Thoughts and ideas of a dyslexic designer/developer
A while ago, Brock & Fernette announced they were working on an update to the Dyslexic advantage. As the book had such a profound effect, I pre-ordered it and it came a couple of days ago.
Of course I’ll be seeking out the audiobook but judging by the books side by side, there is quite a lot more in the new edition. I look forward to listening to it in full again real soon.
Also a big thumbs up on the new cover!
I have the joy of speaking at The Podcast Show on the 24 – 25 May in London.
I’m going to be talking about Adaptive podcasting and object based media. I’ll be joined with a couple more people discussing the possibilities for the future of podcasting. You won’t want to miss this…
You can book your Day Passes now and save 25% (£55 Day/ £99 2-Day) to this major International festival for the business of podcasting. .
A long time ago, I was part of a podcast called Techgrumps. It ran for 69 episodes and even started a spin off called lovegrumps.
In 2015 we kinda let it slip, and as others have pointed out a lot happened in between (Brexit, Trump, Boris, the Covid pandemic, etc, etc…)
Back in the saddle, in 2023 (8 years later), myself, David and Alan get together to discuss Twitter crazyness, The fediverse, AI, Lastpass and so much more.
The format hasn’t changed, its still unscripted and just us talking into our microphones on a Sunday night. This time we are going for a monthly format so make sure you are subscribed to the RSS feed – https://techgrumps.wordpress.com/feed/
Beware there is a lot of adult language on all the podcasts.
Want to be on the show? There are details here.
Watching this, and the Yoyo one I keep thinking. There needs to be a Obsessed for the diaboloing!
I’m very happy to say 4 of my proposals were accepted for the virtual Mozilla Festival 2023. Worth noting the tickets are available now for a pay what you can.
in Allies in Practice on Thursday 23rd March – 18:30–20:00 GMT
A designer view on what the Fediverse could be for many people. Everything from the site, apps, platforms and beyond will be up for redesign.
in Tech & Biodiversity: Legado 2060 on Monday 20th – 13:45–14:45 GMT
A critical look at how people of colour, LGBT and others were targeted by the crypto pushers selling the dream of intergenerational wealth. Learning the techniques to prevent it in the future.
in Education & Access: You’re The Product Of Data on Monday 20th March – 21:30–22:30 GMT
Understanding what the public service internet could be and who else is doing similar, in what spaces and to what degree? We will together map for the benefit of everyone
in the Youth Zone on Tuesday 21st March – 17:00–18:00 GMT
Myself and Penny from Forest of imagination are going to run quickly through the rabbit holes collective launching in June. Then have a freestyle jam session with the Adaptive podcasting editor and the young people who attend.
I know a lot of people are fed up with virtual festivals but the Mozilla virtual Festival is something very different. How different? Have a read of my review of 2021 Mozfest. Well worth the ticket price and don’t forget it gives you access to the festival till September allow you to catch up with sessions you missed and that incredible community
Hope to see you at the Mozilla Festival at some points.
We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing last pass scramble, the royal mail cyber attack and apple’s data use.
To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
You are seeing aspects of this with the new range of biobatteries, Mozilla planning their own instance of Mastodon and the drop in ransomware payouts.
Ian thinks: Channel 4 survives the governments privatisation plans for now, but I do wonder for how long till the plans change again?
Ian thinks: A really good summary of the debate which has gone mainly quiet since the pandemic put the whole thing on pause. There hasn’t been much discussion since and Paris highlights the need for society
Ian thinks: Its great to hear Bunnie talking, as its been a long time since the xbox hacking and the controversy at the time. Its also a good relaunch of the EFF podcast which is always full of good ideas.
Ian thinks: There is a lot of great privacy laws from the EU but as this wired post with Andy Yen points out. There is a lot of tension around encryption, which could under-mind the privacy laws created by the EU.
Ian thinks: So many people think Tiktok is magic but as explained in this post, its relatively high emphasis on exploration is higher than others and likely fooling people. However the point about the user interface is critical to its success and something to remember.
Ian thinks: The link between Twitter and China propaganda is quite striking, as talked about in this video. What happens next is a good question, Its also worth reading through the New York Times piece if you prefer text.
Ian thinks: Nobel laureate Maria Ressa recently cleared of tax evasion in Philippines, has a lot to say about social media and even more to say to Mark Zuckerberg.
Ian thinks: Its not common I mention a film in the notes but the bank of dave is actually quite a good watch. More importantly is the true story and the banking business model which has been distorted beyond its original roots.
