Back on Two Feet—Well, Sort Of

On Monday, I went to Floyd Brace to have my prosthetic repaired—and I’m happy to report that it is officially fixed!

No more loose parts, strange movements, or wondering whether my leg was about to develop a mind of its own. Everything is secure, comfortable, and working the way it should.

Living with a prosthetic means occasional repairs and adjustments are simply part of the adventure. Thankfully, the team at Floyd Brace got me put back together and walking out the door.

One less thing to worry about—and one more reason to keep moving forward.

Day 73: Who Exactly Is Judging Nextdoor’s “Good Neighbors”?

It's Day 73 of waiting for the detailed Nextdoor Insights reports I've requested.

Yesterday, Nextdoor published something that initially made me smile:

“It’s Time to Say Thank You: Nominate a Good Neighbor.”

Full article:

https://blog.nextdoor.com/its-time-to-say-thank-you-nominate-a-good-neighbor

I like the concept.

Nextdoor is asking people to nominate neighbors who consistently show up for others—the person who brings in the trash cans, checks on someone after a storm, waters the plants, or does the little things that make a neighborhood better.

Five neighbors, one from each region, will be publicly recognized on National Good Neighbor Day, September 28.

Great.

Although I hope the winners receive more than a digital pat on the back.

A medal? Plaque? Certificate?

Even better: How about a Nextdoor-funded donation to each winner's favorite local charity?

The blog itself doesn't mention a monetary prize or charitable donation. It says the five winners will be publicly recognized.

Then I reached “What happens next.”

And my communications-study brain switched back on.

Wait...Who's on the Panel?

Nextdoor says that after nominations close on September 14:

“a panel reviews the strongest nominations in each region”

They're scored based on how specific, sustained, and impactful the story is. The rules further say winners are selected by a committee of Nextdoor employees, one for each of five regions.

Okay.

Who?

Who selects the “strongest” nominations before they're scored?

Who sits on the panel?

What makes those people qualified to determine impact?

How is each criterion weighted?

Is there a scoring rubric?

Will those scores be published?

Are panelists required to disclose relationships with nominees?

These aren't accusations.

They're basic transparency questions.

And perhaps I'm particularly sensitive to the word panel after everything I've documented about Nextdoor.

I've questioned its moderation structure.

I've questioned its communications strategy.

And now we're introducing another group of unnamed decision-makers making subjective judgments.

Nextdoor, Show Us Your Simon Cowell

Look at American Idol, America's Got Talent, or Dancing with the Stars.

You know who's judging.

You know their backgrounds.

You can agree or disagree with Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Mel B, Howie Mandel, or whoever happens to be sitting behind the desk—but at least you know who is making the judgment.

So Nextdoor, who's behind your desk?

If you're going to celebrate the best examples of neighborliness across the country, why not make the selection process part of the celebration?

Introduce the panel.

Tell us who they are.

Explain the scoring.

Show us what qualifies someone to evaluate a “specific, sustained, and impactful” contribution.

That's not bureaucracy.

That's transparency.

And after 73 days of my ongoing Nextdoor communication experiment, transparency remains a recurring theme.

I genuinely like the idea behind #GoodNeighborDay.

But if Nextdoor wants neighbors to trust the outcome, don't just tell us that a panel made the decision.

Show us the people behind the decision.

Otherwise, we're back to another familiar Nextdoor question:

Who's making the call—and why should neighbors trust the process?

Meanwhile...

Day 73. Still waiting for those detailed reports.

Follow my continuing Nextdoor study at NielFlamm.com/blog.

✈️ LaGuardia, I Owe You an Apology

I already wrote about my first reaction to arriving at LaGuardia Airport after not flying through LGA for a very, very long time.

But now I found a picture of LaGuardia from the 1990s, which is much closer to the airport I remember.

Put that picture next to the photos I took this weekend and...

Are we sure this is the same airport?

Seriously.

The old LaGuardia wasn't exactly an airport you arrived at early to soak up the atmosphere.

Low ceilings.

Fluorescent lighting.

Narrow corridors.

Crowded gate areas.

People sitting wherever they could find a spot.

Limited food choices.

And yes, I remember seeing rats running around in the drop ceiling.

That old photo brought it all back.

Then look at LaGuardia today.

📸 The Before-and-After Is Ridiculous

The 1990s picture almost looks like it came from a completely different era of air travel.

Because, well...

It did.

Compare that with the pictures I took this weekend.

Huge open spaces.

High ceilings.

Natural light.

Modern architecture.

Wide walkways.

Moving walkways.

Plenty of seating.

Restaurants and food options everywhere.

The difference isn't subtle.

It's astonishing.

Walking into the American Airlines check-in area, I actually stopped to take a picture because I couldn't believe I was standing in LaGuardia.

The check-in area is huge, bright, clean, and open.

Then I made my way farther into the terminal and had essentially the same reaction.

This is LGA?!

If your last memory of LaGuardia looks anything like that picture from the 1990s, you might have the same reaction I did.

🗽 And Then There's the View

I also took a picture of the view from LGA.

That's another thing I had forgotten about flying through LaGuardia.

You're right there in Queens, with New York City surrounding you, and depending on your approach or departure, you can get some fantastic views.

On my flight into New York, I caught a great view of Lower Manhattan during our descent.

On the way home, I got another chance to appreciate where the airport sits.

But there was still one final test.

⏰ What About the Famous LGA Delays?

The physical airport may have changed, but there was one part of the old LaGuardia experience I was fully expecting to revisit:

The delay.

Before all of these improvements, delays and LGA seemed to go together like New York and pizza.

You'd get to the airport.

Find your gate.

Sit down.

And wait.

Then you'd hear:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a short delay..."

