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[1] My name is Brad Frost
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• [2]Work
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• [3]Training
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• [4]Book
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• [5]Blog
|
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• [6]Contact
|
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|
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Ella’s First Website
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ULTRA PROUD DAD MOMENT: Ella made her first website!
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|
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Melissa and I woke up on Saturday morning to our goofy 6-year-old daughter
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entering our bedroom making this obnoxious sound. It was impressively annoying,
|
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especially considering she hasn’t seen [7]Dumb and Dumber yet. She truly is her
|
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father’s daughter.
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|
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After we were done laughing, we recorded her and cracked ourselves up listening
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to the playback. We joked that it would make for a really effective alarm
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clock.
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“We should make one!” I said.
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Her face lit up.
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“Yeah, we can make a little website that loops the sound. It’ll be funny.”
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I brought my laptop to breakfast and I fired up my trusty, faithful, incredible
|
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friend [8]Codepen. I insisted that Ella drive.
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Ella on Brad's laptop sitting at the breakfast table
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I decided to start her with one of the most magical, visceral aspects of
|
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front-end development: changing the body‘s background-color.
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Just look at that reaction as soon as the web page’s canvas changed colors:
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Ella reacting to the browser window change from white to green when she entered
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the appropriate CSS code.
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Surprise. Wonder. Happiness. Pride. Satisfaction. You can see the gears
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turning.
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We continued on our journey. Like most kids her age, she is learning to spell
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and isn’t used to typing on a keyboard. On the back of an envelope, I wrote
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some of the words and syntax down for her to transcribe:
|
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|
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A zoom in of my writing code on the back of an envelope
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She diligently followed instructions, and though it required patience (she
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definitely started losing focus over time!) we kept at it. I said we needed
|
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picture of her that would be part of the alarm clock website. We took the photo
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and turned our attention to the next magic trick: replacing the background with
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her goofy face. She truly is her father’s daughter.
|
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I had to intervene a bit here to open up [9]Codepen’s super helpful assets
|
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feature to get the image online. But! I taught her how to use the trackpad, as
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well as copy and paste keyboard commands. It took a second and some fiddling
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around with the [10]background-size value, but we got her goofy mug onto the
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website:
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From there, we turned our attention to the HTML panel to add the [11]audio tag.
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That was a little tougher, especially since her patience was wearing thin. But
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I was able to explain that writing [12]loop would make the sound repeat
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forever, which she thought was funny. I also explained that autoplay would make
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it start playing immediately, but I learned autoplay (rightly) [13]blocked by
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default to prevent, say, an annoying sound to loop for infinity.
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After a little bit more finessing and me getting the audio asset in there, she
|
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had her finished website!
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So here it is: Ella’s [14]funny annoying alarm clock website!
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See the Pen [15] funny annoying alarm clock by Brad Frost ([16]@bradfrost) on
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[17]CodePen.
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She had a great initial reaction, and I think hearing her annoying sound come
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from a totally different machine didn’t really compute to her. And while her
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patience was understandably spent, she enjoyed the results.
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There is a lot I could say here. That this is a beautiful reminder of the
|
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absolute magic that is web design and development. That a beginner’s mind can
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change your perspective. That the declarative and human-readable languages of
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CSS and HTML help make coding less intimidating. That we could continue to
|
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improve the website and add new features. That accessible tools that help
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people learn web development are incredible.
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I could go on about all of these things, but I won’t. Instead I will say that I
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am so incredibly proud of Ella. I am lucky to be the dad of such a smart,
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creative, hilarious, curious, and yes obnoxious girl. I hope this is but one of
|
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many many many many many many creations that leave her head and make their way
|
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out into the world. I love you so much, Ella.
|
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|
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And yes, I woke her up for school today with her alarm clock.
|
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Posted by [18]Brad Frost on [19]27 Nov, 2024
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Tags: [20]codepen, [21]css, [22]education, [23]ella, [24]html, [25]life, [26]
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personal, [27]web design, [28]web development
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|
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• Brad Frost
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|
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Hey there!
|
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|
||||
I'm [29]Brad Frost, a design system consultant, web designer, speaker,
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writer, and musician located in beautiful Pittsburgh, PA.
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|
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• [30]
|
||||
Atomic Design Book [atomic-des] [atomic-des]
|
||||
• [31]Atomic Design
|
||||
|
||||
I wrote a book called [32]Atomic Design, which covers all that goes into
|
||||
creating and maintaining effective design systems. You can [33]read it
|
||||
online and [34]order the ebook.
|
||||
• [35] Brad Frost speaking at TEDx Pittsburgh
|
||||
• [36]
|
||||
|
||||
Wanna work together?
|
||||
|
||||
I'm a principal and technical strategist at Big Medium, where we help teams
|
||||
establish and evolve design systems, establish more collaborative
|
||||
workflows, and create better software together. Need design system help?
|
||||
Need help leveling up your organization's digital practice? Get in touch!
|
||||
|
||||
• [37]
|
||||
|
||||
Blog
|
||||
|
||||
I write about web design best practices, design systems, responsive design,
|
||||
and other tasty topics on my blog. I also enjoy sharing and commenting on
|
||||
interesting links from around the web.
|
||||
|
||||
• [38]
|
||||
|
||||
Contact
|
||||
|
||||
Does your team need help taking your design system to the next level?
|
||||
Interested in a workshop, consulting, or co-creation project? Have a
|
||||
question about atomic design or web development? Get in touch!
|
||||
|
||||
• [39]
|
||||
|
||||
Music
|
||||
|
||||
Music gives me an enormous amount of mental, physical, and spiritual
|
||||
satisfaction. I just love playing music, plain and simple.
|
||||
|
||||
• Around the web
|
||||
|
||||
You can follow along on [40]Bluesky, [41]LinkedIn, [42]Mastodon, [43]
|
||||
Threads, [44]YouTube, [45]Instagram, [46]Github, [47]Codepen, [48]Spotify,
|
||||
and [49]Last.fm.
|
||||
|
||||
•
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://bradfrost.com/
|
||||
[2] https://bradfrost.com/work
|
||||
[3] https://bradfrost.com/workshops
|
||||
[4] http://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/
|
||||
[5] https://bradfrost.com/blog
|
||||
[6] https://bradfrost.com/contact
|
||||
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR3MDSF-IpQ
|
||||
[8] https://codepen.io/
|
||||
[9] https://codepen.io/features/asset-hosting
|
||||
[10] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/background-size
|
||||
[11] https://www.w3schools.com/html/html5_audio.asp
|
||||
[12] https://www.w3schools.com/tags/att_audio_loop.asp
|
||||
[13] https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Media/Autoplay_guide
|
||||
[14] https://codepen.io/bradfrost/pen/GRVLEKY?editors=1100
|
||||
[15] https://codepen.io/bradfrost/pen/GRVLEKY
|
||||
[16] https://codepen.io/bradfrost
|
||||
[17] https://codepen.io/
|
||||
[18] http://bradfrost.com/
|
||||
[19] https://bradfrost.com/blog/post/ellas-first-website/
|
||||
[20] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/codepen/
|
||||
[21] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/css/
|
||||
[22] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/education/
|
||||
[23] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/ella/
|
||||
[24] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/html/
|
||||
[25] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/life/
|
||||
[26] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/personal/
|
||||
[27] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/web-design/
|
||||
[28] https://bradfrost.com/blog/tag/web-development/
|
||||
[29] http://bradfrost.com/about
|
||||
[30] https://shop.bradfrost.com/
|
||||
[31] https://shop.bradfrost.com/
|
||||
[32] http://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/
|
||||
[33] http://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/table-of-contents/
|
||||
[34] https://shop.bradfrost.com/products/atomic-design-ebook
|
||||
[35] https://bradfrost.com/speaking
|
||||
[36] https://bradfrost.com/work
|
||||
[37] https://bradfrost.com/blog
|
||||
[38] https://bradfrost.com/contact
|
||||
[39] https://bradfrost.com/music
|
||||
[40] https://bsky.app/profile/bradfrost.com
|
||||
[41] https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfrost
|
||||
[42] https://mastodon.social/@brad_frost
|
||||
[43] https://www.threads.net/@brad_frost
|
||||
[44] https://www.youtube.com/@brad_frost
|
||||
[45] http://instagram.com/brad_frost
|
||||
[46] https://github.com/bradfrost
|
||||
[47] http://codepen.io/bradfrost/
|
||||
[48] https://open.spotify.com/user/ienjoyhotsoup
|
||||
[49] http://www.last.fm/user/brad_frost
|
||||
127
static/archive/buttondown-com-jpzwsx.txt
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127
static/archive/buttondown-com-jpzwsx.txt
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|
||||
Mike Monteiro’s Good News logo
|
||||
[1] Mike Monteiro’s Good News [2]
|
||||
Subscribe
|
||||
[3]
|
||||
RSS
|
||||
[4]
|
||||
Archive
|
||||
September 11, 2024
|
||||
|
||||
How many hobbies is too many?
|
||||
|
||||
[5]Two identical paintings. Each painting is two panels. The top panels is a
|
||||
black and white word balloon that says GENOCIDE IS PAINLESS. The bottom panel
|
||||
is a anthropomorphized slice of watermelon.Couple little paintings I did this
|
||||
week for reasons.
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
This week’s question comes to us from Gord Fynes:
|
||||
|
||||
How many hobbies is too many? There's only so many hours in the day, days in
|
||||
the week, etc.
|
||||
|
||||
One. One hobby is too many.
|
||||
|
||||
I hate hobbies. Rather, I hate calling things hobbies. The word hobby is almost
|
||||
always used apologetically. It carries a certain amount of shame, an element of
|
||||
wasted time, or at least time not well-spent, certainly time spent not
|
||||
“earning.” And therein lies the problem.
|
||||
|
||||
Let’s get personal. When I was a kid, my father “earned” by doing construction
|
||||
work. He’d leave early in the morning and come home caked in cement from laying
|
||||
foundations. He was not a happy person to be around. He hated his job and he
|
||||
took it out on his family. After dinner, which was never pleasant, he would
|
||||
either disappear out the door or disappear into the basement.
|
||||
|
||||
The basement was off limits to us. It’s where he painted. Years later, I got
|
||||
brave enough to go door there. Behind a curtained-off area, I found a workbench
|
||||
full of intricately painted tiles, always in blue. I found coffee cans full of
|
||||
brushes, some of them carefully handmade. And I found family photographs taped
|
||||
to the wall. All of this was new to me, and I couldn’t understand why someone
|
||||
who was always so full of rage towards me would have my school photo taped to
|
||||
the wall above his workbench. In some ways I still don’t.
|
||||
|
||||
As years passed, his secret became less of a secret. He’d occasionally bring a
|
||||
tile up and hang it in the kitchen. Eventually, I’d learn the tiles were called
|
||||
azulejos. Eventually, I’d learn that he was a trained azulejo painter in his
|
||||
native Portugal, and well-regarded for it. Then he immigrated to the United
|
||||
States where he laid cement to earn for his family. And I wondered what he
|
||||
would’ve been like if he could’ve spent his life doing what he loved.
|
||||
Selfishly, I wondered what my life would’ve been like if he could’ve spent his
|
||||
life doing what he loved.
|
||||
|
||||
As more years passed, my father realized I had some form of artistic talent and
|
||||
I was allowed behind the curtain, especially if he needed lettering. He sucked
|
||||
at lettering.
|
||||
|
||||
When I decided I wanted to go to art school, my mother objected, but my father
|
||||
did not. And while this did not make up for years of abuse, it was nonetheless
|
||||
appreciated.
|
||||
|
||||
I hate hobbies. Hobbies end up being curtained-off room in the basement where
|
||||
we hide the life we wish we could be living.
|
||||
|
||||
In my own adult life, I do lots of things. I design shit. I paint. I do
|
||||
workshops. I make zines. I write. I love doing all of those things, and I
|
||||
manage to do some of them for money. But to me they are equally important. And
|
||||
while I have to acknowledge that all of this takes a certain amount of luck and
|
||||
privilege, it also takes a plan.
|
||||
|
||||
When we started our design shop (the money work), one of the first things we
|
||||
did was set boundaries for ourselves. We worked from 9–6 and from
|
||||
Monday–Friday. I never sold my weekends, and I never lived beyond my means in a
|
||||
way that required me to sell my weekends. As time went on I did all I could to
|
||||
reduce the things I did for money so I could spend time doing the things I
|
||||
enjoyed that didn’t make money. Both things were equally important.
|
||||
|
||||
Is this privileged? Yes. Is this a privilege that we need to extend to every
|
||||
human being on earth? Also fucking yes, in a big way. (And if we have the money
|
||||
to fund a genocide, we have the money for UBI.)
|
||||
|
||||
Hobby is capitalism’s word. It’s a crumb from capitalism’s table. Capitalism is
|
||||
happy that you have a hobby, especially if it can sell you HO-scale train sets
|
||||
to complete it, but that hobby can never be taken as seriously as what
|
||||
capitalism might need from you. (Oh, and that thing capitalism might need from
|
||||
you? Well, design is your passion, so they don’t really need to pay you
|
||||
adequately for that, do they?)
|
||||
|
||||
Sadly, capitalism is still with us, and we need to earn. So when you have to
|
||||
clock in, clock in. And when you clock out, clock the fuck out. Take off that
|
||||
stupid watch that sends texts and emails to your wrist. Toss your laptop in the
|
||||
basement. Get behind that drumkit, get in front of that easel, get your ass in
|
||||
the garden, straddle that potter’s wheel, strap on the messenger bag with all
|
||||
your paint cans and nozzles in it, and get the fuck to work.
|
||||
|
||||
All those are work.
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
🙋 Got a question? [6]Ask it.
|
||||
|
||||
📖 [7]Ordering zines means I can spend more time painting. Plus, you get
|
||||
stickers and a zine.
|
||||
|
||||
👎 An industry that can’t hold on to the people it most needs is [8]an industry
|
||||
that doesn’t deserve air. Vivianne is a friend, and I am so proud of everything
|
||||
she’s done.
|
||||
|
||||
📻 I’ve been enjoying the new podcast [9]Rebel Spirit from Akilah Hughes,
|
||||
produced by my friend Dan Sinker.
|
||||
|
||||
Don't miss what's next. Subscribe to Mike Monteiro’s Good News:
|
||||
[10][ ] Subscribe
|
||||
Brought to you by [12]Buttondown, the easiest way to start and grow your
|
||||
newsletter.
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://buttondown.com/monteiro
|
||||
[2] https://buttondown.com/monteiro#subscribe-form
|
||||
[3] https://buttondown.com/monteiro/rss
|
||||
[4] https://buttondown.com/monteiro/archive/
|
||||
[5] https://www.worldsgreatestartist.com/?utm_source=monteiro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=how-many-hobbies-is-too-many
|
||||
[6] https://www.mikemonteiro.com/ask-a-question?utm_source=monteiro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=how-many-hobbies-is-too-many
|
||||
[7] https://www.designisajob.com/?utm_source=monteiro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=how-many-hobbies-is-too-many
|
||||
[8] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7239687397918056448/?utm_source=monteiro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=how-many-hobbies-is-too-many
|
||||
[9] https://omny.fm/shows/rebel-spirit/episode-1-a-homecoming-1?utm_source=monteiro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=how-many-hobbies-is-too-many
|
||||
[12] https://buttondown.com/
|
||||
281
static/archive/calpaterson-com-gg1ovh.txt
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|
||||
Cal Paterson | [1]Home [2]Services [3]About
|
||||
|
||||
Building LLMs is probably not going be a brilliant business
|
||||
|
||||
November 2024
|
||||
|
||||
The Netscapes of AI
|
||||
|
||||
image of early 20th century train advert for Watford Railways improved the
|
||||
lives of millions - but investors were rewarded with a [4]dramatic bust
|
||||
|
||||
Large language models (LLMs) like Chat-GPT and Claude.ai are whizzy and cool. A
|
||||
lot of people think that they are going to be The Future. Maybe they are — but
|
||||
that doesn't mean that building them is going to be a profitable business.
|
||||
|
||||
In the 1960s, airlines were The Future. That is why old films have so many
|
||||
swish shots of airports in them. Airlines though, turned out to be an
|
||||
unavoidably rubbish business. I've flown on loads of airlines that have gone
|
||||
bust: Monarch, WOW Air, Thomas Cook, Flybmi, Zoom. And those are all busts from
|
||||
before coronavirus - times change but being an airline is always a bad idea.
|
||||
|
||||
That's odd, because other businesses, even ones which seem really stupid, are
|
||||
much more profitable. Selling fizzy drinks is, surprisingly, an amazing
|
||||
business. Perhaps the best. Coca-Cola's return on equity has rarely fallen
|
||||
below 30% in any given year. That seems very unfair because being an airline is
|
||||
hard work but making coke is pretty easy. It's even more galling because
|
||||
Coca-Cola don't actually make the coke themselves - that is outsourced to
|
||||
"bottling companies". They literally just sell it.
|
||||
|
||||
Industry structure - what makes a business good
|
||||
|
||||
If you were to believe LinkedIn you would think a great business is made with
|
||||
efficiency, hard work, innovation or some other intrinsic reason to do with how
|
||||
hardworking, or clever, the people in the business are. That simply is not the
|
||||
case.
|
||||
|
||||
What makes a good business is industry structure.
|
||||
|
||||
Airlines - unfavourable industry structure
|
||||
|
||||
To be an airline is to be in an almost uniquely terrible market position. For
|
||||
starters, there are only two makers of aeroplanes (Airbus and Boeing). For
|
||||
reasons of training and staff efficiency, you have to commit to one or the
|
||||
other, which gives the aeroplane makers very strong pricing power.
|
||||
|
||||
And buyers of airline tickets are incredibly fickle and have no loyalty. They
|
||||
will switch from one "carrier" to another over even small differences in price.
|
||||
Annoyingly, there are loads of other airlines and they're all running the same
|
||||
routes as you!
|
||||
|
||||
Worse yet, starting a new airline is surprisingly easy. Aircraft hold their
|
||||
value so banks will happily lend against them. There are loads of staff
|
||||
available that new entrants can hire. So randos will continually enter your
|
||||
market, often selling tickets below cost for quite a while before they go bust.
|
||||
And to top it off, there are plenty of substitutes for air travel - from
|
||||
government-subsidised high speed trains to Zoom calls.
|
||||
|
||||
Airlines that get more efficient, work harder or come up with innovations
|
||||
aren't going to be able to "capture" the value of what they've done. If you
|
||||
make more than the bare minimum to survive Airbus will notice that you're being
|
||||
undercharged and you'll find that the next renewal on your service contract
|
||||
eats up the difference.
|
||||
|
||||
Fizzy-drinks - very favourable industry structure
|
||||
|
||||
Being the Coca-Cola company is pretty great though.
|
||||
|
||||
Coke is just water, colourant, flavouring, caffeine and sweetener. Those are
|
||||
all widely available and really cheap. And as I said, you don't even have to
|
||||
combine them yourselves - bottling companies will do that for you for almost
|
||||
nothing.
|
||||
|
||||
Handily, consumers are really picky about what goes in their mouth. The
|
||||
unofficial motto of your main competitor is "Is Pepsi ok?". This is despite the
|
||||
fact that they are identical in both taste and colour. And a significant
|
||||
minority of people actually say no!
|
||||
|
||||
And it isn't easy for new competitors to enter the market. They can't call
|
||||
their new drink "coke" due to trademarks. They have to call it something else.
|
||||
And consumers will generally refuse it because drinking an alternative is
|
||||
considered some kind of weird statement.
|
||||
|
||||
What is industry structure?
|
||||
|
||||
Classically, there are five basic parts ("forces") to a company's position:
|
||||
|
||||
1. The power of their suppliers to increase their prices
|
||||
2. The power of their buyers to reduce your prices
|
||||
3. The strength of direct competitors
|
||||
4. The threat of any new entrants
|
||||
5. The threat of substitutes
|
||||
|
||||
It's industry structure that makes a business profitable or not. Not
|
||||
efficiency, not hard work and not innovation.
|
||||
|
||||
If none of the forces are very much against you, your business will do ok. If
|
||||
they are all against you, you'll be in the position of the airlines. And if
|
||||
they're all in your favour: brill, you're Coca-Cola.
|
||||
|
||||
The industry structure of LLM makers: OpenAI/Anthropic/Gemini/etc
|
||||
|
||||
So is the position of LLM makers any good? I'm afraid it's not good news.
|
||||
|
||||
LLM makers sometimes imply that their suppliers are cloud companies like Amazon
|
||||
Web Services, Google Cloud, etc. That wouldn't be so bad because you could shop
|
||||
around and make them compete to cut the huge cost of model training.
|
||||
|
||||
Really though, LLM makers have only one true supplier: NVIDIA. NVIDIA make the
|
||||
[5]chips that all models are trained on - regardless of cloud vendor. And that
|
||||
gives NVIDIA colossal, near total pricing power. NVIDIA are more powerful
|
||||
relative to Anthropic or OpenAI than Airbus or Boeing could ever dream of
|
||||
being.
|
||||
|
||||
How much power do buyers have over LLM token prices? So far, it seems fairly
|
||||
high. Most LLM users seem willing to change from Chat-GPT to Claude, for
|
||||
example. It doesn't seem like brand loyalty is being built up. And companies
|
||||
that build AI into their businesses are starting to do so via abstraction
|
||||
layers that allow them to switch model easily. That makes LLMs interchangeable
|
||||
- which is bad for those who sell them.
|
||||
|
||||
What's the strength of direct competitors? Again, it is considerable. There are
|
||||
loads of LLM vendors and pricing [6]appears competitive. Worst of all, Facebook
|
||||
basically dump their model on the market for no cost. It's [7]reminiscent of
|
||||
Internet Explorer - not exactly a great portent.
|
||||
|
||||
And it seems fairly easy for new entrants to build brand new models. That is
|
||||
why there are so many LLM makers. Most of the techniques for making LLMs are
|
||||
openly published in papers. Even bad models can gain customers if they are
|
||||
cheap, which allows new entrants to gain a foothold.
|
||||
|
||||
The situation on substitutes is mixed. Instead of having Chat-GPT write some
|
||||
text you could pay a person to do it instead. That is likely to be much more
|
||||
expensive but also less likely to hallucinate, which might be important for
|
||||
some use-cases (law is the field least likely to use LLMs). And then there is
|
||||
the trend that [8]metadata tends to displace artificial intelligence once
|
||||
particular application has been proved out - so as soon as you find a solid
|
||||
use-case you stand to be replaced.
|
||||
|
||||
A single mildly positive point does not make a profitable business. LLM makers
|
||||
look a lot more like Netscape - who invented graphical web browsers, then went
|
||||
bust - than Google, who made something good that ran on top of the web
|
||||
browsers.