See the archive here
For a long while since my brush with death, I have been thinking about my digital legacy as most of my stuff is digital. I know its not something most people think about but in the same way most people don’t think about their will till something major happens or its too late.
Digital legacy is in that place right now where there are companies which will do it for you but the trust model seems broken to me. Also they tend to need everything to be in one place/platform rather than the real way people use digital technology today and into the trustless/diy/open future.
With this in mind, I checked out a few different options and the one which came up consistently was Hereditas.
Hereditas, which means inheritance in Latin, is a static website generator that builds fully-trustless digital legacy boxes, where you can store information for your relatives to access in case of your sudden death or disappearance.
For example, you could use this to pass information such as passwords, cryptographic keys, cryptocurrency wallets, sensitive documents, etc.
Herditas is neat and the code is open source allowing anyone to investigate it. But as its alpha software I always felt a bit uneasy about using it for my digital legacy because it felt a bit too barebones (although I did sign up for Auth0).
I looked for alternatives such which also used the method of trustless, zero-knowledge and verification, but found little. So decided to try setting something up myself based on what I already have and use.
It was about the same time the lastpass security breach happened and although I’m not using a online password manager started thinking if there was a way to combine the both in a safe way.
So what did I do?
First I bought these secure USB drives and of course changed the passcode to something long and unique.
Then made a copy of my keepass database (my password manager) on to the USB drive along with my Letter of wishes, a readme file and other bits and bobs. The database is locked up with a very long and difficult master password. That password is stored inside another online password manager, bitwarden which includes the feature of emergency access. I have already set up family members and close friends using this feature. Meaning only a few selected people can access it once I don’t reject their access request.
Once someone gets access to the bitwarden account, they would still need access to the database file, which is on the secure keys. Then to top that, keepass has the option of a key file which can look like almost any file including ones on the secure USB stick. Its not elegant but I can’t see many flaws and it works in a simple way which was explained to my family.
I’m still experimenting with this all but been thinking a better option is to use another encrypted filesystem or Certs for the keepass 2nd authentication. Of course that file doesn’t have to even sit on the secure USB drive at all, as I’m considering buying and using more FIDO2 keys and using that instead.
Looking Herditas again, I quite like the idea of a static website on the secure website which could make a better solution that a readme file. It would be great if Herditas could actually run on/offline
Thoughts and comments are welcomed…
Is there a major flaw which I’m missing or is something which could work?
Update Tuesday 24th Jan
There has been some discussion on the fediverse about my post and I wanted to add some more details. Some people have asked why bother and I wanted to address some of them.
The scenario of death is a lot clearer and the death certificate will unlock a lot of things, however its worth noting some EULAs from the likes of dropbox need explicit consent before they will provide access. I’m also using the likes of Google, Facebook, etc’s legacy contact support.
The scenario I alluded to, was when I was in in ICU for 3-4 weeks and my family and friends needed to sort out my life when I was buying a new flat. I was lucky but I could have lost the flat. Yes its unique but a lot can happen when you are temporarily or even permanently out of action. Permanent disability is possible and providing access in a safe way, can make a lot of difference. I also think my thoughts still works in this case too.
Twitter is all but dead for me now, I’ve been fed up and rarely even look at it. However over the last week, the API change just put the last nail in the coffin for me. Last time they did similar I was close to leaving back then.
Even then I did say one client for twitter is a bad idea and its time to double down on mastodon. I do wonder how much of this has changed too?
Now Twitter clients, Cawbird (linux), Plume (android) are facing problems and I’m seeing problems with Crossposter too.
Its clear the owner and business model has decimated this microblogging platform and its time to leave it alone. Decided not to leave only because like a few other web platform, I hold on to the user cubicgarden and ianforrester just incase.
So glad I joined Mastodon in 2017. I can be found on the fediverse on @cubicgarden@mas.to (general account, one I use the most)
@cubicgarden@twit.social (tech account)
@cubicgarden@scholar.social (academic account)
@cubicgarden@blacktwitter.io (music and lifestyle account)
@cubicgarden@bookwyrm.social (books I’m reading and have read)
@cubicgarden on Pixelfed (pictures I’m sharing around the fediverse)
@cubicgarden on Peertube (where I’m sharing new mixes, likely to move in the future)
Expect a lot less of me tweeting from now on… Reading about Twitter under a public remit is just super sad reading now.
