I started Maps for the Getaway in 2020 as an outlet to post a snarky essay about Google Reader because my friend, Steven Buss, was getting mercilessly dragged by Jason Scott and his followers for having the guts to say that it was good that Google Reader was canceled. From there, it acted more or less like a personal blog with a mixture of neoliberal election things, good content, and some now-deleted political posts. Since then, I have moved to Denmark and my newsletter has become a larger part of my life. With this change, I need better branding.
Maps for the Getaway was a fine name for a personal newsletter, but it is an awkward fit for one that people are paying to support. First, I cheerfully stole the name from an Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness song. While this is nothing new, song titles have long been a source of names, it puts off an air of hipster pretension that I do not currently want.1 Also, Maps for the Getaway is too long. A good publication name is one or two memorable words. Maps for the Getaway is four words, one of which is a compound word.
Fisheye
I have been toying with the idea of Fishbowl as the new name for this newsletter but I ultimately rejected it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it is not a good name. Fishbowls are shallow and I tend to do deeper dives in my posts. I also worked in an office that was nicknamed “the fishbowl” because it was surrounded by glass and had no privacy. However, I did like the pun off of my last name and URL and tried several until I came across one that fit.
I went with FishEye because it is a pun with several meanings. A fisheye lens shows a wide-angle view of an area, just like the breadth of topics that I cover. The name can also be taken as my eye or the things that I see and like. Which is a good depiction of the topics that I cover and the ways that I cover them.
Logo?
For now, the map logo is going to stay. I like it, it reflects my content well, and none of the fish or lense logos I found on the Noun Project excite me. At some point, I will come across or design something that I like. Until then, the map that is showing how to get from Point A to Point B is going to stay.
Schedule and subscribers
I am going to be posting two times a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 08:30 (UTC -4:00 or UTC -5:00).2 Right now, most posts will be free until I build up a better content pipeline and base of subscribers. Some will be subscribers only for the first 24 hours and then will be unlocked. Unlocked posts will be linked to in the next fully public newsletter post. If you are interested in getting all of the content right away, please subscribe.
Things in the pipeline include:
Shipping my gaming PC to Copenhagen
An overview of my final DHS Project report and some thoughts on Admin 2 estimates
The problems that occur because our public health authorities are staffed by hypochondriacs
States should abolish counties and municipalities
The pandemic is here to stay, and we need to accept that fact
We will never be able to vaccinate everyone against COVID-19
Why did Caroline County, MD Grow when its Neighbors Shrank?
Danish life
I had this direktørsnegl today and it was amazing.
Unlocked post
If you are interested in trains, the guest post by Joe James on rail infrastructure in the South Eastern US is now unlocked. If you are interested in trains, the guest post by Joe James on rail infrastructure in the South Eastern US is now unlocked.
See Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Bad Brains, Death Cab for Cutie, etc.
14:30 in Copenhagen