This is my first newsletter for 2026, and I am sure everyone who reads this was like, “where is Kin?”. ;-) I was busy with launching my new company Naftiko at APIDays in Paris, then Covid from my travels, and then the holidayz checking out. But I am back. I wouldn’t say I am feeling optimistic about 2026, but like the winter weather in NYC I feel like I am ready. I am rested. I am prepared. I am ready to work. I am ready to write.
Naftiko Means Navy
I launched Naftiko at APIDays in Paris the 2nd week in December. Naftiko is my new startup focused on building commercial open-source software that helps enterprise organization manage the large number of integrations they need to do business. Integrations with the cloud like Amazon and Azure, and integrations with any software we use like ChatGPT, LinkedIn, or Google Apps. It isn’t the sexiest and flashiest of businesses, but it is what business need today, and I am confident that I can turn it into something successful.
Un-Listed
You should be subscribed to Audrey’s newsletter by now, but if you aren’t I urge you to read her latest—un-listed. It was a heartful capturing of the state of things in this moment. I feel somewhat guilty for burying my head in work right now, because it is my escape. Audrey captures what I feel when I pick my head up from my work. My heart starts thumping hard, my head begins to swim, and I feel like everything is out of my control. I can’t remove myself from the web entire as I work to build my business, but I am thankful she is finding her way forward, and I think it is one that we will all have to reconcile with in our own way.
Eyes of the World
I have been thinking a lot about living in the world with your heart out lately as young people in my life struggle making their way from living at home to being part of the world. I am sure it began earler, but my earliest memories of being the eyes of the world began when I was 12, and took me until I was 28 to get a grip on. Figuring out yourself when you are forced to live with your heart on the outside is so very painful and confusing, but when you are thrust into and chewed up by the American version of being an adult—it can make for some very painful and chaotic outcomes. I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way. I’ve learned a lot about the world. I still can barely operate Kin reliably, and I hope that others can learn too.
It Is Warmer~
The weather has warmed to be above freezing, so Poppy and I are back on our bullshit—riding around Central Park. We can barely get two loops of the park in most days because it is still very cold. It was hard to stay down over the holidays, but anything below 35 is just not safe for Poppy. She has been so cute wearing her “goggles” and helmet, which I think she appreciates the googles because of all the salt dust, but the helmet drives her nuts. She is a big hit just riding in the sidecar, but people go all crazy for her when she is wearing her googles and helmet.
Jazz for the Soul
We made it to the Birdland recently to see Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlie. OMG, what a pair. Bill’s piano work is just captivating, but Dee Dee interacting, responding, and influencing Bill’s piano work was just mesmerizing. Audrey and I had the absolute best front row seat and I was just in awe of her ability. What a spirit. What a force. Her scat abilities were out of this world. To be able to respond to, add to, and become one with the music as she does takes a level of attention that is so foreign to me, and something I have never quite experienced before.
Record Collection
I dropped more money on our record collection over the holidays. Records is one of the few things I don’t think twice about dropping money on. Our record collection has grown, but it is the jazz portion that is bringing the most joy and healing. Usually by 3:00 PM the record player will switch from a mix of rock, hip hop, R&b, to jazz. Sitting inside on the cold days listening Jazz with our amazing views is amazing, and something that leaves me so very thankful for in this moment. Audrey has introduced a new rotation as we make our way through the collection, which really expresses the reach of what we have assembled.
Red Tail Hawk
Poppy and I saw a beautiful Red Tail Hawk while taking the transfer instead of taking the Harlem Hills. Well, Poppy saw it first, and I tuned into her changing energy. The hawk sat there on the grass negotiating with a group of squirrels I guess, which scurried to the bushes. Birds are so amazing. But hawks in Central Park have this other energy to them, and raptors are emotionally at another level for me—there is something about them that takes it up a notch or two. We just sat there for about ten minutes watching this bird strut its stuff, until it flew off into the trees to find its next meal.
Morning Housekeeping
I hate mornings. I wake up with a heart and head full of anxiety. I have narrowed the source of this anxiety to the mornings from 2020 through 2023 where I woke up to a day full of work and worries. I know what the cause is, but until recently I’ve been at a loss for what to do about it. I’ve done some writing recently that helped me work through some of it, and hope to do more in coming weeks. I’ve identified the accumulation of stress in those times in the cracks of my existence compressed by the vice of Covid, Postman, and Isaiah’s death as the source, the trick now is to do the work to sweep the grit out of the cracks as I peel back the layers.
French Chocolate
I brought back a box of chocolate for Audrey from Paris. It was one of those really good boxes of chocolate, not the ones you get here in the US. Opening the box, reading from the descriptive guide, and eating one or maybe two chocolates has become a ritual for Audrey every evening. She absolutely loves them. It makes me happy to watch. Chocolate has been one of those things that has been used and abused in our world and reduced to a commodity, despite still having some attachment to love and joy. Watching Audrey work through the box each night make me so very happy to watch, experience, and to have set in motion.
Kin Recharging Station
One of my favorite things about our apartment is the east facing morning sunshine on these cold December and January mornings. Not all mornings have the BTUs coming from the sun, but the ones that do, make laying on the couch delightful. I call Poppy’s blue couch the Kin recharging station when the sun is shining on it. I have one of those iPhone charging stations next to my bed which I just lay my phone on to recharge, and in my head this is what the couch is. Kin is a measurement of the amount of information I receive from the sun each day, and the couch has become where I receive a significant amount of this energy.
