This Was Not the Blog Post I Planned to Write

I had other things to write about.

I had just gone to see The End of Oak Street—vlog review coming soon—and then stopped at Boxcar Betty’s in MTP, where I discovered bacon jam.

I did not know I needed bacon jam in my life. Now I’m wondering how I survived this long without it. Was I even living, or was I merely existing in a tragically bacon-jam-free state?

After lunch, I wanted to go to the nearest Starbucks, sit down, and get some writing done before a recovery meeting. I had topics. I had thoughts. I may have even had a plan.

None of those topics involved the back of a Honda CR-V.

And yet, here we are.

This particular Starbucks is next to a National Tire & Battery. Because it is next to a tire shop, there are sometimes vehicles parked outside the service bays. It happens. Cars need tires. Tires need cars. The circle of automotive life continues.

The resulting passageway is narrow, but it works—as long as everybody participates in that increasingly experimental social practice known as courtesy.

Usually, drivers go around the vehicles near the service bays and move as far left as possible without sacrificing a wheel rim to the curb. It is not a perfect system, but civilization has survived on less.

Not this vehicle.

This vehicle appeared committed to occupying exactly enough of the available space to make passing somewhere between “deeply uncomfortable” and “please have your insurance information ready.”

There wasn’t much room between the building, the sidewalk, and the car. So I waited.

And waited.

At least ten minutes.

I did not honk. Remember, no horn. Read back if you don’t know that story.

I did consider flashing my high beams, but that seemed like the automotive equivalent of sending a strongly worded email while the recipient is sitting directly in front of you.

Eventually, the car moved forward.

Victory?

Not exactly.

It moved just enough to acknowledge that movement was technically possible, while still declining to leave what experts call “a reasonable amount of space.”

As I finally worked my way around, the people inside appeared to be waiting for the early-bird special to begin while conducting important business on a portable device. Perhaps they were negotiating a treaty. Perhaps they were solving the national debt. Perhaps they were watching a video explaining how driveways work.

I may never know.

Here is the semi-serious part: parking lots are small communities with bad signage. We all have somewhere to be. We are all distracted. We are all occasionally the person who doesn’t realize we are blocking someone else.

But when you are sitting in a narrow lane, and another car has been waiting behind you long enough to reconsider every decision that led them there, moving over a few feet is a lovely gesture.

It costs nothing. It requires no app. There is no subscription fee.

Just look around, notice the other humans, and share the pavement.

Anyway, I eventually made it to Starbucks. I had bacon jam in my recent past, a recovery meeting in my near future, and several completely different topics waiting to be written.

Instead, I wrote about this car.

Ugh.

📬 What You May Have Missed This Week on NielFlamm.com (June 6-13)

Hello Friends!

Another week has come and gone, which means I somehow managed to produce another collection of blogs, movie reviews, videos, LinkedIn posts, opinions, and assorted Internet Garbage.

If life got busy, here's your weekly recap of everything that happened on NielFlamm.com between June 6 and June 13.

🎬 Movie Reviews

It was another busy week at the theater.

I reviewed Pressure, the fascinating true story about the meteorologists whose weather forecast helped make D-Day possible. It was less about the battle itself and more about the pressure of making decisions that would affect thousands of lives.

I also reviewed Scary Movie 6, where Marlon and Shawn Wayans return with exactly the type of over-the-top parody humor that made the franchise famous. If you're easily offended, it probably isn't for you. If you enjoy ridiculous comedy, you'll probably laugh the entire time.

Finally, I shared my thoughts on Eternity, a movie that explores relationships, death, and the afterlife while asking some interesting questions about love and forever.

If you're trying to decide what to watch, hopefully my reviews save you a little time and money.

🌎 NielFlamm.com Continues to Grow

One of the biggest surprises this week came from looking at my website analytics.

During the past month, more than 800 unique visitors generated over 1,000 page views, with readers coming from all over the world. The largest audiences are currently in China, Vietnam, the United States, and Germany.

When I started this hobby, I honestly thought only friends and family would stop by.

Seeing people I've never met visiting the site is both humbling and motivating, and I appreciate every single visit.

🎥 Videos, Blogs & Other Internet Garbage

There was plenty of content outside of movie reviews this week.

I shared my thoughts on celebrity sports fans and carpetbaggers, those people who somehow become lifelong fans the minute a team starts winning championships while the real fans have been suffering through decades of heartbreak.

I also posted another handicap parking adventure, featuring a driver who apparently believes parking lines are merely suggestions despite having an entire parking lot available.

I shared my appreciation for the growing international audience that continues to find NielFlamm.com, thanking readers around the world for spending time with my content and encouraging them to reach out with suggestions on how I can continue improving.

The website continues to fill up with blogs, videos, podcasts, health updates, technology discussions, humor, random observations, and whatever else happens to cross my mind during the week.

💼 Leadership, AI & Nextdoor Commentary

My ongoing commentary surrounding Nextdoor leadership and corporate communication continued throughout the week.

I discussed Nirav Tolia's comments surrounding artificial intelligence, pointing out that AI has existed in many forms for decades through predictive dialers, automation tools, instructional design software, Grammarly, and other technologies many of us have worked with throughout our careers.

I also examined Nextdoor's moderation model, asking what protections exist to prevent moderator retaliation and whether enough transparency exists when volunteer moderators are making decisions that affect neighbors and local conversations.

Another article compared Nextdoor's constantly shifting messaging to companies like Waffle House and In-N-Out Burger, organizations that have built loyal customer bases through consistency, simplicity, and delivering on a straightforward promise.

I also shared my thoughts on Nirav Tolia's appearance on the New Economies podcast, questioning whether the company is truly listening to user feedback while discussing AI, neighborhood data, and community engagement.

As both a shareholder and former user, I continue to believe transparency, consistency, and accountability are critical ingredients for long-term success.

❤️ Recovery & Life

This week I reflected on celebrating 17 years without a drink and the gratitude I have for everyone who reached out with comments, texts, messages, and encouragement.

The AA chip I picked up wasn't just for me—it serves as a reminder to newcomers that long-term recovery is possible, one day at a time.

Humor, gratitude, and community continue to be some of the greatest gifts of sobriety.

👉 Catch Up!

If you missed anything this week, stop by NielFlamm.com and catch up on the latest blogs, videos, podcasts, movie reviews, opinion pieces, and all the other Internet Garbage I've been creating.

And if you enjoy what you read or watch, please forward this email to a friend and encourage them to subscribe.

Don't gatekeep the Internet Garbage.

Thanks for reading, supporting the site, and following along on this crazy journey.

See you next week!

— Niel