"The internet operates on its own logic. In the world of Twitter, Twitch and Tiktok, fame is the aim and exposure the goal. The influence of an influencer is measured in retweets, reblogs, and runaway memes. The internet-addled man glories in the hashtag that takes on its own life; he revels in the image that … Continue reading Thoughts on Shitpost Diplomacy
Category: writing
The Hardest Arguer
The person arguing the hardest typically has something else at stake other that being right. Whether it is their brittle male egos, love of authoritarianism or other kinds of fundamentalism, they are often arguing for a worldview. Being right often has little to do with it.
Vibe Shift
"A vibe shift is the catchy but sort of too-cool term Monahan uses for a relatively simple idea: In the culture, sometimes things change, and a once-dominant social wavelength starts to feel dated. Monahan, who is 35, breaks down the three vibe shifts he has survived and observed: Hipster/Indie Music (ca. 2003–9), or peak Arcade Fire, Bloc … Continue reading Vibe Shift
The Big Here Quiz
30 questions to elevate your awareness (and literacy) of the greater place in which you live:1) Point north.2) What time is sunset today?3) Trace the water you drink from rainfall to your tap.4) When you flush, where do the solids go? What happens to the waste water?5) How many feet (meters) above sea level are … Continue reading The Big Here Quiz
Metamates
"“Meta, Metamates, Me is about being good stewards of our company and mission,” Zuckerberg said in a post on his Facebook profile, which reportedly followed an all-hands meeting detailing the company’s new direction. “It’s about the sense of responsibility we have for our collective success and to each other as teammates. It’s about taking care of our … Continue reading Metamates
PSA: Your Call Is Important to Us
If I've been on hold for 30 minutes, listening to an automated message telling me: My call is important to youAn apology for the wait It's a classic case of "I cannot hear what you are saying because what you are doing is talking too loud". If I'm on hold that long, you're telling me … Continue reading PSA: Your Call Is Important to Us
First Article, On-Spec: Ergo’s Hybrid Method for Counting Costs
I wanted to note that I wrote an on-spec piece for the Ergo cryptocurrency that was published yesterday. It started with watching this developer update, where Joe Armeanio, the business manager for the Ergo Foundation, mentioned that they were looking to translate a technical topic for a general audience. I volunteered to do it. The … Continue reading First Article, On-Spec: Ergo’s Hybrid Method for Counting Costs
Robustness of the Underlying Technology
I was reading The Browser, which made this recommendation: "Folders Versus Tags by Eleanor Konik | 24th September 2021Personal knowledge management enthusiast's magnum opus on the fraught subject of hierarchical organisation. The overwhelming trend in digital products, from Gmail down to the most niche notetaking app, is to apply tag to files rather than sort … Continue reading Robustness of the Underlying Technology
Frank’s Box: The Real Telephone to the Dead
"‘Yes, I am Frank Sumption, and I made the original Frank’s Box, or the Ghost box. I am on Facebook, but even there, the interaction with the public is disappointing. Very few are interested, everyone knows better, no matter what these boxes say. I can not tell if I hear nothing and the 'voices' are … Continue reading Frank’s Box: The Real Telephone to the Dead
Pathways of Success
"You’re obviously a very capable, smart person: would the Aella story would have landed in the same spot if you had a different start in life? If you hadn’t worked in a factory say, or if your family had been different? Would you be a Y Combinator founder right now instead? Nothing against the current … Continue reading Pathways of Success
Looking & Acting Bad
"“Do you want material that looks bad before it acts bad, like shingles or clapboard, or one that acts bad long before it looks bad, like vinyl siding? A whole philosophy of maintenance falls one way or the other with the answer.”-Stewart Brand, "How Buildings Learn." True of maintenance, true of life. In 1997, the … Continue reading Looking & Acting Bad
Losing My Religion
"Nowadays the market for religion is in flux, perhaps more than ever. On the demand side, churches in the Western world are suffering from the global secularisation that began long before the pandemic. Even in America, the most patent example of a rich country that has thrived alongside religion (some say because of it), the … Continue reading Losing My Religion
PSA: Tics, lol
There has been plenty of discussion of verbal tics: such as standpoint modifiers, fillers, endpoint modifiers, softeners, up talk, fast talk and vocal fry. The funny thing about that kind of discussion is that it normally assumes the speaker is not aware of what they are doing and/or it reflects the speaker's internal emotional state. … Continue reading PSA: Tics, lol
The United States, Incorporated
"I propose we do so by creating two positions within the executive branch that operate in tension with each other. The first would be the chief operating officer, charged with managing the administrative agencies. The second would be the chief auditor, charged with leading a watchdog agency that monitors the administrative state for effectiveness and … Continue reading The United States, Incorporated
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