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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><title>Samuel Clay's Blurblog</title><link href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/" rel="alternate"></link><link href="http://www.newsblur.com/social/rss/13/samuel" rel="self"></link><id>https://samuel.newsblur.com/</id><updated>2024-04-21T01:46:13.493000Z</updated><author><name>samuel</name></author><entry><title>The little smart home platform that could</title><link href="https://www.theverge.com/24135207/home-assistant-announces-open-home-foundation" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-04-21T01:46:13.493000Z</published><author><name>Jennifer Pattison Tuohy</name></author><id>https://www.theverge.com/24135207/home-assistant-announces-open-home-foundation</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/the-little-smart-hom/6643112:e56a1d">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6643112.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The Verge - All Posts:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I now use Home Assistant for my smart home as it just handles everything. But I wish it had the ease of use of Turn Touch. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <figure> <img alt="Vector collage of the Home Assistant Logo, which looks like a flat side of a house in light blue, with three white nodes forming a tree inside it." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6V89tVEK9Zmu2_TzUakw9YtTvxY=/0x0:2040x1360/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73293063/STK266_Home_Assistant_2_CVirginia.0.jpg" /> <figcaption><em>With a new ownership structure, Home Assistant is making big plans for the future.</em> | The Verge</figcaption> </figure> <p>How Home Assistant plans to transition from an enthusiast platform to a mainstream consumer product.</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap p-large-text" id="hhW5Le">How do you solve the problem of growing a popular smart home platform committed to open-source, open-standard ideals into something bigger that stays true to those ideals? You create a foundation. At least, that’s the approach Home Assistant founder Paulus Schoutsen has chosen. </p><p id="72GNJg">This week, <a href="https://www.home-assistant.io/">Home Assistant</a> announced it is now part of the <a href="https://www.openhomefoundation.org/">Open Home Foundation</a>. The newly formed non-profit will own and govern all of Home Assistant and its related entities. Its creators and inaugural board members — Schoutsen, Guy Sie, Pascal Vizeli, and J. Nick Koston — all work on Home Assistant, and the foundation has no other members so far. </p><p id="UDofJP">In a press release, the foundation stated its aim is “to fight against surveillance capitalism, and offer a counterbalance to Big Tech influence, in the smart home — by focusing on privacy, choice, and sustainability for smart home users.”</p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n2snUbkBGNOVI65GgAMpr7egQ-8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25409797/OHF.jpg" /> <cite>Image: Open Home Foundation</cite> <figcaption><em>The Open Home Foundation is the new owner of Home Assistant.</em></figcaption> </figure><p id="jsJl12"><a href="https://community.home-assistant.io/">A community-built</a>, open-source smart home platform, Home Assistant differs from its major “big tech” competitors — such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home, because it offers four things simultaneously: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/24087882/smart-home-hub-apple-google-alexa#:~:text=Tuohy%20/%20The%20Verge-,Most,-hubs%20can%20use">local control of your smart home</a> that can be faster and more reliable than the cloud: authority over and access to all your data; compatibility with almost every connected gadget — regardless of protocol or manufacturer; and the ability to make them work together. While many competitors offer some of these, few offer all. </p><div class="c-wide-block"><aside id="MP3n0m"><q>“I want to make it clear what our intentions are to the world: That we’re driven by a higher goal than money. And that we are not for sale.”</q></aside></div><p id="DIP84E">Home Assistant is known for its unmatched power and flexibility, but so far the platform, which has an estimated one million users, has struggled to reach the mainstream. Home Assistant can have a steep learning curve, especially when compared to the relative simplicity of a platform like Alexa or Apple Home. Onboarding devices can be complicated, the UI has lots of room for improvement, and integrations can be hit or miss. </p><p id="L6eTtU">“Home Assistant is no one’s first smart home platform,” says Schoutsen. “When people outgrow their existing systems and want more advanced control, that’s when they come to Home Assistant.” But he sees that the platform is at a tipping point. </p><p id="xMmoxH">With the arrival of the industry-backed <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22787729/matter-smart-home-standard-apple-amazon-google">smart home standard Matter</a> (with which Home Assistant is heavily involved), smart home adoption is pushing into the mainstream. Home Assistant wants to stay swimming alongside Apple, Amazon, Samsung, and Google, all of which it’s been competing with in the smart home for roughly a decade now. Home Assistant has never accepted investors, says Schoutsen, and he sees a foundation as the best way to grow. </p><div class="c-wide-block"><aside id="gw1C1b"><div></div></aside></div><p id="9dGzum">Schoutsen outlined the platform’s future roadmap at its annual <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa__fLArsFk">State of the Open Home presentation</a> on Saturday, April 20th. In an interview ahead of the live stream, he told <em>The Verge</em> about some of the bigger changes planned for Home Assistant following this transition:</p><ul><li id="Ru55Tn">The <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23875557/home-assistant-green-announcement-price-specs-ten-year-anniversary">Home Assistant Green smart home hub</a> will be sold on Amazon this year, the first time the organization will sell directly to consumers. A new line of Home Assistant Connect dongles for Thread / Zigbee and Z-Wave will follow.