|
||||
|
||||
How are they raising so much money?
|
||||
|
||||
If LLM makers seem cursed to an airline-style business destiny, how come they
|
||||
are able to raise so much money? OpenAI [9]raised $6.6 billion at a valuation
|
||||
of $157 billion less than two months ago. That might be the biggest VC round of
|
||||
all time.
|
||||
|
||||
What do they know that I don't? It is a mystery - but let's consider the
|
||||
options.
|
||||
|
||||
Perhaps they are hoping to develop their own chips to reduce their dependence
|
||||
on NVIDIA. $6.6 billion is not enough to build a new fab but it might be enough
|
||||
to get a new chip designed which allows them to migrate off NVIDIA. That would
|
||||
save them paying so much money for GPU time. But, NVIDIA are actually one of
|
||||
the investors in the round (although only a fairly small amount) - so it's
|
||||
unlikely "develop an NVIDIA competitor" was on any of the pitch deck slides.
|
||||
|
||||
Perhaps OpenAI are hoping to build a strong brand so that customers won't
|
||||
switch to competitors so easily. It's not impossible, there is proof the [10]
|
||||
branding and lock-in can work in technology - but it seems difficult to manage
|
||||
given that LLMs themselves generically have a textual interface - meaning that
|
||||
there is no real API as such - you just send text, and it sends text back.
|
||||
|
||||
Can they do anything about new entrants? Possibly. If investing $6.6bn allows
|
||||
them to develop a major improvement in their model then that would raise
|
||||
everyone else's costs considerably and probably force some of their smaller
|
||||
competitors out of the market. The trouble is that money is the most fungible
|
||||
of all goods (that is the point, after all) and that $6.6bn is not all that
|
||||
much of it. So this round wouldn't, by itself, be enough to dissuade others. I
|
||||
used to work at a bank and I can tell you that individual bond raises can be a
|
||||
lot more than $6.6bn.
|
||||
|
||||
It's worth saying that even companies that raise huge sums of money sometimes
|
||||
turn out to have no viable business. WeWork ultimately raised over $10bn at a
|
||||
valuation of $47bn before it was realised that their business simply did not
|
||||
make sense. WeWork were valued at just $0.56bn in their most recent financial
|
||||
restructuring - having lost well over 95% of what was invested.
|
||||
|
||||
Not all AI companies are doomed
|
||||
|
||||
If LLM makers aren't going to be good businesses, does that bode ill for The
|
||||
Future?
|
||||
|
||||
Firstly, it does not mean the technology will be bad. Whether the technology
|
||||
ends up being good or not is mostly unrelated to whether Open AI/Anthropic/
|
||||
Mistral/whoever makes any money off it. Container virtualisation technology is
|
||||
pretty well developed even though Docker made almost nothing on it. Web
|
||||
browsers are extremely advanced pieces of software even though making a browser
|
||||
is such a bad business that most don't usually count it as a business at all.
|
||||
And CRMs are terrible despite the fact that Salesforce is tremendously
|
||||
successful. Technology success and business success are mostly unrelated.
|
||||
|
||||
And then: not all AI businesses are building models. Ideally, if I were running
|
||||
an AI business I would avoid building a model at all costs. Building your own
|
||||
models looks like an undifferentiated schlep. Using a tiny bit of some
|
||||
expensively trained model that Anthropic has produced could be very cost
|
||||
effective and might make some business idea work that wouldn't have 5 years
|
||||
ago.
|
||||
|
||||
Beware software companies that aren't software companies
|
||||
|
||||
Software companies are really good businesses. You have no real suppliers, your
|
||||
software is often unique (so no competitors) and the substitute is just users
|
||||
doing the job themselves. For this reason, software companies tend have really
|
||||
great margins.
|
||||
|
||||
The problem is that not all technology companies are software companies. If you
|
||||
have a hugely powerful single supplier like NVIDIA then the economics of your
|
||||
company are going to look less like Microsoft Office and more like [11]Pan-Am.
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
Contact/etc
|
||||
|
||||
Write to me at [12]cal@calpaterson.com about this article, especially if you
|
||||
disagreed with it.
|
||||
|
||||
See [13]other things I've written or learn more about me on [14]my about page.
|
||||
|
||||
Get an alert when I write something new, by [15]email or [16]RSS[17] rss-logo.
|
||||
|
||||
I am on:
|
||||
|
||||
• [18]Bluesky
|
||||
• [19]Mastodon
|
||||
• [20]Twitter
|
||||
• [21]Github
|
||||
• and [22]Linkedin.
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
Other notes
|
||||
|
||||
The AI safety movement is a fantastic hypeman for LLMs as a technology.
|
||||
Implying (pretty dubiously) that we are [23]10 minutes from midnight in some
|
||||
kind of Ghost-in-The-Shell style AI crisis is in fact an extremely effective
|
||||
form of product marketing. Perhaps that is why OpenAI and others employ so many
|
||||
AI safety specialists.
|
||||
|
||||
The Coca-Cola company mainly sit back and rake in the megabucks - but they do
|
||||
spend a little bit of their earnings on research. And a little bit of a lot is
|
||||
still significant. It's interesting that coke's market research has discovered
|
||||
that coke works better as a gender segregated product: Coke Zero is Diet Coke,
|
||||
but for men.
|
||||
|
||||
If you want to read more about industry structure and market strategy, the
|
||||
place to start is with Michael Porter. He reworked his famous essay [24]The
|
||||
Five Forces that Shape Corporate Strategy in 2008. It's not the last word, but
|
||||
it probably should be the first word you read if you want to learn more. And if
|
||||
you like it, he has a lot more.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://calpaterson.com/
|
||||
[2] https://calpaterson.com/services.html
|
||||
[3] https://calpaterson.com/about.html
|
||||
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_Mania
|
||||
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopper_(microarchitecture)
|
||||
[6] https://a16z.com/llmflation-llm-inference-cost/
|
||||
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Browser_wars#First_browser_war_(1995%E2%80%932001)
|
||||
[8] https://calpaterson.com/metadata.html
|
||||
[9] https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/openai-closes-66-billion-funding-haul-valuation-157-billion-with-investment-2024-10-02/
|
||||
[10] https://calpaterson.com/amazon-premium.html
|
||||
[11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_Am
|
||||
[12] mailto:cal@calpaterson.com
|
||||
[13] https://calpaterson.com/
|
||||
[14] https://calpaterson.com/about.html
|
||||
[15] https://calpatersonltd.eo.page/calpaterson
|
||||
[16] https://calpaterson.com/calpaterson.rss
|
||||
[17] https://calpaterson.com/calpaterson.rss
|
||||
[18] https://bsky.app/profile/calpaterson.bsky.social
|
||||
[19] https://fosstodon.org/@calpaterson
|
||||
[20] https://twitter.com/cal_paterson
|
||||
[21] https://github.com/calpaterson/
|
||||
[22] https://www.linkedin.com/in/calpaterson
|
||||
[23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_Clock
|
||||
[24] https://hbr.org/2008/01/the-five-competitive-forces-that-shape-strategy
|
||||
644
static/archive/empr-cl-epss77.txt
Normal file
644
static/archive/empr-cl-epss77.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,644 @@
|
||||
[1] logo [2]
|
||||
|
||||
• [3]about
|
||||
|
||||
• [4]signls
|
||||
□ [5]Overview
|
||||
□ [6]Installation
|
||||
☆ [7]Linux & macOS
|
||||
☆ [8]Windows
|
||||
☆ [9]Build it yourself
|
||||
□ [10]Usage
|
||||
☆ [11]Basic commands
|
||||
☆ [12]Keyboard mapping
|
||||
☆ [13]MIDI
|
||||
□ [14]Workflow
|
||||
☆ [15]User Interface
|
||||
☆ [16]Grid
|
||||
☆ [17]Nodes
|
||||
☆ [18]Signals
|
||||
☆ [19]Parameters
|
||||
☆ [20]Note parameters
|
||||
☆ [21]CC parameters
|
||||
☆ [22]Timing
|
||||
☆ [23]Transposition
|
||||
☆ [24]Randomization
|
||||
☆ [25]Bank
|
||||
□ [26]Nodes reference
|
||||
☆ [27] Bang
|
||||
☆ [28] Euclid
|
||||
☆ [29] Pass
|
||||
☆ [30] Spread
|
||||
☆ [31] Cycle
|
||||
☆ [32] Dice
|
||||
☆ [33] Toll
|
||||
☆ [34] Zone
|
||||
☆ [35] Hole
|
||||
|
||||
• [36]sektron
|
||||
|
||||
Overview
|
||||
|
||||
• [37]source code • [38]report an issue
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
[39]Signls by emprcl
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
Signls (pronounced signals) is a non-linear, generative MIDI sequencer designed
|
||||
for music composition and live performances, all within the terminal. It allows
|
||||
you to create complex, evolving musical patterns using a grid-based approach.
|
||||
You can place nodes on the grid, and these nodes can emit signals, relay them,
|
||||
or trigger MIDI notes. There are 9 different types of nodes to explore, each
|
||||
with its own unique behavior.
|
||||
|
||||
With Signls, you can generate dynamic, generative music, meaning that the
|
||||
patterns evolve and change over time. It's designed to give you a powerful
|
||||
creative tool to build intricate sequences without being stuck in a rigid
|
||||
timeline or structure.
|
||||
|
||||
It takes inspiration from [40]Orca and [41]Nodal.
|
||||
|
||||
Features
|
||||
|
||||
• Non-linear sequencing: unlike traditional sequencers, Signls doesn't force
|
||||
you into a single direction. Your sequences can move and shift in multiple
|
||||
ways, allowing for complex and unique arrangements.
|
||||
• Randomize everything: create evolving musical patterns that shift over
|
||||
time, adding depth and unpredictability to your compositions.
|
||||
• Live performance: designed to be used in real-time, making it a adequate
|
||||
tool for live performances where improvisation is key.
|
||||
• Keyboard first: Signls operates directly from your terminal, giving you
|
||||
control in a simple, lightweight environment, where everything is
|
||||
controllable via keyboard.
|
||||
• Cross-platform: runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows
|
||||
|
||||
Installation
|
||||
|
||||
Signls is available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
|
||||
|
||||
[42]Download the last release for your platform.
|
||||
|
||||
Linux & macOS
|
||||
|
||||
In your terminal:
|
||||
|
||||
# Extract files
|
||||
mkdir -p signls && tar -zxvf signls_VERSION_PLATFORM.tar.gz -C signls
|
||||
cd signls
|
||||
|
||||
# Run signls
|
||||
./signls
|
||||
|
||||
Windows
|
||||
|
||||
We recommend using [43]Windows Terminal with a good monospace font like
|
||||
[44]Iosevka to display Signls correctly on Windows.
|
||||
|
||||
Some specific Windows [45]bugs regarding unicode characters prevent us to
|
||||
display some UI elements (randomization indicator or non-empty bank slot)
|
||||
but it should not degrade the experience that much.
|
||||
|
||||
Unzip the archive and, in the same directory, run:
|
||||
|
||||
.\signls.exe
|
||||
|
||||
Replace ./signls by .\signls.exe for every following commands.
|
||||
|
||||
Build it yourself
|
||||
|
||||
You can also [46]build it yourself if your want to.
|
||||
|
||||
Usage
|
||||
|
||||
Basic commands
|
||||
|
||||
# Run signls
|
||||
./signls
|
||||
|
||||
# Display current version
|
||||
./signls --version
|
||||
|
||||
Hit ? to see all keybindings. esc to quit.
|
||||
|
||||
Keyboard mapping
|
||||
|
||||
Keys mapping is fully customizable. After running signls for the first time, a
|
||||
config.json is created. You can edit all the keys inside it.
|
||||
|
||||
You can select one of the default keyboard layouts available:
|
||||
|
||||
# QWERTY
|
||||
./signls --keyboard qwerty
|
||||
|
||||
# AZERTY
|
||||
./signls --keyboard azerty
|
||||
|
||||
# QWERTY MAC
|
||||
./signls --keyboard qwerty-mac
|
||||
|
||||
# AZERTY MAC
|
||||
./signls --keyboard azerty-mac
|
||||
|
||||
Default keybindings
|
||||
|
||||
For qwerty keyboards, here's the default mapping:
|
||||
|
||||
• space play or stop
|
||||
• tab show bank
|
||||
• 1 ... 9 add nodes
|
||||
• ↑ ↓ ← → move cursor
|
||||
• shift+↑ ↓ ← → multiple selection (or modify alt parameter mode in edit
|
||||
mode)
|
||||
• ctrl+↑ ↓ ← → modify selected node direction (modify parameter or alt
|
||||
parameter value)
|
||||
• . modify selected parameter
|
||||
• backspace remove selected nodes (or grid in bank)
|
||||
• enter edit selected nodes
|
||||
• m toggle selected nodes mute
|
||||
• M mute/unmute all selected nodes
|
||||
• / trigger selected node
|
||||
• - = modify tempo
|
||||
• ' ; modify root note
|
||||
• " : modify scale
|
||||
• ctrl+c x v copy, cut, paste selection
|
||||
• escape exit parameter edit or bank selection
|
||||
• f2 edit midi configuration
|
||||
• f10 fit grid to window
|
||||
• ? show help
|
||||
• ctrl+q quit
|
||||
|
||||
Key binding reference
|
||||
|
||||
• [47]qwerty
|
||||
• [48]qwerty mac
|
||||
• [49]azerty
|
||||
• [50]azerty mac
|
||||
|
||||
MIDI
|
||||
|
||||
Signls doesn't generate sound on its own, but it works seamlessly with MIDI
|
||||
software or hardware. You can connect it to your favorite synthesizers, virtual
|
||||
instruments, or any MIDI-compatible devices for live performances or
|
||||
production.
|
||||
|
||||
On each [51]node, you can configure NoteOn and NoteOff messages, using [52]note
|
||||
parameters. Each node can also send up to 8 CC messages, using [53]CC
|
||||
parameters.
|
||||
|
||||
Press the f2 to open the MIDI configuration menu, where you can adjust three
|
||||
parameters:
|
||||
|
||||
• Clock: enable or disable clock send messages
|
||||
• Transport: enable or disable transport start and stop messages
|
||||
• Device: select the midi output device
|
||||
|
||||
Use ← and → to navigate between the parameters, and modify their values with
|
||||
ctrl+↑ and ctrl+↓.
|
||||
|
||||
On macOS, you might need to [54]enable the IAC driver if you're only using
|
||||
webmidi instruments.
|
||||
|
||||
Some companion apps that receive MIDI for testing Signls:
|
||||
|
||||
• [55]Webmidi synths
|
||||
• [56]Enfer ([57]github) works only on linux
|
||||
• [58]QSynth
|
||||
|
||||
Workflow
|
||||
|
||||
User Interface
|
||||
|
||||
UI 1
|
||||
|
||||
1. Grid: The [59]grid is where you place [60]nodes. Each nodes displays its
|
||||
type and emit/relay directions. Signals are displayed in white.
|
||||
2. Cursor: The cursor is the tool to place, select or edit nodes.
|
||||
3. Selection indicator: Shows the currently selected [61]nodes.
|
||||
4. Mode indicator: Shows the current mode - move, [62]edit or [63]bank.
|
||||
5. Selector position: Shows the current selector position.
|
||||
6. Grid size: Shows the current grid size. Useful to know if the grid is
|
||||
bigger than the current terminal window.
|
||||
7. Tempo: Shows the current [64]tempo in bpm (beats per minute).
|
||||
8. Play status: Shows if the grid is currently playing (▶) or stopped (■).
|
||||
Also shows the number of 1/16 notes since it started to play.
|
||||
9. Root key: Shows the current [65]root key.
|
||||
10. Scale: Shows the current [66]scale.
|
||||
11. Bank: Shows the currently selected grid in the [67]bank, and the name of
|
||||
the bank (which is the bank filename).
|
||||
12. Control zone: Shows either [68]grid informations and parameters (move
|
||||
mode), selected [69]node parameters (edit mode) or [70]bank grid slots (
|
||||
bank mode).
|
||||
|
||||
Grid
|
||||
|
||||
The grid serves as a canvas for your sequencing, where you control the flow of
|
||||
MIDI signals across various [71]nodes. You can start or stop the grid's
|
||||
underlying sequencer by pressing space.
|
||||
|
||||
By default, the size of the grid adapts to your terminal size. If you increase
|
||||
the terminal window, the grid will expand accordingly. However, if you decrease
|
||||
the terminal size, the grid remains unchanged to prevent the accidental loss of
|
||||
nodes outside the visible bounds. You can still scroll through the grid even if
|
||||
the terminal is smaller.
|
||||
|
||||
If you want to force the grid to resize and match the terminal (which may
|
||||
result in some nodes being deleted), you can press f10 to do so manually.
|
||||
|
||||
Nodes
|
||||
|
||||
Nodes can perform three main functions based on their type:
|
||||
|
||||
• they can emit new signals
|
||||
• they can relay incoming signals to up to 4 directions
|
||||
• they can trigger MIDI messages
|
||||
|
||||
To add nodes on the grid, move the cursor using the arrow keys and press keys 1
|
||||
to 9 to choose one of the [72]9 available node types.
|
||||
|
||||
To remove nodes from the grid, move the cursor using the arrow keys and press
|
||||
backspace.
|
||||
|
||||
You can manually trigger a node by using /.
|
||||
|
||||
You can mute nodes to temporarily silence their behavior:
|
||||
|
||||
• Press m to toggle mute on the selected nodes.
|
||||
• Press M to force mute sync across all selected nodes, ensuring they are all
|
||||
muted or unmuted together.
|
||||
|
||||
This is useful for controlling which nodes are active during live performances
|
||||
or while experimenting with different parts of your sequence.
|
||||
|
||||
You can easily manage nodes on the grid by copying, cutting, and pasting them
|
||||
using the usual key bindings:
|
||||
|
||||
• ctrl+C to copy,
|
||||
• ctrl+X to cut
|
||||
• ctrl+V to paste.
|
||||
|
||||
To move nodes in bulk, you can select multiple nodes by holding shift + ↑ ↓ ← →
|
||||
to define a selection area. This makes it easy to reposition or replicate parts
|
||||
of your sequence.
|
||||
|
||||
Signals
|
||||
|
||||
A key feature of each node is the direction in which it emits or relays signals
|
||||
. You can configure up to four directions: up, down, left, and right. To modify
|
||||
a node's directions, move the cursor to the desired node and press Ctrl + ↑ ↓ ←
|
||||
→ to add or remove directions. The way a node uses these directions (one or
|
||||
multiple) depends on its specific behavior.
|
||||
|
||||
directions
|
||||
|
||||
Parameters
|
||||
|
||||
Each node has adjustable parameters that you can edit to modify its behavior.
|
||||
To enter node editing mode, move the cursor to the node you want to modify and
|
||||
press enter. The available parameters will appear in the control bar at the
|
||||
bottom. You can navigate between parameters using ← → key and switch between
|
||||
parameter pages with using ↑ ↓ keys.
|
||||
|
||||
To change a parameter value, press ctrl+↑ to increase or ctrl+↓ to decrease it.
|
||||
|
||||
You can edit a parameter value precisely by pressing the . key. This opens a
|
||||
text input where you can type the value manually. Press enter to confirm the
|
||||
change.
|
||||
|
||||
Each node parameter can have up to four alternative values:
|
||||
|
||||
• Main 1 Ctrl+↑/↓: adjusts the main value
|
||||
• Main 2 Ctrl+←/→: adjusts a second value, often used for randomization
|
||||
• Alt 1 Shift+↑/↓: adjusts a third alternative value
|
||||
• Alt 2 Shift+←/→: adjusts a fourth alternative value
|
||||
|
||||
We will refer to these as Main 1, Main 2, Alt 1, and Alt 2 for simplicity
|
||||
|
||||
Each node (except "The Hole") shares five common MIDI parameters.
|
||||
|
||||
UI 2
|
||||
|
||||
Parameters are displayed in two parts if an alternative value (for example [73]
|
||||
randomization) is set:
|
||||
|
||||
1. the actual value: here F5 for the key or 100 for the velocity
|
||||
2. the alternative value: here +8 for the key or -18 for the velocity
|
||||
|
||||
You can edit multiple nodes at once by selecting them together.The common
|
||||
parameters for all selected nodes will be displayed, and any changes you
|
||||
make will apply to all of them simultaneously.
|
||||
|
||||
Note parameters
|
||||
|
||||
The first parameter page will display the note parameters.
|
||||
|
||||
Key (key): key of the MIDI note
|
||||
|
||||
• Value Range: A1 - G10
|
||||
• Main 1: key value for the note
|
||||
• Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
• Alt 1: unused
|
||||
• Alt 2: note modes (random | silent)
|
||||
|
||||
Velocity (vel): intensity of the MIDI note
|
||||
|
||||
• Value Range: 0 - 127
|
||||
• Main 1: velocity value for the note
|
||||
• Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
• Alt 1: unused
|
||||
• Alt 2: unused
|
||||
|
||||
Length (len): duration of the MIDI note.
|
||||
|
||||
• Value Range: 1/64 - inf
|
||||
• Main 1: length value of the note
|
||||
• Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
• Alt 1: unused
|
||||
• Alt 2: unused
|
||||
|
||||
Channel (cha): MIDI channel
|
||||
|
||||
• Value Range: 1 - 16
|
||||
• Main 1: channel value
|
||||
• Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
• Alt 1: unused
|
||||
• Alt 2: unused
|
||||
|
||||
Probability (prb): the chance of triggering the MIDI note
|
||||
|
||||
• Value Range: 0 - 100
|
||||
• Main 1: probability value
|
||||
• Main 2: unused
|
||||
• Alt 1: unused
|
||||
• Alt 2: unused
|
||||
|
||||
CC parameters
|
||||
|
||||
On the second parameter page, you can configure up to 8 MIDI CC messages which
|
||||
will be sent alongside the note messages.
|
||||
|
||||
CC (cc): the control change message
|
||||
|
||||
• Value Range: 0 - 127
|
||||
• Main 1: cc value
|
||||
• Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
• Alt 1: cc number (only for cc mode)
|
||||
• Alt 2: message mode - disabled, cc, after touch, pitch bend, program change
|
||||
|
||||
Timing
|
||||
|
||||
Each position on the grid represents a 1/16 note. You can adjust the tempo (in
|
||||
beats per minute, or BPM) to control how fast signals move across the grid. To
|
||||
modify the tempo, simply press = to increase the BPM or - to decrease it,
|
||||
allowing you to set the pace of your sequence in real time.
|
||||
|
||||
Transposition
|
||||
|
||||
The MIDI notes assigned to each node are fixed. However, when the root key or
|
||||
scale of the grid is changed, these notes are transposed according to the new
|
||||
root key and scale. This means the original note values are shifted in relation
|
||||
to the grid's updated musical context, allowing you to easily adjust the
|
||||
overall harmony without manually changing the notes on each node. The
|
||||
transposition happens relative to the set root and scale, providing a flexible
|
||||
way to experiment with different keys and tonalities.
