"Miles with Micro"
Welcome to Miles with Micro! I’m beyond excited to have you join me on this adventure across the U.S., where my IRL self, Jared, and my online persona, Micro, come together to explore, learn, and grow. This journey is about connecting with friends, new faces, and communities, all while bridging the gap between the creative technologist behind the screen and the gamer in the Minecraft world. Whether you know me as Micro or Jared, you’ll get to see both sides in action as we dive into new experiences.
From bustling cities to remote towns, from casual meetups to creative projects, this trip is about discovery—of people, places, perspectives, and connections. Let’s set off together, exploring all the things that make life (and the online world) exciting. Ready for the ride? Let’s make some memories, and don’t forget to check back for stories, photos, and more along the way!
Main Crew: An Animator’s Letter on Who Counts in Animation
When the next wave of AI in animation hits, whose names will we know? The US conversation has a number — 118,500 jobs at risk by 2026, built from a survey of 300 US executives. The global animation workforce is over a million people. Most of them are not in that number, the headlines, or the room where the next AI model is being designed. Essay 3 in Losing Each Other.
I Have Seen This Film: An Animator’s Letter on Platform AI
The second letter in the ‘Losing Each Other’ series. An animator who curated thirty years of computer-graphics film for SIGGRAPH on the shape of the AI wave, the platform that is about to inherit it, and the fight the artist coalition is currently missing.
Losing Each Other: An Animator’s Letter on AI in Animation
Jorge Gutierrez pulled out of Punky Duck on Friday after a wave of online hostility around his use of AI in animation. In this first piece of a three-part series, an animator’s letter from inside both the craft and the new tools — what I am learning about the discourse, where I part ways with the response, and what I think the corporations are quietly building while we strangle each other over experiments.
The Cabin: A Place to Keep the Work
Every project tool an indie game developer reaches for is almost the right shape — and almost-right is the shape of a tool that drains you every time you open it. So Micro built his own. The Cabin is a free, open-source project tracker shaped around how game development actually works, grown out of DWELLING, the game it was first built to hold. This piece is the announcement: what The Cabin is, who it’s for, and why a tool for making creative work should be free.
The Night We Cleaned the World Back Into Place
It started with a floor that was far past saving — and somehow became a night that put the world back in order. What began as a quick cleaning impulse turned into a small storm of frustration, movement, and grace. In the middle of it all, a quiet kind of care revealed itself — wordless, steady, and real. This piece explores how love can live in function, how help can arrive without ceremony, and how the smallest act can turn chaos into calm.
A Neurodivergent Life: What Healing Looks Like Beyond the Diagnosis
There’s a kind of quiet heroism in simply continuing — in finding ways to live inside the in-between. In this personal reflection, Jared writes about the space between recovery and routine, where healing isn’t a straight line but a conversation between body, mind, and motion. Through night drives on wet Maine roads, small acts of care from loved ones, and moments of still curiosity, he redefines what it means to endure. This piece is about being human in the process — not waiting for the light at the end, but realizing it’s been with you all along.