A Note from Nikhil and Jon:
Hello! It’s the 5th of the month, and we are back at it again. We just got back from a fruitful trip to SF, and Nikhil is having a wedding in 2 weeks, so this episode will be short. While we have tons of features for Rabbithole and Rabbithole Reader to share, this month’s newsletter has a different topic…
…We got a MetroCard machine!!
New York City has been phasing out its legendary MetroCards since implementing the tap-to-pay OMNY systems following the pandemic. In early August, the city announced it would be auctioning decommissioned, non-functional MetroCard machines.
Not too long after, we got a text from our friend and multi-talented creative Mike Liu.
With Mike’s encouragement and creative vision, we decided we had to at least put a bid in by the deadline.
And we won. WE FREAKING WON!
The city is taking its sweet time scheduling a pickup window for us after immediately collecting the auction money (typical) but rest assured we will be picking up our machine, the smaller, 215 lbs one, very soon.
We have a lot of ideas already, but this is going to be a platform for collaborating with all of you. So — go here to tell us how you want to get involved.
A long-form piece for the road: Now is as good a time as ever to return to Bret Victor’s “Inventing on Principle” talk. Bret’s main call: creators (people who create stuff, not influencers) need to immediately see what they are doing. He proceeds to make magic with software interfaces, but he also shows this principle in action for other disciplines. We guarantee this will spark some thought and maybe help you unblock some creative design decisions.
Till next time,
Nikhil & Jon