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Ian’s ereader: Its a steal, its a deal, its sale of the century

Likebook Mars 7.8inch E-Reader with Android

I am selling my Android Ereader on ebay.

To be honest it was a great device but a bit big for regular use. I would have preferred something I could carry around without thinking about it. So I recently bought the Boox Palma also running Android.

Its a pretty amazing and I’m surprised how fast eink has gotten with refreshes now. No matter what others say, I have installed most things on it including a full RSS reader, Wallabag, WordPress, Audiobook reader, music player, drive, google docs, password manager, 2FA app, etc. Decided to stop short on social apps but may add emails as they are useful to have for backups.

I did think it had a SIM but I am reading it is a microSD card, which is very useful but the slot doesn’t seems set for mini SIM?

Anyway, my old ereader is a steal at a low price of 55 pounds.

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Oct 2024)

Your friends will be there for you, your work won't

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed while seeing Mozilla closing their Mastodon instance, the internet archive no longer allowed to lend ebooks and the endless saga of 23 and me.

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 coffee pod recycling for real, The possible return of concentrated solar power plants and the formulation of the social web foundation.

Real stories about Facewatch in the UK

Ian thinks: Although put together by big brotherwatch, this video shows the people caught up in the facewatch surveillance in the UK. Its hard to watch but a good reminder of the on going problems.

What does Fish have to do with online privacy?

Ian thinks: Based around the paper written by Barath Raghavan and Bruce Schneier. NBTV, puts the paper into focus through many clear examples and comparisons. Its clear privacy has been misjudged and we are all paying for this.

Cory shouts Disenshittify or die at Defcon24, and in text.

Ian thinks: Cory’s follow up to last years talk, is another great reminder of the horrible state of the market, internet and society. You can’t help but raise a fist to some of points about Spotify, Google, Meta, etc. But the re-examination of the words; if you are not paying for the product you are the product. Is a very important call.

Will you host your data on Lidl’s cloud service?

Ian thinks: Although it sounds ridiculous on first glance, This is an example of the big difference between the EU data space and the Silicon Valley space. There is no way Lidl would even consider this an option outside the EU, but the EU laws makes a somewhat trusted brand viable for this type of pivot.

The importance of friendship, loneliness and vulnerability

Ian thinks: This conversation between Simon Sinek & Trevor Noah strikes a chord with some of the large societal problems. This has so much from questions about friendship to the importance of cultivating them into something strong and lifelong. Just at a time when loneliness is rising, I felt this a important one to share.

Tokyo creates its own dating app, against the likes of Match

Ian thinks: Match group currently has 50% of the market, but the Japanese government is about to launch their own as the population decline is that serious. Its worth noting Japan has tried many things including paying bars/clubs to put on single nights for the last 10 years, making this decision not something made lightly.

Detecting AI generated like a pro?

Ian thinks: We are all facing a barrage of AI generated images and videos, it is easy to be distracted or be tricked and there is no shame to this. With some of these tips, it will help weed out 90% of the typical AI slop.

Digital legacy a change is due

Ian thinks: Digital legacy is something we rarely think about but really should. There is a number of interesting developments from research into digital legacy to UK justice beta testing digital LPAs. This podcast gives a real sense of the importance of this all.

Grief and digital grief

Ian thinks: Following the previous link, this video from the Guardian, explores both sides of the divide around using AI technology for people who die. Its striking as these homegrown solutions are being commercialised and rolled out with little to no care for the people on both sides

Find the original here and the archive here

Is DriftDJ the new Pacemakerdevice?

Its my good friend Si who sent me a message saying simply this…

Pacemaker for the next generation?

Of course I checked it out and thought wow its almost exactly what I’ve been thinking about since the Pacemaker system has come to an end. Although the Pacemaker device (to which I have 3 or them) keeps going with some repairs and 3rd party upgrades.

Djing live with the Pacemaker device at EMF Camp 2022

I still love the Pacemaker device and its survived a long time but its reaching its end of life. There is only so much you can do without being able to hack around with the kernel or change the hardware. Its been a incredible piece of hardware and my bet on it in 2007 was absolutely the right decision.

Mixing live in Skopje

17 years later and over 500+ mixes later, including live performances and a ton of house parties. Its time make the jump? My only issue with the DriftDJ is the device doesn’t exactly exist right now. I did sign up for the beta programme, but not being in Chicago might be a big disadvantage?

Who knows it would be great to get my hands on it and see how far it could go? Be great to do a #DjHack around a new device!

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Sept 2024)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed while seeing the pitch deck for active listening, yet another AI wearable trying to be a friend and AI generated slop everywhere (and its going to get a lot worst)

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 people put off with the AI branding, Passkey use growing and does X/twitter fall fowl of the EU’s DSA?

The deeper structural issues underlying the far right riots

Ian thinks: This good conversation about the UK’s far right riots following the Southport stabbings, links social media with the much deeper issues of misinformation and Islamophobia. I kept wondering if human scale networks could have limited the harm of these messages?

That 27 Billion hack includes UK and Canada people

Ian thinks: You likely have heard about the hack of the 27 billion of leak. However all the tools to check and the attention has focused on Americans. This is a problem as the effect is huge beyond credit scores, which has been mentioned too much.

Learning from the past for the future together globally

Ian thinks: This video is a good summary of how to stay cool, as the climate becomes warmer due to climate. The most interesting part is how we learn from the past and apply those lessons to the now and future?.

Who is that Surveillance company?

Ian thinks: This interactive map documents the hidden connections within the surveillance industry. Its quite something because so many of these companies are not well known and hide in plain sight.

Subscription models saving the earth?

Ian thinks: We all know the problems with subscription models and how difficult it is to unsubscribe. However what makes this video interesting is the last quarter about the effect of ownership on the environment, which got me thinking…

Government Internet shutdowns loom large

Ian thinks: The amount of government internet shutdowns in increasing across the world and although it almost feels unthinkable in the west. This video proves not only is it possible but it has happened before and there is a deliberate system in place to insure it.

Self checkouts have gone too far?

Ian thinks: I wonder how much of the switch back to manned tills by certain supermarkets is because people prefer talking to people (which we all know certain generations generally do not) or is it all due to the dent in their profits because of shoplifting?

What would you do if your Sonos turned into a brick?

