Excursions

@manton How does crossposting from micro.blog to twitter handle the syndication? Will the webmentions be pulled back to the post on website? I realised Bridgy didn’t send a webmention for the activity on twitter.

I think I might have finally cracked the Micropub endpoint riddle - an attempt to post via micro.blog.

Customary reminder that timezones are mess if not handled during dev and build.

“Software will always be simple and reliable if it is built to address the problem it aims at with whatever technology - platforms/frameworks/solutions - that suit best.” — wrote a response to a great post at Simple Thread on software complexity.

Facing an issue parsing webmentions accessed via webmention.io api. I am not sure what the sort order should be — neither id nor verified_date look to be correct. @aaronpk

I wish I did not have to use any of the Google apps on iOS. But I just can’t find a way to drop Gmail. I guess email has to die for that to happen — anyway it’s just a spam galore.

Enabled the h-entry microformat markup to posts/journal entries. POSSE handled via IFTTT recipes on feeds. Still need to set up a micropub endpoint — this looks tricky. Daniel Goldsmith’s detailed post hopefully helps.

Embracing IndieWeb can at times feel overwhelming. But it’s the amazing implementations that keep me inspired - ones from the likes of Barnaby Walters, @adactio (Jeremy Keith), Kartik Prabhu, and many more. Over to Micropub now.

I have enabled an extremely basic processing and display of two types of posts - likes and replies. However, am still not sure the possible activity types as responses from webmention.io in documentation. Any idea @aaronpk?

On my journey towards embracing IndieWeb, achieved - identify via microformats2, IndieAuth enabled, webmention addressed - receive and send mentions and of course, micro.blog syndication. Couple of open items - significance of h-entry for posts, way to process and display incoming webmentions.

Experimentation continues with IndieWeb projects — over to Webmentions. It is a really wonderful concept which enables responses to a post to be written on one’s own website. As Jeremy Keith wrote in one of his posts:

Basically, it’s an equivalent to pingback. Let’s say I write something here on adactio.com. Suppose that prompts you to write something in response on your own site. A web mention is a way for you to let me know that your response exists.

Even better, and simpler to follow explanation is put out by Drew Mclellan detailing what’s involved in implementing webmentions.

The flow goes something like this.

• Frankie posts a blog entry.
• Alex has thoughts in response, so also posts a blog entry linking to
• Alex’s publishing software finds the link and fetches Frankie’s post, finding the URL of Frankie’s Webmention endpoint in the document.
• Alex’s software sends a notification to the endpoint.
• Frankie’s software then fetches Alex’s post to verify that it really does link back, and then chooses how to display the reaction alongside Frankie’s post.

The end result is that by being notified of the external reaction, the publisher is able to aggregate those reactions and collect them together with the original content.

I have got the webmentions (and pingbacks) enabled here — over to testing now. So there you have it. This post is also an attempt at sending a webmention.

Today has really been extremely productive. I have got many of the things sorted out. Posting from a workable CMS (thanks Netlify CMS), crossposting to twitter and of course to micro.blog. Delighted!

Exploring the option to enable an editorial process in CMS. So that a draft can be saved first before it is published. This will be a nice option to have for longer post.

Interest behavior. Understood how it works. It satisfies my needs. A post passes through multiple stages. For me, only important stages are save and publish. Trying Ready anyway.

Managed to solve the problem with avoiding issue with including title for microblog in crossposting. Solution? Of course, involved fixing the RSS feed — relevant even today.

It’s been about 6 months now that I got my static site up with Hugo. Pretty satisfied with what I’ve got running. However, though I am digging posting on mobile as git commits, I’ve been in need of a lite, static CMS. Exploring Netlify CMS.

Problem I am currently facing with Netlify CMS is it defaults to the title as filename for a new post. I do not want to use any for the journal entries, especially to keep crossposting simple.

I am since long fascinated by IndieWeb and multiple projects the guys are working on. One project that recently got me hooked is micro.blog. I have since been working on different feeds to get a custom microblogging of my own. The concept is great. And so looks the implementation. Time for some experiment.

Ganeshotsav - a festival that has me mesmerised for 10 days. One that makes me forget all the crippling and cribbing of the routine mundane life. That makes me attempt to overcome my shortcomings, imbuing me with a sense of calmness and a zeal.

One’s devotion to a deity is about beliefs. And I believe I am blessed with a divine presence during Ganeshotsav.

No wonder then that Anant Chaturdashi - a day of immersion of Ganesh idols - dawns with a sense of emptiness, restlessness. But irrespective, Bappa has to be given a smiling farewell. And 2017 was different. News18 has captured the whole festive mood really well — just a good click for reference. Do visit that link.

This has to be the best click and a great comment on what Ganesh Visarjan should, and does, represent.

https://twitter.com/statuses/905333071221624832>}}

And of course, I had to bide farewell to my Bappa. Somewhere at the corner of my eye, I did have a tear shining.

Ganpati Bappa Morya. Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar Ya.

A writer who also is a technology enthusiast is a worst combination. Every now and then there is a constant fight between the writer and the tech guy to divert the limited focus. The writer wants to write. The tech guy wants to evaluate the place, the setting where he is writing from. It is constant struggle. It needs to be well defined when the writer needs to be suppressed and when the other guy.

Suppressing writer is easy — rather writer does not need suppressing. He rarely shouts or fight backs. He is the simpleton; he gives up easy. The tech guy? Not him. He keeps popping his head every so often, questioning the person on how the writer is spending his time.

“Is this really the best platform you would be writing at? Look at that writing interface. It is so clunky. How the hell can you write here. I bet there are a lot of better options out there. Why won’t you just fix this? Why write when it is just not right?”