With the death of Maxi Jazz from the popular group Faithless, I had to do a mix in honour of his life & death. I mean what a voice and what incredible iconic songs. Who has not sung the lyrics of Insomnia at some point in the last 15 years? Its a song I have started with a few times and still find stunning when played nice and loud.
Although short and compact, I found the best 3 versions of Faithless songs in my collection and added tunes which fitted with the mode & tempo. Stress test made another show, as it is a tune!
You can listen to the whole mix here enjoy and here!
Following my new years resolution around being a digital nomad in Lisbon.
I really need to understand the tax side of a digital nomad from the business point of view as an employee of a large company not a freelancer. With this knowledge I can build the solid business case for being a digital nomad for a year.
The problem currently is most of the digital nomad community are freelancers, where everything is clearer. If anyone can help with this I need to find them and part of that is really getting deep into the nomad
I have joined a few different digital nomad communities asking questions. The main one is this…
From my understanding of the digital nomad visas, I will pay taxes and national insurance on my salary as usual. This would be done in UK as usual. Then I pay any taxes in Portugal on things I buy or consume. For the company I work for there is no extra charges or costs? As far as they are concerned nothing changes?
Everyone I have asked this question of, has said yes but they are not sure because they are freelancers. Digital nomad visas are not exclusively freelancers but because its so new, I’m not finding anyone who on a similar journey who works for a company in the UK.
If you can help with this question… please get in touch!
We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing Channel4 interview ChatGPT, FTX’s Sam Bankman and the biggest hacks of 2022.
To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
You are seeing aspects of this with 3M stopping forever chemicals, sodium-sulphur batteries becoming a thing and the BBC’s director general’s speech rallying call towards digital.
Ian thinks: The problems with GDP are well known but I certainly like this video by the Economist which makes the urgency a lot clearer. Can money stop deforestation? Not while we look quarter to quarter.
Ian thinks: Although things are not super clear in the AI generation space, Lensa AI always struck me as something you may want to avoid. As usual people jump in and think later.
Ian thinks: Interesting discussion hinged on the question will we grow to regret computing as much we regret the way cars changed society. I have compared Jane Jacob’s life and death of the american city to the modern technological world.
Ian thinks: I found this conversation with David Zipper fascinating from a public service point of view. All the hype and funding going into autonomous cars isn’t making our streets safer for the public, and David has some very clear points demonstrating this. Worth reading this Time piece too.
Ian thinks: Seeing some of the good things about the darkweb is never a popular but Mozilla does a good job explaining what it is and how it works in the usual fun style.
Ian thinks: This interview with the author of web3 is going great, Molly White is just great and this interview has so many to think about. Follow on from the interview Paris Marx and Molly White talk about the FTX.
Ian thinks: A bit of a history lesson of where microblogging came from and where it splintered. Blaine Cook’s instinct for this space has been spot on and with him throwing some weight behind the fediverse
Ian thinks: Umair makes a lot of good points, comparing the way Twitter was made to work with authoritarian countries. A real taste of whats to come if the public service internet isn’t fully realised.
Ian thinks: The importance of local communities working together for the better, is something which underpins so much of the public service internet.
Find the archive here
Rest in peace
I also saw this video which is Faithless Dance Group Leader Maxi Jazz’s Final Message 24 Hours Before He Died.
What a year, although I’m a little less positive about 2023 in the UK.
Following my review of last year… here’s my New Years Resolutions for 2023 which follows on from 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 ones.
There is the 12 for 2023. Covid19 is still going to have a effect on most of them but who knows.
Have a good new year all!
I really like Google maps and used it since 2005. I means whats not to like from offline support to step by step directions.
However… driving directions which most people use a lot has bias.
I drive around on a maxi-scooter (600cc Silverwing) with a headset in my helmet. I can not see my phone while driving around and rely on google maps to tell me where to go (only if I don’t know where I am going).
There are some annoyances which I have mentioned elsewhere, but yesterday while trying to drive to a friends house via the Pennines it became super clear some of the bias of google maps. Bias towards car drivers who care about fuel and not the wellbeing of the driver.
I’m sure there are many more but this are ones which come to mind since yesterday. Its clear google maps isn’t ideal for non screen viewing.
2022 has been another interesting year. The notion of a United Kingdom has become a total joke to me after the 3rd prime-minister in a year. UK Politics right now is on a knife edge with so many strikes due to the government and the cost of living crisis effecting too many people.
Finally getting Covid for the first time after 2 years was quite something. Not just Covid but Covid-Toe! That was bloody painful!
From a Quantified Self data point of view 2022 looked like this.
And the thoughts a year later…