Ian thinks: Although nothing has happened, Sonos once the darling of multi-room audio is in trouble. This article predicts what could happen with the closed ecosystem and points towards openness. Its a lesson which has happened and will happen again, Sonos or someone else.

Ian thinks: Although this business model feels like the wild west now and laws are catching up. This is clearly user hostile and should be top of mind for all those publishers thinking about the future impact of the trust

Find the archive here

Dating a highly masking AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) woman

There is something ever so unique about Alison, my loving partner. She is AuDHD (Autistic and has ADHD). Although she hasn’t had an official diagnosis, shes is on a very long list to get these (7 years for ADHD she has been told).

If you were to meet her, its unlikely you would ever know she is AuDHD because shes highly masking through life. Masking is exactly what it sounds like and its super draining. I couldn’t even really understand how draining without Alison breaking it down for me.

Recently she decided to write about this all in a public Facebook post.

I also took the test Autistic spectrum test Alison mentions and got these results. As you can see mine is quite different from her’s.

Ultimately I stand with her, proud to be her partner and I’m so glad she wrote the post not only to friends and family but to the public.

Alison is wonderful, creative, loving and a joy to be with. The mix of neurodiversity, life experiences, modern values and her personality means our relationship is full of mainly ups and some downs (which relationship isn’t?). I certainly didn’t expect the dopamine filled date nights!

Neurodiversity is full of stereotypes and misunderstandings. Some of it is ignorance but some of it is deliberately offensive and I’m looking at mainstream media. The social media space has its own problems but you are getting first hand perspectives which are sometimes interesting. Something I might pick up on again in a future blog post.

Till then, have a read of Alisons post and share with others.

Continue reading “Dating a highly masking AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) woman“

The good things which come when putting your hand up?

The Panel at Republica 2024 recreating the Neuralink press conference

For a long while now (since my brush with death) I have been putting my hand up for many different things without really knowing whats going to happen. The one from TedXManchester is one I talk about a lot (8.9 million views!)

Just recently at Re:publica 2024, I took part in a panel titled Elon Musk Utopia.

Neuralink is one of the least known companies founded and headed by Elon Musk, this is his BCI initiative, a brain-chip that will make us one with the machine, one with one another, allow the blind to have superhuman vision, negate the need for language and make us all transhuman, just in time to contend with the AI gods we are creating simultaneously. If that sounds like (bad) science fiction, as well it should, but it’s also the vision of Neuralink’s founders.

Musk and Neuralink informed the public of their activities, early results and utopian aspirations in August 2020 on a live stream press event. Musk invited on stage the co-founders and leading team, scientists, engineers and venture capitalists, all answered questions about various technical aspects, and then they took one final question: one by one they all envisioned a “Neuralink future” and gave their personal aspiration, what is the use case they most highly expect and anticipate. The answers went from bewildering and bizarre to outright frightening.

The panel (with some audience participation) will read the different answers given at the Neuralink press event and discuss the future represented by these dreams/nightmares. A conversation about man/machine interfaces, artificial intelligence and religion, creativity, psychedelics, video games, telepathic consent, hope and death.

As you can see in the video which was filmed (not the conference filming), there is a request for someone to join the panel. Of course without even thinking, my hand was up and waving around. From memory I was the only one, just like the TedXManchester event.

I hadn’t really thought I’d be reading out a script, which is a bit of a nightmare for me with dyslexia. But regardless, I was committed, ultimately had good fun and enjoyed the Q&A afterwards.

If I had thought it through, I may not have put my hand up but so glad I did… again!

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Aug 2024)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed while seeing Palestinians accounts shut down by Microsoft for no clear reason, a look at the global suppression of LGBTQ+ speech and the endless AI scraping.

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 a new Swiss law for the public sector, researchers using AI chat bots against scammers and the wrongful arrest of a black man down to facial recognition, knocking on to wider reform.

Crowd strike: the result of move fast break society?

Ian thinks: There is so much about the worldwide outage due to Microsoft and Crowd strike. Zitron zooms out and points fingers at shareholders supremacy , recent tech layoffs and the silicon value of move fast and break things.

What is the difference between Green growth and Degrowth

Ian thinks: In this thoughtful discussion Hickel outlines a number of key concepts of degrowth including, the assumption the rich countries should continue to increase growing for the rest of the century. Plus the metric of growth based on GDP, was never developed for this purpose warned the creator of it.

We let tech take politics out of innovation?

Ian thinks: This talk from Republica is raw and will caused a lot feelings. Deep down under the skin of the talk is the underlying understanding Tante has some very good points including the fact “we let tech take the politics out of innovation.”

Negotiability is needed in car privacy

Ian thinks: This video builds on the huge data privacy problem of modern cars. There is a huge problem of negotiability with the contracts you sign. Access to emergency service is important but that shouldn’t mean data being shared with an unknown amount of data brokers. Its time for a change.

Can alternative business models survive in the future?

Ian thinks: This short documentary about John Lewis and Waitrose is quite telling as their business model feels so obscure now, especially in the face of stakeholder capitalism or as others call it Shareholder Supremacy. You can see the same of public service broadcasting and likewise their are lessons and difficult decisions which need to be made before its too late.

The LLM craze / bubble

Ian thinks: Interesting but sweary rant from a senior data scientist about the AI bubble and C-suite’s fascination with it. Good points made counting the business narrative of you need AI for everything.

Human Data Interaction needs to be a standard

Ian thinks: While watching this video about keeping contacts private, I couldn’t stop but think the whole notion of how apps, services and platforms interact with our personal data must change. Human data interaction is a step towards this but it needs standardisation and adopted very soon, because putting the burden on users through scope storage, permissions or installing GrapheneOS isn’t sustainable.

Welcome to the digital afterlife?

Ian thinks: The notion of a digital afterlife will either fill you with dread or joy. But what ever side you come down on, it’s clear existing power laws like enshitfication, surveillance capitalism, etc will be in full effort. Legal reform in this space to give agency to the user is essential and must come soon.

Influencer, human traffiker, and finally jailed

Ian thinks: The story of Kat Torres is a hard one to watch but a important one to see. There will always be influencers but could human scale social networks change this, I wonder?