|
||||
|
||||
To modify the root key and scale, use:
|
||||
|
||||
• ' ; to decrease and increase the root key
|
||||
• " : to cycle through the available scales
|
||||
|
||||
Available scales include the chromatic scale, the 7 diatonic modes, a few
|
||||
pentatonic scales and a tetratonic scale:
|
||||
|
||||
• chromatic
|
||||
• ionian
|
||||
• dorian
|
||||
• phrygian
|
||||
• lydian
|
||||
• mixolydian
|
||||
• aeolian
|
||||
• locrian
|
||||
• pentatonic major
|
||||
• pentatonic minor
|
||||
• hirajoshi
|
||||
• iwato
|
||||
• tetratonic
|
||||
|
||||
Randomization
|
||||
|
||||
You can apply randomization to most node parameters. When editing
|
||||
randomization, you can specify positive or negative randomization values.
|
||||
|
||||
For example, if you set the velocity to 80+5, the random value will be picked
|
||||
between 80 and 85. If you set the velocity to 80-5, the random value will be
|
||||
picked between 75 and 80. This allows for subtle variations in your sequences,
|
||||
adding a layer of unpredictability while keeping control over the range of
|
||||
changes.
|
||||
|
||||
Randomized node keys will always conform to the current [74]scale.
|
||||
|
||||
Bank
|
||||
|
||||
You manage your projects using a bank. When you start the program, you can
|
||||
provide a bank JSON file, or if none is provided, a default file (default.json)
|
||||
will be created or loaded automatically. Each bank can store up to 32 grids.
|
||||
|
||||
./signls --bank my-grids.json
|
||||
|
||||
The grids are saved automatically whenever you make changes or exit the
|
||||
program, so you never have to worry about losing progress.
|
||||
|
||||
To load a specific grid from the bank, press tab to switch to the bank view,
|
||||
then use the arrow keys to select a grid slot and press enter to load it. This
|
||||
allows you to quickly swap between different configurations during live
|
||||
performances or while working on different projects.
|
||||
|
||||
UI 3
|
||||
|
||||
The ̠character under the grid number indicates that the grid slot is not empty.
|
||||
|
||||
Like nodes, you can copy, cut and paste grids in the bank.
|
||||
|
||||
Nodes reference
|
||||
|
||||
Here is a reference guide for all the node types available in Signls. Each node
|
||||
has common [75]note parameters (except for the Hole) like key, velocity,
|
||||
length, channel, and probability. Some nodes also have extra parameters that
|
||||
give them unique behavior.
|
||||
|
||||
bang Bang
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: emits a signal when the grid starts playing and relays signals
|
||||
on all configured directions
|
||||
• Key binding: 1
|
||||
• Extra Parameters: none
|
||||
|
||||
euclid Euclid
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: emits signals based on the euclidean rhythm algorithm,
|
||||
ensuring an even distribution of steps across the grid. Relays signals on
|
||||
all configured directions
|
||||
• Key binding: 2
|
||||
• Extra Parameters:
|
||||
□ Steps (stp): number of total steps in the pattern
|
||||
☆ Value Range: 1 - 128
|
||||
☆ Main 1: steps value
|
||||
☆ Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
☆ Alt 1: unused
|
||||
☆ Alt 2: unused
|
||||
□ Triggers (trg): number of signals to emit within the total steps
|
||||
☆ Value Range: 1 - 128
|
||||
☆ Main 1: triggers value
|
||||
☆ Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
☆ Alt 1: unused
|
||||
☆ Alt 2: unused
|
||||
□ Offset (off): shifts the start point of the pattern
|
||||
☆ Value Range: 0 - 128
|
||||
☆ Main 1: offset value
|
||||
☆ Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
☆ Alt 1: unused
|
||||
☆ Alt 2: unused
|
||||
|
||||
pass Pass
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: passes signals through without affecting their direction. No
|
||||
direction configuration is possible
|
||||
• Key binding: 3
|
||||
• Extra Parameters: none
|
||||
|
||||
spread Spread
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: relays signals on all configured directions, distributing them
|
||||
evenly
|
||||
• Key binding: 4
|
||||
• Extra Parameters: None
|
||||
|
||||
cycle Cycle
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: relays signals in a clockwise direction, starting from the
|
||||
"up" direction, one at a time
|
||||
• Key binding: 5
|
||||
• Extra Parameters: none
|
||||
|
||||
dice Dice
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: relays signals in a randomly selected direction each time it
|
||||
is triggered
|
||||
• Key binding: 6
|
||||
• Extra Parameters: none
|
||||
|
||||
toll Toll
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: relays signals on all configured directions, but only after
|
||||
being triggered a specific number of times
|
||||
• Key binding: 7
|
||||
• Extra Parameters:
|
||||
□ Threshold (thd): the number of times the node must be triggered before
|
||||
it relays a signal
|
||||
☆ Value Range: 1 - no upper limit
|
||||
☆ Main 1: offset value
|
||||
☆ Main 2: randomization range
|
||||
☆ Alt 1: unused
|
||||
☆ Alt 2: unused
|
||||
|
||||
zone Zone
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: relays signals on all configured directions and immediately
|
||||
propagates the trigger to all neighboring nodes, making it ideal for
|
||||
triggering chords
|
||||
• Key binding: 8
|
||||
• Extra Parameters: none
|
||||
|
||||
hole Hole
|
||||
|
||||
• Description: instantly teleports the signal to a specified location on the
|
||||
grid without triggering any notes
|
||||
• Key binding: 9
|
||||
• Extra Parameters:
|
||||
□ Destination (dest): The coordinate of the destination
|
||||
☆ Value Range: 1 - grid width/height
|
||||
☆ Main 1: y-coordinate value of the destination
|
||||
☆ Main 2: x-coordinate value of the destination
|
||||
☆ Alt 1: randomization range for the y-coordinate
|
||||
☆ Alt 2: randomization range for the y-coordinate
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://empr.cl/
|
||||
[2] javascript:void(0);
|
||||
[3] https://empr.cl/
|
||||
[4] https://empr.cl/signls/
|
||||
[5] https://empr.cl/signls/#overview
|
||||
[6] https://empr.cl/signls/#installation
|
||||
[7] https://empr.cl/signls/#linux-macos
|
||||
[8] https://empr.cl/signls/#windows
|
||||
[9] https://empr.cl/signls/#build-it-yourself
|
||||
[10] https://empr.cl/signls/#usage
|
||||
[11] https://empr.cl/signls/#basic-commands
|
||||
[12] https://empr.cl/signls/#keyboard-mapping
|
||||
[13] https://empr.cl/signls/#midi
|
||||
[14] https://empr.cl/signls/#workflow
|
||||
[15] https://empr.cl/signls/#user-interface
|
||||
[16] https://empr.cl/signls/#grid
|
||||
[17] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes
|
||||
[18] https://empr.cl/signls/#signals
|
||||
[19] https://empr.cl/signls/#parameters
|
||||
[20] https://empr.cl/signls/#note-parameters
|
||||
[21] https://empr.cl/signls/#cc-parameters
|
||||
[22] https://empr.cl/signls/#timing
|
||||
[23] https://empr.cl/signls/#transposition
|
||||
[24] https://empr.cl/signls/#randomization
|
||||
[25] https://empr.cl/signls/#bank
|
||||
[26] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes-reference
|
||||
[27] https://empr.cl/signls/#bang
|
||||
[28] https://empr.cl/signls/#euclid
|
||||
[29] https://empr.cl/signls/#pass
|
||||
[30] https://empr.cl/signls/#spread
|
||||
[31] https://empr.cl/signls/#cycle
|
||||
[32] https://empr.cl/signls/#dice
|
||||
[33] https://empr.cl/signls/#toll
|
||||
[34] https://empr.cl/signls/#zone
|
||||
[35] https://empr.cl/signls/#hole
|
||||
[36] https://empr.cl/sektron/
|
||||
[37] https://github.com/emprcl/signls
|
||||
[38] https://github.com/emprcl/signls/issues/new
|
||||
[39] https://emprcl.itch.io/signls
|
||||
[40] https://100r.co/site/orca.html
|
||||
[41] https://nodalmusic.com/
|
||||
[42] https://emprcl.itch.io/signls
|
||||
[43] https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9n0dx20hk701
|
||||
[44] https://typeof.net/Iosevka/
|
||||
[45] https://github.com/emprcl/signls/issues/5
|
||||
[46] https://github.com/emprcl/signls?tab=readme-ov-file#build-it-yourself
|
||||
[47] https://github.com/emprcl/signls/blob/7d9c8016e99fc9c973f61764fb9801d92eee21db/filesystem/keymap.go#L183
|
||||
[48] https://github.com/emprcl/signls/blob/7d9c8016e99fc9c973f61764fb9801d92eee21db/filesystem/keymap.go#L244
|
||||
[49] https://github.com/emprcl/signls/blob/7d9c8016e99fc9c973f61764fb9801d92eee21db/filesystem/keymap.go#L62
|
||||
[50] https://github.com/emprcl/signls/blob/7d9c8016e99fc9c973f61764fb9801d92eee21db/filesystem/keymap.go#L123
|
||||
[51] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes
|
||||
[52] https://empr.cl/signls/#note-parameters
|
||||
[53] https://empr.cl/signls/#cc-parameters
|
||||
[54] https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8096575?answerId=32319872022&sortBy=rank#32319872022
|
||||
[55] https://synth.playtronica.com/
|
||||
[56] https://neauoire.github.io/Enfer/
|
||||
[57] https://github.com/neauoire/Enfer
|
||||
[58] https://qsynth.sourceforge.io/
|
||||
[59] https://empr.cl/signls/#grid
|
||||
[60] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes
|
||||
[61] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes
|
||||
[62] https://empr.cl/signls/#parameters
|
||||
[63] https://empr.cl/signls/#bank
|
||||
[64] https://empr.cl/signls/#timing
|
||||
[65] https://empr.cl/signls/#transposition
|
||||
[66] https://empr.cl/signls/#transposition
|
||||
[67] https://empr.cl/signls/#bank
|
||||
[68] https://empr.cl/signls/#grid
|
||||
[69] https://empr.cl/signls/#parameters
|
||||
[70] https://empr.cl/signls/#bank
|
||||
[71] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes
|
||||
[72] https://empr.cl/signls/#nodes-reference
|
||||
[73] https://empr.cl/signls/#randomization
|
||||
[74] https://empr.cl/signls/#transposition
|
||||
[75] https://empr.cl/signls/#parameters
|
||||
346
static/archive/freddiedeboer-substack-com-srv3tk.txt
Normal file
346
static/archive/freddiedeboer-substack-com-srv3tk.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,346 @@
|
||||
[1][https]
|
||||
|
||||
[2]Freddie deBoer
|
||||
|
||||
SubscribeSign in
|
||||
|
||||
Share this post
|
||||
|
||||
[8]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
Freddie deBoer
|
||||
Freddie deBoer
|
||||
What I'm Thankful For
|
||||
Copy link
|
||||
Facebook
|
||||
Email
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
More
|
||||
|
||||
What I'm Thankful For
|
||||
|
||||
I do like things, thank you
|
||||
|
||||
[9][https]
|
||||
[10]Freddie deBoer
|
||||
Nov 27, 2024
|
||||
330
|
||||
|
||||
Share this post
|
||||
|
||||
[12]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
Freddie deBoer
|
||||
Freddie deBoer
|
||||
What I'm Thankful For
|
||||
Copy link
|
||||
Facebook
|
||||
Email
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
More
|
||||
[13]
|
||||
48
|
||||
[14]
|
||||
Share
|
||||
[15]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
I’m not too cool to admit that I'm thankful to get to write books
|
||||
|
||||
Obviously, none of these are sponsored or whatever.
|
||||
|
||||
My girl and the little piglet she’s growing and my family and friends.
|
||||
Self-explanatory but essential. I am frequently getting in a mess but I’m
|
||||
helped so often by people who love me.
|
||||
|
||||
Thanksgiving. No commercialism or materialism. No overt religiosity. No stress
|
||||
about getting the right presents. No pressure to find a cool party like with
|
||||
Halloween. The weather of late fall, the natural rhythms of harvest and feast
|
||||
before the winter, the pleasure of a holiday devoted to the concept of being
|
||||
grateful. The football, the family, the food. The after-meal nap. The
|
||||
wonderfully laidback nature of the whole affair. My favorite holiday.
|
||||
|
||||
The New York Times games app. Yes, it’s true. I am that which I mock; I am a
|
||||
bourgie coastal elite stereotype. For I love the NYT games app. It’s a daily
|
||||
delight. My favorite game is Strands, a kind of leveled-up word search, but I
|
||||
like almost all of them. Perhaps a little too much; I have a habit of getting
|
||||
lost in a crossword when I should be doing something else. My wife is into the
|
||||
games too and every day we gab about the puzzles, maybe complain about a dumb
|
||||
Connections category, share how many words we needed for the day’s Wordle. Call
|
||||
me a brownstone liberal, baby, this app is delightful.
|
||||
|
||||
Bonjesta. It’s an anti-nausea pregnancy drug with the essential additional
|
||||
effect of causing sleepiness; pregnancy insomnia is very real. The drug’s
|
||||
safety for a growing fetus has been well established. If you/your partner gets
|
||||
pregnant, just go ahead and ask for a Bonjesta prescription right away.
|
||||
|
||||
Maria Bamford’s Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult. I’ve always read a lot of books
|
||||
related to mental illness, and with work on my next book now fully underway,
|
||||
I’m reading even more. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve legitimately read Girl,
|
||||
Interrupted like ten times. And yet I also find reading people’s first-person
|
||||
experiences of mental illness to be kind of a scary business, destabilizing, a
|
||||
little challenging. Someday I’ll be able to articulate my feelings on the odd
|
||||
sense of possessiveness that many of us have about our disorders - there’s a
|
||||
reason that group therapy so often feels like a competitive sport - but that’s
|
||||
for another day. For now I just want to say that I really enjoyed the standup
|
||||
comedian Maria Bamford’s book Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult. It is indeed very
|
||||
funny, as you’d expect, and it’s insightful about the fundamental absurdities
|
||||
of having a mental illness, how we treat them, and our various neuroses about
|
||||
how our illnesses appear to other people. At times it’s quite raw, as they
|
||||
inevitably say in regards to this kind of book, but Bamford’s tone and
|
||||
self-deprecation ensure that the various intense moments never feel like
|
||||
theatrics. She really takes you inside her very particular struggles with
|
||||
intrusive thoughts and compulsions in a way that demonstrates how serious they
|
||||
can be, even though she’s never serious herself. This is actually a great
|
||||
choice for someone looking to read their first book about mental illness;
|
||||
Bamford is an inviting and effective guide.
|
||||
|
||||
The Link to Windows application. A simple, free, bundled app to connect an
|
||||
(Android) phone to a (Windows) computer, it does everything you might want it
|
||||
to. 80% of the time I’m using it to text without picking up my phone, but file
|
||||
transfer and copy & pasting between devices is handy too. Just a nice little
|
||||
shot of “does just what it’s supposed to.”
|
||||
|
||||
Sheil Kapadia on The Ringer’s football coverage. I had never heard of Kapadia
|
||||
until recently, but I’ve quickly grown to look forward to his appearances on
|
||||
The Ringer’s podcast network and his columns on their website. He’s clearly
|
||||
very knowledgeable, but more importantly he seems like a mensch and is a
|
||||
pleasure to listen to. A lot of people in football media are trying to pull off
|
||||
a charming regular-guyness, but with most of them there’s a fundamental
|
||||
insincerity to the whole thing. Kapadia’s simple friendliness shines through in
|
||||
every appearance.
|
||||
|
||||
Desktop computers. Stay tuned for an essay on this theme. Speaking of which….
|
||||
|
||||
[16]
|
||||
Elgato Stream Deck +
|
||||
|
||||
My Elgato Stream Deck Pro (as a non-streamer). Elgato’s line of Stream Decks
|
||||
are, obviously pitched at people who stream - that is, people who play video
|
||||
games for a public audience on Twitch or YouTube. But as someone who doesn’t
|
||||
stream, I’ve found that the Stream Deck Pro is a very handy and practical
|
||||
addition to my desktop setup all the same. These are, effectively, macro pads,
|
||||
which means that they add extra buttons, knobs, and touchscreens to your
|
||||
interface. Yes, it’s true that there’s nothing that you simply can’t do with a
|
||||
mouse and keyboard that you can do with such a device, but the point here is
|
||||
ease and accessibility. It’s all about setting up macros (key press
|
||||
combinations) and assigning useful functions. For example, I will often put on
|
||||
something to listen to while playing a full-screen computer game, and the
|
||||
Elgato allows me to change the volume of what I’m listening to (or any other
|
||||
source) independently, or to play or pause, without having to click out of the
|
||||
game, which can be ponderous and annoying. It took some doing but I was able to
|
||||
figure out how to control my monitor’s brightness with one of the dials,
|
||||
meaning that I don’t have to reach behind for the little nipple device, press
|
||||
it in, access the appropriate menu, and change it from there. It’s really a
|
||||
cool little device that allows for a lot of convenience.
|
||||
|
||||
ENDON. Only the heavy and the avant garde can save us from total pop hegemony.
|
||||
Nice when you have both in one package.
|
||||
|
||||
Bernie Sanders. Longtime readers will know that, while Bernie is as close as I
|
||||
get to someone in my broad political circle who holds actual influence, I’m not
|
||||
a Bernie Sanders fanboy. I have been critical of him in the past for kowtowing
|
||||
to the Democratic line too often and for failing to really utilize his unique
|
||||
position to carve out a new space in American politics. I have enraged many a
|
||||
lefty by pointing out that the commies who said he would end up as a sheepdog -
|
||||
that is, that when all was said and done, he would act as a force pushing
|
||||
disaffected leftists back towards voting for Democrats - were proven right. (I
|
||||
mean, objectively, that’s the role he’s played, as a kind of whip for
|
||||
Democratic votes from the leftmost flank of the party.) But I still have a
|
||||
great deal of respect for his vision and integrity, and I join the many people
|
||||
who have seen him as the only link to sanity in the contemporary American
|
||||
political experience. He’s in the twilight of his career, and I will miss him.
|
||||
|
||||
Melona ice pops. I use that term, ice pop, with some reservations; there’s
|
||||
nothing icy about a Melona. What’s so amazing about Melona bars is their
|
||||
incredible creaminess, even after a month in the fridge. I don’t go for
|
||||
popsicles at all anymore, thanks to that awful icy texture they almost all
|
||||
suffer from. (The thought of biting into one makes my teeth hurt.) Besides, the
|
||||
sickeningly sweet popsicle taste isn’t what I’m looking for. But Melona bars
|
||||
are remarkably milky and, in the fashion of East Asian treats (they come from
|
||||
South Korea) they are never overbearingly sweet. There’s a ton of good flavors,
|
||||
but you can’t beat the original, melon, though mango, banana, and pistachio
|
||||
come close. These were once hard to find, but now they sell them at Costco.
|
||||
|
||||
[17]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
|
||||
Suavecito. Still the best cat, going on thirteen years old. A galactic pain in
|
||||
the ass, deeply aloof, prone to biting. Biting me, his master! All part of the
|
||||
full Suavi experience. He’s really gotten attached to Ami lately, which I
|
||||
wouldn’t have predicted given his general nature. All in all, A+.
|
||||
|
||||
Psychiatric medication. The prominent position that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has
|
||||
taken in the Trump transition is a symbol of a broader left-right tendency that
|
||||
rejects many aspects of modern medicine. And within that world there’s always
|
||||
been a prominent anti-psychiatry element, one which has been distressingly
|
||||
effective; all kinds of people, often with no particular knowledge of the
|
||||
subject, feel comfortable declaring all psychiatric medications to be poisons.
|
||||
But in fact those medications have saved my life, as they have millions of
|
||||
others. The side effects are terrible, but that just shows that we need better
|
||||
drugs. I am grateful that I have been able to rebuild my life and take part in
|
||||
a (more or less) normal adult existence thanks to the miracles of modern
|
||||
neuropharmacology.
|
||||
|
||||
Substack. I shudder to put this here because there’s still a lot of discourse
|
||||
going on. It’s getting a bit better; I think the Casey Newton-style
|
||||
grandstanding - which, let’s be perfectly clear, has almost nothing to do with
|
||||
Substack and everything to do with a certain kind of person’s weakening grip on
|
||||
written commentary - has less purchase than it used to. But it’s still the case
|
||||
that praising Substack leaves me feeling like I need to define exactly what I
|
||||
do and don’t mean and who I’m not in league with and blah blah blah. I’ve
|
||||
written about that before; I may write about it again. Today I just want to say
|
||||
that I like the CMS and I’m grateful for how seamless the Stripe integration is
|
||||
and I appreciate that this has all enabled me to make my living just as a
|
||||
writer. No matter what the usual suspects say, Substack has dramatically
|
||||
expanded the number of people making money as writers and deepened the
|
||||
engagement of a lot of passionate and talented amateurs, and for that I’m
|
||||
grateful. At some point the “own your turf” people have to recognize that the
|
||||
vast majority just aren’t going to roll their own platforms and services, and
|
||||
to insist that they do is simply to insist that a lot of voices aren’t heard
|
||||
anywhere.
|
||||
|
||||
Empire Records. It’s not so much that Empire Records is a bad movie I love,
|
||||
although I love it and I can’t in good conscience call it a good movie. Rather
|
||||
than calling it a bad movie, I’d say that it’s barely a movie. So much of what
|
||||
movies are supposed to do, on a basic level, are barely performed here. It does
|
||||
broadly wave at some conventional movie types and tropes - this is, more or
|
||||
less, one of those “one crazy night” teen movies, although it includes the
|
||||
preceding night and mostly takes place at night. But nothing is consummated,
|
||||
nothing is followed through with. Characters are introduced roughshod and in
|
||||
bulk. The character played by Coyote Shivers - I have seen this movie several
|
||||
dozen times and I’m not sure I could tell you a single character’s name, other
|
||||
than Warren, whose name is a joke - that character wanders into the movie in a
|
||||
way that’s so indifferent to basic movie sense, it makes you feel like there
|
||||
must be a scene you missed. Liv Tyler’s character is revealed to have a
|
||||
stimulant addiction in one scene, a point referenced in the next, then never
|
||||
referred to again. Just absolutely and completely dropped, for convenience’s
|
||||
sake. Another character announces “I got into art school!” literally in the
|
||||
last five minutes of the movie, despite the concept of him wanting to go to art
|
||||
school never having been established at any point. If you read plot synopses
|
||||
they generally say that the story is about saving Empire Records with one big
|
||||
party, but said party is only introduced with about 20 minutes left and even
|
||||
then is performed in a desultory manner. But that’s OK. This is, obviously, a
|
||||
pure nostalgia play for me, 90s teen that I was, and the whole thing is just a
|
||||
hang, obsessed with music and out for a good time. I adore it.
|
||||
|
||||
CeraVe Acne Control Cleanser. Back acne is simultaneously one of the most
|
||||
trivial side effects of lithium and one of the most aggravating. It’s painful,
|
||||
it’s unsightly, and it bleeds, ruining shirts and sheets. This stuff works for
|
||||
me. It’s a nice little weapon in my own personal war of attrition.
|
||||
|
||||
All of you. It’s cheesy, it’s sappy, it’s corny, but it’s true: my supporters
|
||||
here enable me to live the life I’ve always wanted to live, and I am never less
|
||||
than amazed and utterly grateful that you have decided to read my work and
|
||||
support it financially. Thank you.
|
||||
|
||||
See you all next week. Happy Thanksgiving.
|
||||
|
||||
330
|
||||
|
||||
Share this post
|
||||
|
||||
[19]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
Freddie deBoer
|
||||
Freddie deBoer
|
||||
What I'm Thankful For
|
||||
Copy link
|
||||
Facebook
|
||||
Email
|
||||
Notes
|
||||
More
|
||||
[20]
|
||||
48
|
||||
[21]
|
||||
Share
|
||||
PreviousNext
|
||||
|
||||
48 Comments
|
||||
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
[ ]
|
||||
[ ]
|
||||
[ ]
|
||||
[ ]
|
||||
[25]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
[26]Nick Fabry
|
||||
[27]5d
|
||||
|
||||
Happy Thanksgiving, Freddie - it’s good to see you able to lean back and enjoy
|
||||
it easily - and thank you, as always, for the writing.
|
||||
|
||||
Expand full comment
|
||||
Reply
|
||||
Share
|
||||
[29]
|
||||
[https]
|
||||
[30]Slaw
|
||||
[31]5d
|
||||
|
||||
The best thing about the link app is sending torrents of text to somebody who
|
||||
was just expecting a quick message back.
|
||||
|
||||
Happy Thanksgiving.
|
||||
|
||||
Expand full comment
|
||||
Reply
|
||||
Share
|
||||
[33]3 replies
|
||||
[34]46 more comments...
