Code for the People

July 9, 2026
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Code for the People is a new documentary about open source, as told through the story of WordPress.

Tune in to hear me talk about getting my first PC (in the cow print box!) and what makes WordPress so special.

The open web is arguably the world’s most vital invisible utility–and it is under siege.

We have traded a free internet for a collection of walled gardens. Today, a handful of digital landlords use algorithms to dictate our reality, while closed AI threatens to change the ways we connect. We are at a breaking point: we can either let gatekeepers continue to consolidate their power, or we can reclaim the open source spirit that built the web in the first place.

The future of the internet is being decided right now and it needs our help.

Bevans Rock Shelter

June 22, 2026
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We took a short hike yesterday to the Bevans Rock Shelter, a 24-foot-long rock formation near Peter’s Valley Craft School in Bevans, New Jersey.

As you can see from the photo, the rock has been worn away leaving a large natural shelf as protection from the weather. Native Americans used this site as an apparently permanent living space; there have been hundreds of artifacts excavated from here over the years.

This area is open to the public (though the shelter is unmarked, and there is no trail) and federally protected, as part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which has its own interesting back story.

Peter’s Valley itself is an important part of Maiorana-family lore: my dad Tom Maiorana was unofficially the first resident blacksmith at Peter’s Valley in the 1970s, and designed the original bracket for their sign. My older brother Marc is a metalsmith as well and has taught classes at PV, even bringing dad back to help.

Iron Mine Trails

May 23, 2026
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I recently found an out-of-print book documenting local iron mines in the New York and New Jersey Highlands, and have made light plans to hike each of the trails this summer.

The nearby Green and Wawayanda iron mines in Wawayanda State Park were my first priority, even though there’s not much to see (the adits and most of the shafts have been filled in for years); I’ve hiked within 50 feet of them a dozen times and never knew they were there.

Heard Helicopters? Hudson Valley Farms Fight Frost Overnight

April 23, 2026
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Heard Helicopters? Hudson Valley Farms Fight Frost Overnight:

Did you hear helicopters flying low across the Hudson Valley this week? Local farms and orchards are using helicopters to protect their crops after the drastic temperature drop.

The combination of 80° temperatures last week (which set many orchards into bloom), and then 20° temperatures this week (which killed most of those blossoms), has been a disaster for our local apple orchards. Apples are a big part of the Hudson Valley’s economy: Ulster is the second-largest apple-producing county in the US, and millions of New Yorkers visit the region’s orchards every fall, impacting tourism as well.

I was surprised to learn amongst all of this that helicopters are often used to help save crops from freezing temperatures: “Helicopters mix warmer air currents with cooler air near the ground to raise temperatures and reduce frost risk. A single helicopter can increase the temperature of a 30-acre orchard by 4°F just one minute after passing over the field.”

James Turrell’s Avaar

March 22, 2026
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James Turrell, Avaar, 1982. Photo by Noah Kalina.

We took a drive to the Catskill Art Space in Livingston Manor this weekend to see James Turrell’s Avaar. The installation is essentially a pitch-black room, through which you navigate by feel, for minutes, until your eyes eventually adjust and a large canvas emerges from the darkness:

As visitors enter a seemingly pitch-black space, the eyes need several minutes to adjust before the aperture becomes apparent, looming first like a flat field, then seeming to open into a never-ending abyss of pure light. The artist has compared such works to how, shortly after you turn off a porch light, your vision can penetrate the night.

I recommend it, just perhaps warn any of your claustrophobic companions what they’re signing up for. My wife and I went in completely unprepared (blind, literally and otherwise).

Eel Man Ray Turner: End of an Era

March 3, 2026
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Eel Man Ray Turner: End of an Era:

The timeworn fish weir on the East Branch of the Delaware River may have trapped its last eel. The stone-and-wood structure in Hancock, New York, has been operated for decades by Ray Turner, whom locals refer to as “The Eel Man.”

Turner is something of a recluse, a throwback to earlier times and the analog world. 

We rent a house on the East Branch for a few days most summers, walking distance to Ray’s smokehouse, and have enjoyed both his stock and his stories over the years.

On our last visit he told us he’s no longer running the eel trap, the “geezerism” got him.