Find the archive here

Recently interviewed on Plutopia

Plutopia Commentary on News, Current Events, Culture, Politics, and Weird Anomalies With Ian Forrester: Media R&D

Recently I was interviewed on the Plutopia News Network. Podcasters talking on other podcasts, indeed. But good to discuss with people I have never met before.

Its an interesting interview, with a bunch of twists and turns, big thanks to the 2 hosts and regular Techgrumper and writer at Netwars Wendy Grossman.

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (July 2024)

Picture taken from Mozhouse Amsterdam 2024 Woman sat talking to a crowd with a screen saying We are life: AI accountability during war

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed while seeing the ransomware attack on NHS hospitals, Meta’s EULA change to include feeding AI with your data and the terrible state of online shopping thanks to dropshipping and Temu.

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 publishers rethinking their online strategy, security services starting their own mini series and the introduction of the proton foundation.

The bigger impact of the law enforcement ANOM surveillance

Ian thinks: You might remember the ANOM take over? At the time I thought it was pretty clever but in this episode centred around Joseph Cox’s book Dark wire. I missed the bigger impact of surveillance and the chilling effect it had on encrypted messaging services/platforms.

Predicting the police and other artist AI visions

Ian thinks: I enjoyed this look at AI through the eyes of the different people in this episode. Critical in some parts and imaginative in others, its a good listen and gave me a base for many other thoughts.

How AI could threaten democracy, under our noses

Ian thinks: It was interesting to see Lawrence Lessig sound the alarm but also provide clear ideas of things which must change now. The talk is also from Germany which is deliberate as the advice is directly aimed at Europe, knowing it could trickle down into other countries like America.

Tech accountability during the time of war

Ian thinks: I didn’t get a chance to see this panel discussion live but I watched it streamed live while in Amsterdam for the Mozilla House festival. The experiences and descriptions really got me. Nearer the end I was energised while questioning where the accountability sits?

Mitigating GenAI hallucinations?

Ian thinks: Colleague Henry wrote a interesting analysis and guide to help with limiting the hallucinations found in the gen AI space. He’s not the only one looking, as this open access paper delves into this all too.

Is Microsoft tracking school kids a step too far?

Ian thinks: With strong laws like GDPR, it doesn’t take much to see companies like Microsoft potentially caught red handed. The question I do have is if they are potentially doing it for school kids, imagine whats happening to their customers?

Insight into the EU’s digital identity system

Ian thinks: I didn’t get the chance to be at this session at Re:publica but watching it back I am learned a quite bit and even more from the Q&A afterwards. Then looked to see how similar it is to Self Sovereign Identity?

Europe’s Path to Innovation in Public Interest

Ian thinks: Francesca Bria is great to watch again and incredible in person at the PublicSpaces conference. Centred around the idea of a 100 billion European digital sovereignty fund to ignite the innovation we all want to see. Its the kind of grand plan we all need and shes deadly serious.

AI is warping our love lives

Ian thinks: There has always been a industry interest in AI and love. The experts have varies of opinions and this insightful interview gives a good overview of the concerns and benefits of something which most won’t admit to or talk about.

Find the archive here

Inspiring books for a publicservice internet

I have been thinking a lot about the public service internet (or the notion of a internet which is focused on public value not extraction and surveillance)

Theres a number of things in my head but one of them is about collectively sharing what we mean. When I say we, I literately mean exactly that. I was reminded of this a while ago while looking at my diigo group I setup ages ago. Ultimately its a aggregated list of links from a pool of people.

In practice it didn’t really work because although I did accept a few people, almost no one added any links to the group. In actual fact I’m looking for an fediverse version of diigo because I’m really not getting that much out of it. I did get some spammers but not enough to cause any problems, harm or use much of my time. I could glance at their profile and easily work out their intentions.

Anyway I do think the pooling/aggregation is a good idea within a human scale group.

While listening to tech won’t save us and looking more into the Degrowth movement, I found a number of books by the guest Jason Hickel. I did what I normally do is add them to bookwrym as books of interest. Then thought wonder if there is a category or tag option. I found lists and the ability to change the visibility and contribution options.

So I setup a public list and the ability to carefully add contributors.

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>Ideally this could be really good and a useful list for me personally listening to a lot of public service related audiobooks. It could also be useful to collate some of the lesser know books and authors. But even better is the ability to share wider what is meant by a public service internet?

Interested in joining the group? Get on bookwrym or setup your own instance and click the button to join the list? Of course if I don’t accept the request (I’m new to this too) just direct message me.

Back to the link sharing, I realised this is what Lemmy is…kinda is. I may take a different route on link sharing and potentially self-host it myself. Once I do I’ll likely just move away from Diigo completely, shutting down the existing groups. Don’t worry I have already gone a export of the links and data.

Looking forward to reading and sharing more.

Little update on Bookwrym

I now have a group which can add to the book list, I’m carefully adding people who are collaborators. If you feel this is also you, contact me.

In the EU or UK? Opt out of Meta using data to train AI

Facebook form for opting out of data being used to train Meta AI

I heard Meta were planning to change their EULA/Terms of use and planned to opt out in anyway possible. But I was nicely surprised to see not only the EU but UK can opt out using the short form above. Although I think it is cheeky to require a reason…

I assumed the EU would be covered but the UK would be left out. Thank goodness for GDPR

You can learn a lot more by reading this how to guide or watching this video.

Update just 55mins later

I got this email from Facebook/Meda

Hi Ian,

We’ve reviewed your request and will honor your objection. This means your request will be applied going forward.

If you want to learn more about generative AI, and our privacy work in this new space, please review the information we have in Privacy Center.

facebook.com/privacy/genai

This inbox cannot accept incoming messages. If you send us a reply, it won’t be received.
Thanks,
Privacy Operations

My first mushroom based cocktail

Mushroom cocktail with mushroom juice in a bottle in the background

A while ago I made my first mushroom cocktail and it was delightful, I always meant to post it but its sat in my drafts for a long while.

I took the recipe from here, and made some changes to cater for my vegan partner.

Ingredients

25ml Dried mushroom
50ml Vodka
25ml Lemon juice
10ml Agave
Ice cubes

Method

Boil the Dried mushroom in water for about 45mins. Then pour into a container and put in the fridge to chill.

Later at the party, add 2 shots of vodka (50ml), 1 shot of the mushroom broth/juice (25ml – adjust for strength), 1 shot of lemon juice (25ml), 10ml Algave syrup to a cocktail shaker and add ice cubes. Then shake away.

