Why I started shaving like my old man because of A.I

This post was written entirely on Obsidian, on mobile, while sitting at a Blue Bottle coffee in Los Angeles. Soundtrack is "You are not the boss of me now", in case you want to dive into the exact vibe.

No A.I was used to make this masterpiece. How could A.I ever make a masterpiece?

Death from a thousand cuts

I've been thinking about A.I and what is coming next for a long time now. It is exciting that humanity will phase into something new. Hopefully something good but that risk goes hand in hand with evolution.

One of the most human ai-can-never-replace thing is shaving your beard. And yes, I am aware that in the future we might have a machine that does it better but you are missing the point.

We have a machine like that. It's called a shaving machine.

But there is something that draws me to basics. Maybe a need to feel more "primal". More human?

Is it a painter's brush

I remember my dad making foam, and then using a painter's brush(?) - I was a small kid, I thought this was a painter's brush - and then using a razor to perform a skillful shaving.

And now, at 45, something drew me in.

The oldest thing in my house

I bought the brush, I bought the soap that you need to make the foam and the I had to buy the razor.

Tons of things to select but I wanted something that is not mass produced - a knee jerk from A.I slopping everything around me.

After some research, I found her:

The Gillette Red Point, made in 1956, making it the oldest thing in my house.

It works fantastic, feels amazing and feel "human". I cannot explain how and why but it is like the old cars. It seems that our human consciousness has also rubbed off some things.

So there you have it. The perfect shaving machine that has been with us as long as an old man.

Let's see if A.I can slop this.

- Tue 22 September 2026