<strong> </strong>These connect the hub to gadgets that use those protocols (and will replace<strong> </strong>the<strong> </strong><a href="https://www.theverge.com/23641940/home-assistant-skyconnect-thread-matter-zigbee-smart-home">SkyConnect dongle</a>). </li><li id="7YKsmC">The <a href="https://partner.home-assistant.io/">Home Assistant Works With program</a>, which offers certification for products that work with the platform, is expanding. New partners include Aqara, Ultraloq, and Jasco.</li><li id="GjPP79">A new Home Assistant voice control hardware device running <a href="https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2023/12/13/year-of-the-voice-chapter-5/">Home Assistant’s local smart home voice assistant</a> is planned for release at the end of the year.</li><li id="ktr5VF">Home Assistant is working with Nvidia to incorporate a local AI model into the home automation platform.</li><li id="HZDYeI">The platform has been researching ways to <a href="https://community.home-assistant.io/t/help-us-improve-your-home-approval-factor/564324">improve its UI</a> to make it easier for everyone in the home to use Home Assistant. It’s calling this the “Home-approval factor,” a variant on the wife- or spouse-approval factor that encompasses everyone in a home.</li></ul><p id="IKqzUh"><em>(See sidebar for more on these.)</em></p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ut8Zr-SlhYVlZhT8v38CYbYqpOE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25409136/partner_program_logos.png" /> <cite>Image: Home Assistant</cite> <figcaption><em>Works With Home Assistant badges are starting to appear on products to show that a product is certified to work with Home Assistant.</em></figcaption> </figure><div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><div id="gNm7hN"><div></div></div></div><p id="roCHtC">The collective goal of all these efforts is to move Home Assistant toward becoming a more mainstream, out-of-the-box option for smart home users. “We want to be a consumer brand,” says Schoutsen. “You should be able to walk into a Home Depot and be like, ‘I care about my privacy; this is the smart home hub I need.’” </p><p id="DZoVuT">The foundation will also advocate for the development of “better” smart home products, says Schoutsen, “Devices with local APIs and that are built sustainably. Because there needs to be products compatible with Home Assistant that you can trust.”</p><h2 id="6X5XOk">Is Home Assistant all grown up now?</h2><p id="4eLhvQ">Schoutsen, who started Home Assistant in 2013 with a Philips Hue smart lighting bridge, a Python script, and a mission to control his lights any way he wanted to, sees the foundation as necessary to both protect Home Assistant and move it forward. “I want to make it clear what our intentions are to the world: That we’re driven by a higher goal than money. And that we are not for sale,” he says. The new ownership structure provides a stronger platform for growth. “It gives us a way for people to take us seriously, to help us reach a bigger audience,” he says. </p><p id="JmQOWA">To date, the informal way Home Assistant operates has been confusing to companies looking to partner with the platform, says Schoutsen. The <a href="https://community.home-assistant.io/t/thinking-big/69019?page=4">launch of the for-profit Nabu Casa five years ago</a> provided a revenue stream for Home Assistant through an optional <a href="https://www.nabucasa.com/">cloud computing service</a> that now supports 33 full-time employees.</p><p id="tpvmoO">The foundation, which was created last month as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_association">Verein</a> (“association”) in Switzerland, formally separates Nabu Casa from Home Assistant. The foundation will own all of the open-source projects, standards, drivers, and libraries associated with Home Assistant, along with <a href="https://esphome.io/index.html">ESPHome</a>, <a href="https://github.com/zigpy/zigpy">ZigPy</a>, and <a href="https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/wyoming/">Wyoming</a>. </p><p id="gmPzVF">Nabu Casa will continue as a for-profit entity running the cloud and selling Home Assistant hardware and will operate as a commercial partner of the foundation. “Funding and support can only flow one way—from Nabu Casa, and any future partners, to the Open Home Foundation and its projects,” says Pascal Vizeli, co-founder of Nabu Casa, and a foundation board member. </p><p id="h7QUJc">It also protects Home Assistant from being sold. Swiss law prohibits members of a non-profit Verein from benefiting from it, Schoutsen explained to <em>The Verge</em>. “Our articles state ‘There will be no direct distribution to members in return for activities performed for the association or as any other form of gratuity in any kind,’’’ he says. Similarly, he says the foundation can only have income from membership fees, donations, license programs, and contributions from partners.