Once you are done, filter the drink into a martini glass and enjoy!

Endemic Covid-19

Mozilla keep cup, positive covid tests, mug, paracetomol and other mdedication on a wood table

Just recently I caught Covid19 for the second time. It was once again while in Europe working (never caught it in the UK funny enough). This time I didn’t get the awful Covid toe, which was a big relief!

It is super strange, I caught it between attending the PublicSpaces conference and getting setup to run the ethical dilemma cafe at Mozhouse Amsterdam. Now to be fair I did spend a lot of time on Amsterdam’s public transport,went to a Dutch castle with lots of tourists and had a great time at Walibi.

Regardless, I did feel a bit tired from the lack of decent sleep over the last few weeks (Not spent much time at home recently) but I also felt cold but didn’t really think about it. The Mozilla team decided to take Covid tests and I did so not really thinking I would be positive.

Then it happened, 2 very red lines – a total surprise!

That was the moment I decided not attend Mozilla house Amsterdam because its a place where you talk to a lot of people and felt deeply responsible for passing on Covid on to others. I also decided to stay in my hotel room and only venture out for breakfast and to a supermarket which was about 15mins walk away. Both with a mask, which I happen to have in my laptop bag since 2021.

Looking from Amsterdam station to North Amsterdam — As close as I could get to Mozilla House Amsterdam

After a few days and a second covid test, I changed my plans and took a earlier flight back to the UK.

I did find it strange how people reacted to me wearing a mask, although I was trying to be a responsible person (No judgement on anyone else). I had assumed people would think I was protecting them as I might have Covid? There was one instance in the hotel lift when I informed a man they might want to wait as I have Covid. He decided to not worry about it but commented it was really good I was wearing a mask and most people don’t bother?

I know all the Covid policies have pretty much gone and we have moved from pandemic to endemic. Like myself, there was no way of knowing I had Covid till I tested. I wouldn’t have tested if I didn’t have access to tests and had a reason to test.

Its all quite a interesting catch 22…

How am I? I’m tired, slower but active. Cough has gone and I found my out of date Covid tests are still picking up on my positive Covid, although a year old. But I do have the new ones to confirm when I do believe I’m negative again.

Not that it matters I guess?

Urban Artistry presents… at Cultplex Manchester

Urban artistry is putting on a series of Street art documentaries every month at Cultplex.

The Streetart / Graffiti documentaries starts on Thursday the 4th of July.

Tickets are £5.50 and all screenings are 18+ Cinema doors will open at 7.30pm for an 8pm start. Food and drink are available from 6pm – 10pm.

The first one starts with Martha: A picture Story Year: 2019

If you are in Manchester and into street culture, this has to be a must!

I will be at MozFest House Amsterdam 2024

Woman sat on a chair in front of large screen in a light room

Less than a week after the PublicSpaces conference in Amsterdam is the Mozilla Festival House also in Amsterdam but just north of central station in Tolhuistuin on 11-13th June.

I will be part of the team running the Mozilla/BBCRD ethical dilemma cafe. You maybe asking what is the ethical dilemma cafe? Well there is more here and if you are deeply interested, we started pulling everything together here in this public github (barcamp style)

Panel discussion of 7 people sat on a chairs on a small stage with a host standing in front talking to the audience — Mozhouse AMS 2023

The Mozhouse schedule just went up and its looks great and matches the theme of solidarity and togetherness. Between the keynotes, workshops and talks, is some excellent people to spend time with.

As its a Mozilla House event, the event will focus on the issues with the Netherlands and the EU but have a heavy dose of the wider internet health concerns.

Get a sense of last year and book your tickets here.

I will be at PublicSpaces conference 2024

On June 6 and 7, PublicSpaces and Waag Futurlab will organise the annual PublicSpaces Conference. This year’s theme is ‘Taking Back the Internet!’ We’ll all be thinking and working towards a internet where we determine the rules, rather than it be dictated to us by the existing gatekeepers.

PublicSpaces conference with people sitting looking at a panel of speakers on stage with a large screens behind them all

Of course I’ll be there again and looking forward to getting right into the weeds of the technical stack to enable the vision. I’ll also be talking directly with someone quite special following their keynote speech.

Tickets are on sale now and keep an eye on #PubConf2024 for much more.

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (May 2024)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed while understanding the risks of wearable technology, Discord public messages sold for profit and seeing the Investigatory Powers Bill approved.

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 America finally getting a online privacy bill. Bitwarden and Proton giving away passkey support to all users including the non-paying ones. Finally Fairphone shows up the consumer tech industry with new levels of sustainability.

The long con of the XZ backdoor

Ian thinks: This video really explains whats known about the XZ backdoor and the Microsoft employee who saved so many in the industry from a unthinkable backdoor. The social engineering side is also fascinating and chilling.

Encryption in the age of surveillance

Ian thinks: This lightening talk is a harsh reminder of the current state of encryption law in the UK. Whittaker’s talk is aimed at the EU, which are facing similar legal objections around encryption and privacy,

Fast fashion under the limelight

Ian thinks: Not tech as such but related as I was looking at larger effects of social media on our collective conscious.

Enshitification explained in a way we can all understand

Ian thinks: When a very popular youtuber covers a issue such as enshitification, you know its hit the mainstream (plus it was word of the year last year). This is perfect to share with many other people.

Who looks after those undersea cables?

Ian think: The Verge’s piece about the importance and health of those super important internet cables is a good read and reminder of how important the physical cables are to so many.

Are we at Peak AI and can you say AI bubble?

Ian thinks: Zittrain’s recent podcasts looking at AI is worth your time. Although he use the metric of revenue & profit most of the time, there is parts across both podcasts asking about the public benefit. There is also a clear question about the problem of booms and bubbles.

Why men shouldn’t control AI?

Ian thinks: Although a very clicky headline, there are some really good points raised about the fragile egos of some men and the clear pointers to the lack of imagination and cooperation in a patriarchy. Read with a open mind.

Fediverse gets new Threads

Ian thinks: In the latest dot social podcast, Mike Cue is joined by Meta employees to talk about joining the fediverse. Techcrunch have a good cover of the conversation, Regardless of Meta, its clear the fediverse isn’t something which can be ignored.

