Will Taylor sent an update from Singapore: “In August 2014 I married Sarah Soetarjo in Bali, Indonesia. Dartmouth alums attending included Torbjorn Dimblad, Empi Morn, Micke Morn, Ervin Tu, Dickon Verey, Ku Chung Feng Hsiung, Eran Bendavid, Joshua Miller ’95 and Joe Bartlett ’74. I met Sarah through family friends while working on a project in Bali in 2012 and proposed by the River Thames, outside of London, the following year. Shortly after marrying, we moved to Singapore, where I work as a strategist for Interbrand, a brand consultancy. I enjoy helping Southeast Asian organizations develop a voice and tell their stories internationally—I suppose I learned a bit about communicating across cultures from coming to Dartmouth (and the United States) as a freshman. When we’re not working we like to explore the outdoors in various countries around the region. I miss a lot about the United States and Europe, but there is a real dynamism in this part of the world that is nice to be a small part of. I hope any classmates coming through will drop me a line if they’re interested in a drink or meal. Singaporeans are very serious about their street food!”

According to Techcrunch.com, Rob Leathern is embracing ad blocking under the familiar name of Optimal.com. Optimal was the name of the social ad company Rob founded and served as CEO of until 2013, when he sold the company to Brand Networks. Rob’s new company, which acquired the old Optimal domain, will allow consumers to pay a subscription fee that goes to online publishers that agree not to serve ads to those subscribers.

In a post excerpted by Techcrunch.com, Rob explained: “Most adblocking is all­or-nothing today, but I know that for me there are some websites and some advertisers with whom I want to maintain an ongoing dialog and don’t mind seeing ads. Optimal.com will let users see and share which websites are showing ads respectfully, and as advertising stops deceiving and advertisers start being more upfront about the data they use, users will let some of it return. The vocal minority blocking ads today can help shape a new ad ecosystem for us all—it’s time for a transparent conversation about ads vs. no ads instead of leaning on the previously implicit relationship between ads, users and content.”

Hope all is well with everyone. Please keep sending me your news.

—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com