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|
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|
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|
||||
|
||||
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|
||||
|
||||
Ready for more?
|
||||
|
||||
[49][ ]
|
||||
Subscribe
|
||||
© 2024 Fredrik deBoer
|
||||
[51]Privacy ∙ [52]Terms ∙ [53]Collection notice
|
||||
[54] Start Writing[55]Get the app
|
||||
[56]Substack is the home for great culture
|
||||
|
||||
Share
|
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|
||||
Copy link
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||||
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or unblock scripts
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|
||||
References:
|
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|
||||
[1] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/
|
||||
[2] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/
|
||||
[8] https://substack.com/home/post/p-152102146?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
|
||||
[9] https://substack.com/profile/12666725-freddie-deboer
|
||||
[10] https://substack.com/@freddiedeboer
|
||||
[12] https://substack.com/home/post/p-152102146?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
|
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[13] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-im-thankful-for/comments
|
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[14] javascript:void(0)
|
||||
[15] https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe4e16d1f-0ce8-491c-a6ff-4904e3920a00_2992x2992.jpeg
|
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[16] https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca2e41d1-1209-4f78-af68-96d9220175fc_1500x1500.jpeg
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|
||||
[19] https://substack.com/home/post/p-152102146?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
|
||||
[20] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-im-thankful-for/comments
|
||||
[21] javascript:void(0)
|
||||
[25] https://substack.com/profile/13671752-nick-fabry?utm_source=comment
|
||||
[26] https://substack.com/profile/13671752-nick-fabry?utm_source=substack-feed-item
|
||||
[27] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-im-thankful-for/comment/79080177
|
||||
[29] https://substack.com/profile/38370926-slaw?utm_source=comment
|
||||
[30] https://substack.com/profile/38370926-slaw?utm_source=substack-feed-item
|
||||
[31] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-im-thankful-for/comment/79080900
|
||||
[33] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-im-thankful-for/comment/79080900
|
||||
[34] https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/what-im-thankful-for/comments
|
||||
[51] https://substack.com/privacy
|
||||
[52] https://substack.com/tos
|
||||
[53] https://substack.com/ccpa#personal-data-collected
|
||||
[54] https://substack.com/signup?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_content=footer
|
||||
[55] https://substack.com/app/app-store-redirect?utm_campaign=app-marketing&utm_content=web-footer-button
|
||||
[56] https://substack.com/
|
||||
[58] https://enable-javascript.com/
|
||||
241
static/archive/jan-miksovsky-com-muc8ja.txt
Normal file
241
static/archive/jan-miksovsky-com-muc8ja.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
|
||||
[1]Jan Miksovsky’s Blog • [2]Archive • [3]2024 [4]About • [5]RSS • [6]JSON •
|
||||
[7]Contact [8]
|
||||
|
||||
MomBoard: E-ink display for a parent with amnesia
|
||||
|
||||
November 12, 2024
|
||||
|
||||
E-ink display on a bathroom counter showing birthday messages
|
||||
|
||||
Today marks two years since I first set up an e-ink display in my mom’s
|
||||
apartment to help her live on her own with amnesia. The display has worked
|
||||
extremely well during those two years, so I’m sharing the basic set-up in case
|
||||
others find it useful for similar situations.
|
||||
|
||||
Note: unless you have specific experience caring for someone who has amnesia
|
||||
but not dementia, please do not offer care suggestions.
|
||||
|
||||
The patient
|
||||
|
||||
In June 2022 the side-effects of a long surgery left my mom with permanent
|
||||
anterograde amnesia: she can no longer form new long-term memories. Memory
|
||||
isn’t just one neurological system, so very occasionally she will be able to
|
||||
remember certain types of things. But for the most part, if she hears or sees
|
||||
something, a few minutes later she will no longer remember it.
|
||||
|
||||
To medical professionals her condition looks a lot like dementia — amnesia is a
|
||||
common symptom of dementia — but she doesn’t have dementia. One difference is
|
||||
that (as I understand it) dementia is a progressive disease, while this amnesia
|
||||
is stable. There is no cure.
|
||||
|
||||
Someday I might post about the experience about caring for her, but for now
|
||||
I’ll just say that this type of amnesia is not something one should wish on
|
||||
one’s worst enemies.
|
||||
|
||||
Needs
|
||||
|
||||
My mom still lives on her own in an apartment. Because she cannot remember
|
||||
things, she goes through each day in a state of low-grade anxiety about where
|
||||
her grown children are and whether they are all right. She feels she hasn’t
|
||||
heard from any of us in a long time. This anxiety manifests as extremely
|
||||
frequent attempts to call or text us.
|
||||
|
||||
Paper notes and other forms of reminders didn’t seem to help, and would become
|
||||
out of date even if they weren’t misplaced. My siblings and I would call to let
|
||||
her know we were okay, but five minutes later she’d be back to being worried.
|
||||
She wasn’t in the habit of scrolling back through text messages, so once she’d
|
||||
read a message, it was immediately forgotten and effectively lost.
|
||||
|
||||
I thought some sort of unobtrusive, always-on device installed in her apartment
|
||||
might be able to show her notes written by my siblings and me.
|
||||
|
||||
Design goals
|
||||
|
||||
My goal was to find a display that:
|
||||
|
||||
1. Could stay on for months on end
|
||||
2. Would let my siblings and I easily post short messages to it that would
|
||||
remain visible until replaced
|
||||
3. Was large enough and easy enough to read without glasses
|
||||
4. Required no interaction to wake or read and was relatively foolproof
|
||||
(touching it wouldn’t disrupt it)
|
||||
5. Was resilient to network failures
|
||||
6. Didn’t glow at nighttime
|
||||
7. Didn’t require hardware hackery (I’m a software person)
|
||||
8. Would boot directly into displaying messages (no interaction needed to
|
||||
start an app)
|
||||
9. Was not enshittified with a subscription service or proprietary app store
|
||||
10. Was reasonably affordable
|
||||
11. Would not look out of place in a home
|
||||
|
||||
Device
|
||||
|
||||
Given the above design goals, I searched for a tablet-size electronic ink
|
||||
display with Wi-Fi connectivity and a decent web browser.
|
||||
|
||||
One device that seemed to fit my parameters was the [9]BOOX Note Air2 Series.
|
||||
At the time it cost US$500, which is expensive but is still far cheaper than
|
||||
screens intended for use as commercial retail displays. It’s marketed as a
|
||||
note-taking device and ebook reader, but it also has a capable web browser.
|
||||
It’s big enough to read from a few feet away.
|
||||
|
||||
A critical question I couldn’t answer online was whether I’d be able to have
|
||||
the device automatically start its web browser and have that browser display a
|
||||
designated start page. Happily, when the device arrived I was able to confirm
|
||||
it could do both of those things.
|
||||
|
||||
The physical case of the Note Air2 looks reasonably nice and not particularly
|
||||
tech-y. The e-ink display is clear and legible; it refreshes quickly enough to
|
||||
not be distracting. By default the device’s backlight was turned on but I could
|
||||
turn it off.
|
||||
|
||||
I found a small metal stand to serve an easel for the display so that it felt
|
||||
more like a picture frame.
|
||||
|
||||
Web software
|
||||
|
||||
Since the physical device was satisfactory, the next step was writing a simple
|
||||
website that could drive the display. The site would have two pages:
|
||||
|
||||
1. A Board page showing the messages. The e-ink device would boot into showing
|
||||
this page. This is the only page my mom needed to see.
|
||||
2. A Compose page my siblings and I write messages and save them to be
|
||||
displayed.
|
||||
|
||||
The device needed to run for months, and needed to be resilient in the case of
|
||||
network and service failures. At the same time, I also needed to be able to
|
||||
remotely update not only the messages being displayed, but the software
|
||||
displaying those messages.
|
||||
|
||||
With that in mind, I factored the Board page into an outer frame and an inner
|
||||
page:
|
||||
|
||||
1. The top-level outer frame acts as a thin shell around the inner page. At
|
||||
top of every hour, the outer frame reloads the inner page to pick up
|
||||
potential software changes. If the network is down and the inner page
|
||||
doesn’t reload, the frame just tries again an hour later. To maximize
|
||||
reliability, the outer frame has very little logic and no external
|
||||
dependencies.
|
||||
2. The inner page actually displays the messages. Every 5 minutes it queries a
|
||||
simple web service for message data and displays the messages. The inner
|
||||
page contains a small amount of logic, but as few dependencies as possible.
|
||||
|
||||
Since it’s essentially impossible to debug anything that happens on the device,
|
||||
I made as much use of vanilla HTML and CSS as possible. I used a small amount
|
||||
of JavaScript but no framework or other libraries.
|
||||
|
||||
Compose form for posting a message to the display
|
||||
|
||||
The Compose page presents a simple web form my siblings and I can use to
|
||||
compose and save a message. I designed the form to work well on a phone screen
|
||||
so that we can write messages when we’re out and about. A small web app
|
||||
manifest lets us save the Compose page to a phone’s home screen as an icon for
|
||||
quick access.
|
||||
|
||||
The whole site is tiny, entails no build process, and with the exception of the
|
||||
service (below) is just static files.
|
||||
|
||||
Visual design
|
||||
|
||||
I was concerned about the possibility of e-ink burn-in, so the Board page
|
||||
randomly changes which message appears where. Other visual elements like the
|
||||
date and time alternate from side to side, with the intention that no single
|
||||
pixel is always on.
|
||||
|
||||
To style the note text I chose the free [10]Architect’s Daughter font for a
|
||||
handwritten feel. This font works well on the e-ink display. Labels are
|
||||
displayed in [11]Open Sans.
|
||||
|
||||
One small challenge was maximizing the size of the message text. Sometimes a
|
||||
message is just a word or two; other times it might be several sentences. A
|
||||
single font size can’t accommodate such a wide range of text content. I
|
||||
couldn’t find a pure CSS way to automatically maximize font size so that a text
|
||||
element with word wrapping would display without clipping.
|
||||
|
||||
I ended up writing a small JavaScript function to maximize font size: it makes
|
||||
the text invisible (via CSS visibility: hidden), tries displaying the text at a
|
||||
very large size, and then tries successively smaller font sizes until it finds
|
||||
a size that lets all the text fit. It then makes the text visible again.
|
||||
|
||||
Service
|
||||
|
||||
Just a tiny amount of text data is necessary to drive the display, so I was
|
||||
happy to find the minimalist [12]JsonStorage service that was perfect for this
|
||||
project. A single JSON object stores the text and metadata for the current set
|
||||
of messages. The Compose page can save to the service with a POST request, and
|
||||
the Board page can retrieve the data with a GET.
|
||||
|
||||
The service has a free tier that I started with, but I liked the service so
|
||||
much that I eventually paid for a $1/month basic tier. (It appears that tier is
|
||||
now $5/month.)
|
||||
|
||||
Trial and installation
|
||||
|
||||
I spent a couple of weeks working on the software and letting it run for long
|
||||
periods of time. I was pleasantly surprised that the Boox display worked as
|
||||
well as it did and seemed to stay up indefinitely.
|
||||
|
||||
I brought the display over to my mom’s apartment on November 12, 2022, turned
|
||||
it on, joined it to her Wi-Fi, and rebooted it to confirm everything worked in
|
||||
the new environment.
|
||||
|
||||
I thought the bathroom counter might be a good place for it, but my mom thought
|
||||
she’d rather have it in her bedroom, so we found a home for it on a windowsill.
|
||||
|
||||
My mom was happy with the display right away.
|
||||
|
||||
Retrospective
|
||||
|
||||
Despite her amnesia, my mom came to remember that this display exists and what
|
||||
it’s for. She looks forward to seeing updates from her children on it.
|
||||
|
||||
If we tell her about something that’s coming up, she often asks whether we’ve
|
||||
already put that event on the MomBoard. On the flip side, we have to be careful
|
||||
to keep it up to date; if we fail to take down a message that no longer
|
||||
applies, it confuses her.
|
||||
|
||||
Looking back, the display is essentially the only intervention of any kind
|
||||
we’ve tried that’s actually been successful at improving her quality of life
|
||||
(and ours). One reason it’s worked so well is that it didn’t require her to
|
||||
learn anything new. Without the ability to remember new things, it’s virtually
|
||||
impossible for her to learn a new skill or to form new habits.
|
||||
|
||||
The device’s reliability has surpassed my expectations. There was one period
|
||||
where the device seemed to stop working, but I traced the problem to a faulty
|
||||
Wi-Fi hub; after that was replaced, it’s worked flawlessly since. For my part,
|
||||
keeping the software as simple as possible and sticking to vanilla web
|
||||
technologies surely helped avoid bugs.
|
||||
|
||||
The display still looks great, and it still displays messages day in and day
|
||||
out.
|
||||
|
||||
If you want to try to set up something similar to what I describe here, I’m
|
||||
happy to answer technical questions or share advice.
|
||||
|
||||
Update: I’ve published the [13]MomBoard source code on GitHub.
|
||||
|
||||
[14]Jan Miksovsky’s Blog • [15]Archive • [16]2024 [17]About • [18]RSS • [19]
|
||||
JSON • [20]Contact
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://jan.miksovsky.com/
|
||||
[2] https://jan.miksovsky.com/posts/
|
||||
[3] https://jan.miksovsky.com/posts/2024/
|
||||
[4] https://jan.miksovsky.com/about
|
||||
[5] https://jan.miksovsky.com/rss.xml
|
||||
[6] https://jan.miksovsky.com/feed.json
|
||||
[7] https://jan.miksovsky.com/contact
|
||||
[8] https://jan.miksovsky.com/posts/2024/11-12-momboard
|
||||
[9] https://shop.boox.com/products/noteair2
|
||||
[10] https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Architects+Daughter
|
||||
[11] https://fonts.google.com/specimen/Open+Sans
|
||||
[12] https://www.jsonstorage.net/
|
||||
[13] https://github.com/JanMiksovsky/momboard
|
||||
[14] https://jan.miksovsky.com/
|
||||
[15] https://jan.miksovsky.com/posts/
|
||||
[16] https://jan.miksovsky.com/posts/2024/
|
||||
[17] https://jan.miksovsky.com/about
|
||||
[18] https://jan.miksovsky.com/rss.xml
|
||||
[19] https://jan.miksovsky.com/feed.json
|
||||
[20] https://jan.miksovsky.com/contact
|
||||
96
static/archive/macwright-com-fc93ce.txt
Normal file
96
static/archive/macwright-com-fc93ce.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
|
||||
[1]Tom MacWright
|
||||
|
||||
tom@macwright.com
|
||||
|
||||
[2]Tom MacWright
|
||||
|
||||
• [3]Writing
|
||||
• [4]Reading
|
||||
• [5]Photos
|
||||
• [6]Projects
|
||||
• [7]Drawings
|
||||
• [8]Micro⇠
|
||||
• [9]About
|
||||
|
||||
Is there really a way to push back on the complexity of the web?
|
||||
|
||||
2024-11-16
|
||||
|
||||
I found myself browsing through [10]flamework, a Flickr-style framework
|
||||
developed by some of the developers who developed Flickr, including the
|
||||
legendary [11]Aaron Straup Cope and [12]Cal Henderson, who went on to co-found
|
||||
Slack and presumably make a billion dollars. And I was reading [13]Mu-An’s
|
||||
thing about JavaScript. She is legendary as one of the brains behind GitHub and
|
||||
tasteful and clever uses of HTML, JavaScript, and Web Components. And following
|
||||
along with [14]Alex Russell critiquing Bluesky’s frontend.
|
||||
|
||||
I’ve been overall [15]bad, because I, like you am living through a bad era and
|
||||
throwing yet another take onto the pile is cringe for both of us - [16]who am I
|
||||
to speak, who are you to listen? Anyway:
|
||||
|
||||
• React, on a daily basis, is livable but annoying. The level of complexity
|
||||
is sky-high, even when I spend a lot of energy trying to limit that
|
||||
complexity.
|
||||
• On the other hand, the level of complexity of web applications is pretty
|
||||
high. User expectations are different, I keep saying. Flickr was fantastic,
|
||||
but it was not a realtime-updating website that optimized for the browsing
|
||||
habits of the youth, who spend a half-second on most content. I love
|
||||
GitHub, but there is a reason why people are using Linear more and more:
|
||||
Linear feels like a realtime desktop application while GitHub feels like a
|
||||
website.
|
||||
• I just can’t summon the clarity or oomph required to critique this stuff
|
||||
anymore. Everything is, like, a trickle-down consequence of requirements
|
||||
and culture and history, man! Pointing fingers at some software developer
|
||||
or whatever, is neither all that accurate nor that effective. What’s the
|
||||
point? To make people feel bad? Most people are trapped in their technical
|
||||
decisions by several layers of management anyway. And people already feel
|
||||
bad!
|
||||
• Man, the web platform is not that great. I keep wanting it to be great, but
|
||||
half the time when I think that knowing about some HTML element will save
|
||||
me from having to use a React thingamabob that adds 50kb to my bundle… that
|
||||
HTML element just isn’t it, man! I need to style those select elements, or
|
||||
lazy-load that details element, or implement some implementation-wise
|
||||
horrible but essential-for-the-product scroll or focus or style experience
|
||||
which is just a little too much to implement with just CSS hacks.
|
||||
• Honestly, the parts of GitHub that have moved from Ruby on Rails to React
|
||||
are mostly, in my experience, worse now. GitHub issues might be slightly
|
||||
fancier with a few extra features, but there are noticeable loading
|
||||
flickers and plenty of new bugs, like hovercards that don’t go away.
|
||||
• That said, and I have to keep repeating this, user expectations are
|
||||
changing. People are used to apps, not websites. They are surprised if
|
||||
every view that they see is not realtime-updating. Linear and [17]Pierre
|
||||
see this and [18]are making modern-style alternatives with realtime
|
||||
subscriptions and local-first stuff and heavy client apps.
|
||||
• I don’t think everything should be a React app! I want more things to be
|
||||
like Flickr used to be, and GitHub used to be. But at the same time, I
|
||||
don’t see an obvious way out of the current dynamics. Yelling is popular
|
||||
but the track record isn’t very good. Being quietly annoyed about the web’s
|
||||
descent into complexity, my preferred approach, doesn’t work very well
|
||||
either. A few organizations are bucking the trend - [19]Kagi, for example,
|
||||
has good JavaScript-lite frontends. [20]Reddit has [21]gone web components
|
||||
and it seems like an improvement.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://macwright.com/
|
||||
[2] https://macwright.com/
|
||||
[3] https://macwright.com/writing/
|
||||
[4] https://macwright.com/reading/
|
||||
[5] https://macwright.com/photos/
|
||||
[6] https://macwright.com/projects/
|
||||
[7] https://macwright.com/drawings/
|
||||
[8] https://macwright.com/micro/
|
||||
[9] https://macwright.com/about/
|
||||
[10] https://github.com/exflickr/flamework
|
||||
[11] https://www.aaronstraupcope.com/
|
||||
[12] https://www.iamcal.com/
|
||||
[13] https://muan.co/posts/javascript
|
||||
[14] https://bsky.app/profile/infrequently.org/post/3lay2jro2i22a
|
||||
[15] https://www.are.na/block/23792815
|
||||
[16] https://youtu.be/zpVC2hmejko?si=iZGN0UphiOSU2NUU&t=63
|
||||
[17] https://pierre.co/
|
||||
[18] https://docs.pierre.co/changelog/local-first
|
||||
[19] https://kagi.com/
|
||||
[20] https://www.reddit.com/
|
||||
[21] https://macwright.com/2024/10/19/reddit-is-my-wc-reference-point
|
||||
663
static/archive/openheartproject-com-qgxuup.txt
Normal file
663
static/archive/openheartproject-com-qgxuup.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,663 @@
|
||||
[1] [Heart-Sutra-Free-Talk-Hero-1]
|
||||
[2]XClose menu
|
||||
|
||||
• [3]About
|
||||
• [4]Events
|
||||
• [5]Books
|
||||
• [6]Blog
|
||||
• [7]Lionheart
|
||||
• [8]Contact
|
||||
• [9]My OHP
|
||||
|
||||
[10] The Open Heart Project
|
||||
|
||||
• [11]About
|
||||
• [12]Events
|
||||
• [13]Books
|
||||
• [14]Blog
|
||||
• [15]Lionheart
|
||||
• [16]Contact
|
||||
• [17]My OHP
|
||||
|
||||
Getting Stuff Done By Not Being Mean to Yourself
|
||||
|
||||
August 20, 2010 | [18]38 Comments
|
||||
|
||||
[19]Screen shot 2010-08-20 at 12.50.55 PM
|
||||
|
||||
I’ve spent a lot of time in my life trying to force myself to do things. Really
|
||||
good things. Things that are important to me. Things like meditating,
|
||||
journaling, going to the gym, and so on. I set schedules over and over. (I will
|
||||
rise at 5. Meditate, 530-630. Journal 630-730. Breakfast 8-9, and so on.) I
|
||||
fail way more than I succeed, which makes me really, really upset. I get
|
||||
angrier and angrier at myself, curse my lack of discipline, shame myself for
|
||||
watching Battlestar Galactica (again) instead of writing, delve into my
|
||||
psychology hoping to unearth the seeds of self-sabotage. It spirals out of
|
||||
control until I either give in to lying on the couch or somehow manage to
|
||||
squeeze out a day of discipline according to schedule, whereupon I exhale a
|
||||
half-sigh of relief and immediately begin bullying myself to repeat this
|
||||
tomorrow.
