Toby Geeks Out!

You know those moments when you’re scrolling through your reading list and something makes you stop mid-sip of coffee? I had a few of those this week. Milk Without Cows (Yes, Really) So apparently, we’re living in the future now. Scientists are making real dairy milk without cows. Not almond milk, not oat milk. Actual milk with the same proteins as cow’s milk, but made in labs using precision fermentation. And this isn’t some far-off sci-fi anymore. Remilk and Gad Dairies just launched “The New Milk” in Israel. Like, it’s rolling out in cafes and restaurants right now, with retail launches happening in January 2026. This is real milk you can …

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Here’s something that’s been sitting uncomfortably in my brain lately: I don’t really experience what I’d call “screen stress,” but I’ve definitely found myself in those loops where I’ve been on screens for hours and hours, and I look up and feel… exhausted. Not stressed exactly, just drained. And somehow in all that scrolling time, I’ve been neglecting analog things I actually need to do. Errands that keep getting pushed to tomorrow, books sitting unread, walks not taken. It’s that damn infinite scroll, right? You start out thinking you’ll just check one thing, and suddenly it’s been two hours and you haven’t moved.And here’s the kicker: the …

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So I spent my Sunday doing what normal people probably don’t do—obsessing over blog spacing. You know how it is. You notice one little thing that’s bugging you, and next thing you know, three hours have disappeared, and you’re still messing around with CSS. It started with my blockquotes. I’ve got this dropcap thing going on for the first letter of posts, which I think looks pretty cool. But when a blockquote showed up right after that fancy first letter? Huge, awkward gap of white space. Just looked weird. So I tried adjusting the dropcap’s line-height first. Then I messed around with margins—positive, negative, whatever I could think of. …

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Stumbled across this Domino article about stained green kitchen cabinets and it got me thinking. Those kitchens with green hues look beautiful and simple. Clean lines, natural vibes, just really nice. And apparently it’s a trend for 2026? Maybe I’m onto something here. I considered painting my cabinets green last year. Spent way too much time scrolling through inspiration photos, imagining how it’d look. But here’s the thing: my cabinets are wood. Painting them means commitment. If I hate the color later, I’m stuck repainting over and over. So I went with stained wood instead—lets the grain show through, easier to live with long-term. Part of …

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Just learned a new word tonight: phubbing. Yeah, it’s a portmanteau of “phone” and “snubbing” — when you’re sitting across from someone and instead of actually engaging with them, you’re scrolling through your phone. I’ll be honest, I’ve been guilty of this more times than I’d like to admit. You’re in the middle of a conversation, someone’s telling you something, and that little buzz pulls your attention away. Before you know it, you’ve checked three apps and completely lost the thread of what the person was saying. The timing of learning this word is perfect since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. The article makes a solid point: if there’s one …

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I’ve been in a full-on wrestling match with my Micro.blog theme lately. Had this specific vision: truncated posts on the homepage with a “Continue Reading” link, a nice drop cap at the start of long-form posts, and images that didn’t feel like they were yelling over the text. Simple, right? Started with trying to add the “Continue Reading” link myself but it didn’t work. Was about to send a support ticket, then thought “nah, I want to figure this out.” Asked Perplexity for help instead, and honestly? Huge help figuring out what I’d done wrong. While I was at it, I asked Perplexity to help with other stuff too. Spotted a drop cap line in the …

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You know how some people collect stamps or vintage records? I collect random things. It’s honestly my favorite thing - shuffling through the vast web, discovering stuff I never knew existed. So here’s what caught my attention lately. Someone once said, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” Turns out that’s annoyingly true. Especially when you discover entire personality types you never knew existed. Ready? Let’s dive in. The Great French Toast Identity Crisis French toast. Not French. At all. Plot twist: it’s Roman. Back in the 4th century, Romans soaked stale bread in milk and eggs, fried it up, drizzled honey on top. …

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You’re lying in bed, scrolling. Two hours vanish before you even realize it’s happening—until suddenly you do. And there it is: the awareness. Your book’s still on the nightstand. Your essay’s waiting on your laptop. The puzzle’s half-finished on the table. The coloring supplies are untouched. I catch myself here, too. Not in a guilt-spiral way, but in that quiet moment where you realize: this is finite time, and I’m choosing how it goes. That’s when everything shifts. Because it’s not really about doing enough—it’s about whether I’m actually building something that feels like mine. Photo by Jesse Blom on Unsplash The weird thing about …

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So I’ve been reading about some random stuff lately, and these things have been sitting in my head for a while. You know how it is—you start with skyscrapers covered in forests, end up at the grocery store aisle, and somehow land on Bambi, of all things. Anyway, figured I’d share. You might find them interesting too. Buildings with actual forests on them I love buildings covered in greenery. Walls, balconies, entire facades—just filled with plants. It’s brilliant. I’m a total black thumb—I can kill a cactus—but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating it. I grew up in an Appalachian town surrounded by trees. I’d sit for hours just looking at …