23andMe? A welcomed update

Ian thinks: I have always been concerned about DNA testing, especially in the tech space. In this update the Freakonomics play an existing interview and update it with the very public downfall. I can’t help but think public health was ignored from the start.

You may know Transhumanism as another name?

Ian thinks: To understand Transhumanism is to understand the almost unwritten motivation of so much of the tech billionaires. Recently renamed techno-optimism, longtermism and even effective altruism, it crops up so much. Where better to listen to a critical view of it than on tech won’t save us?

Find the archive here

Inequality, narrative and Gary Stevenson

Me standing next to Gary Stevenson holding his book Trading game — Photo of myself and Gary after he signed the book for me and Dave

It started with my friend Dave, who lives in America talked to me about buying a copy of the Sunday telegraph because some guy called Gary Stevenson was featured in the magazine.

Who is Gary? I asked him. This lead to a series of long conversations, and I remember saying have you never read the Spirit & inner level?

Gary’s book the trading game, has had a lot interest. Which meant a tour to further encourage people to buy the book, obviously not in America. So I ended up buying a book and a ticket (all the tickets only were gone) and went to see him in Manchester. Similar to when I interviewed Cory Doctorow in Manchester.

Having only watched a few of his videos on YouTube I wasn’t sure what to expect. The room was packed to the maximum, I got the very last seat and it started. It was full of people who have read the book already so questions were quite defined. Everything from a question about a film/tv adaptation, will there be another book, etc.

I had two questions which I never got to ask but there were asked in similar fashion by others

There must be organisations he wants to work with in a similar vein?
Why a narrative over a non fiction book about inequality?

To the first one, Garry pretty much said there are but he’s going to focus on what he can bring to the space. His experience was quite unique and he wanted to focus on that angle.

The second one, Garry made a really good point about the lack of interest in economics and non-fiction books with people who could benefit the most from hearing his story. He felt the narrative was the way to reach many more people.

I recently started the audiobook and about 30% through now. I have to say the narrative makes for an interesting story. As I learn more about the characters, history and context.

Is Gary economics going to answer the epidemic of inequality? Not likely but in combination with others (hence my first question). I can see him being like the Martin Lewis of economics. Speaking sense to busy people who are distracted by the underlying problem of inequality in every day life? I mentioned to him in the pub afterwards… find the others, as this is too big for one person.

Coffee and tonic?

I have to admit I tried it, and quite liked it. It was a surprise but I do like Tonic water and of course Coffee. Why not both together?

20 years at the BBC today

Its incredible to say those words but in April, I have my birthday and also my work birthday.

20 years ago, I accepted the position as a XSLT developer for BBC WorldService in London, I did apply for two positions, the other one under BBC New Media central, which I did also got a offer for, but turned down.

20 year with some great and challenging moments. Everything from setting up RSS on 40+ language services BBC Worldservices, BBC Backstage, Perceptive Media, Perceptive Radio, Databox, Living roon of the future, Public Service Internet, Human values, Adaptive podcasting and so much more. Some of the best stuff has come from non-sanctioned collaborations and works, for example with BBC & Mozilla’s ethical dilemma cafe. beebcamps. barcamps. etc…

MyPDS and Perceptive Raido in the museum of science and industry in Manchester (personal highlight)

Although there is lots of good, there has been a lot of frustration in those 20 years. Moving a public service corporation known for broadcasting and news to one leading the future of the internet, is something I compare to the innovators dilemma. My lack of interest in TV has been tricky but always thought it made sense if I focus on a public service internet.

In the last few months a lot of people I have worked with in BBC R&D, have left for new positions in other organisations. Some of them I have worked with for a long time and respect greatly (heck one saved my life).
I have been through many different BBC restructures and seen 5 different director generals (Mark Byford, Mark Thompson, George Entwistle, Tony Hall and Tim Davie) outline their plans for the future.
The pandemic changed working practice sometimes for the better in my own view and sometimes worst in other ways.

Being in the BBC R&D advisory team is still the best place for me currently. I still have the belief, its the place a public service internet can be realised in collaboration with others.

However, 20 years certainly makes you think… I didn’t plan to be at the BBC so long and certainly don’t plan to be around for another 20. I’m very aware of the industry changes but have an eye on where could be next? What ever I do, it needs to be to the benefit of a future public. My current research is focused on the future of social (not social media) something few organisations have the true time to look at in detail.

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Apr 2024)

Back of 2 robots approaching the united nations

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed with Klarna’s ai chatbot 700 people foot in mouth statement, hearing the unlikely but technically possible Meta VR inception attack but Meta caught snooping on users via a VPN app they bought previously is chilling stuff

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 FCC adopting Cyber trust labelling, discussion about norms for wearables and Mozilla’s change in privacy partner.

Revisiting the dark forest filled with Gen AI

Ian thinks: A little while back, the dark forest theory was heavily mention and quoted. Followed up not long afterwards with thoughts about GenAI last year. I have found it useful to re-read it and reflect on where we are now in 2024.

Are you afraid? The race for AI robots

Ian thinks: Watching the race for AI robots, honestly makes me feel slightly defensive. Its harder to work out the real from the hype, and this video helps a lot with this. My defensiveness reminds me of a scene in War of the Worlds and the Animatrix second renaissance. How would you react?

Deep concerns about nostalgia

Ian thinks: I have always had a real problem with nostalgia and this episode of tech won’t save us really speaks about my concerns I see/hear too often.

It is possible to train AI without using copyright media?

Ian thinks: Open AI says its impossible but they are wrong, proven by nonprofit Fairly Trained and zero copyright material. Expect many more court cases around this all soon.

How the digital divide looks in the UK post pandemic

Ian thinks: This guardian short video highlights some of the deep dividing issues which are easily forgotten in the forever pace of technology

Anger and disillusionment with Ed Zitron

Ian thinks: I recently subscribed to better offline with Ed. Its refreshing to have a good informative rants about the state of the tech industry, however I found this interview with Paris a lot more constructive.

Retiring the Mozilla’s privacy aware location service

Ian thinks: Its sad news for a privacy service by Mozilla. Most major location services which end up inside of other applications/service, generally track the users. MLS went out of their way to minimise the tracking and now its going away.

Dodds is confused about SOLID, are you too?