|
||||
|
||||
IT SUCKS.
|
||||
|
||||
Yesterday, I finally realized that this method would never, ever work. I was
|
||||
shocked. But it never, ever has. I’ve been after myself on this score for,
|
||||
what, like ten years? Had it ever worked once in that time, I asked myself. No!
|
||||
I said immediately.
|
||||
|
||||
Now what?
|
||||
|
||||
I knew I had to give up trying to be disciplined in any conventional sense. And
|
||||
since the definition of suffering is trying the same thing over and over
|
||||
expecting a different result, I had to put myself out of my misery.
|
||||
|
||||
Right away, interestingly, fear swept through me. If I’m not vigilant about
|
||||
making myself do stuff, I won’t do anything. And my commitment to meditate is
|
||||
critical on every level. I mean, I’m a meditation teacher who writes books
|
||||
about Buddhism. Shame if I turned out to be a phoney. And every writing book on
|
||||
earth says you must work at the same time every day, or words will never come.
|
||||
“Inspiration is for amateurs,” says painter Chuck Close. “The rest of us just
|
||||
show up and get to work…” I want to be like Chuck! There has to be another path
|
||||
to spiritual and creative discipline…what could it be?
|
||||
|
||||
The answer I came up with? Pleasure. Pleasure! The last thing I usually think
|
||||
of when planning my day. Once I get all my work out of the way, maybe I can do
|
||||
something fun or satisfying or just cuz. I never do stuff just to have fun.
|
||||
Never. I am so not built like that. However…among the most pleasurable things
|
||||
in my life are the things I’m committed to doing: spiritual practice and
|
||||
writing. I love those things! I remembered that they make me happy. Maybe I
|
||||
could just jump into them for their own sake, for the joy of doing them rather
|
||||
than the obligation and it’s possible the whole thing would roll out just fine.
|
||||
Once I remembered that my motivation is rooted in genuine curiosity and that my
|
||||
tasks are in complete alignment with who I am and want to be, my office
|
||||
suddenly seemed like a playground rather than a labor camp.
|
||||
|
||||
So I didn’t schedule myself at all. Instead, I asked myself: what do I feel
|
||||
like doing? What would be fun for me? Write? OK. What is fun about writing? Oh,
|
||||
it’s so cool when it just starts to flow and plus I really enjoy thinking about
|
||||
things like dharma and love and creativity simply for the sake of doing so. So
|
||||
start there. When you’re done, ask yourself what would be fun to do next.
|
||||
|
||||
Which I did. And you know what? I did all the things I yell at myself to do. My
|
||||
day looked pretty much exactly like my days do when I succeed in being
|
||||
“disciplined.” Only this time, it seemed effortless. I had such a light heart.
|
||||
|
||||
So, yes, discipline is critical, just like all the teachers say. And there is
|
||||
definitely stuff that needs doing that is just never going to be fun like
|
||||
paying bills and cleaning the cat box. But I suggest that instead of being
|
||||
disciplined about hating on yourself to get things done, try being disciplined
|
||||
about remaining close to what brings you joy. It takes a lot of courage,
|
||||
actually. See what happens. Let me know.
|
||||
|
||||
categorized in: [20]Uncategorized
|
||||
|
||||
38 Comments
|
||||
|
||||
• [ba8c5] Posted by: [21]Maribeth
|
||||
August 20, 2010 at 6:55 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Susan, you brought tears to my eyes. I struggle with the same thing. I will
|
||||
take your advice and focus my discipline on what brings me joy. Terrifying,
|
||||
but I will surely try! ♥
|
||||
|
||||
[22]Reply
|
||||
• [ea0ca] Posted by: Alane
|
||||
August 20, 2010 at 7:13 pm
|
||||
|
||||
susan, i’ve been struggling with the same thing for the longest time too!
|
||||
since the weather has been so great out here in NJ, this summer i’ve taken
|
||||
the opportunity to follow my heart’s desire & let my routines go. yes, i’ve
|
||||
had fun, i’ve been relaxed but it seems like at a price. i will try &
|
||||
follow your lead to enjoy w/o the baggage of guilt!
|
||||
|
||||
[23]Reply
|
||||
• [f2ed5] Posted by: [24]Betsy Jackson
|
||||
August 20, 2010 at 7:44 pm
|
||||
|
||||
After spending a day being fairly mean to myself; mowing, weeding, anything
|
||||
to keep my ass in gear…”God forbid, I sit this one out and relax under the
|
||||
trees and listen to the hawks and write and enjoy a kid-free/old Dad-free
|
||||
day”…anyway, I have you bookmarked and thought, let me see what Susan’s
|
||||
been up to…bingo! Thanks for being in the world. I love your writing. And
|
||||
your big heart.
|
||||
|
||||
[25]Reply
|
||||
• [7fd06] Posted by: [26]Marianne
|
||||
August 21, 2010 at 5:20 pm
|
||||
|
||||
This is exactly my approach to my yoga practice and it’s the heart of the
|
||||
30 days of yoga (which I often think I should subtitle “A Kinder Approach
|
||||
to a Home Practice of Yoga”)
|
||||
|
||||
So happy for you! I always say “follow your enthusiasm, follow your joy”,
|
||||
and it never fails to lead me to the places where I am of most service. And
|
||||
behold, as a wiser one than me once said, service was joy.
|
||||
|
||||
[27]Reply
|
||||
□ [4173b] Posted by: [28]Ryan
|
||||
May 22, 2023 at 1:16 am
|
||||
|
||||
Marianne, your story is so freakily similar to my own. After struggling
|
||||
with this through my entire 20s and half of my 30s, I finally realized
|
||||
the source of all my angst. I called my problem “Sunday Night Dread”
|
||||
and ended up making a website about it ([29]https://
|
||||
sundaynightdread.com). Anyway, I had to just post and say, “Good for
|
||||
you!”. It’s amazing what we can get done when we’re kind to ourselves.
|
||||
|
||||
[30]Reply
|
||||
• [bacfa] Posted by: [31]Jennifer Louden
|
||||
August 23, 2010 at 7:18 pm
|
||||
|
||||
I know, I know, I am off line for the month and yet, I saw your blog title
|
||||
when I had to go on line to get this fax number for the mortgage company
|
||||
and reading your post was like YES THAT IS WHAT I TELL everybody else. That
|
||||
is exactly the question that brings the MOST relief and breakthroughs at my
|
||||
retreats… and on my own personal retreats… so glad to see I am use you to
|
||||
help me remember to ask myself what I use for everyone else. Self-trust and
|
||||
wanting what you want, baby! Sing it!
|
||||
|
||||
[32]Reply
|
||||
• [32b61] Posted by: Betsy Hanger
|
||||
August 23, 2010 at 10:41 pm
|
||||
|
||||
REMARKABLE. I’ve been working with this a great deal, especially since an
|
||||
epic dream presented to me just how much I beat myself up for not being
|
||||
Exactly Right at all times. I found you by going through a link to Stephen
|
||||
Mitchell….such are the yellowbrick roads we can follow. With much metta!
|
||||
|
||||
[33]Reply
|
||||
• [9a38b] Posted by: [34]Victoria Dzenis
|
||||
August 24, 2010 at 12:39 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Thank you so much for this post! I read it at just the right time — when I
|
||||
was pondering the question, “how can I give myself permission to invite
|
||||
what inspires me?” I am seeing now how it’s not about permission or
|
||||
approval, but just about remembering why I LOVE what I do. Thank you!!!
|
||||
|
||||
[35]Reply
|
||||
• [35baa] Posted by: [36]Brett Dupree
|
||||
August 24, 2010 at 11:24 pm
|
||||
|
||||
That is what I have been working on as well. Working on really enjoying my
|
||||
life and taking pleasure in it. Then acting out of that pleasure of
|
||||
enjoying my life. It is very fun work. 🙂
|
||||
|
||||
[37]Reply
|
||||
• [30256] Posted by: [38]Matthias
|
||||
August 25, 2010 at 12:26 pm
|
||||
|
||||
After years of procrastinating and lack of motivation to do the good things
|
||||
in my life that I want and need to do, I have recently had loads of success
|
||||
with a system of rewards. I have labeled some tasks as little milestones,
|
||||
some as big milestones, and some as complete project. Each time I hit
|
||||
something on this list, I get a reward based on how significant an
|
||||
achievement it is. Completing a project earns me a big reward, completing a
|
||||
little milestone means something smaller. It is working great!
|
||||
|
||||
[39]Reply
|
||||
• [5aecb] Posted by: [40]Sue Mitchell
|
||||
August 25, 2010 at 2:03 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Excellent post! I so relate to the rebellion I feel when I’m doing
|
||||
something because I “should,” even if it’s something I want to do. Focusing
|
||||
on the joy rather than the practical benefits of a task changes the whole
|
||||
feeling of it.
|
||||
|
||||
If even the joy of it won’t motivate me, I like the mind trick of saying,
|
||||
“I’m not actually going to do yoga. I’m just going to get out my mat,” or
|
||||
“I’m just going to write a title and then worry about the rest later.” For
|
||||
me, so much of the trouble comes in just getting started.
|
||||
|
||||
[41]Reply
|
||||
• [438af] Posted by: Jessica Rampton
|
||||
August 25, 2010 at 2:35 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Wow! I have experienced the same phenomena and been near the same insight,
|
||||
thank you for the post . I am also just throwing up my hands, and out my to
|
||||
do list, and just asking myself “what do you WANT to do right now?”
|
||||
|
||||
[42]Reply
|
||||
• [7abfa] Posted by: Rob
|
||||
August 25, 2010 at 8:22 pm
|
||||
|
||||
I kept beating myself up. The yard was a mess, the driveway full of weeds
|
||||
and my cousin was coming for dinner. I’d been looking at the ever growing
|
||||
tide of green circling the house knowing it needed to be done, but just not
|
||||
doing it.
|
||||
Alright, go weed. As i began weeding it became a sort of simple pleasure.
|
||||
Yes, the desire to clean up the yard was still present but watching each
|
||||
green stem come out of the earth became so satisfying. I loved gently
|
||||
pulling and voilà, the root let go of the earth and came away in my hand.
|
||||
2 hours later and the place looked grand, my back was sore but ok and I
|
||||
felt so good. The time was ripe for weeding so I weeded!
|
||||
|
||||
Where has it come from, this self-loathing? Even weirder is it seems to
|
||||
effect friends and family who are the most grounded and truly seeking peace
|
||||
and joy in their lives. Thanks for reminding me I’m not alone and how silly
|
||||
it is to continue raging against meself!
|
||||
|
||||
[43]Reply
|
||||
• [wishl] Posted by: [44]Susan
|
||||
August 26, 2010 at 10:21 am
|
||||
|
||||
Wow, thanks so much to all of you who came out to take a look at all the
|
||||
ways we beat ourselves up for not being productive or perfect or maxing out
|
||||
every second, or however you term it. Rob, your question about where does
|
||||
self-loathing come from is so, so good. Where indeed?! I bet that you and
|
||||
the others who have commented are seen as accomplished and dedicated
|
||||
people.
|
||||
|
||||
And thanks to everyone who made such good suggestions (like Sue’s
|
||||
just-take-the-first-step method and Matthias’ reward structure) because I
|
||||
know they’ll be helpful to others.
|
||||
|
||||
I also feel quite heartened myself to know that I’m not alone in this. In
|
||||
the days since I wrote this post, I’ve been playing with the “work for the
|
||||
joy of it” model rather than “work to prove you’re not a loser” method.
|
||||
I’ve had some ups and downs, but most what I notice is that to stay with
|
||||
the joy method, I have to remain close to my own heart, to what I love. To
|
||||
stay with the “prove you’re not a loser” system, I have to remain close to
|
||||
how I think I might appear in the eyes of others. I forget my own heart.
|
||||
|
||||
So, a mantra to begin the day and repeat throughout: Joy is to be found by
|
||||
remaining seated within myself. From this point, I can reach out to others
|
||||
with genuineness.
|
||||
|
||||
[45]Reply
|
||||
□ [5eba0] Posted by: Francesca
|
||||
August 2, 2023 at 10:50 pm
|
||||
|
||||
I have some observations towards Robs (and all of our) questions of
|
||||
where self-loathing comes from. In the process of raising my tamarind,
|
||||
children, I notice it starts to creep in around the age of 10/11 coming
|
||||
from peers at school, broader family members, any humans who are
|
||||
trapped in the capitalist ‘productivity’ and ‘scarcity’ mindset. It’s
|
||||
so sad to observe, and I also have to hope that the first ten years of
|
||||
pure self-love have sown seeds that will remain forever blooming in
|
||||
them ❤️
|
||||
|
||||
[46]Reply
|
||||
☆ [1198a] Posted by: Geoff
|
||||
November 8, 2023 at 2:28 am
|
||||
|
||||
The problem with me is that when I ask ‘what would bring me joy
|
||||
now?’ the honest answer is to do something useless so I still have
|
||||
to rely on my inner sergeant to persuade me to do something joyful
|
||||
but useful. But he’s a kinder sergeant now, thanks to you.
|
||||
|
||||
[47]Reply
|
||||
• [cd75d] Posted by: [48]Ceci Miller
|
||||
August 27, 2010 at 3:27 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Yes! Self-improvement is only the other side of the self-loathing coin, so
|
||||
it can’t buy us anything better. Weird how we don’t see this, but there it
|
||||
is. Love how you point out that appreciation “works” so much better than
|
||||
criticism. I’ll bet anybody who’s ever gotten a child absorbed in cleaning
|
||||
his/her room by introducing it as a fun sorting game would agree. Joy and
|
||||
genuineness and taking back your time. Now there’s a cool game 🙂
|
||||
|
||||
[49]Reply
|
||||
• [aed93] Posted by: [50]Jessica
|
||||
August 30, 2010 at 7:36 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Hello Susan,
|
||||
|
||||
I just have to say I have had the exact experience with trying to schedule
|
||||
my activities. This year I made a goal to not do that, and instead of the
|
||||
creative flow being squashed, it has flourished. It’s scary to let go of
|
||||
schedules and I still sometimes grasp to them. But when I manage to let go
|
||||
of them, creativity seems to want to take over. Peace to you!
|
||||
|
||||
[51]Reply
|
||||
• [30be4] Posted by: [52]Anna
|
||||
August 31, 2010 at 9:50 pm
|
||||
|
||||
I just love this! I think I find myself writing a new “plan” for my days
|
||||
about, oh, every 2 weeks. I always get really excited it–like yes! this
|
||||
time I have a foolproof plan! Turns out only the fool part of it was right.
|
||||
|
||||
Your post was a definitely a light-bulb moment for me. Enjoying my life?
|
||||
Enjoying a job I worked years to finally get and do really love when I’m
|
||||
not totally bogged down? That might just be crazy enough to work.
|
||||
|
||||
Thanks for this!
|
||||
|
||||
[53]Reply
|
||||
□ [23d58] Posted by: [54]gerry
|
||||
September 25, 2016 at 4:27 am
|
||||
|
||||
Oh Anna those lists and schedules! My notebook is full of them and I
|
||||
never learn. I love writing I’ve been writing for 50+ years but I still
|
||||
act to myself as if it’s something I have to force down my throat and
|
||||
so of course I rebel. Not doing that. You can’t make me.
|
||||
So my love Susan for this post and for all the comments. We are hunan.
|
||||
This is what we do. Aren’t we a funny old lot?
|
||||
|
||||
[55]Reply
|
||||
• [dcaf2] Posted by: Breton Caplan
|
||||
September 2, 2010 at 3:25 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Hi Susan.This posting is so perfect… I’m at Kripalu for a weeklong retreat.
|
||||
Loving every moment and made a commitment as I walked in the door to only
|
||||
do what I want to do and only timed as I feel compelled. Usually I’d plan
|
||||
back to back during a retreat and make sure I don’t miss a thing. I’m
|
||||
blessed with not having that pressure right now. I’m journaling when I want
|
||||
to, sunbathing and reading (I do have SPF) when others are taking walks or
|
||||
doing group activities and I am not missing a thing. I’ve walked past
|
||||
classes and said “My body doesn’t feel like that right now” and respected
|
||||
it. And I’m fitting in a lot of activity…. Primarily time alone in my own
|
||||
head. Grateful.
|
||||
Thank you for the post. And hope you are well.
|
||||
|
||||
[56]Reply
|
||||
• [824c9] Posted by: [57]Edward Mirza
|
||||
September 25, 2016 at 5:10 am
|
||||
|
||||
Hi, I have found, in a way, the opposite to be true, but with a difference.
|
||||
Yes, in the past I would try to make schedules, but get depressed, but when
|
||||
I agreed with a friend to send him a report of my time use at the end of
|
||||
the day, I found the schedule life-changing and liberating. I believe this
|
||||
schedule, however, should be a work of art, and ultimately aimed to be
|
||||
something you enjoy.
|
||||
|
||||
[58]Reply
|
||||
• [eb32f] Posted by: Anne
|
||||
September 25, 2016 at 11:01 am
|
||||
|
||||
I love this post (referenced in a UK newspaper article this weekend). I
|
||||
totally agree. But how does it work for the jobs I loathe and which cause
|
||||
the most angst because they don’t get done ? Eg cleaning the kitchen floor,
|
||||
doing my finances and paperwork, defrosting the freezer – there’s always a
|
||||
reason not to do those and I’ll never WANT to! My hunch is that the answer
|
||||
lies in noticing how I feel if I continue to resist doing them – that
|
||||
sticky, crunchy floor, the continuous background nag of anxiety because I
|
||||
don’t know exactly where I am with my finances, being unable to close the
|
||||
freezer door and having to deal with it immediately – in the end, NOT doing
|
||||
the most-hated jobs causes more stress and unhappiness than getting them
|
||||
out of the way. So it’s mindfulness – noticing when something is bothering
|
||||
me, and happiness will be increased by not avoiding it any longer.
|
||||
|
||||
[59]Reply
|
||||
• [4645b] Posted by: Soneye Saheed
|
||||
July 29, 2020 at 11:32 am
|
||||
|
||||
Thanks Susan for this amazing article.
|
||||
|
||||
I have also been beating myself up for not doing the things I want/need to
|
||||
do (And I still am at the time of writing this).
|
||||
|
||||
It is quite easy to make a decision to do certain things, but once the
|
||||
moment is over, everything goes away with it. Inspiration is so overrated.
|
||||
|
||||
I will take your advice and try to focus more on the joy that comes along
|
||||
with doing the tasks. I will also try to reward myself for completing any
|
||||
of them.
|
||||
|
||||
Thanks once again.
|
||||
|
||||
[60]Reply
|
||||
□ [wishl] Posted by: Susan Piver
|
||||
July 29, 2020 at 1:28 pm
|
||||
|
||||
So glad you found it useful. Wishing you all the luck and skill!!!!
|
||||
|
||||
[61]Reply
|
||||
• [2459c] Posted by: Sha
|
||||
September 7, 2020 at 3:51 am
|
||||
|
||||
i just read this post as a link from a Guardian article sept 2020
|
||||
Really relate to it and tend to live this way!!!
|
||||
|
||||
[62]Reply
|
||||
□ [wishl] Posted by: Susan Piver
|
||||
September 7, 2020 at 3:16 pm
|
||||
|
||||
Go for it!
|
||||
|
||||
[63]Reply
|
||||
• [d058e] Posted by: Fiona Redshaw
|
||||
September 22, 2020 at 7:59 am
|
||||
|
||||
Oh this is so cool! Just read an article that a friend forwarded me
|
||||
recently from the Guardian and there was a mention of you and a link to
|
||||
this post in there 💫. Apart from being super excited to see you mentioned,
|
||||
I loved your post from all those years ago (2010, what?!). What a timely
|
||||
reminder to ease up on my to-do list that still somehow acts as a constant
|
||||
yardstick for my productivity and self worth (or generally lack thereof).
|
||||
This article reminded me why I love you so much! Thanks Susan. Fiona x
|
||||
|
||||
[64]Reply
|
||||
□ [wishl] Posted by: Susan Piver
|
||||
September 28, 2020 at 8:32 am
|
||||
|
||||
Love you too!! Miss you!! xo S
|
||||
|
||||
[65]Reply
|
||||
• [3a459] Posted by: Diana Ruth Nichols
|
||||
May 16, 2021 at 5:39 am
|
||||
|
||||
Same regarding Guardian article, here. Delighted to realize that in
|
||||
retirement and my 74th year, I am happy and relaxed and centered because of
|
||||
this experience of “enjoying happiness”.
|
||||
|
||||
[66]Reply
|
||||
• [5347b] Posted by: Susan Williams
|
||||
June 27, 2022 at 3:52 pm
|
||||
|
||||
OMG!!! You are me!! And I am you!! And my name is Susan too!! Everything
|
||||
you said in this post describes me TO A T!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank
|
||||
you! for sharing. Now I don’t feel so alone. I can stop scolding myself for
|
||||
not “doing” and enjoy the journey.
|
||||
|
||||
[67]Reply
|
||||
• [440cf] Posted by: RationalistFiath
|
||||
May 20, 2023 at 12:02 am
|
||||
|
||||
In a Western led world that has been built on oppression and (fake)wars,
|
||||
it’s not a surprise that it has trickled down to the individuals and how
|
||||
they treat themselves.
|
||||
|
||||
Allah Bless you for snapping out of it and sharing the power of empathy.
|
||||
|
||||
[68]Reply
|
||||
• [eb32f] Posted by: Anne
|
||||
November 8, 2023 at 3:23 am
|
||||
|
||||
I had exactly this epiphany a few months ago. I got so tired and frustrated
|
||||
with my endless failure to keep to schedules or complete tasks that one day
|
||||
– I just gave up. Now, as you say, I just do what I feel like doing. And it
|
||||
all gets done. Even the housework and life admin. Because there’s always a
|
||||
moment when I find I have the energy for the less appealing tasks. Energy
|
||||
that comes from more time spent on what I love.
