In September 2017, Miki’s parents met us in Seattle, where we rented a van, said hi to my parents, then headed out on a 10-day road trip through British Columbia. Our first day was a long drive to Clearwater, where we rented a lovely AirBnB cabin on a lake. …

Happens all the time: I see a crap thing, get excited—my life will be whole!—then think better of it and, to put my psyche at ease, take home only a photo. Are these pictures a window to my deepest hopes and fears? That’s one good way to view this essay, as the photos themselves aren’t good at all. I’ve laid things out thematically, ie: the photo sets below were not shot at the same time. The captions, however, describe thoughts I actually (sorta) had when standing in front of each thing. Final warning: I love thrift stores.

In 2016 I hiked the Sweeney Ridge trail 10 or 15 times. At the top, turn your head West for the Pacific Ocean or East for San Francisco Bay. The trailhead I use is in Pacifica, 19 minutes from my front door when there isn’t traffic. When I also hike at a brisk pace, I can hit the road at 7am and be back on my computer just as most startups begin their day. (Startups = clients.) There were two hikes in 2016 where I slowed down and took photos with my phone. Below I’ve mixed them together, converted to black and white, and made seven diptychs (plus a bonus photo at the end). —JCS

I’ve spent the past couple days reflecting on 2016. Step one was to review my calendar, week by week. I reviewed a list of goals from this time last year. Miki and I had a long conversation (or three). And back I went through my photo library. What happened this year? Oy vey—too much. In the name of psychic ease, below is an extremely limited account of my alternately tepid and boisterous 2016: 18 pictures from inside our apartment. Onwards!

I take a 30 minute walk in the neighborhood every other morning. (Home is the Mission in San Francisco.) It’s a better way to start the day than reading my phone in bed. I tell myself I walk because it’s calming, but I keep at it because I love finding treasure/trash on the ground. Two years ago I inadvertently caught my own feet in a photo, which looked cool so I’ve kept at it. Here are my most memorable finds. Some photos are grouped together for one reason or another. Most were taken near 24th Street and all except one or two were shot on a phone.

I sat down a few days ago to dig up some photos-of-not-Miki. But there she was. A few hours later I’d looked through every album dated 2015. …

Or: The strange pleasure of committing to a mindless, semi-dangerous project Sure, this is a story about digging a hole at the beach, but to set the stage, bear in mind our discussion topics on the car ride to get there: California running out of water, that dude who dug a tunnel/fort in Toronto as a mental escape, and the apocalypse…

The stories I tell, part 1 — When our bus would stop, I’d hop off and stretch. Photo by yours truly. The following are true stories. Notes at the bottom. ONE My Last Ride on the Dirty Dog In college, I frequently rode the Dirty Dog. That’s Greyhound, for the uninitiated. Cheaper than a plane. On a…

Startup Portrait #4: KidAdmit — Tejal Shah (right), the CEO of KidAdmit, talks preschool admissions with Heather Piper, the director of admissions at the Russian Hill School in San Francisco. Startup Portraits is an ongoing series of visual stories about the founders of Bay Area startups, their visions, and what they’re learning. More info here…