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I’m currently hooked on an exhilarating TV series that combines suspense, drama, and unforgettable characters. Each episode leaves me wanting more, making it a total binge-worthy experience! City of Shadows Season 1 🍿 It is a Spanish crime thriller about a suspended Barcelona detective brought back to hunt a serial killer staging fiery public executions at Gaudí landmarks, based on Aro Sáinz de la Maza’s novel El verdugo de Gaudí. Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2 🍿- It adapts Rick Riordan’s novel The Sea of Monsters, sending Percy back to a threatened Camp Half-Blood where he must sail into the Sea of Monsters to rescue Grover and …

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So I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately for this new organization I’m working with—OULDHH (Organization of Unique Learners for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community). We’re pretty informal, just getting started really, but we’re gathering resources and information about neurodivergence, accessibility, and education for the Deaf community. I’ve been posting new content every Wednesday—sometimes about neurodivergence, sometimes about whatever else I’m geeking out about that week. And honestly? Some of these posts hit close to home. Whether you just got a diagnosis for yourself or your child, you’re dealing with school stuff that feels …

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Hey folks, I’m experimenting here. I usually put together a monthly newsletter on various topics, but I read about 100 articles a week, and there’s always something that catches my attention and feels worth sharing sooner rather than later. Over the last two weeks alone, I had about 30 links I wanted to share with you—way too much for one newsletter. So I’m breaking them up into a weekly newsletter instead. This one covers genuinely good health news, some overdue reflection on Deaf representation, and tackling my mountain of unread books. Not sure yet if I’ll stick with weekly or go back to monthly—we’ll see how this feels. Let’s start with …

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Thrift store haul from Pikeville, KY! Yesterday’s adventures led my parents and me through two local thrift shops, and I struck an absolute jackpot in the book section. Found these four gems that I can’t wait to dive into 📚✨ They are very cheap, costing a dollar per book! What a great find, right? The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly 📚 State of Fear by Michael Crichton 📚 I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes 📚 Snow Crash: A Novel by Neal Stephenson 📚 Speaking of going analog—there’s something magical about holding a real book, feeling the pages, breathing in that paper scent. E-books are convenient, sure, but they’ll never quite capture that …

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Published on Substack on 1/26/2026 The Americans with Disabilities Act will turn 36 later this year. In the last thirty-five years, there has been a requirement for accessible hotel accommodations. And yet, NPR just published an investigation showing that wheelchair users are still dealing with the same frustrating barriers that shouldn’t exist after three decades of the law being on the books.NPR talked to 50 wheelchair users and surveyed over 200 more. The stories were depressingly familiar. You call ahead, you book an accessible room online, you show up… and there’s no reservation. Or the room’s been given away. Or—my personal favorite—the …

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I love to walk. Back when I lived in DC, I’d spend hours on weekends just getting lost in the city with my camera, capturing whatever caught my eye. Those long, meandering walks were never about hitting a step goal; they were about exploring and discovering. Turns out all those hours of wandering were doing way more for my health than I realized. Two recent studies offer encouraging news about movement and how it protects us, and the takeaway is that how and when you move matter less than moving itself. One study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology tracked over 100,000 adults and found that people who took a single long walk …

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I saw a kitchen renovation that made me stop scrolling: a London couple turned their IKEA cabinets into bright-yellow, striped beauties inspired by the towels and umbrellas at an Italian seaside hotel where they vacation every year. The genius part? They used painter’s tape, not paint. Dorian Caffot de Fawes (an antiques dealer) and his husband Thomas Daviet (an interior designer) bought rolls of yellow painter’s tape, under $4 on Amazon, and wrapped their cabinet doors in vertical stripes. It’s durable enough to last but removable whenever they want something different. Their tips: go vertical to keep it calming (horizontal stripes make your …

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Winter’s here in Kentucky, which means less sunlight and thinking about vitamin D. Most of us aren’t getting enough—35% of American adults fall short. I’m one of them. Both my doctors told me I wasn’t getting enough, so I’ve been taking 1,000 IU supplements year-round. What really surprised me: targeted vitamin D3 cut the chances of a second heart attack in half for people who’d already had one. I knew deficiency could affect health, but I had no idea it was tied specifically to heart health. Since becoming diabetic, I’ve been eating two or three scrambled eggs every day for breakfast to keep my blood sugar stable. The eggs should help boost …

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I came across a question this week that I can’t stop thinking about. Software engineer Cassidy Williams posed this on her blog: “If Jesus’s body and blood were bread and wine, what are yours?” Her answer? Lasagna and a root beer float. Her husband went with fried chicken and boba. Friends chimed in with everything from sushi and beer to fried plantains and Pepsi to Costco rotisserie chicken and a Manhattan. What gets me about this question is that it’s not really about your favorite foods. It’s about what defines you. Williams says learning someone’s answer helps her know that person better, and I get it. There’s something revealing about …

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