Author: Matt Maldre

Today is day 169 of 2025. That's 13² in the year of 45². There's something beautifully nerdy about living through a square year and marking all its square days. Most people stopped memorizing squares at 144, making 169 obscure.

I’ve started a new art series where I leave notes on benches: If I come across a bench that I have never sat in, I will stop and sit in that bench for at least sixty seconds. #enjoybenches In a…

What are some good materials to create notes for public benches?

Today I learned about Tiffany stained glass windows. What distinguishes Tiffany Studios work in stained glass is that the color is infused directly into multiple levels of glasses, which at times can number to four or five layers, as opposed…

Whenever a potato appears in famous fine art, it’s always a surprise and a delight—especially when you’ve been tracking potato art for years. After all, my blog is named Spudart. I’ve used the Spudart name for 28 years since 1997.…

Eliminating the penny saves the government $85M but could cost consumers $1.4 BILLION annually if businesses always round up. That's a 16-to-1 wealth transfer from your wallet to corporate profits.

I want an AI service that rewrites the headlines in Google News.

In 2021, gray was the Color of the Year. I felt vindicated. People laughed when I said gray was my favorite color—until the world finally caught up.

I like to think that Spotify notices when I turn up the volume on certain songs, and they make note of that when recommending new songs to me. “Oh man, he really likes this song, HE TURNED UP DA VOLUME…

After years of watching Twitter kill my blog, I found a way to make Bluesky work FOR my writing instead of against it. Here's the simple mental shift that changed everything.

Every year, I wish my brother a Happy Wheaton Day on his town’s anniversary. Now I’m thinking of doing this for all my friends’ towns—along with a fun question about trees. Would you reply?

"Peregrine" is dictionary.com's word of the day. Only two photos show up when I search my Google Photos for peregrine.

Please don't forget the humans in the process of your sales funnel

I feel this way when looking at and transforming a well-designed Transformer figure.

In celebration of May 4th, Miss Piggy talks about Empire Strikes Back in a 2-1/2 minute video on Instagram and Facebook.

Chicago Magazine just reported on a newly published photography book that features everyday life in Chicago from 35 years ago. Sounds like an interesting book. The preview images look nice.

Give new life to your old photos. Use a new vocabulary word as a search term in Google Photos. Watch forgotten memories resurface in surprising, poetic ways.

Finally found a way to wear my enamel pins without destroying my shirts! Hoodie hems are the perfect spot for a subtle pin display.

Using “Megatron” for mobile orders is all fun and games until you have to say it out loud to a sweet old lady named Martha. Plot twist: I called her “sweetie” on my way out. Megatron’s got a soft side.

Ever wonder what your first eBay purchase was? You can download your ENTIRE purchase history—mine goes back to November 2001. How to do it. What’s included. What’s not: my custom Mr. T doll from 2000.

Instagram's desktop site is HEAVY. Tried loading multiple profiles simultaneously and my computer nearly had a meltdown. Break those bookmarks into smaller folders.

Today is #PoemInYourPocketDay! I'm carrying this little poem about pausing to sit on benches you've never rested on before.

This time of year is so lovely with the trees blooming. During my bike to Marianos, I regularly go through a park that absolutely no other humans ever walk through, given the odd location of the park. But I bike…

Did you know? Instax instant photos can be CHEAPER than traditional 35mm film! At ~$0.75 per shot vs $1.08 for 35mm, instant photography isn't just convenient—it's economical! Check out our full price breakdown.

My Obama victory footage from 2008 made it into Geoffrey Baer's Chicago Lakefront documentary on WTTW! My video captures the exact moment when victory was announced in Grant Park.

How much does it cost to develop 35mm film in Chicago? I surveyed 5 local film labs—from Walgreens to indie spots like Constant Agitation and Latitude.

Found my Estonian heritage hiding in the Japanese stationery aisle! Tombow MONO products use the exact blue-black-white color scheme of the Estonian flag. Coincidence or secret Baltic connection?

Over my life I've come to accept my outsider status in relation to college sports. Now I find myself the champion of a bracket. Turns out the Transfer Portal era might be making rankings more predictive than ever. Or I…

This might be the world's smallest King Kong, but he still managed to make his mark on Chicago's skyline.

It seems whenever there are new Transformer toys release, it's always the same five characters. Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, Soundwave, Starscream. Over and over and over.

I'm really geeked out that I have five emails scheduled to go out on upcoming anniversaries for each person's town.