Ian thinks: Although I’m less confused by SOLID Its worth reading the comments which include a almost confession. Leaning in on the community

Japan plan to restrict seniors at the cash point?

Ian thinks: When I first read this, I thought about what the UK does in this space. None of them use age, however there is good argument both ways in Japan. Anything to make all people think is a very good thing, when you consider the way these scams work.

Find the archive here

Lazyweb: Kinetic powered LED Diabolo

I have been thinking a lot, regarding the idea about kinetic powered LED diabolos,

A while ago I bought some inline skate wheels and they work exactly how I thought. However trying to attach them to the diabolo is more tricky that I thought.

Really I need to sit in a hackspace and just go at it for a day or so.

In my head there are two ways to go about this.

The standard diabolo route with a spinning axle.
I could extend the diabolo axle and attach the inline wheel loose to the outside. In theory, the diabolo would spin as one piece and the loose inline wheel which has a bit of weight would generally spin far less than the diabolo axle. With this, the dynamo will light the wheel. Of course this might not work.
The geared diabolo route with a static axle.
This one is much more complex but a geared or bearing diabolo gets incredible speeds because the axle has a bearing within it. The big question is to either extend the bearing out to the inline wheel or add a bearings to the inline wheel’s dynamo?
I also been wondering if the cups could be used to hold the inline wheel?

Ultimately it seems all possible but it just needs time. I write this encouraging others to give it a try. Maybe I’ll get some time off and get myself down to Hackspace Manchester (hacman) or DoES in Liverpool?

Someone tell me the physics don’t work one way or another, heck tell me how it could actually work…

Black coffee Jupiter vermouth

During a interesting time in Barcelona recently, me and my partner went to the University of Vermouth. A workshop about vermouth, where you get to learn about it, how its made, where it came from, taste a selection and even make your own. It was really good, as I hadn’t really thought much about Vermouth beyond sweet, dry and rosso (which is just added caramel), in cocktails I make or order.

Like cocktails there is a wealth of differences and unique tastes. (I will be looking out for Noilly Pratt Vermouth), although it was a interesting point of Vermouth as a lower alcohol alternative, especially when mixed with just ice cubes.

Anyway, we got to make our own Vermouth and I got to say, I really enjoyed this part and thought quite a bit about what I’d put into a Vodka or Gin Martini (if you don’t know, its generally 1 part Dry vermouth and 4-6 parts Gin or Vodka)

How to make the black coffee Jupiter vermouth

Making the Vermouth quite important.

So I made Black Coffee Jupiter Vermouth, which includes.

10 droplets of Blueberry
10 droplets of Strawberry
20 droplets of Juniper
5 droplets of Rosemary
10 droplets of Coffee
10 droplets of Chilli
10 droplets of Cinnamon
10 droplets of Black pepper
10 droplets of Hyssop
10 droplets of Black radish

I can’t explain the taste but its smooth and long lasting, I can’t wait for the next party to use the rest of what I have left. Although I may try making it at home? Yes its that good…

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Mar 2024)

Scene from movie Her. Main character sits on a modern bench outside talking to his AI partner

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed with fake funeral live streams on Facebook. more algorithm problems and Mozilla Hubs coming to a end.

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 Air Canada’s forced to honour their refund policy chatbot, the 4 day working week being taken forward in the UK and finally dating monopoly Match group, sued for addictive design and more.

PublicSpaces conference: Taking Back the Internet in 2024

Ian thinks: The Netherlands PublicSpaces conference is such a fascinating conference full of public internet culture. Don’t miss it this year, put a mark in the calendar for Thurs 6-7th June 2024. Not to be missed and there is a call for proposals here.

Questioning the quantified industry

Ian thinks: Previously as a quantified self person, I found this episode of tech won’t save us a struggle. However I do agree with the insanity of the tech industry trying to quantify every single thing including relationships, dreams and more. I also enjoyed the thoughtful piece by Zach

Its the microplastics which will get you?

Ian thinks: Its good to get a view of the problem of microplastics and some of the latest research. Its clear this is a huge public health issue which people and companies should spend more time on now, rather than some point in the future.

AI partners, a sign of the times

Ian thinks: Everyone points to the film Her, when thinking about AI partners. However it doesn’t even scratch the surface of whats happening with the data, the epidemic of loneliness and the real human problems as described so well in Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together.

Webmotization coming to the Chromium project

Ian thinks: Just when you thought Micropayments via WebMontization was gone. Its found its way into the Chromium project which is the base for Chrome, Edge, Brave and so much more. Don’t expect a quick adoption but its positive news for one of the alternative ethical web native business models.

Filterworld, how the algorithm took over culture?

Ian thinks: This book, which I haven’t read sounds perfectly timed for 2024 and the continuing interest in underlying the algorithms. From the review it sounds like a cross between Filter bubble and Get rich or lie lying.

Build your own Bluesky instance?

Ian thinks: It was due to happen. Now Bluesky has pushed the button. This move will put more emphasis on decentralised & federated social networks, although the interoperability back and forth about the AT protocol and ActivityPub will continue.

$50,000 in a shoe box, the Amazon fake call

Ian thinks: Every-once in a while there is a scam which gives me chills. This scam story in the unusual place of The Cut, is very detailed and although the social engineering signs are there. 5 hours on a phone is heavy interrogation and every phone can be spoofed including government ones!

Encryption is a human right, in the EU

Ian thinks: Could it be true, its certainly heading that way. Which has large ramifications for many things we have taken for granted, as you will read in at Techrader.

Lockbit owned and trolled by the security services

Ian thinks: Although its quite fun to watch what has happened to lockbit, its important to remember the damage it has done across the world. This video is a good summary of the security services fun and seriousness of lockbit. if you are not aware.

Find the original here archive here

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Feb 2024)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed with questions like will Gaia X survive? What will happen to Firefox? Will our coffee to go habits end us all?

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 even rolling stone magazine covering the decentralised and federated web, fully private internet search may happen sooner than expected and Mozilla’s clever demonstration called platform tilt.

The dark dark hole which is pig butchering

Ian thinks: You may have heard of “Pig Butchering” in relation to romance/crypto scams. In this pretty dark episode of Darknet diaries which deals with violence, scams and death. You realised how deep and dark the scams go.