|
||||
|
||||
[69]Reply
|
||||
• [f058b] Posted by: Barbara Korzeniowska
|
||||
January 14, 2024 at 11:49 am
|
||||
|
||||
I too am a natural procrastinator, but I try to enjoy everything I do –
|
||||
even cleaning the cooker, which is my absolute bete noire. You are so right
|
||||
– things go so much better when you’re having fun. years ago I learnt to
|
||||
love queuing. i would take a book or some embroidery and catch up on one or
|
||||
the other when standing in line. Brilliant
|
||||
|
||||
[70]Reply
|
||||
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||||
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[13] https://openheartproject.com/books/
|
||||
[14] https://openheartproject.com/blog/
|
||||
[15] https://lionheartpress.net/
|
||||
[16] https://openheartproject.com/contact/
|
||||
[17] https://openheartproject.com/ohp-login/
|
||||
[18] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comments
|
||||
[19] https://openheartproject.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-shot-2010-08-20-at-12.50.55-PM1.png
|
||||
[20] https://openheartproject.com/category/uncategorized/
|
||||
[21] http://maribethdoerr.wordpress.com/
|
||||
[22] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411049
|
||||
[23] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411050
|
||||
[24] http://www.scratchingonpaper.blogspot.come/
|
||||
[25] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411051
|
||||
[26] http://marianne-elliott.com/
|
||||
[27] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411052
|
||||
[28] https://sundaynightdread.com/
|
||||
[29] https://sundaynightdread.com/
|
||||
[30] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-679567
|
||||
[31] http://comfortqueen.com/
|
||||
[32] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411053
|
||||
[33] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411054
|
||||
[34] http://www.serenecoaching.com/
|
||||
[35] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411055
|
||||
[36] http://www.joyousexpansion.com/
|
||||
[37] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411056
|
||||
[38] http://thornography2.blogspot.com/
|
||||
[39] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411057
|
||||
[40] http://www.yourbusinessyourself.com/
|
||||
[41] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411058
|
||||
[42] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411059
|
||||
[43] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411060
|
||||
[44] http://www.susanpiver.com/
|
||||
[45] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411061
|
||||
[46] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-682746
|
||||
[47] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-685284
|
||||
[48] http://www.cecibooks.com/
|
||||
[49] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411062
|
||||
[50] http://jkuzmier.com/
|
||||
[51] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411063
|
||||
[52] http://www.curvyyoga.com/
|
||||
[53] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411064
|
||||
[54] http://gerry%20mourne.%20com/
|
||||
[55] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-527449
|
||||
[56] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-411065
|
||||
[57] http://www.edmirza.com/
|
||||
[58] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-527453
|
||||
[59] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-527497
|
||||
[60] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-660589
|
||||
[61] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-660591
|
||||
[62] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-660708
|
||||
[63] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-660718
|
||||
[64] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-660770
|
||||
[65] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-660787
|
||||
[66] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-662863
|
||||
[67] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-669289
|
||||
[68] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-679466
|
||||
[69] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-685292
|
||||
[70] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#comment-688237
|
||||
[71] https://openheartproject.com/getting-stuff-done-by-not-being-mean-to-yourself/#respond
|
||||
[77] https://openheartproject.com/comment-subscriptions/?srp=1712&srk=417bbd74967647ea70e733b5bd05a4de&sra=s&srsrc=f
|
||||
[86] https://openheartproject.com/category/body/
|
||||
[87] https://openheartproject.com/category/compassion/
|
||||
[88] https://openheartproject.com/category/creativity/
|
||||
[89] https://openheartproject.com/category/culture/
|
||||
[90] https://openheartproject.com/category/dharma/
|
||||
[91] https://openheartproject.com/category/fighting-without-aggression/
|
||||
[92] https://openheartproject.com/category/french-translation/
|
||||
[93] https://openheartproject.com/category/meditation/
|
||||
[94] https://openheartproject.com/category/ohps/
|
||||
[95] https://openheartproject.com/category/ohp/
|
||||
[96] https://openheartproject.com/category/podcast/
|
||||
[97] https://openheartproject.com/category/relationships/
|
||||
[98] https://openheartproject.com/category/spanish-translation/
|
||||
[99] https://openheartproject.com/category/start-here-now/
|
||||
[100] https://openheartproject.com/category/teaching/
|
||||
[101] https://openheartproject.com/category/uncategorized/
|
||||
[102] https://openheartproject.com/category/wisdom-of-a-broken-heart/
|
||||
[110] https://openheartproject.com/terms-and-conditions/
|
||||
[112] https://openheartproject.com/contact/
|
||||
[113] https://www.facebook.com/Susan-Piver-175786219136311/
|
||||
[114] https://instagram.com/susan.piver/
|
||||
[115] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXLbV0bVySEBHpMLISIyvhg
|
||||
[116] https://www.pinterest.com/susan_piver/
|
||||
[117] https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/
|
||||
228
static/archive/randsinrepose-com-ddmssa.txt
Normal file
228
static/archive/randsinrepose-com-ddmssa.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,228 @@
|
||||
[1]Rands in Repose
|
||||
|
||||
[2]
|
||||
|
||||
• [3]Archives
|
||||
• [4]About
|
||||
|
||||
• [5]Books
|
||||
• [6]Slack
|
||||
• [7]Speaking
|
||||
• [8]Podcast
|
||||
• [9]Feed
|
||||
|
||||
[10]Rands Seek understanding
|
||||
|
||||
The Cleanse
|
||||
|
||||
I’m in the midst of a media cleanse. This started before the election when I
|
||||
canceled my Washington Post subscription. Jeff Bezos can do whatever he wants
|
||||
with the Washington Post, and he’s 100% correct that I don’t trust large media
|
||||
organizations.
|
||||
|
||||
After the election, I removed all news sources from [11]Feedly except the [12]
|
||||
Atlantic because I find their writing informative and compelling.
|
||||
|
||||
A friend calls this turtling. Pulling your head inside your shell and hiding.
|
||||
It’s quite comfortable here. With most of my free time, I’m leveling a dragon
|
||||
Holy Priest in World of Warcraft. #ama
|
||||
|
||||
Next on the list is Twitter. Since it was sold and turned private, my
|
||||
engagement has been significantly lower, and my follower count has shrunk as
|
||||
the humans have moved off the platform, but quite soon, I’m deleting my
|
||||
account. My finger has been over the DELETE button for a few days, and I’ve
|
||||
wondered why. Two facts: First, there are thousands of folks with whom I share
|
||||
stuff there. I can see they are there via much reduced but real engagement.
|
||||
Second, I have just under 20k tweets since 2007 that, upon review, tell an
|
||||
interesting story… at least to me.
|
||||
|
||||
I’ve downloaded the complete archive, and I’m sad to say I’m about to create a
|
||||
bunch of 404 errors when my corpus of tweets vanishes from Twitter. Why? This
|
||||
is my content, and I don’t want whatever Twitter has become to benefit from its
|
||||
existence. I’ll share the archive here at some point, but for now, I’m
|
||||
cleansing.
|
||||
|
||||
Like FaceBook before it, Twitter turned into something else. They both, early
|
||||
on, felt like a means of connection. Unfortunately, building that social graph
|
||||
allowed these businesses to target you and your engaging, clickable content
|
||||
expertly. What was a means of connection turned into hot, juicy, bite-sized
|
||||
content. Over the past two decades, this practice has made us intellectually
|
||||
lazy because these media services are paid not on the quality but the quantity
|
||||
of service. More clicks, more engagement. Truth and facts. Optional.
|
||||
|
||||
And what was a clever means of connection turned into a raging stream of
|
||||
clickable things.
|
||||
|
||||
So, bye, Twitter. I’m late to the funeral, but better late than never. It was
|
||||
fun before it got terrifying.
|
||||
|
||||
While I am profoundly turtling and have little desire to see a path forward, I
|
||||
have two related observations:
|
||||
|
||||
First, the lack of healthy debate on most social media is one of the core
|
||||
issues with the platform. Humans must disagree, but these platforms do not
|
||||
provide a proper bi-directional medium (or set of tools) for these debates.
|
||||
It’s liking, then not liking, then yelling, then ALL CAPS, and NOW I’M
|
||||
UNFOLLOWING YOU and YES BLOCKING BYE.
|
||||
|
||||
Debate is a tricky act between two humans who can both speak, listen,
|
||||
understand, and possibly evolve. Two humans. Often, there will be more, but
|
||||
let’s keep it simple and assume it’s two. Both humans are required to do this,
|
||||
and in the primarily anonymous world of social media, it’s normal not to
|
||||
consider the other human a human. They are the last thing they wrote that you
|
||||
disagree with. There is no relationship; it’s simply the last thing they
|
||||
posted. And how do you feel about that post.
|
||||
|
||||
The stakes are higher in person. You have to stare at that human in the eye,
|
||||
especially after they say something you don’t like. So, what do you do? You
|
||||
can’t yell, you can’t ignore them, and you certainly can’t block them, so what
|
||||
is your move? Mine: seek understanding. Put on that empathy hat and try to
|
||||
understand why they’re saying what they’re saying. That’s the first step. There
|
||||
are many more — [13]read the book.
|
||||
|
||||
The continual failure to do this in social media results in a growing echo
|
||||
chamber where the humans agree, and those who disagree are quickly voted off
|
||||
the island. Some of these echo chambers are low stakes. Think about your
|
||||
favorite sports team. Those fans are aligned on what’s important. Who needs
|
||||
debate? The only debate we care about is what $OTHER-TEAM we hate the most. Go
|
||||
$OUR-TEAM.
|
||||
|
||||
There are higher-stakes echo chambers, too. Use your imagination here.
|
||||
|
||||
Second, it’s not a short or medium-turn fix to what ails us, but I am curious
|
||||
about investing in local and independent news organizations. Large media
|
||||
organizations have to compete with social. They desperately need those clicks,
|
||||
and that means mimicking the patterns they see in social. The headline must
|
||||
engage in one second or less, or it will be forgotten. It’s an economy of
|
||||
attention, not understanding or truth.
|
||||
|
||||
Local media has taken it on the chin for decades because social media consumes
|
||||
advertising dollars. Local media has withered without that support, with
|
||||
remaining big media sources bending to social media engagement patterns. The
|
||||
idea of investing in local media news organizations is because they report on
|
||||
the events that happen in my neighborhood. This makes them more human to me.
|
||||
They have skin in the game because, like me, they live here. My problems are
|
||||
their problems, which means we have a solid foundation to start to understand.
|
||||
|
||||
How do I go about this investment? Where do I start?
|
||||
|
||||
I don’t know. I’m turtling. For now.
|
||||
|
||||
[14]# November 15, 2024
|
||||
|
||||
See also...
|
||||
|
||||
• [15]Hold Your Breath
|
||||
• [16]“I Am Very Concerned About This Election”
|
||||
• [17]Shields Shirts
|
||||
• [18]The Cello in Soho Square
|
||||
• [19]10 Things I Love & Why
|
||||
|
||||
Next[20]The One About Dapper
|
||||
|
||||
Merch
|
||||
|
||||
[21][svg]
|
||||
|
||||
[22]Rands Schwag: Leadership leading with the letter R.
|
||||
|
||||
[23][svg]
|
||||
|
||||
[24]The Software Developer’s Career Handbook: Chaos is an Opportunity.
|
||||
|
||||
[25][svg]
|
||||
|
||||
[26]Managing Humans: Tales of leadership from the Silicon Valley.
|
||||
|
||||
[27][svg]
|
||||
|
||||
[28]Small Things, Done Well: Practice becoming a better leader. Daily.
|
||||
|
||||
Don't Skip [29]This
|
||||
|
||||
Thank you for scrolling to the bottom. If this is your first visit, I recommend
|
||||
starting by reading [30]don't skip this.
|
||||
|
||||
Categories
|
||||
|
||||
• [31]Apple
|
||||
• [32]Biking
|
||||
• [33]Buzz
|
||||
• [34]Design
|
||||
• [35]Excerpt
|
||||
• [36]Fake Notebook
|
||||
• [37]Hollywood
|
||||
• [38]Management
|
||||
• [39]Media
|
||||
• [40]Photo
|
||||
• [41]Plugs
|
||||
• [42]Rands
|
||||
• [43]Surf
|
||||
• [44]SXSW
|
||||
• [45]Tech Life
|
||||
• [46]The Important Thing
|
||||
• [47]Tools
|
||||
• [48]Vegas
|
||||
• [49]Writing
|
||||
|
||||
The Very Bottom
|
||||
|
||||
I've recently become very interested in performing magic. I did a talk recently
|
||||
in Switzerland where I performed three significant tricks. Magic is teaching me
|
||||
about how to focus an audience's attention. [50]watch this.
|
||||
[51]Copyright © 2002-2024 · Rands in Repose Crafted by [52]Alex King
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://randsinrepose.com/
|
||||
[2] https://randsinrepose.com/
|
||||
[3] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/
|
||||
[4] https://randsinrepose.com/about/
|
||||
[5] https://randsinrepose.com/books/
|
||||
[6] https://randsinrepose.com/welcome-to-rands-leadership-slack/
|
||||
[7] https://randsinrepose.com/speaking/
|
||||
[8] https://randsinrepose.com/the-important-thing/
|
||||
[9] https://randsinrepose.com/feed/
|
||||
[10] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/rands/
|
||||
[11] http://theatlantic.com/
|
||||
[12] http://theatlantic.com/
|
||||
[13] https://amzn.to/40Lk67j
|
||||
[14] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/the-cleanse/
|
||||
[15] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/hold-your-breath/
|
||||
[16] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/i-am-very-concerned-about-this-election/
|
||||
[17] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/shields-shirts/
|
||||
[18] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/the-cello-in-soho-square/
|
||||
[19] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/10-things-i-love-why/
|
||||
[20] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/the-one-about-dapper/
|
||||
[21] https://cottonbureau.com/people/rands
|
||||
[22] https://cottonbureau.com/people/rands
|
||||
[23] https://amzn.to/3LSu0vs
|
||||
[24] https://amzn.to/3LSu0vs
|
||||
[25] https://amzn.to/3z3AiRe
|
||||
[26] https://amzn.to/3z3AiRe
|
||||
[27] https://amzn.to/3eq8ACY
|
||||
[28] https://amzn.to/3eq8ACY
|
||||
[29] https://randsinrepose.com/dont-skip-this/
|
||||
[30] https://randsinrepose.com/dont-skip-this/
|
||||
[31] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/apple/
|
||||
[32] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/biking/
|
||||
[33] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/buzz/
|
||||
[34] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/design/
|
||||
[35] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/excerpt/
|
||||
[36] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/fake-notebook/
|
||||
[37] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/hollywood/
|
||||
[38] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/management/
|
||||
[39] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/media/
|
||||
[40] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/photo/
|
||||
[41] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/plugs/
|
||||
[42] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/rands/
|
||||
[43] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/surf/
|
||||
[44] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/sxsw/
|
||||
[45] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/tech-life/
|
||||
[46] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/the-important-thing/
|
||||
[47] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/tools/
|
||||
[48] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/vegas/
|
||||
[49] https://randsinrepose.com/archives/category/writing/
|
||||
[50] https://www.hulu.com/movie/derek-delgaudios-in-of-itself-19b9d405-40b2-483e-8e1f-e25fe10c7299
|
||||
[51] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
|
||||
[52] http://alexking.org/
|
||||
84
static/archive/taylor-town-hsouvj.txt
Normal file
84
static/archive/taylor-town-hsouvj.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
|
||||
[1]taylor.town [2]about [3]now [4]spam [5]rss
|
||||
|
||||
Stinky Gifts From Your Idea Kitty
|
||||
|
||||
To attract ideas, carry a notebook.
|
||||
|
||||
Suddenly, armed with blank paper, your mind sends details to your attention.
|
||||
|
||||
□ note: eating fiber and/or vinegar before carbs can smooth glucose/
|
||||
fructose spikes
|
||||
□ note: explore the lives/works of Grothendieck and Mochizuki
|
||||
□ note: "Determine value apart from price, progress apart from activity,
|
||||
wealth apart from size." -- Munger
|
||||
□ note: add to reading list: Urban Waterfront Promenades by Macdonald
|
||||
|
||||
[6]90% of those ideas are crap. Your mind became a friendly neighborhood cat,
|
||||
delivering dead animals to your doorstep. Thank you for your kind gifts, kitty
|
||||
-- all these delicate carcasses are so nasty and yet so generous. But your true
|
||||
challenge is that 10% of the time, they're taxidermy squirrels stuffed with
|
||||
sand and sapphires.
|
||||
|
||||
Your mind will never improve at finding good ideas; that cat will always
|
||||
deliver 90% crap. What changes is you. You somehow teach yourself to sort and
|
||||
salvage. You learn to forgive yourself faster, to bury the dead, and to pay
|
||||
proper respect to Nature's harsh whims. You name this new feeling "intuition"
|
||||
and "taste" and sometimes "luck".
|
||||
|
||||
This phenomenon manifested when I [7]started writing regularly. My hunches
|
||||
found a nest. My curiosity grew legs. My mind made miles of piles and infinite
|
||||
files for whatever these mountains of words will one day become.
|
||||
|
||||
□ essay: tactical procrastination
|
||||
□ essay: temporal type theory
|
||||
□ essay: gender penmanship gap?
|
||||
□ project: suitcase shaped like a pencil roll; lies flat with many
|
||||
pockets
|
||||
□ note: explore dungeon synth
|
||||
□ essay: licklider's "olivers"
|
||||
|
||||
After years of isolating myself, I [8]tried a new platform. It's been
|
||||
delightful. I've rekindled old friendships, found new communities, and spread
|
||||
lots of laughter.
|
||||
|
||||
But as soon I created that profile, my cat changed its patterns. More ideas.
|
||||
Smaller ideas. Save this. Share that.
|
||||
|
||||
□ post: writing prompt: in Cool Runnings 2, the Jamaican bobsled team…
|
||||
□ post: is a train a hypoloop?
|
||||
□ essay: John Dewey's cool schools
|
||||
□ post: mosquito net jacket
|
||||
□ post: corporate sabotage: covertly replace the coffee with decaf beans
|
||||
and watch productivity suffer
|
||||
□ post: pic of mom's sad cabbage sandwich
|
||||
□ post: fennel soda
|
||||
□ essay: ethics of anteaters in Zoboomafoo
|
||||
□ post: John Harvey Kellog was a cereal entrepreneur.
|
||||
|
||||
These ideas are still ~90% crap, but my intuition cannot yet appraise its new
|
||||
deliveries.
|
||||
|
||||
My dendrites grow so stiff with age; I'm afraid I'll learn kitty's new tricks
|
||||
too slowly this time. Only fools forget that cats have more lives than we poor
|
||||
mortals.
|
||||
|
||||
I so deeply want all that community -- all that belonging. But I can't afford
|
||||
more change. I'll try to visit as often as my old cat allows. Meanwhile, feel
|
||||
free to [9]write me a letter. I'll be here, wherever this is.
|
||||
|
||||
Before I depart, I'll leave you with a powerful spell: a substrate (e.g.
|
||||
notebook, blog, profile, etc) summons its works (e.g. notes, essays, comments,
|
||||
etc). This is real magic. Try it at home.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://taylor.town/
|
||||
[2] https://taylor.town/about
|
||||
[3] https://taylor.town/now
|
||||
[4] https://newsletter.taylor.town/
|
||||
[5] https://taylor.town/feed.xml
|
||||
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sturgeon%27s_law
|
||||
[7] https://taylor.town/
|
||||
[8] https://bsky.app/profile/taylor.town
|
||||
[9] https://taylor.town/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5ddd0d9d9daf5c1d4ccd9dac79bc1dac2db
|
||||
236
static/archive/theinternet-review-w06lf0.txt
Normal file
236
static/archive/theinternet-review-w06lf0.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,236 @@
|
||||
[1]
|
||||
|
||||
i logo The Internet Review
|
||||
|
||||
• [2] [ic] Articles
|
||||
• [3] [ic] Toolbox
|
||||
• [4] [ic] Forecast
|
||||
• [5] [ic] History
|
||||
|
||||
[icon-e]
|
||||
|
||||
I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got on October 29, 2024
|
||||
|
||||
It’s the “1998” of the AI Revolution. So Why Can I Safely Ignore It?
|
||||
|
||||
Ah, I remember 1998 like it was yesterday.
|
||||
|
||||
Windows 98!
|
||||
|
||||
Bondi Blue iMac!
|
||||
|
||||
The “[6]Cuban Missile Crisis” 😏
|
||||
|
||||
[7]You’ve Got Mail!
|
||||
|
||||
But we’re not here to reminisce. We’re here to consider why the so-called “AI
|
||||
Revolution” of today is not like the Internet Revolution of 26 years ago.
|
||||
|
||||
1998 was a pivotal moment in time for me. It was when I’d gotten my start as a
|
||||
professional Web developer, working on projects for friends and new leads
|
||||
alike. And I was writing quite a bit for new online publications. (Alas, I
|
||||
hadn’t yet [8]rebooted iReview as a BeOS-themed destination.)
|
||||
|
||||
1998 was also right in the middle of the first big Internet boom. AOL was
|
||||
riding high and acquiring companies right and left—including Netscape in a $4.2
|
||||
billion deal. Microsoft had spent a few years pivoting mightily from a primary
|
||||
focus on big box (offline) software to a major consumer play where they hoped
|
||||
to fulfill their vision of “a computer in every home” connected to the nascent
|
||||
World-Wide Web.
|
||||
|
||||
Apple was also just beginning its “Second Coming of Steve Jobs” narrative arc,
|
||||
launching the Internet-flavored Macintosh computer that would save the company
|
||||
and pave the way for the successes of the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
|
||||
|
||||
So here’s the deal.
|
||||
|
||||
I would argue that for most people, in the year 1998, it would have made no
|
||||
sense to stubbornly resist these technological advances. Imagine flat-out
|
||||
saying no to computers and the Internet—to the degree that you never set up an
|
||||
email address. No Web access. Nothing.
|
||||
|
||||
(OK weirdos, enough with that dreamy look in your eyes! Maybe you need to go
|
||||
unplug for the weekend! 🤣)
|
||||
|
||||
Were there people like that back then? Certainly! And even now, there’s no
|
||||
denying the appeal of retro tech. [9]Some folks still love to write on
|
||||
typewriters.
|
||||
|
||||
But on the whole, you could argue that people in the late 1990s who completely
|
||||
shunned personal computing were limiting their options for no clear reason.