And everyone familiar with LaGuardia would collectively think:

Of course we do.

This time, I was actually expecting a delay before departure.

And then something very strange happened.

We left.

No hours sitting around.

No endless mystery delay.

No wondering if I needed to find somewhere to sleep.

We got on the plane and took off.

I even recorded video of the takeoff because after everything I remembered about LGA, departing without that expected delay almost seemed worthy of documentation.

✈️ This May Change How I Travel to New York

Over the years, I've often used Newark (EWR) or JFK, depending on where I was going.

If I needed a rental car or was heading to the northern New Jersey suburbs, Newark often made sense.

JFK was another option depending on the flight and destination.

LaGuardia?

For a long time, it wasn't necessarily my first choice.

After this trip, that may change.

For getting into Queens and New York City, LGA was incredibly convenient.

I flew nonstop from Charleston.

Landed at LaGuardia.

Got over to Astoria quickly.

And when it was time to leave, I went through a clean, modern, comfortable airport and actually departed without the delay I had been expecting.

From THIS to THIS

That's what makes the old picture so much fun to include.

Look at 1990s LaGuardia.

Then look at the pictures I took in 2026.

If you haven't flown through LGA in years, erase whatever image you have in your head.

Because that airport no longer exists.

Airports aren't usually something I get excited about. They're a means to an end.

You go through security, buy an absurdly expensive drink, find your gate, and hope the person sitting next to you understands the universally accepted laws governing airplane armrests.

But this transformation deserves recognition.

So, LaGuardia...

I owe you an apology.

I remembered you as crowded terminals, low ceilings, people sitting on the floor, rats above my head, and seemingly inevitable delays.

Instead, you gave me a beautiful modern airport, great views, tons of food choices, easy access to Queens, and an on-time departure.

And that old photo proves something else:

My memory wasn't exaggerating quite as much as you might think.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...

I'm actually looking forward to flying through LGA again.

Nicely done, New York.

Insidious: Out of the Further — Did We Really Need a Sixth One?

I've enjoyed the Insidious franchise. Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, The Further, jump scares—these movies helped make PG-13 horror work.

Then I watched Insidious: Out of the Further, the sixth movie in the franchise.

This time I found myself thinking about Poltergeist, Hellraiser, Thirteen Ghosts... and yet another 2026 movie playing with time loops and temporal paradoxes.

Did Insidious need a sixth chapter? And is this one worth seeing in a theater, or should you wait for streaming?

🎬 Watch my full movie review at NielFlamm.com/videos/moviereviews

Day 72: “We Cannot Lose Our Humanness.” Are You Kidding, Nextdoor?

I saw Nirav Tolia is back on the podcast circuit, this time with Scott D. Clary on Success Story.

The title certainly got my attention:

“The Man Who Connected 100 Million Neighbors Says AI Is About to Make Us All Lonelier.”

Podcast:
https://lnkd.in/d6ncXhpj

Video:
https://lnkd.in/dY9AazUx

One of the first statements from Nirav highlighted in the LinkedIn post was:

“We cannot lose our humanness.”

I read that and thought:

He's kidding, right?

Not because I disagree with the statement.

Actually, I completely agree with it.

My issue is the disconnect between the rhetoric and what I've been observing and experiencing with Nextdoor.

What Does “Humanness” Actually Require?

Being human isn't simply having conversations about the dangers of AI.

To me, humanness includes:

Listening.

Empathy.

Accountability.

Acknowledging someone even when the conversation is uncomfortable.

And that's where Nirav's statement becomes fascinating when compared with what's happening at the company he leads.

It's Day 72 since I requested the detailed Home Insurance Insights research.

Enough said about that.

But this isn't only about me.

What About Nextdoor's Small Businesses?

I've been watching the reaction to Nextdoor's new pay-to-play approach, where businesses may have to pay to comment as businesses when a neighbor posts looking for a service.

And I've seen small-business owners who are not happy.

These aren't giant corporations with unlimited marketing budgets.

They're plumbers.

Landscapers.

Contractors.

Cleaners.

Handymen.

Local service providers.

Many operate on razor-thin margins.

They're also part of the small-business economy that helps keep communities—and the United States—running.

So while Nirav is discussing preserving our humanness in an AI-driven world, I'd like to know:

Who's listening to them?

Was someone sitting with Nirav when this monetization strategy was discussed asking:

“What does this mean for the small businesses that helped build engagement on our platform?”

Was there a focus group?

A beta?

Did anyone calculate the impact beyond Nextdoor's potential revenue?

Was there an effort to create buy-in?

Did anyone practice the very human behavior of listening before acting?

Maybe there was.

If so, please tell us about it.

Another Chapter in the White Paper on Rhetoric

That's increasingly what I find fascinating about studying Nextdoor.

The external messaging sounds terrific.

Community.

Connection.

Neighbors.

Humanness.

Then I compare those words with what I'm observing.

A shareholder waiting 72 days for detailed research he's repeatedly requested.

Small businesses questioning a new monetization model.

Corporate LinkedIn posts where comments are frequently unavailable.

Communication that, from my perspective, too often feels one-directional.

That's not an AI problem.

That's a human communication problem.

Nirav is right about one thing:

We cannot lose our humanness.

But perhaps the first place to demonstrate that philosophy isn't another podcast.

Maybe it's inside Nextdoor.

Listen.

Respond.

Show empathy.

Explain difficult decisions.

Engage with people who disagree.

Be accountable.

Otherwise, this becomes another fascinating chapter in my growing white paper on the difference between corporate rhetoric and corporate behavior.

And AI didn't create that problem.

Humans did.

Day 72.

Follow the continuing Nextdoor study at NielFlamm.com/blog.

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