is almost too silly to be believed. But it happened. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17244623/best-feature-story-2025-white-house-signal-leak

Posted this late last night, but I just wanted to hand out my annual @tedium.co awards for best online video. It was quite a journey. tedium.co/2025/12/30/l...

OK, in the first of our @tedium.co awards, I looked back at quite a few videos I’ve watched on YouTube and elsewhere this year, and I kept coming back to this Lindsay Ellis video. It was an event when it came out. It is an impactful video months later. tedium.co/2025/12/30/l...

One of the best videos of the year came from someone who once publicly quit YouTube. It’s a multi-hour epic—and it’s stuck with me for months. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17243699/lindsay-ellis-best-online-video-2025

Finally, the Christmas piece you’ve all been waiting for—the one that connects the fates of C.W. McCall and Mannheim Steamroller. David Buck outdid himself this time: tedium.co/2025/12/25/c... new @tedium.co

The unexpected connection between advertising, a 1975 novelty song, CB radio, and some of your favorite modern Christmas tunes. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17241600/cb-radio-cw-mccall-mannheim-steamroller-christmas

Not every musician can be into CB radios and synth-driven Christmas music. But the guy behind Mannheim Steamroller pulled it off. tedium.co/2025/12/25/c...

My assessment of running Tedium in 2025: “Often, I feel like Troy Barnes from Community, returning with pizza, only to find all hell has broken loose in the short time I’ve been gone.” tedium.co/2025/12/22/t...

Tedium’s annual last-minute gift guide presumes you’re going to give your loved ones gifts on the 26th … or let’s be honest, the middle of January. https://feed.tedium.co/link/15204/17239895/tedium-gift-guide-2025

Out this holiday season: Stocking stuffers. In: Egg cartons that you bought in bulk from Amazon, filled with gifts. Does it make sense? No. But honestly, what does? tedium.co/2025/12/22/t...

I’d like to talk about my friend Chris for a moment. tedium.co/2025/12/19/c... new @tedium.co