|
||||
Accessing a Web site for information instead of dialing an automated telephone
|
||||
line was clearly a superior experience. Talking to a friend via email or
|
||||
instant messaging was clearly more akin to a face-to-face conversation than
|
||||
writing a letter and sending it in the post.
|
||||
|
||||
I remember my very tech-adverse mother becoming completely addicted to online
|
||||
chatrooms in order to discuss…and this is no joke…Gàidhlig with native speakers
|
||||
in Scotland and learners around the world. I even helped her set up [10]a Web
|
||||
site and mailing list called Gàidhlig 4 U — and in case you’re wondering, my
|
||||
Scottish Gaelic persona was Diarmaid Mac GhilleBhàin.
|
||||
|
||||
The reason I’m going into all this detail is because I want to impress to you
|
||||
just how much of a overwhelming shift in culture the Internet was in the late
|
||||
1990s.
|
||||
|
||||
I see none of that same inevitability today with the so-called AI Revolution.
|
||||
|
||||
You can literally just not use it.
|
||||
|
||||
Researchers, please get in touch with me. I can be part of your control group.
|
||||
|
||||
Because I’ve never used ChatGPT. Not once. I hesitated even to access a link a
|
||||
client shared with me with a transcript of their ChatGPT request. AI cooties! 🙅
|
||||
|
||||
I’ve never used GitHub Copilot. Or Cursor. Or any of the other AI “pair
|
||||
programmers” out there. Not once.
|
||||
|
||||
I routinely switch off any AI tools in software I use (if that’s even
|
||||
possible). I never look at “answers” search engines regurgitate out, preferring
|
||||
to get to the genuine human-sourced information as quickly as possible.
|
||||
|
||||
I’m still running macOS Sonoma and iOS 17, because I have zero interest in
|
||||
“Apple Intelligence”.
|
||||
|
||||
I don’t say all of this to revel in my curmudgeonly Luddism. I say it because
|
||||
I’m living proof that you can be a fulfilled, modern, very online, technical
|
||||
expert & creator and completely sit out this hype cycle.
|
||||
|
||||
Seriously. You can just not use any of these generative AI tools.
|
||||
|
||||
A while back, I wrote up an [11]AI Ethical Framework for my software business
|
||||
Whitefusion. It even needs a bit of updating now because I once considered the
|
||||
environmental cost of generative AI to be a bit of a side issue compared to the
|
||||
main ones, but it’s becoming clear it’s actually [12]rather horrendous.
|
||||
|
||||
I’m sad to say I see little evidence that we’re making any progress towards
|
||||
meeting the tenets of the framework. Creators are having to take major steps to
|
||||
protect their work against theft at industrial scale, and regulation is slow or
|
||||
non-existent to ensure models are trained and provided in an ethical manner.
|
||||
|
||||
Until there’s widespread availability of generative AI tooling which meets my
|
||||
criteria, I’m refusing to use any at all. And again, the impact on my life has
|
||||
been…negligible.
|
||||
|
||||
I honestly don’t feel like I’m missing anything at all.
|
||||
|
||||
I’m still coding and making a real impact on the projects I work on.
|
||||
|
||||
I’m still writing. I’m still podcasting.
|
||||
|
||||
I’m still taking photographs and editing them. (with zero “generative fill”!)
|
||||
|
||||
I’m still participating in my local communities. In fact, if I ignore the few
|
||||
conversations I’ve had with folks IRL about what generative AI “will” do and
|
||||
focus on how AI has affected anything I do IRL, the answer is nothing. AI might
|
||||
as well not exist when I consider all of the things I do on a daily basis out
|
||||
in the real world.
|
||||
|
||||
It’s not inevitable. (Sorry Thanos!)
|
||||
|
||||
I’m really unable to explain to you why I would need generative AI to help me
|
||||
with anything I do. Now don’t get me wrong, I definitely appreciate machine
|
||||
learning. Making transcripts, translating text, searching for photos,
|
||||
dictating…these are all truly revolutionary and valuable computing tools. And
|
||||
if you want to put all of them in the broad category of “AI” and call me a
|
||||
hypocrite, you’re welcome to try.
|
||||
|
||||
But I find that there’s a wide conceptual chasm between traditional machine
|
||||
learning tools as described above, and this new crop of generative AI services.
|
||||
And unfortunately, when the lines get blurred, [13]it’s actually pretty
|
||||
terrifying.
|
||||
|
||||
Computers can’t think—and they won’t. Anyone trying to sell you on a vision of
|
||||
AGI, or “powerful intelligence”, or any such nonsense, has truly drunk the
|
||||
kool-aid (or cynically capitalizing on the hype cycle before it bursts).
|
||||
Computers can’t experience the world, because there’s no qualia in the
|
||||
lifecycle of a digital operation. Chatbots are lying to you when “they” wax
|
||||
philosophical about how much they appreciate the beach in the summer or that
|
||||
pickles taste great in a sandwich. I find it nauseating that some people
|
||||
willingly accept this kind of output from a chatbot. When the #1 problem with
|
||||
the Internet today is the rampant spread of misinformation and total bullshit
|
||||
everywhere at dizzying speeds, folks seem fine with using bullshit generators
|
||||
at scale?
|
||||
|
||||
I don’t get it.
|
||||
|
||||
But thankfully, I don’t need to, because I can continue to live my life
|
||||
perfectly fine without using any of these generative AI tools.
|
||||
|
||||
Try it! Once you’ve weaned yourself off of these fake intelligence simulators,
|
||||
you just might realize they never added to your quality of life in the first
|
||||
place.
|
||||
|
||||
(But, alas, you can’t join my control group. 😉)
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
Enjoy Email Newsletters? 📨 Subscribe Now!
|
||||
[14]“Cycles Hyped No More”
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
[15]➜ Ghost is Now Federating, in Private Beta for Now [16]The Web Browser for
|
||||
Those of Discerning Taste: Vivaldi ➜
|
||||
|
||||
Continue Browsing: [17]October 2024
|
||||
|
||||
The Internet R
|
||||
E
|
||||
V
|
||||
I
|
||||
E
|
||||
W
|
||||
|
||||
The Internet Review is the brainchild of [18]Jared White and published by [19]
|
||||
Intuitive Future.
|
||||
Founded in 1996 (really!) and rebooted in 2024.
|
||||
|
||||
[20]Mastodon logo
|
||||
[21]Connect with Us on Mastodon!
|
||||
|
||||
[22]RSS logo [23]Subscribe to Our RSS Feed
|
||||
|
||||
🚫 any damn browser animated GIF 🚫 any damn browser animated GIF 🚫
|
||||
|
||||
Best experienced in…a variety of different browsers because we’re more highly
|
||||
evolved than our 1990s predecessors! 😄
|
||||
|
||||
👉 any damn browser animated GIF 👈
|
||||
|
||||
Human Made
|
||||
|
||||
Proud to be indie, proud to be AI-free, and proud to foster the preservation
|
||||
and continued flourishing of a human-centric, user-first internet.
|
||||
|
||||
All written content Copyright © 1996-2024 Jared White and may be reprinted in
|
||||
full only by express permission.
|
||||
|
||||
🚧 This Web site is under construction. And always will be! 🚧
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://theinternet.review/
|
||||
[2] https://theinternet.review/
|
||||
[3] https://theinternet.review/toolbox/
|
||||
[4] https://theinternet.review/forecast/
|
||||
[5] https://theinternet.review/history/
|
||||
[6] https://slate.com/news-and-politics/1998/09/what-exactly-is-the-cigar-story.html
|
||||
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27ve_Got_Mail
|
||||
[8] https://theinternet.review/archived/1999/06/09/introduction-to-beos/
|
||||
[9] https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2022/07/why-and-how-i-use-a-typewriter/
|
||||
[10] https://web.archive.org/web/20000424001346fw_/http://distantoaks.com/g4u/index.html
|
||||
[11] https://www.whitefusion.studio/ai-ethics
|
||||
[12] https://www.techradar.com/pro/generative-ais-energy-demands-are-accelerating-the-climate-crisis-top-researcher-warns-of-environmental-impact-of-googles-new-search-feature
|
||||
[13] https://apnews.com/article/ai-artificial-intelligence-health-business-90020cdf5fa16c79ca2e5b6c4c9bbb14
|
||||
[14] https://buttondown.email/theinternet
|
||||
[15] https://theinternet.review/2024/10/26/ghost-is-now-federating/
|
||||
[16] https://theinternet.review/2024/11/19/vivaldi-web-browser-for-customization-power-users/
|
||||
[17] https://theinternet.review/archived/october-2024
|
||||
[18] https://jaredwhite.com/
|
||||
[19] https://plus.intuitivefuture.com/
|
||||
[20] https://intuitivefuture.com/@theinternet
|
||||
[21] https://intuitivefuture.com/@theinternet
|
||||
[22] https://theinternet.review/feed.xml
|
||||
[23] https://theinternet.review/feed.xml
|
||||
447
static/archive/www-citationneeded-news-303wkb.txt
Normal file
447
static/archive/www-citationneeded-news-303wkb.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,447 @@
|
||||
[1] [citation needed]
|
||||
a newsletter by Molly White
|
||||
|
||||
• [4]Archive
|
||||
• [5]Recap issues
|
||||
• [6]Podcast feed
|
||||
• [7]Store
|
||||
• [8]About
|
||||
• [9]RSS
|
||||
• [10]Tip jar
|
||||
• [11]Privacy policy
|
||||
|
||||
[13]Sign in [14]Subscribe
|
||||
|
||||
Sidenotes
|
||||
|
||||
[16][ ] Show footnotes
|
||||
[17][ ] Show references
|
||||
[18]( ) [19]( ) [20]( )
|
||||
[21]( ) [22]( ) [23]( )
|
||||
[24]Newsletter
|
||||
|
||||
Wind the clock
|
||||
|
||||
A message to those asking “what do I do now?”
|
||||
|
||||
[25] Molly White
|
||||
|
||||
[26]Molly White
|
||||
|
||||
Nov 8, 2024 — 9 min read
|
||||
Wind the clock
|
||||
audio-thumbnail
|
||||
Wind the clock
|
||||
0:00
|
||||
/962.011429
|
||||
[29][0 ]1×[33][100 ]
|
||||
Listen to a voiceover of this post, [34]subscribe to the feed in your podcast
|
||||
app, or [35]download the recording for later.
|
||||
|
||||
I had allowed myself to hope that American voters would choose the better of
|
||||
the presidential options available to us, and I was wrong. I am disappointed. I
|
||||
am sad. I am afraid.
|
||||
|
||||
But, you see, I was disappointed, sad, and afraid before the election, too. In
|
||||
and outside of the United States, across the political spectrum, governments
|
||||
are and have been failing their people. And it is the people who have been
|
||||
fighting not just to protect themselves, their communities, and the things they
|
||||
love, but also fighting for people they’ve never met, in places they’ve never
|
||||
been, living lives they’ve never lived, facing horrors they’ve never faced.
|
||||
|
||||
No matter how the United States election went, the fights were going to
|
||||
continue. A Harris victory would not solve our problems, domestically or
|
||||
worldwide. Nor would it change the fact that a sizable portion of people in
|
||||
this country are buying what Trump and his allies are selling. The only open
|
||||
questions were who the specific adversaries in the White House would be, who
|
||||
among the fighters would keep fighting, and who would join the fight.
|
||||
|
||||
The first question has been answered. Now the questions are: if you have been
|
||||
fighting already, are you going to continue to fight? If you haven’t been, are
|
||||
you going to begin?
|
||||
|
||||
Three arrows: a black arrow pointing right, a blue arrow pointing up and
|
||||
slightly to the left, and a red arrow pointing more to the leftOnward.
|
||||
|
||||
Maybe you’re sick of people telling you to fight. After all of that organizing,
|
||||
marching, and get-out-the-voting, Trump won the election anyway, so what’s even
|
||||
the point?
|
||||
|
||||
A lot of people feel like they’ve just finished running a marathon only to
|
||||
cross what they thought was the finish line and discover a whole other marathon
|
||||
stretched out in front of them. Oh and guess what, this one’s all uphill. How
|
||||
do you even summon the energy to start running in that scenario?
|
||||
|
||||
Maybe you don’t. If you are able, maybe you sit on the sidelines for a while
|
||||
and rest. Grieve. Be angry. Restore some energy for what lies ahead. Take some
|
||||
time to shore up your defenses, figure out a plan, and keep going. Be grateful
|
||||
it is an option to you, because not everyone has the luxury.
|
||||
|
||||
Or maybe instead of running, you just trudge along for a bit, slowly placing
|
||||
one foot in front of the other. Take just the little steps necessary to keep
|
||||
moving forward.
|
||||
|
||||
Maybe you change how you fight. A lot of people right now are reckoning with
|
||||
failures of their political party, or of the whole political apparatus. But
|
||||
electoral politics — especially only at the national level — are far from the
|
||||
only battleground. The fights we are fighting do not neatly begin and end with
|
||||
election cycles. Donating to your preferred presidential candidate and knocking
|
||||
on doors are all well and good, but maybe it’s time to try something new. Even
|
||||
the smallest acts can be a part of your fight: standing up for your values when
|
||||
faced with something that goes against them, offering a couch to your kid’s
|
||||
trans friend who is struggling at home, offering a meal to the unhoused person
|
||||
you see outside your building every day, stepping in with mutual aid to help
|
||||
the people who have been fighting like hell and can’t otherwise afford to take
|
||||
those breaks we all need to rest and recharge.
|
||||
|
||||
What you don’t do is give up. The outcome of this election has exposed to many
|
||||
the realities we didn’t want to see, of just how many people around us openly
|
||||
embrace hatred and bigotry and authoritarianism. Standing up to that can be
|
||||
scary and even dangerous, but it is also right. Beliefs are the things you
|
||||
stand for even when it’s scary, even when it’s hard, even when there might be
|
||||
consequences. And the less danger you, personally, face for standing up for
|
||||
what you believe, the more obligated you are to do it. To my fellow cisgender
|
||||
white women, this means you. To the cis white men, doubly so.
|
||||
|
||||
Many in this country have been hard at work trying to shift the [36]Overton
|
||||
window, to normalize the unthinkable and to make the sensible seem extreme. You
|
||||
do not have to shift with it. You do not have to accept arguments to moderation
|
||||
when the “moderate” stance is unreasonable.
|
||||
|
||||
You do not have to sit down and shut up as things around us get more and more
|
||||
extreme, as threats to peoples’ rights and lives get even more dire, even as
|
||||
others around you insist everything’s fine and you’re just being dramatic.
|
||||
People will tell me to stop getting political in this newsletter,^[37]a to get
|
||||
back to writing about cryptocurrency and technology like they signed up for, to
|
||||
stop catastrophizing, to “let it go” and accept the “will of the people”. I
|
||||
will not. You needn’t either.
|
||||
|
||||
Many of us have looked back on historic events where people have bravely stood
|
||||
up against powerful adversaries and wondered, “what would I have done?” Now is
|
||||
your chance to find out. It did not just start with this election; it has been
|
||||
that time for a long time. If you’re just realizing it now, get your ass in
|
||||
gear. Make yourself proud.
|
||||
|
||||
Now what?
|
||||
|
||||
First things first, protect yourself. Even if you think the threat of
|
||||
authoritarianism is overblown, take steps to defend against it. If you’re a
|
||||
journalist, maybe read this section twice.
|
||||
|
||||
• Find your communities. Most people have many communities: the friend group
|
||||
you hang out with in real life, your family, your neighbors, your internet
|
||||
friends, your coworkers, your church or synagogue or mosque or other
|
||||
religious community. Strengthen these communities. If you don’t feel like
|
||||
you have much in the way of community, begin forming them: join new social
|
||||
groups, and try to meet likeminded people near you. Introduce yourself to
|
||||
your neighbors.
|
||||
• Join (or start) a union. There’s strength in numbers, and especially if
|
||||
your industry may fall under threat, you’ll want to unionize now and not
|
||||
wait for that threat to materialize.
|
||||
• Consider taking proactive steps to obtain healthcare that could become
|
||||
challenging to obtain in the future, if you are able. For example, if you
|
||||
need to replace or are considering getting an IUD, now might be the time.
|
||||
• Use end-to-end-encrypted messaging apps for your communications. I use [38]
|
||||
Signal heavily, but there are other options. Please know that not all apps
|
||||
that advertise E2EE enable it by default or offer it for group chats
|
||||
(looking at you Telegram), so double check that.
|
||||
• Consider [39]choosing a VPN to help protect your privacy online, and learn
|
||||
about the pros and cons of using them. Learn when, why, and how to use Tor.
|
||||
The EFF has [40]good guides depending on your operating system.
|
||||
• Consider reducing your reliance on centralized social networks controlled
|
||||
by billionaires, and instead [41]establishing a web presence you control.
|
||||
Evaluate the risks when choosing hosting providers, make backups, and make
|
||||
it as easy as possible to switch hosts should the need arise.
|
||||
• Consider no longer using apps that collect and store sensitive data, such
|
||||
as period tracker or fertility apps. Be cautious about location tracking
|
||||
and other tech-enabled surveillance.
|
||||
• Find and support trusted sources of news and information. If you rely
|
||||
heavily on mainstream news outlets owned by billionaires who were first in
|
||||
line to congratulate Trump on his victory, consider diversifying your media
|
||||
diet. [42]ProPublica, [43]404 Media, and [44]Flaming Hydra are a couple of
|
||||
great publications, or the Institute for Nonprofit News has a [45]great
|
||||
directory of many more. Subscribe to and/or financially support independent
|
||||
solo writers like [46]Parker Molloy (The Present Age), [47]Erin Reed, [48]
|
||||
Marisa Kabas (The Handbasket), and [49]Seamus Hughes (Court Watch). Pay for
|
||||
a subscription to your local newspaper. Maybe also subscribe to a non-US
|
||||
paper while you’re at it. Consider supplementing your social feeds with an
|
||||
RSS-powered [50]blogroll.
|
||||
|
||||
How do I fight?
|
||||
|
||||
For anyone feeling like you don’t know what to do, I urge you to think hard
|
||||
about what matters most to you, and look for ways to fight for those things
|
||||
— particularly if you have specific skills that you can put to use. Are you a
|
||||
good writer? Tech savvy? A compelling leader? Good at coming up with new ideas?
|
||||
Find things that play to your strengths. And most importantly, find people who
|
||||
are members of communities under threat and/or experienced organizers doing
|
||||
this work already, and ask them what they need. Help the people around you. Be
|
||||
there for the people you love.
|
||||
|
||||
What matters to me may not be the most important thing to you, and it’s easiest
|
||||
to keep fighting when you’re fighting for something you care deeply about. With
|
||||
that said, here are just a few of the things I care about that might serve as a
|
||||
launching point:
|
||||
|
||||
Press freedom and access to information
|
||||
|
||||
Trump and his allies have issued multitudes of threats against journalists, and
|
||||
anti-media sentiment is reaching a fever pitch across the political spectrum.
|
||||
The United States has already sunk to [51]#55 on the Reporters Without Borders’
|
||||
press freedom tracker — the lowest it has ever been — and will likely only fall
|
||||
further once Trump takes office.
|
||||
|
||||
• Fight back against Trump’s attempts to weaponize the FCC and other
|
||||
government agencies against news organizations, such as by [52]revoking TV
|
||||
stations’ broadcast licenses or accusing publishers of [53]“treason” for
|
||||
factual reporting
|
||||
• Urge your Senators to back the [54]PRESS Act to protect journalists from
|
||||
surveillance and provide journalist-source confidentiality
|
||||
• Push for a federal [55]anti-SLAPP law to replace piecemeal and easily
|
||||
dodged state-level protections for journalists from the kinds of frivolous
|
||||
but financially ruinous defamation lawsuits popular among people like
|
||||
Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
|
||||
• Support groups working on journalist legal defense initiatives, like the
|
||||
[56]Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and [57]others. If you’re
|
||||
a lawyer, consider offering pro bono legal representation.
|
||||
• For the tech savvy: help journalists, writers, and archivists protect
|
||||
themselves and their work. Those who are looking to go independent are
|
||||
often looking for advice or tech help. Consider contributing to open source
|
||||
projects like the [58]Internet Archive.
|
||||
• Support and fight for your local libraries. Get a library card and use it.
|
||||
Volunteer.
|
||||
• Push back at the local level against efforts to ban books in schools, or to
|
||||
remove important topics from school curricula.
|
||||
• Support data activist groups like [59]DDoSecrets.
|
||||
• Support and contribute to open knowledge projects like [60]Wikipedia and
|
||||
those stewarded by the [61]Free Law Project ([62]CourtListener and [63]
|
||||
RECAP among them).
|
||||
|
||||
Migrant rights
|
||||
|
||||
Trump has threatened mass deportations “on day one”, along with an order to end
|
||||
birthright citizenship. Advisers have boasted of “turbocharging” Trump’s
|
||||
denaturalization projects from his previous administration, which sought to
|
||||
strip Americans of their citizenship.
|
||||
|
||||
• Tech workers: refuse to develop software for corporations building
|
||||
surveillance tech for ICE and similar groups.
|
||||
• Find and support your local immigration advocacy group, especially if you
|
||||
have legal or organizing experience, or if you are multilingual.
|
||||
• Support groups like [64]Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD),
|
||||
including through donations or volunteer work.
|
||||
|
||||
Reproductive rights
|
||||
|
||||
Trump’s promise to “leave abortion up to the states” rather than enact a
|
||||
federal ban still poses a grave threat to reproductive rights, if it is even to
|
||||
be believed. [65]Project 2025 outlines plans to restrict access to
|
||||
mifepristone, enforce the Comstock Act to block medical supplies, equipment, or
|
||||
abortion drugs from being sent by mail, and even limit access to
|
||||
contraceptives.
|
||||
|
||||
• [66]Find and support your local abortion funds. They often are in most
|
||||
desperate need of help, compared to national and well-known organizations
|
||||
like Planned Parenthood.
|
||||
• Volunteer with your local reproductive rights advocacy group by helping to
|
||||
organize or becoming a [67]clinic escort.
|
||||
• Consider obtaining emergency contraceptives or [68]abortion pills to have
|
||||
on hand for yourself or others. Plan B and mifepristone have shelf lives of
|
||||
4 and 5 years, respectively.
|
||||
|
||||
Trans rights
|
||||
|
||||
The Trump campaign doubled down on attacks on trans people, even incorporating
|
||||
it into their advertising. Trump has, among other things, vowed to limit access
|
||||
to gender-affirming care and even defund schools that recognize transgender
|
||||
students.
|
||||
|
||||
• Find, support, and volunteer with your local LGBTQ organization.
|
||||
• Contribute to those fundraising for their gender-affirming care, including
|
||||
those who are now urgently trying to accelerate their healthcare plans, who
|
||||
are trying to renew and update their identification, or who are trying to
|
||||
move states. Help out individuals you know, or look for [69]local mutual
|
||||
aid funds.
|
||||
• Become involved at a local level to push back against efforts to block or
|
||||
remove gender-affirming policies from schools, or ban books about queer and
|
||||
trans life (among other topics)
|
||||
• Fiercely support trans people and educate those around you — including
|
||||
Democrats now tempted to blame Harris’s loss on “the trans issue”.
