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Chris Amandier

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The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 4)

Check out the rest of my look at the legends surrounding the Luxor Hotel: part 1, part 2, part 3 Content note: this one gets slightly gruesome, with mentions of that creepy Bodies exhibit. Despite my fond memories of the Luxor, it seems like there’s some bad vibes at

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 4
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The hype around the Panasonic RR-DR60

A look at lore surrounding the legendary Panasonic RR-DR60. How did the late 1990s audio recorder become a device that now sells for $4,000-5,000 USD on eBay? What makes the DR60 so special? Highlights include: * plenty o' nostalgia (and skepticism) * a digression about hard drives (everyone's favorite) * some

a diagram of a DR60 overlaid on a swirled purple background with the words "the hype around the Panasonic RR-DR60"
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The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 3)

Check out the rest of my look at the legends surrounding the Luxor Hotel: part 1, part 2 De-theming The last couple days, I've talked about some of my nostalgia the Luxor (as it was when I visited in 1995) and some of the original aspirations and creativity behind the

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 3
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The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 2)

Check out part 1 of my look at the legends surrounding the Luxor Hotel What does the Luxor look like? Much of the lore about the Luxor's supposed hauntings are inspired by the pure . . . strangeness . . . of the Luxor's appearance. First off, the Egyptian-themed hotel is, of course, a pyramid. Named

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 2
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The Curse of the Luxor Hotel (Part 1)

Back in the 1990s, there were grand plans to make Las Vegas into a Disney World-type destination, full of ornate themed resorts and activities for children. The Luxor Hotel and Casino, an ancient Egyptian-themed hotel shaped like a giant obsidian pyramid with a beam of light coming out of the

a halftone illustration of the Luxor hotel with the words The Curse of The Luxor Part 1
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Crunch time (Learning Things: May 29, 2023)

Thank you to everyone who reached out last week about my digital garden blog post series! I've had some great conversations with folks about it, and I'm glad it's a topic that's resonating with other people, too. So what's up with me this week? My wife and I going to

a drawing of mugwort, columbine, garlic mustard, bluebells, wild geranium, and white trillium
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A plea to fellow paranormal researchers: break free of walled gardens and build your own digital gardens

Earlier this year, one of my favorite thinkers, sci-fi author Cory Doctorow coined the term "enshittification." Enshittification is the process of a platform destroying itself. It often goes like this: the platform initially seems great, so users sign up, then it shafts its users in favor of attracting business users,

a halftone illustration of a walled garden with the text "trapped in walled gardens"
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How to set up your own digital garden

Yesterday, I wrote about why I set up a digital garden. Today, I wanted to share a bit more about exactly how I set it up, as well as my current workflow for sharing notes. I'm only a couple weeks into tending my digital garden, so I wouldn't be surprised

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Tending the garden: digital gardening goals

I recently set up a digital garden to share some of my in-progress research notes. Yesterday, I wrote about what a digital garden is. Today, I want to delve into my goals for the garden. My notetaking methods As a paranormal researcher, I use the zettlekasten method of taking notes.

mint green and white pixel art of a mushroom and some sparkles
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Digital gardens, zettlekasten, and paranormal research

How and why I'm sharing my in-progress research notes

yellow and purple pixel art of a rosebush with the word "digital gardens"