How to help someone use a computer
I just rediscovered this page, which I first linked to on this day in 2004. Timeless advice that I try to follow when I give and appreciate when I receive.
In my ignorance, I didn't know who Phil Agre was; now that I want to know more, it is hard to do so.
Opting Out of TurnItIn – Terence Eden’s Blog
Not sure I can be bothered to expend the effort, but the reasoning is sound.
My argument is "Fuck You. I don't want you to hoover up my content and then sell it without my permission."
Godwit – Music of Sound
Wonderful in so many ways, from the natural to the highly technical.
An open letter to Airbnb
I don't know why he doesn't post this to his own site. Seems to me airbnb and Medium share certain similarities
21 pieces of unsolicited advice nobody else is willing to tell you | poste italiane
Found via Ton, lots of these are good. I need to internalise "the grind" more than I currently do.
Best analysis of US pull-out in Afghanistan
We started the Global War on Terror with a Leviathan force but we're continuing it - forever - with the SysAdmin force that does not wage war on states but on individuals.
Rings true to me.
Scotland, stop selling yourself shortbread!
Excellent, thought-provoking read on the fall and rise of local food traditions.
Renegade projections and the domestic mode of production: for Marshall Sahlins (1930-2021) | Small Farm Future
More here than I remember, and my copy of Sahlins is long gone, but it would be good revisit, as Chris has.
w/e 2021-08-01 (Phil Gyford’s website)
What if you don’t realise which genre you’re actually in and you’ve been doing everything wrong all this time?
Nicely put!
Welcome to the Entropocene (Interconnected)
I fully confess that from my position of inherent privilege, I had never considered the negative connotations of Anthropocene, despite often using "not ALL men" myself. So, can I train myself to use Entropocene instead? Maybe
an appeal to people who sell stuff on the internet
Can I get an Amen?
How I grew, and lost, a rainforest | Small Farm Future
I like the idea of a dappled woodland glade, the product of pig rootling, being neither light nor shade, and an apt metaphor for think beyond simplistic dualities.
Pluralistic: 05 Jun 2021
The fact that these cult-members were willing to risk their lives, but not endure poor web design, says a lot about the nature of the Trump cult, and its relationship to passive media.
What magic teaches us about misinformation | Tim Harford
Excellent read, with lots of far-flung examples.
Defending inflation
Excellent, clear explanation. I rather liked this bit:
One strange feature of American ~popular economic discourse~ is that the rarified troubles of the very rich often get discussed as if they were “normal”, but: they are extremely not normal.
The million-dollars-in-cash-havers can fend for themselves.
Because it is so true.
Commonplace – Lucy Bellwood
Fascinating.
TIL Zibaldone, which I might just have to make my own.
Whitewood under Siege
Can't enough of this kind of thing.
[M]any experts consider the pallet to be the most important materials-handling innovation of the twentieth century. Studies have estimated that pallets consume 12 to 15 percent of all lumber produced in the US, more than any other industry except home construction.
Some further thoughts on organic fertility | Small Farm Future
Ultimately, the long-term necessity to cycle rather than mine P could be a key factor propelling humanity back to a predominantly rural, distributed and agrarian human geography.
Is anybody listening?
Teresa Cherfas reviews 'The Return of the Russian Leviathan' by Sergei Medvedev: "For anyone interested in contemporary Russia, this book is an invaluable guide and will leave you smiling through tears." - Rights in Russia
Teresa Cherfas reviews ‘The Return of the Russian Leviathan’ by Sergei Medvedev:
“For anyone interested in contemporary Russia, this book is an invaluable guide and will leave you smiling through tears.”
Race and Biology | BioScience | Oxford Academic
Researchers from many disciplines argue that science would get far more bang for its research buck by looking to solve broader societal contributors to disparities. Housing conditions, segregated neighborhoods, poverty, education, the burden of racism, environmental pollutants, and other factors are likely the main contributors to higher rates of disease and disability in marginalized groups. “We support wholeheartedly the study of health disparities from a wide range of disciplines,” says Michael Yudell, professor of community health and prevention at Drexel University. “Our issue is that race is a poor proxy to understand the biological factors underpinning health disparities.”
The Capitalist Case for Overhauling Twitter
A very interesting analysis, that will probably go nowhere.
to date, nobody has rallied a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol using tastefully curated photos of bathroom remodelings.
I'm no fan of Pinterest, but this seems accurate.
The Essential Weekly Review -- MacSparky
More formality would probably be a good thing, and 10 weeks is not that great a commitment. I should give this a try.
The new reading stack - macwright.com
Some interesting ideas, to be sure.
A thread about ideas for Botany One plant stories
Such a fine example of endearing grumpiness in the pursuit of truth and beauty.
The Most Beautiful Experiment: Meselson and Stahl • iBiology
Cannot wait to watch this. For as long as I have been a biologist, I have regarded this as the one thing I wish I'd been around for. Well, maybe poly-U too ...
"Apart From Code"
PESOS from Reading.am.
"The Original Sin of Free Software"
PESOS from Reading.am.
John Naughton gets it:
although I use both Medium and Substack, everything I write therein is also published verbatim on my ‘live’ blog, which is completely under my control, and for whose hosting I pay with my own money. For me, Substack provided merely a convenient and reliable way of sending out the email version of what really matters — the live blog on the open Web.
The Substackerati - Columbia Journalism Review
Very interesting article about Substack that can't quite decide whether it thinks Substack is a good thing or not. Also, I don't buy Substack's excuses about showing only the top 25 earners. Why not show earners 26-50? Or a random selection of 25 newsletters? It's the Matthew Effect all over again.
The Fall of Rome (just the poem) (Interconnected)
So few words, so much intent.