Many people seeing this know I have had a website on this domain for over 15 years. Recently I decided I wanted to start from scratch and build something new. So here we are! Like I have in the past I will share things I find interesting on the web, and once in a while write something longer. I am doing this more for myself — I find writing relaxing and enjoyable. So if zero people read what I post, I am perfectly fine with that. ...
Once upon a time, I thought nothing could be worse than the proliferation of websites driven by SEO. That was before I learned of the existence of AEO: answer engine optimization. In my day, I could get lost in the glorious SI Vault; now I can find those old gems only if I know exactly what to search for and deploy the Wayback Machine. Not all of this is specifically Google’s fault. But the company’s new priorities seem like they’ll only exacerbate the general state of dilapidation online. ...
This doesn’t mean that AI doesn’t work or is useless. But it does emphasize an important truth: AI is not a magic “infinity machine” that can solve all our problems, and ultimately deliver us a sense of meaning in a cold, confusing world. It’s a normal technology, and perhaps it’s time we start talking about it that way. Source: Cal Newport Newsletter Today’s newsletter is based on a few emails Newport got from a software engineer, and is telling a story over months that I am sure we will hear again and again from many others. Like most things, groups of people have lined up on the two extreme sides. Either you turned your life over to a language generating machine, or you think the technology is useless. Of course in the end the truth lies in the middle, and finding that middle is important. ...
A short post to talk about the joy of sports. It has now been just over seven weeks since the Knicks won the championship, and everyday I still see a video or post go by about the win that brings an instant smile to my face. I still see people commenting to each other “go Knicks” walking by each other in the streets of New York if they notice a certain hat or shirt on. In a world that can be so negative and cruel the Knicks winning truly was the perfect anecdote. ...
Google - a thrice-convicted monopolist - is the gateway to the internet, with more than a 90% search market share that it attained by buying out all its competitors and bribing Apple more than $20b/year not to start a rival search engine: Source: Pluralistic It’s a good read, but this quote reminded me just what a master of words Corey is.
Coming off my three posts about my attempt at using Obsidian, I thought it would be fun to actually write about what I am using. Laptop: HP Pro-book running Linux Debian XFCE. I can’t stand using Windows day to day so I knew Linux was the only way to go on this laptop. Even for little things like updating my website using Git, Windows is just so much harder. Now part of that might just be that I am more comfortable in a Mac/Linux environment for such things but Powershell and other Windows tools just never clicked for me. I used to be an avid Windows user (those who have followed me for years would know this, hell I had Windows Phones and the original SurfaceRT), but paths since then have led me here. When choosing a distro I started with Arch which I do like due to how customizable it is, then played with Mint which I always keep around, and ended on Debian. I like how Debian is conservative with updates and and keeps things very stable, even if that means some items are a generation or two behind. XFCE is just a great low overhead environment which does what I need without the extras. ...
Digital sovereignty is not about owning everything, it is about ensuring that nothing essential can be taken away. Source: What is Digital Sovereignty - TDF Community Blog — Really like how Libre Office defined digital soverignty here.
After a few weeks of setting up Obsidian it’s already goodbye, not because I did not like it it’s just that I realized I had built a complex ecosystem around something that was supposed to be fundamentally simple. Obsidian is a fantastic piece of software, yet over time I found myself spending more brain power and time managing plugins, workspace layouts, and app settings than actually writing. The irony of the entire process is that Obsidian did one major thing right for me: it reminded me why I have always loved the power and simplicity of plain text and specifically markdown. (thanks John Gruber ) ...
Pho hits in any season
Climate change is raising temperatures , but one factor that adds to that is often ignored. Walk down a city street and you see what would have been front gardens a decade or so ago have now been tarmacked over and turned into driveways. Source: The Coversation Climate change is such a massive challenge that I feel it leads most people to ignore it—not out of disbelief, but out of hopelessness. So much of that hopelessness stems from the narrative that each of us individually has to do “our part.” Sure, we can all do a little more, but the truth is none of that moves the needle on its own. I’m fine with paper straws, even though so many people have made their entire identity about opposing such a meaningless thing. But the paper straw represents something bigger: it represents passing the buck from those responsible for our current situation down to the “little people.” ...