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
Finally: remember to take care of yourselves. There is a long road ahead, but
|
||||
we’re in this together.
|
||||
|
||||
As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate
|
||||
woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate. Hope is the
|
||||
thing that is left to us, in a bad time. I shall get up Sunday morning and
|
||||
wind the clock, as a contribution to order and steadfastness.
|
||||
|
||||
Sailors have an expression about the weather: they say, the weather is a
|
||||
great bluffer. I guess the same is true of our human society — things can
|
||||
look dark, then a break shows in the clouds, and all is changed, sometimes
|
||||
rather suddenly. It is quite obvious that the human race has made a queer
|
||||
mess of life on this planet. But as a people we probably harbor seeds of
|
||||
goodness that have lain for a long time waiting to sprout when the
|
||||
conditions are right. Man’s curiosity, his relentlessness, his
|
||||
inventiveness, his ingenuity have led him into deep trouble. We can only
|
||||
hope that these same traits will enable him to claw his way out.
|
||||
|
||||
Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow
|
||||
is another day.E.B. White (1973)
|
||||
|
||||
Footnotes
|
||||
|
||||
1. It is still a mystery to people how people read this newsletter and think
|
||||
it is anything but political. Crypto is political. Technology is political.
|
||||
Journalism is political. [70]↩
|
||||
|
||||
Social share image is "[71]Repairing the clock inside the clock tower at the
|
||||
Old Post Office in Washington, D.C. ", a photograph by [72]Carol M. Highsmith.
|
||||
Loved this post? Consider [73]signing up for a pay-what-you-want subscription
|
||||
or [74]leaving a tip to support Molly White's work, which is entirely funded by
|
||||
readers like you. You can also check out what’s new in the [75]store!
|
||||
|
||||
Read more
|
||||
|
||||
[76] Video: The Cryptocurrency Industry's Unprecedented Election Spending
|
||||
|
||||
Video: The Cryptocurrency Industry's Unprecedented Election Spending
|
||||
|
||||
Let's talk about where the money came from, where it went, the cryptocurrency
|
||||
industry's political goals, and what’s next.
|
||||
|
||||
Nov 22, 2024
|
||||
[77] A “Department of Government Efficiency” image featuring Donald Trump, Elon
|
||||
Musk, and the dogecoin mascot
|
||||
|
||||
Issue 70 – The Cryptocurrency States of America
|
||||
|
||||
Crypto’s efforts to buy the 2024 elections paid off, and we’re in for a bumpy
|
||||
ride.
|
||||
|
||||
Nov 15, 2024
|
||||
[78] An illustration of a man with the Coinbase logo for a head, holding an
|
||||
eager tiger looking to attack a woman with a shield
|
||||
|
||||
Issue 69 – Nice
|
||||
|
||||
Coinbase threatens me that continuing to report on their activities would be
|
||||
“.... unwise”. Also, election spending hits a fever pitch, with several new
|
||||
crypto PACs coming out of the woodwork.
|
||||
|
||||
Nov 2, 2024
|
||||
[79] A grid of photos titled “Our team”. All of them are Molly, wearing various
|
||||
outfits, sunglasses, and hats.
|
||||
|
||||
I am my own legal department: the promise and peril of “just go independent”
|
||||
|
||||
Independent publishing is one important facet of the media ecosystem, and while
|
||||
I love it, I know it is not the path for everyone.
|
||||
|
||||
Oct 26, 2024
|
||||
|
||||
Citation Needed features critical coverage of the cryptocurrency industry and
|
||||
of issues in the broader technology world.
|
||||
|
||||
It is independently published by Molly White, and entirely supported by readers
|
||||
like you.
|
||||
|
||||
[80]Subscribe
|
||||
|
||||
• [81]Archive
|
||||
• [82]Recap issues
|
||||
• [83]Podcast feed
|
||||
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|
||||
• [85]About
|
||||
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|
||||
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|
||||
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|
||||
|
||||
• [89]Twitter
|
||||
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|
||||
• [91]Bluesky
|
||||
• [92]YouTube
|
||||
• [93]TikTok
|
||||
• [94]Etc.
|
||||
|
||||
© 2024 Molly White.
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://www.citationneeded.news/
|
||||
[4] https://www.citationneeded.news/page/2/
|
||||
[5] https://www.citationneeded.news/tag/weekly-recaps/
|
||||
[6] https://www.citationneeded.news/podcast/
|
||||
[7] https://store.mollywhite.net/
|
||||
[8] https://www.citationneeded.news/about/
|
||||
[9] https://www.citationneeded.news/rss/
|
||||
[10] https://donate.stripe.com/14k8AseTNaqLaZy7ss
|
||||
[11] https://www.citationneeded.news/privacy/
|
||||
[13] https://www.citationneeded.news/wind-the-clock/?ref=wheresyoured.at#/portal/signin
|
||||
[14] https://www.citationneeded.news/signup
|
||||
[24] https://www.citationneeded.news/tag/newsletter/
|
||||
[25] https://www.citationneeded.news/author/molly/
|
||||
[26] https://www.citationneeded.news/author/molly/
|
||||
[34] https://www.citationneeded.news/podcast/
|
||||
[35] https://www.citationneeded.news/content/media/2024/11/2024-11-08-Wind-the-clock-1.mp3
|
||||
[36] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window
|
||||
[37] https://www.citationneeded.news/wind-the-clock/?ref=wheresyoured.at#footnote-1
|
||||
[38] https://signal.org/
|
||||
[39] https://www.wired.com/story/best-vpn/
|
||||
[40] https://ssd.eff.org/module-categories/tool-guides
|
||||
[41] https://www.citationneeded.news/posse/
|
||||
[42] https://www.propublica.org/
|
||||
[43] https://www.404media.co/
|
||||
[44] https://flaminghydra.com/
|
||||
[45] https://findyournews.org/
|
||||
[46] https://www.readtpa.com/
|
||||
[47] https://www.erininthemorning.com/
|
||||
[48] https://www.thehandbasket.co/
|
||||
[49] https://www.courtwatch.news/
|
||||
[50] https://www.mollywhite.net/blogroll/
|
||||
[51] https://rsf.org/en/usa-rsf-urges-both-presidential-campaigns-commit-strengthening-press-freedom
|
||||
[52] https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/22/media/trump-strip-tv-station-licenses-punish-media/index.html
|
||||
[53] https://thehill.com/homenews/4222082-trump-blasted-threats-against-comcast-nbc/
|
||||
[54] https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=3026
|
||||
[55] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation
|
||||
[56] https://www.rcfp.org/
|
||||
[57] https://onlineharassmentfieldmanual.pen.org/legal-resources-for-writers-and-journalists/
|
||||
[58] https://archive.org/about/volunteerpositions.php
|
||||
[59] https://ddosecrets.com/
|
||||
[60] https://www.citationneeded.news/become-a-wikipedian-in-30-minutes/
|
||||
[61] https://free.law/
|
||||
[62] https://www.courtlistener.com/
|
||||
[63] https://free.law/recap
|
||||
[64] https://www.organizedcommunities.org/get-involved
|
||||
[65] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
|
||||
[66] https://abortionfunds.org/find-a-fund/
|
||||
[67] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clinic_escort
|
||||
[68] https://www.plancpills.org/
|
||||
[69] https://www.folxhealth.com/library/mutual-aid-funds
|
||||
[70] https://www.citationneeded.news/wind-the-clock/?ref=wheresyoured.at#footnote-anchor-1
|
||||
[71] https://www.loc.gov/resource/highsm.17684/?r=0.133,-0.171,0.772,0.655,0
|
||||
[72] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_M._Highsmith
|
||||
[73] https://www.citationneeded.news/signup
|
||||
[74] https://donate.stripe.com/14k8AseTNaqLaZy7ss
|
||||
[75] https://store.mollywhite.net/
|
||||
[76] https://www.citationneeded.news/video-the-cryptocurrency-industrys-unprecedented-election-spending/
|
||||
[77] https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-70/
|
||||
[78] https://www.citationneeded.news/issue-69/
|
||||
[79] https://www.citationneeded.news/i-am-my-own-legal-department/
|
||||
[80] https://www.citationneeded.news/signup
|
||||
[81] https://www.citationneeded.news/page/2/
|
||||
[82] https://www.citationneeded.news/tag/weekly-recaps/
|
||||
[83] https://www.citationneeded.news/podcast/
|
||||
[84] https://store.mollywhite.net/
|
||||
[85] https://www.citationneeded.news/about/
|
||||
[86] https://www.citationneeded.news/rss/
|
||||
[87] https://donate.stripe.com/14k8AseTNaqLaZy7ss
|
||||
[88] https://www.citationneeded.news/privacy/
|
||||
[89] https://twitter.com/molly0xFFF/
|
||||
[90] https://hachyderm.io/@molly0xfff
|
||||
[91] https://bsky.app/profile/molly.wiki
|
||||
[92] https://www.youtube.com/@molly0xfff
|
||||
[93] https://www.tiktok.com/@molly0xfff
|
||||
[94] https://www.mollywhite.net/
|
||||
241
static/archive/www-datagubbe-se-og9kur.txt
Normal file
241
static/archive/www-datagubbe-se-og9kur.txt
Normal file
@@ -0,0 +1,241 @@
|
||||
{ datagubbe }
|
||||
|
||||
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
|
||||
|
||||
[1]datagubbe.se » on working with your passion
|
||||
|
||||
On Working With Your Passion
|
||||
|
||||
Autumn 2024
|
||||
|
||||
Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the
|
||||
days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and
|
||||
you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall
|
||||
eat bread, till you return to the ground.
|
||||
|
||||
Genesis 3:17-19
|
||||
|
||||
I recently read an old blog post by Eric Wastl (of [2]Advent of Code fame)
|
||||
entitled [3]Your Job Is Not to Write Code. The gist of it is that software
|
||||
development is, actually, a lot about writing code. Wastl's text is, I dare
|
||||
say, uncontroversial - including its final sentence and sentiment: "(...) Your
|
||||
job is to engineer things, and to love every second of it."
|
||||
|
||||
Is it, though?
|
||||
|
||||
As a software developer, I agree that my job is to write software that is as
|
||||
good as humanly possible given the circumstances under which it was produced.
|
||||
I'd argue, however, that it is not my duty to love every second of it.
|
||||
|
||||
Let it be noted that I'm not trying to pick a belated fight with Wastl here:
|
||||
his text is fairly lighthearted and it seems fitting for it to end on an upbeat
|
||||
note. Add to this that the sentiment that software developers should love their
|
||||
jobs, or work with their passion, is extremely commonplace. I come across it so
|
||||
often it almost seems like a mantra, or perhaps rather a platitude repeated
|
||||
without much thought.
|
||||
|
||||
This begs the question: Why is that?
|
||||
|
||||
***
|
||||
|
||||
There are good and bad jobs, and there are many various factors affecting this.
|
||||
Examples like colleagues, managers, salaries, working environments, tasks,
|
||||
workplace hazards and personal proclivities immediately spring to mind. I'd
|
||||
probably make for an abysmal a dentist, for example, but I'd like to think I'd
|
||||
make a decent farmer. Liking and enjoying most aspects of a job, however, is
|
||||
not the same as loving every second of it, or being passionate about it.
|
||||
|
||||
A wise person once defined a passion as something you'd do even if you didn't
|
||||
get paid for it. In that sense, I'm passionate about a lot of things -
|
||||
including computers and programming. But my passion isn't perfectly aligned
|
||||
with what I do at work: there are many different kinds of programming. The same
|
||||
goes for a lot of other activities. Being passionate about food doesn't mean
|
||||
you'll love every second of being a line cook at an all-you-can-eat cruise
|
||||
liner buffet. Being passionate about cars doesn't mean you'll love every second
|
||||
of working on the assembly line at Tesla. And, of course, being passionate
|
||||
about programming doesn't mean you'll love every second of churning out yet
|
||||
another REST API.
|
||||
|
||||
Conversely, this doesn't mean you should do a bad job. It also doesn't mean
|
||||
that not loving a job automatically means you hate it. Passion shouldn't be
|
||||
confused with things like personal growth, pride, satisfaction and enjoyment:
|
||||
the more of this you feel at work, the better. It's just that there's often a
|
||||
gap between something you'd do for free and something you're paid to do,
|
||||
regardless of your working conditions.
|
||||
|
||||
Even when actually working with something that is your passion, can it really
|
||||
stay that way for long? I love [4]tinkering with my [5]Amiga. I'm not paid a
|
||||
single cent for it - I do it when I feel like it (which is rather often), on my
|
||||
own terms. There's no pressure, no demands and no deadlines other than those I,
|
||||
and nobody else, decide. Would that really feel the same if I, say, did it in
|
||||
front of an audience on Youtube - an audience on which my livelihood depended?
|
||||
How often would I have to think of some new project, and how much would I have
|
||||
to adapt that project to suit the tastes of those effectively financing my
|
||||
mortgage? As far as jobs go, I'm sure it could be better than most - but I
|
||||
doubt it would really be my passion and, more importantly, I firmly believe it
|
||||
would risk poisoning the well that's presently the source of much creative joy.
|
||||
|
||||
I'm sure there are people who have successfully managed to turn their passion
|
||||
into a job they love every second of - though I think they're fewer than we
|
||||
care to admit. I'm also sure there are people who are perfectly happy
|
||||
performing some menial job as nothing more than a means to finance a
|
||||
commercially unviable passion - probably many more than the first category. In
|
||||
this context, though, this is an aside - it's the passion trope itself that
|
||||
interests me.
|
||||
|
||||
***
|
||||
|
||||
Where does this notion of professional love, or passion, come from? It's
|
||||
commonplace in some lines of work, whereas others are refreshingly exempt from
|
||||
it. Nobody expects a vacuum truck operator to go around exclaiming things like
|
||||
"Pumping sewage is my passion!" That doesn't mean their work isn't important
|
||||
(Quite the contrary!) or that they can't - or shouldn't - feel pride or job
|
||||
satisfaction, or earn a decent living wage.
|
||||
|
||||
It seems to me as if this talk of passion has increased in strength and
|
||||
prevalence along with the shift towards a service economy - yet, not everyone
|
||||
employed in the service sector are expected to be passionate about their jobs.
|
||||
Sure, many Foodora and Doordash delivery workers have probably, at some point,
|
||||
been subjected to some trite motivational speech along those lines, but in
|
||||
reality - just as with the vacuum truck operator - nobody expects them to
|
||||
really feel that way.
|
||||
|
||||
Hence, in what's considered the lower rungs of the service economy,
|
||||
professional passion is nothing more than an empty phrase. However, as we climb
|
||||
the ladder of status, prestige and - sometimes - salary, this phrase becomes
|
||||
more loaded with intent and ostensible sincerity.
|
||||
|
||||
One reason for this could be the type of jobs that have proliferated during the
|
||||
last few decades. By channeling [6]David Graeber and [7]Peter Turchin, our
|
||||
current situation can be summarized as one where jobs with immediate meaning -
|
||||
manufacturing, farming - have, to a large extent, been replaced with highly
|
||||
abstract (and often seemingly superfluous) make-work jobs. Coupled with
|
||||
downward mobility and cutthroat competition within the middle class, we seek
|
||||
rationalization to help us reconcile with a reality not quite matching our
|
||||
expectations.
|
||||
|
||||
Maybe churning out clickbait headlines about celebrities (and perhaps barely
|
||||
earning a living wage doing so) wasn't the desired outcome after spending lots
|
||||
of time and money on a journalism degree. Maybe polishing off yet another
|
||||
corporate powerpoint about DEI policy wasn't, in your heart of hearts, what you
|
||||
envisioned when enrolling in university. Maybe your friends earn more money
|
||||
than you, or seem more professionally fulfilled, or at least have a job that
|
||||
comes with more prestige. Maybe you've come to feel that "education is the
|
||||
silver bullet" was a lie you were told when you were young and impressionable.
|
||||
And maybe, just maybe, lies along that line beget other lies.
|
||||
|
||||
Passion can be one such convenient little lie we tell both ourselves and
|
||||
others, making us appear a bit more accomplished and our lives feel a little
|
||||
more acceptable. When trying to invent meaning, or even explain why we've
|
||||
settled for something not matching how we envision ourselves, few things are
|
||||
more powerful than a deeply held personal affection for our work.
|
||||
|
||||
***
|
||||
|
||||
How does programming fit into this? Even though the tech sector has taken quite
|
||||
a beating of late, programming jobs are still associated with status,
|
||||
prestigious traits (such as intelligence) and, of course, money - even
|
||||
relatively modest developer salaries are usually enough for a comfortable
|
||||
middle class lifestyle. While the process of writing code may involve dealing
|
||||
with abstract concepts, the rewards and results of the work are more concrete,
|
||||
comparable to any other craft: tangible (sort of) consumable goods. I also
|
||||
believe that most programmers, like me, quite like their jobs. As far as work
|
||||
goes, it's pretty cushy: I get to sit on my butt in a comfy chair in a climate
|
||||
controlled office, I have a good work/life balance, I like my colleagues and,
|
||||
from time to time, I get that elated feeling of having solved a hard problem or
|
||||
helped someone else solve theirs.
|
||||
|
||||
That, one could argue, should be enough for job satisfaction - and for a lot of
|
||||
programmers, I'm sure it is. But life is full of status games, unfulfilled
|
||||
ambition and dreams that may never fully come true.
|
||||
|
||||
Just like a journalism major may dream of truthful reporting, exposing great
|
||||
scandals and scrutinizing corrupted power, so may a programmer dream of being a
|
||||
scientist of sorts. Not just because the associated educational path is called
|
||||
Computer Science, but because of the still relatively young lore of the
|
||||
profession. Not that long ago, computers where extremely scarce and most
|
||||
programming took place in academia or various mythical R'n'D departments during
|
||||
a time of exceptional economic growth. It was an exclusive, high status
|
||||
activity among very clever individuals whose work, in the end, generated real -
|
||||
and measurably massive - benefits to an economy still firmly dominated by
|
||||
traditional industrial manufacturing.
|
||||
|
||||
These are the people who - given ample funding and almost complete freedom to
|
||||
shape their work - came up with some damn fantastic stuff: Unix. C. The GUI.
|
||||
Garbage collection. The Internet. Many of these pioneers are still alive, and
|
||||
will happily recount inspiring stories about what programming jobs were like
|
||||
during the golden heydays.
|
||||
|
||||
Alas, the way places like Bell Labs, Xerox PARC, DARPA and tangential
|
||||
institutions like NASA operated back then isn't coming back. In short, there's
|
||||
too much politics and not enough money involved today, making it unfeasible to
|
||||
just lock a handful of guys with a vision in a room, let them tinker freely and
|
||||
then see if what comes out of it is useful - or if they should be given some
|
||||
more time and money for a second attempt.
|
||||
|
||||
This, of course, is closing in on pursuing your passion and getting paid for
|
||||
it. No JIRA boards, no hard deadlines, no endless, agenda-less meetings, no
|
||||
customer demands, no MVP, no sprint deliverables, no "Can we get the icon in
|
||||
cornflower blue?": Just a bunch of like-minded juggernauts and a carte blanche
|
||||
to do almost exactly whatever you feel like within your area of expertise.
|
||||
|
||||
I think this - be it romanticized fantasy or actual historical fact - is what a
|
||||
lot of us programmers, deep down, desire from our professional life. Sadly,
|
||||
we're not celebrated geniuses working at the research department of a telecomms
|
||||
monopoly during the rise of an empire. We're instead doing yet another customer
|
||||
checkout form for a mid-sized e-commerce site, helplessly watching our
|
||||
profession slowly, as Marx put it, "sink into the proletariat". Meanwhile, we
|
||||
secretly feed the little part of us that pretends to be Douglas Engelbart as
|
||||
best we can. This activity sometimes manifests itself as yet another JavaScript
|
||||
framework, the resulting bloated package dependencies rationalized by blaming
|
||||
our unyielding passion.
|
||||
|
||||
Perhaps this is also part of why we suddenly start shunning or even mocking
|
||||
certain methods or languages: PHP, Visual Basic and Java, for example. COBOL
|
||||
was among the first: a pioneering high level language that empowered scores of
|
||||
new programmers, but also one that was soon openly ridiculed. Sure, it's funny
|
||||
and odd and a bit clunky (though very much less so compared to other languages
|
||||
in 1959), it was designed by a committee and isn't considered cool and elegant
|
||||
and interesting like, say, Lisp.
|
||||
|
||||
More importantly though, COBOL is a language specifically designed for some of
|
||||
the earliest routine programming jobs, used for mass producing "good enough"
|
||||
systems intended for broad consumption. Its stated purpose is to write software
|
||||
with low intellectual merit, delivered according to exact specifications
|
||||
stipulated by a bunch of suits at a megacorp. The resulting code was dutifully
|
||||
assembled by swathes of office drones with zero real freedom to tinker. An
|
||||
anomaly, surely, tarnishing the exciting, groundbreaking field of computing
|
||||
with boring, everyday sustenance careers: A language laying bare the crass
|
||||
reality of applied computing already in its infancy.
|
||||
|
||||
It's tempting to pretend we're above all that simply because the language we
|
||||
use has a different syntax.
|
||||
|
||||
***
|
||||
|
||||
Just like the journalism major churning out clickbait may despise what they
|
||||
write, so may the programmer come to despise the software they develop. Today,
|
||||
much of it is not only unexciting routine work, it's also completely frivolous.
|
||||
In many cases it's even morally dubious, intended as little more than a vehicle
|
||||
for harvesting personal user data and delivering ads. And even if repeating
|
||||
little lies can make us feel better in the moment, it will probably make us
|
||||
bitter in the long run.
|
||||
|
||||
Alas, it seems we can't stop collectively fanning the flames of
|
||||
disillusionment. After all, we're working with our passion, and it's our job to
|
||||
love every second of it all.
|
||||
|
||||
privacy notice: datagubbe.se uses neither cookies nor javascript. | [8]rss feed
|
||||
© carl svensson
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
References:
|
||||
|
||||
[1] https://www.datagubbe.se/
|
||||
[2] https://adventofcode.com/
|
||||
[3] http://hexatlas.com/entries/5
|
||||
[4] https://www.datagubbe.se/jol/
|
||||
[5] https://www.datagubbe.se/mkdem/
|
||||
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs
|
||||
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_overproduction
|
||||
[8] https://www.datagubbe.se/atom.xml
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user