Currently reading: The Oldest Road: The Ridgeway by Fay Godwin and JRL Anderson, ISBN: 9780905483528
#Non-fiction
I find it curious that Strava offers handcycle ride but not Nordic walking. The new challenge of a 5 km “March” is my standard Nordic walk, and there isn’t actually an activity called March either.
2020-02-26
I had a narrow, but surely temporary, escape yesterday, after my computer greeted me with this on Monday. Apparently the parts are no long made, but it recovered and I shall keep using it till it dies.
Internet Amnesia: Clive James & his website - Richard MacManus
Smart piece, pointing out not only the strengths of Clive James as a cultural critic, but also his vision of what the entails.
I find it hard to believe that some university department of media studies, or whatever, isn't falling over itself to take over James' site and give it the care he obviously wanted to give it.
2020-02-23
Tucked in behind the grandiose arch is one of the quainter stations of Rome. Many of the stations on the line are request stops. You have to ask the driver to stop.
If it weren't for the fact that I love the actual camera (Nex-6) to bits, Sony's software for camera and iPhone would make me hurl it against the wall. Seriously, I put up with it because I have to, and I wish I didn't.
Finished reading: The Secret Pilgrim by John le Carré
2020-02-20
The scale doesn't lie. The most dough I'd ever made.
2020-02-19
1 min read
Today I learned I have been utterly underusing Rogue Amoeba's SoundSource app. For that I have to thank Brett Terpstra's post Enhanced music listening on macOS.
I'm sure it is just a coincidence that we have the exact same speakers.
2020-02-18
I'm not opposed to modern art
2020-02-17
How cool is this? Lego kit for Friends, just what I needed for today's podcast.
Podcasting's biggest mistake
I'm not sure I actually read about any biggest mistake, apart from maybe not being united, in the immensely parochial piece. But I can't disagree with this:
Podcasting didn’t start in control of the monied few and gradually become democratized. Podcasting started as a democracy, and now faces the incursion of the monied few.
And while I don't mind about the monied few taking over (well, not too much) I do mind that they are even called podcasts. They really are radio on demand, and we storied few shouldn't be judged by the same standards.
@webby2001 Of course, it could easily evaporate, if something happened to Medium. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have a copy on a site you actually control?
2020-02-16
1 min read
Are unsecured cafe wi-fi networks deliberately hostile to VPNs?
I’m in Bill’s cafe in Cambridge, which offers ‘free’ Wi-Fi — which of course I don’t trust. So I switch on my VPN to find that, mysteriously, it can’t connect to its server. And I’m wondering if this is just some kind of glitch, or a policy by the firm that provides the Wi-Fi. After all, they don’t want clients sending communications that are encrypted and therefore inscrutable for advertising and tracking purposes. In this stuff, only the paranoid survive.
I had the same experience as John Naughton yesterday and Friday, signed in to the wifi in a bed and breakfast. No matter what, my VPN (Mullvad) would not connect. Rather than go unsecured though, I signed out of the wifi, but it definitely is strange and I think I am seeing something similar more and more often.
2029-02-14
The warmth of a fresh sfogliatella is an essential start to any visit to Naples.
2020-02-13
Even after spending all night in the fridge, my sourdough shows a prodigious rise.
@LisaLodwick Exciting indeed. Frustrating that it remains behind a hefty paywall, especially as the research it reports was probably funded by public money. As bad as more than half the cemetery sites being unpublished.
@MGraybosch Fine sentiments, and for a one-page site with a single message, not sharing metadata is an OK choice. But a little markup with microformats on a site helps others to find and enjoy the #IndieWeb in their own way.
@EIT One newsletter reader suggested it was because cooking in the US is much more aspirational than in the UK. So UK cooks want to get on with it, I think, while US cooks want to think they could get on with it.
Shells - The Dan MacKinlay family of variably-well-considered enterprises
I did switch to fish, once upon a time. But as I barely understood bash, that was probably a mistake. Anyway, I just want to endorse Dan's idea:
create shells cash, trash, theclash, and bangersandmash.
That is all.
2020-02-10
My favourite sign in the whole city. It signifies the imminent consumption of a truly fine sandwich.
Maybe: I'd like to find some time, but it just might not be possible.
My DropBox bill is going up, and while I get value from it, I wonder whether there might be alternatives. I don't think I want to be responsible for hosting something like NextCloud, but I'm willing to be persuaded. Could anyone who has done so offer an honest appraisal. Thanks.
