Another fascinating video from CGP Grey on The Better Boarding Method Airlines Won’t Use. I’ve wondered about this every time I’m stuck in a boarding queue.
It’s always frustrating to know that to literally have done nothing would be faster than the something that is done.
It was discomforting to read Owen William’s account of his failed attempt to add his site to Google News. Not just because how aloof Google acted, but because of the patience Owen was showing towards their policies. I understand his desire to receive the crazy traffic Google might send to his site. But it is better to understand that Google’s interests and plans for the product just won’t match those of a smallish individual website.
These losing battles are always better to be avoided — it has been true since the early SEO days. Dave Winer words it really well in his response.
In Williams’ tale of woe, the Godfather is the open web, other news orgs, his readers, and the legal system is Google. We have to work together Owen. The web made all you do possible, you can’t go over its head to Google to get what you think you need.
Dear Internet, stop throwing more links to Eleventy at me now. It strains my resolve to not try another engine out there to build site with. I am satisfied with what I have got running — or so I have convinced myself. Don’t make it more difficult than it already is.
I tend to agree with John Gruber’s thoughts on “On Covering Webcams”
The problem isn’t your camera, it’s malware. Don’t install any software from unknown or sketchy sources, keep your OS up to date1, and you should be fine. And if you do have malware on your Mac, the webcam is likely the least of your problems.
Sure, you should be careful while you access the Internet. Or else some can indeed take control of your machine. But the words I highlighted matter — you should be careful while accessing any machine. Else, you will break the machine and it will eventually harm you.
I wonder how many people with iOS devices use any browser other than Safari. I can never convince myself to switch to any other browser — to be frank I never felt a need earlier when I was all in on Apple ecosystem. With recent switch to Windows, I have to reconsider.
A fascinating story of The First Lady of the Internet
A passing glance at this peculiar genealogy reveals how deeply these women’s faces and voices are integrated into technology, even as their names and thoughts and lives are so often ignored
In an article on how Instagram “travel influencers” are affecting homeownership around the world is hidden a very unfortunate truth.
Today everything exists to end in a photograph (…) the most influential factor in determining where to vacation is how “Instagrammable” the destination is.
This sad fact holds even for non-influencer, normal tourists. Every time I tour, I see loads and loads of people fighting for a spot, the same, crowded space that everyone around is taking pictures at. I have seen people put their backs to the most wonderful of the valleys and mountains and beaches just so that they would catch themselves and the serenity in the same picture. Doesn’t matter then if it looks equally serene just few feet away from the “instagrammable” spot.
Influencers who come into a community to get something, and who refuse to acknowledge or be curious about the people who make it up—or, worse, who consider those people obstacles—are refusing to participate in the best part of travel: Appreciating what, or who, makes a place different from any other.
I could not say it better. All tourists need to respect the location and the people that dwell there. That picture-worthy spot you are on look out for is a home for many.
Recently David documented the steps to expose a JSON feed on a @Blot site. I’ve been running a JSON feed for my blog for some time now, which also drives the On This Day page on my blog. I shared my approach so that others with a site running on Blot can create such a page.
Every now and then I am reminded of the fact that Opera browser still exists — why and how? There was a time when I enjoyed using Opera, especially on mobile — it looked the slickest in the flock. Ah, there was Flock too. These days, it’s a battle between just 3 players.
Foxcon’s entry to Wisconsin looks to have affected the town in tumultuous proportions as per a Bloomberg report. There was also a fascinating episode #132 of Reply All that covered this apparent disaster. It’s poignant to read how “progress” has marred the spirit of the town.