AI ethics and bias is popping up everywhere

Ian thinks: I have noticed a general exhaustion/ignorance to the problem of bias in AI. This short video from Channel 4 is a timely reminder of how it manifests and for us all to take some responsibility.

Post office scandal, the computer says No

Ian thinks: The post office scandal is simply awful all over. People have lost the faith of their communities, family and even lost their lives. All due to a not fit for purpose computer system (Fujitsu’s Horizon). What makes things worst is all the people who sided with the computer system over the huge evidence of the post office masters/mistresses. Also interesting it took a TV show to push the whole scandal into the public conscious.

AI hype distraction?

Ian thinks: I liked this for many reasons but the distraction technique used by many people who con others is somewhat clear to see across a lot of the AI stories I see. I did wonder if I was the only one?

Surveillance capitalism and open standards don’t mix?

Ian thinks: The podcast industry is feeling the pinch due to advertisers wanting to know more about the listener. Spotify’s has always offered a closed platform and rejected RSS for this reason. However, Apple will start supporting the open Podcast namespace around transcripts.

Why privacy matters

Ian thinks: I recently shared this video with a few people who have started drinking the cool-aid about privacy is over. Its something of a timely reminder at the top of the year, of the importance of privacy for everyone.

The hype machine

Ian thinks: I recently read the hype machine by Sinan Aral. I expected most of the points but I did find the influence on society points, stronger than I imagined. The depth of the arguments are worthy of reading and of course acting on.

The AI hardware devices got interesting

Ian thinks: There is renew interest in new/alternative user interfaces and although AI is all the rage, our smartphones are fighting back (as the video shows). When I think about this all, I can’t help but wonder about the infrastructure. Leaning on Human Data Interaction guidelines, many of them mask the data from the human.

The word of 2023, Enshittification

Ian thinks: Congrats to Cory on a word which sums up so much about the current internet business model but also doing something about it. I remember Cory being quite critical of surveillance capitalism and emphasising the problem of monopolies, lack of agency and interoperability.

Worth noting Cory’s sequel to Red Team Blues, the Bezzle is available.

Find the archive here

Chocolate and child slavery, a bit of awareness

Picture of raw cocoa plants in a pile, on top of the chocolate it made

I watched a video about Chocolate and child slavery.

It was quite a watch and as the title indicates, there was a lot of thoughts about not just the big chocolate companies but the whole industry and the reliance on child slave labour. I posted about it on the Fediverse because I felt it was well worth watching with a warning

The same night I had taste of Hasnaâ Qori Inti, Peru, Dark 75% chocolate from Cocoarunners and was surprised to experience a small addition of the cocoa fruits on a postcard in the chocolate.

Just a coincidence but a interesting one….

The only thing which will change the big problem of child slavery in the chocolate industry is awareness.

Running Kodi on a Raspberry Pi 5

When the Raspberry Pi 5 was announced, I had added a task to look at replacing my quad core Intel Celeron with it. The specs looked perfect for a living room media system. I had already invested in a Nvidia quad HDMI PCIe 1x card to fit into the current box, struggled to get the drivers working on Ubuntu but then it all just stopped.

I tried to replace the PSU but it didn’t work. Its been ages since I really built a PC so in the end, decided rather than I should complete that task and bought a 8gig Raspberry Pi 5 from cool components.

Today I set it up in a few hours complete with LibreELEC.

I’m going to get a new case because the basic case is so so for what I’m trying to add to it. It also looks a bit lost in such a big space under the TV. But I’m looking forward to seeing it run 4k H.265 HVEC across my TV and projector. Of course I would need to finally upgrade my first generation smart TV first.

Update progress

Kodi running on my TV in a darken room

This has been quite a journey.

I’m adding this information for anyone else who is thinking of doing similar. I still have a Raspberry Pi 5 running Kodi under my TV but I had to do a lot and only today somewhat happy. To be clear I installed the stable libreelec 32bit ARM as its seemed easy and good enough. I switched to the nightly edition 64bit ARM version. Tried installing OSMC (decided against this for lack of updates and Raspberry Pi 5 support looks a long way off) and finally installed the official Raspberry PI image/Raspbian and installed Kodi within that.

Dual display output running Kodi to my TV and Projector?

I seen many examples of people running displays next to each other at 4k and some high refresh rate. So assumed it would be possible across my TV and projector. Heck its mirrored so it should be easier right? No its not possible using Libreelec at all. I got it working in Raspbian but failed to get Kodi to mirror at all. After lots of research it seemed the much easier way to do this is with a HDMI splitter. I ended buying this one, which does exactly what I needed even if it requires a USB port for power.

AC3, DTS, multichannel sound output?

This one really kicked me where it hurts. I assumed I could finally get all those multichannel sound formats to my Onkyo 7.1 surround sound receiver over HDMI. I can get Dolby Digital/AC3 but when I plugged it directly into my receiver, the TV kept turning off as there was a issue where the remote inputs were not being transferred to the TV via the receiver. I considered turning off any standby options but there was worst to come.

I couldn’t find anyway to output DTS or AAC let alone anything like DTS Master audio. In the end I bought a external USB sound card with optical output and 8 channel analogue outputs if I invested in more 7.1 in the future. There was still some tweaking to Kodi get the settings right but its working now.

Raspberry Pi5 in a case under a TV bench

The upside

I found it extremely easy to make many versions across multiple SD cards and simply swap them out. For example just 2 days there was a release which looks good, so I’ll likely just make another SD card and copy my files to the home directory.

Generally its working now and I assume it will get better as development grows around the Raspberry Pi 5.

Another update

I found out the problem with the TV standby comes from the CEC adapter, which is installed as default on the Raspberry Pi but not on my previous built Kodibox. I was able to disable it via the Setting > System > Input > Peripherals > CEC adapter. Because this is now working, I have the Raspberry Pi 5 plugged directly into the Onkyo receiver and also plugged in the Chromecast.

Once the HDMI audio is sorted, I can finally remove the external sound card and may consider moving the HDMI splitter to the output of the receiver but need to work out how this would effect the Freeview HD output on the TV’s HDMI return channel path/arc. Although to be fair my antenna has not worked in months if not a year.

Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Jan 2024)

We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed with potential planned obsolescence of trains by the maker, the promise of Matter a bit of let down for now and the first but not last devastation of a country due to climate collapse.