It is so difficult at times to keep the writer focused, to keep the tech guy far away from pestering. Only way I have found this to work is to give him no distractions. Nothing. Leave him with just a screen, a blinking cursor and a keyboard.

No mobile devices around, with screens constantly lighting up on every notification. No laptop devices with multi-window. No music. No television. Lock the two guys down — more often than not, the tech guy gives up and goes into a deep somber out of sheer boredom. The writer prevails.

Everyday, I have a lot many thoughts about Medium these days. For some reason, I find it is turning out to be not so good a platform for writers. Unfortunately, even the reading experience is slowly degrading.

The posts there are too disparate, with the platform really struggling to present them in an easy-to-comprehend manner. Especially the fiction. A dark emotional rant on life is placed right next to an erotica. Yes, erotica.

https://twitter.com/statuses/901695978889068544

For some reason, Medium has no strict and defined policy around how to publish, tag and present these NSFW posts. It just is no reader’s paradise if one has to be fully attentive and on look out for these posts and people around you. Sigh! By the way that option you have to “Show fewer stories like this”? Yeah, about that. It does not work. Not sure if Medium team even has any backend logic coded for that. Bruh!

And don’t even get me started on how horrible Medium is for writing on the go.

Yes, that is a help document on “How to write?”. On an iPad. Not really sure what all is involved in writing a post on Medium that it can’t be done with Safari on iPad. Dumbfounded.

Ganeshotsav. The festival that brings families together. The festival that makes everyone forget about their individual differences and work with a sole purpose to welcome Lord Ganesh to their homes, their region. No one holds any grudge against anyone for a few days when Bappa is with them. Everyone contributes just towards making the event better.

It starts with planning Bappa’s welcome; families plan together.

Then its about implementing; families implement their plans together.

And then it is all about fun; and of course again, families have fun together.

Lord Ganesh brought our family together this time again. And I am sure He was smiling his happy smile looking at the family enjoying His presence. Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Historical #SolarEclipse2017

Historical it was tagged. It had so much of hype and so much of build-up. It really was surprising how much big of an event it was made. And of course, given I inadvertently end up consuming more news blurbs from US, I had logged, wondering where, of all the possible sources streaming this event live, should I catch this event as it happens.

I am happy I did. It indeed was an event with a style. Eclipses are always captivating, they make you realise of your order & significance in nature’s canvas. And given it happened in US gave this one the best opportunity to be caught in all its glory. And of course I wanted to Journal all the best posts about it. Starting with mine.

https://twitter.com/statuses/899687057496317959

And of course there had to be a timelapse of this mesmerising event.

https://twitter.com/statuses/899685904553451522

International space station did not miss a chance to photo bomb the Eclipse.

https://twitter.com/statuses/899679364920389632

And then this capture. Sigh. This one post makes you realise how minute you are in grand scale of things when you capture nature playing its games.

https://twitter.com/statuses/899728331364458496

I have become a big fan of the Mc Sweeney’s publication. Every day brings a new satire, a new angle, new humor to the terrible events in the world. Here’s their satirical take on Mr. President’s horrible tweet. “As you can see on this X-ray, the tumor is currently about the size of a baseball in an all-white baseball league. I could surgically remove it as soon as tomorrow afternoon. However, I will not be doing that. I view this tumor as an important symbol of your body’s history and heritage. Removing the tumor would be yet another example of misguided medical correctness in today’s liberal America. I protest this surgery and refuse to whitewash your rich medical history. The tumor must be kept prominently displayed inside your body.”

Bravo! Satire, more often than not, hit the hardest. https://twitter.com/statuses/898169407213645824

As I read this, I sat there with a chill down my spine. “Terror is not an unjustified reaction to knowing this virus exists. We have no room to be wrong about this. None. We can be wrong about other things. If smallpox got out, it would be unfortunate, but it has a fourteen-day incubation period, it’s easy to recognize, and we would stop it. Much the same is true with sars. But with flu you are infectious before you even know you are sick. And when it gets out it is gone.” https://twitter.com/statuses/896659144819695617

I was writing the setup page of this site when this thought triggered in my mind. iPad is just a consumption device till you try. Once you do, you will start loving producing content on it.

https://twitter.com/statuses/896654686891016192

The Google Memo debate

I had a lot of thoughts on the whole Google is handling the diversity wrong” memo kerfuffle. Here are some of them.
- The memo had the leadership in tricky position. Unfortunately, what played out looks driven from external pressure than “corporate values”.
- “No matter how often this all happened, it still hurt” The debate, & the sick views it brings to the fore are damning to all involved.
- Why’s this always forgotten — “people may have a right to express their beliefs in public, that does not mean companies can’t take action.”

At times, satire is the best mean to address and comment on a muddled topic. And this one at McSweeney’s by Ben Kronengold takes the cake.

Positions in the tech industry often require long, arduous hours that may conflict with humans’ desire to run home and see if Ozark is any good. Robots don’t have this problem, for they are pushed into coveted jobs for the status that they entail.

This writeup from John Battelle has to be one of the most clear headed, to-the-point and no-bullshit take on the whole “Google is handling the diversity wrong” kerfuffle.

.. that narrative is bullshit, and all rational humans know it. Yes, we have to pay close attention — and keep our powder dry — when a company with the power and reach of Google (or Facebook, or Amazon, or Apple…) finds itself a leader in the dominant cultural conversation of our times.

But when a legitimate and fundamentally important debate breaks out, and the company’s employees try to come together to understand its nuances, to find a path forward …..To threaten those engaged in that conversation with physical violence? That’s fucking terrorism, period. And it’s damn well time we called it that.