A photo of the quaint English town of St. Ives, located about an hour by train outside of London.

UK Trip, New Year's 2026: I'm Just A Teenage Dirtbag, Baby (Still)

England is a country with terrible food populated by posh women whose money cannot save them from looking like Mrs. Doubtfire. Because they can't go to the bathroom properly, its people are unruly and often intoxicated; they are deeply classist, their junk is uncut, and one of Earth's most beautiful and hospitable natural landscapes is largely wasted on them. In short, I loved it. 10/10 will visit again.

Jan 1814 min read

An AI-rendered image showing a statue of three women, their hair covered in shawls and their eyes averted, who are leaning on and comforting each other - in the style of the Pietà.

The Weird Sisters of Centro Clinic

Three witches preside over the methadone clinic. Their weird magic keeps the viscous methadone syrup flowing through the temperamental machines that dispense it. The Three Sisters' pulsing power prevents fights over girls and drug debts; it sometimes cleans urine samples of the illegal drugs present in them (especially when freedom is at stake), and it ensures that the door to the facility's only single-occupancy restroom unlocks itself when someone is overdosing inside...

Dec 14, 202510 min read

A YouTube video thumbnail with a black-and-white picture of a young, striking-looking trans woman on the left and a photo of photographer Mark Laita (an older, white man with stringy hair) on the right, with the words "The Road to Hell" along the border between them.

I'm Back

Fall 2025 life updates: Going viral on YouTube; Trump's E.O. criminalizing harm reduction services; my writing projects and methadone taper.

Nov 6, 20257 min read

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TRAIN OF THOUGHT

UK Trip, New Year's 2026: I'm Just A Teenage Dirtbag, Baby (Still)

England is a country with terrible food populated by posh women whose money cannot save them from looking like Mrs. Doubtfire. Because they can't go to the bathroom properly, its people are unruly and often intoxicated; they are deeply classist, their junk is uncut, and one of Earth's most beautiful and hospitable natural landscapes is largely wasted on them. In short, I loved it. 10/10 will visit again.

Travels, Travails, and Escapades

Jan 1814 min read

A picture of the writer Gore Vidal, who looks to be in his twenties. He is a classically handsome young man with a strong, straight nose and full lips curved slightly upward into something that is not quite a smile. He stares somewhere beyond the camera, looking fierce and contemplative.

In Search of Lost Time: New Year, 2026

Holiday 2025 life updates: An original poem, plus reflections on childhood, living abroad, my relationship with my fiancé, and my thoughts on three memoirs that I have recently read. I also discuss my hopes and plans for 2026.

Mad Mutterings

Dec 28, 202518 min read

The Weird Sisters of Centro Clinic

Three witches preside over the methadone clinic. Their weird magic keeps the viscous methadone syrup flowing through the temperamental machines that dispense it. The Three Sisters' pulsing power prevents fights over girls and drug debts; it sometimes cleans urine samples of the illegal drugs present in them (especially when freedom is at stake), and it ensures that the door to the facility's only single-occupancy restroom unlocks itself when someone is overdosing inside...

Mad Mutterings

Dec 14, 202510 min read

The chemical structure of the opioid SR-17018, whose full name is 5,6-dichloro-1-(1-(4-chlorobenzyl)piperidin-4-yl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-one.

SR-17018: Great Promise; A Grave Warning

SR-17018 has been hailed as a "magic bullet" fix for opioid addiction, which can produce painkilling effects without tolerance or risk of overdose. Is the hype justified?

Addiction and Recovery

Nov 30, 20255 min read

I'm Back

Fall 2025 life updates: Going viral on YouTube; Trump's E.O. criminalizing harm reduction services; my writing projects and methadone taper.

Mad Mutterings

Nov 6, 20257 min read

A very cute cat with jade eyes and black, grey, brown, and white stripes; she is laying with her paws on the keyboard of a laptop while looking back and glaring at the camera.

Still Alive; On Summer Hiatus

For the first time since I started this blog, I'm taking a break. Catch you on the flip side!

Mad Mutterings

Jul 13, 20251 min read

A normal curve with stress level on the x-axis and performance on the y-axis; the curve shows that performance level increases with stress up to a certain optimal point, after which additional stress decreases performance.

The Stress-Performance Curve for Civilization

It's past time to reevaluate the social contract. Unprecedented social ills, including record-breaking levels of mental illness and addiction, secondary to a widespread, pernicious breakdown in community have led to more people feeling adrift, empty, and angry than ever before. Is the fix about optimizing our individual interactions with social systems, or is the only possible cure systemic change?

Mad Mutterings

Jul 6, 20257 min read