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 Meta’s threads testing fediverse interoperability, roof tops being taken seriously as a source for renewable power and planned obsolescence on public transport.

Beeper interoperability exposes Apple’s closed ecosystem

Its easily overlooked by most Apple users but there is a bigger story raised by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Cory Doctorow. Apple’s reply must have the EU stretching for their law books? Here is the latest update on everything.

Ian thinks: This short video from one of the Netherlands public broadcasters, highlights the big problem parents and new children have when it comes to social media and the internet. The punch line weighs heavy in minds afterwards.

Surveillance in the ebooks you are reading?

Ian thinks: Although this is mainly focused on the American market, its concerning and a sign of the commercialisation of everything possible. I naively thought the well established laws around libraries would apply but obviously not. Maybe they should!

University monetising their students now up to 11

Ian thinks: Following on from the previous link, reading the experience of students again in the states is simply terrifying from a privacy point of view. Like schools, a number of companies have come in at such a low price to collect as much data as possible in return for little. I don’t even think some of the universities are fully aware of the bigger problem? The case for University is eroding away every day, sadly.

Do we digitally own anything at all?

Ian thinks: There has been a number of news stories about the hostile problem of online streaming and subscription of digital goods. I found Wendy’s related post honest and realistic.

The driving licence line up

Ian thinks: The Omni-Surveillance society wants more data, and all those driving licences are a rich store of data. Will this bill go through? I’m unsure but honestly I’m conscious of how far you can get with “think about the children”.

What the platforms do so badly, local community

Ian thinks: In this TEDx talk, Shani outlines what she did for her local area to encourage people to build a community. Its a wonderful talk and points to just enough internet rather than centring it. Just wonderful.

Proton’s CEO grilled for 2 hours and comes out fresh as a daisy

Ian thinks: Andy Yen, answers question for 2 hours and some of them are cutting and tricky. I know its a long time for most people but you really get a sense of Proton’s future and their part in the public service internet. Well worth turning on and mainly listening to.

Match group will own love now and into the future?

Ian thinks: Most people care less about online dating and don’t see the connection with the public service internet. However this video demonstrates the almost complete monopoly of the Match group, buying new platforms as they pop their heads up. This is critical with a pandemic of loneliness across the developed world.

Just one more… final victory for free, libre and open source

Ian thinks: Podcasting is going through a rough time with advertising recently. FLOSS weekly is another one ending. However its a great final episode and all 761 episodes makes a great archive documenting the many projects and achievements from the FLOSS community over the last 17 years.

Find the archive here

My new years resolutions for 2024

Following my review of last year… here’s my New Years Resolutions for 2024 which follows on from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 ones.

Digital nomad things
This is the make or break year I think. I need to move things forward as time is going by quickly and i’m not getting younger. My next step is a meeting with the Portuguese embassy to clarify the tax side of things. An official note could make all the difference.
Finish my dating book
Its been way too long and its so close now, as mentioned in the review of last year.I have all the illustrations now except the front cover (but have plans). I also formatted the latest version into the 8×5 inch book format using templates, added the illustrations and shared it with a selected few. I await there comments over the festive season, then another check and final look at by Hannah.So I’m expecting some changes but its well on its way now. This year I’m looking into self publishing alternatives to Amazon KDP. But I don’t see any problem with a printed and ebook version by the end of the 2024.
Head even further a field with the scooter
I still need to get the scooter out to mainland Europe, ideally 2024 is a good time before things change with visas, etc.
Learn to drive a car
There are times when a car would be helpful and now with the drive towards electric cars and automatic drive. Its just a matter of doing the theory test again and then booking lessons.
Listen to two Audiobooks every month
I have been listening to one a month, but its time to push for two a month. Its quite a push but I think its worthy of the push I think.
Go to a new country
Its been long and there is a lot of Europe I haven’t visited, plus I have friends in those places I could easily visit. Although there is a temptation to visit some of the places again with my partner, new places do bring a new experiences.
Go to a new Rollercoaster park
A regular resolution but a good one and if I head to another country, its certainly high on the list.
Take the Diabolo skills up another level
I’m doing some exciting things with the diabolo but I really need to see some of the tricks done in person. YouTube is good but to really get a grip of the advanced tricks I need to meet other people doing the diabo lo.
Next year its time to meet more of them and learn those tricks like the infinite suicide!
Move over to privacy preserving protocols and platform
I am more and more annoyed at the business models of the majority of services out there. Cory frames it perfectly as enshittification and it’s frankly not on. Although this raises a bunch of questions about data portability (something I was deeply involved in, a long time ago regardless of what Wikipedia says) I need to just move! The alternatives are not only good enough in some places (tasks) but far better (like the fediverse). I will keep the old services but by the end of the year move over.
I’m also going to lean more on my blog more to bring things back into one place, for example why isn’t my bookwrym account not attached to my blog? Its also a good way to do collections, rather than this type of thing.
Separate out my food waste
In most of the UK, food waste is separated from the rest. Just like how we recycle paper/card and some plastics. However as I live in a set of flats, Manchester Council tried to make us separate our food waste too. This was great because my main bin stopped smelling and I had to empty it a lot less. However the community bin for food recycling in the flat basement was full of different things because people kept emptying in plastic and other things into it. In the end Manchester council stopped food waste collection and we stopped food recycling (sadly).
So my thought is to keep on doing it but empty the food waste inside decomposable plastic bags into the main community bins. Its not ideal but I think separating the waste is generally a good thing. Its a good habit and who knows maybe I’ll find a food waste bin to empty them into later.
Start to mark out significant moments in my history
One of the things I have done when mentoring as an exercise, is pull out key part of my/their life to help pick out key things which helped and hindered.
It a great little way to help understand your life and paths going forward. But I always found different ways to illustrate them using categories/layers to hide personal, work, etc.
Then recently I discovered Your life in weeks, which got looking around and finding a bunch of apps/webapps using the concept. This got me thinking about codifying key moments in life in a more neutral format. Ideally this would be XML but alas markdown will work better than CSV?
See more of my friends
My friends are diverse, interesting and are great to be around. During the Covid pandemic, I would call them up on the off chance and have some incredible conversations. It was amazing and some went on for 4 hours.
I’m going to next year catch up with more of my friends I haven’t seen in years. Be it on the phone, online, in person, what ever works.