</p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_TYtbCDrHgz9Ty5b0r_WjiGeVeg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25409133/Open_Home_Foundation_principles.jpg" /> <figcaption><em>The Open Home Foundation’s principles are Privacy, Choice, and Sustainability in the smart home. </em></figcaption> </figure><p id="ZjD5pO">Still, Home Assistant users may be wary of these larger structural changes. <em>The Verge</em> asked Schoutsen how he could assuage any fears that this will negatively impact current users. It’s hard not to draw parallels with <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23055296/samsung-smartthings-smart-home-matter-interview">SmartThings’ shift to become a more “consumer-friendly”</a> platform following its purchase by Samsung. </p><p id="tOcTco">“We’re constantly doing this balance between ease of use and advanced features and I don’t know how we are going to keep balancing this,” he said. “But we cannot forget about our power users. The platform is open; maybe at some point, there might be a split where we have the basic UI and the advanced UI; I don’t know how that’s going to work. But because we are open, because our data is accessible, they’re all part of the community, even if they don’t use our specific tools that we’re building.” </p><div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="4e4eFw"><q>“There’s a bigger audience that I would like to reach that we don’t today.”</q></aside></div><p id="tcbYvS">He is also wary of entering the business side of the smart home while recognizing its necessity to grow Home Assistant. “We need to be very careful moving into this space,” he says. “The challenge with partnership people is that they’re very business-focused. And that’s not how we operate.” </p><p id="QVF0FO">He hopes the foundation will provide the necessary building blocks for growth while protecting the platform’s core beliefs and values. “I think we can get even bigger now that we have this stepping stone. The foundation is a real entity. People will take us more seriously. I think the press will take us more seriously. There’s a bigger audience that I would like to reach that we don’t today.”</p><p class="p--has-dropcap" id="87giYa">While today's mainstream smart home platforms offer simple and convenient ways to control your smart lights, locks, and other gadgets, the lack of access to your data, limited options for local control over devices, and some platforms’ over-reliance on the cloud can put the user at a disadvantage. </p><p id="3T0FrV"><a href="https://www.theverge.com/23568091/matter-compatible-devices-accessories-apple-amazon-google-samsung">Matter</a> — which aims to bring local control and interoperability across all smart home devices and platforms—is designed to solve some of these problems. But Matter isn’t a platform; you’ll still need to use an app on your phone or computer to control your home. Home Assistant wants to be that app. </p><p class="c-end-para" id="6apJvm">Can it move fast enough? There’s a long road between forming a foundation and packing Home Depots with Home Assistant hubs and gadgets that pledge Home Assistant loyalty. In the meantime, Matter is also providing other platforms — such as <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/8/24028209/aqara-hub-m3-matter-controller-thread-border-router-ces2024">Aqara</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/24087882/smart-home-hub-apple-google-alexa#:~:text=Tuohy%20/%20The%20Verge-,The%20Homey%20Pro,-is%20among%20the">Homey</a>, and <a href="https://hubitat.com/">Hubitat</a> — the tools to expand and grow into more <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/8/24028209/aqara-hub-m3-matter-controller-thread-border-router-ces2024#:~:text=This%20move%20turns,of%20those%20ecosystems.">viable alternatives to big tech</a> in the smart home. It’s going to be interesting to see where everything lands. </p><p id="oFsiQ2"></p><p id="YwkfNB"></p><h2 id="eUfPlG"></h2></summary></entry><entry><title>Jonathan Haidt's book presents stark data on the negative effects of smartphones on youth</title><link href="https://boingboing.net/2024/03/23/jonathan-haidts-book-presents-stark-data-on-the-negative-effects-of-smartphones-on-youth.html" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-03-23T20:26:25.272000Z</published><author><name>Yoy Luadha</name></author><id>https://boingboing.net/2024/03/23/jonathan-haidts-book-presents-stark-data-on-the-negative-effects-of-smartphones-on-youth.html</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/jonathan-haidts-book/526:bb164e">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/526.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Boing Boing:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Smartphones ruin childhood </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <a href="https://boingboing.net/2024/03/23/jonathan-haidts-book-presents-stark-data-on-the-negative-effects-of-smartphones-on-youth.html" rel="nofollow" title="Jonathan Haidt&#039;s book presents stark data on the negative effects of smartphones on youth"><img alt="" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" height="1062" src="https://i0.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/phone-book.jpg?fit=1500%2C1062&amp;ssl=1" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" width="1500" /></a><p>I used to think vaccines were the most important invention in human history. But I'm starting to believe it's smartphones, which have fundamentally and permanently changed how humans interact for the first time since language was invented. The difference is that vaccines were and are a net positive for humanity; the jury is still out on smartphones.&#160; &#8212; <a class="read-more" href="https://boingboing.net/2024/03/23/jonathan-haidts-book-presents-stark-data-on-the-negative-effects-of-smartphones-on-youth.html">Read the rest </a></p><p>The post <a href="https://boingboing.net/2024/03/23/jonathan-haidts-book-presents-stark-data-on-the-negative-effects-of-smartphones-on-youth.html">Jonathan Haidt&#039;s book presents stark data on the negative effects of smartphones on youth</a> appeared first on <a href="https://boingboing.net">Boing Boing</a>.</p></summary><category term="post"></category><category term="mental health"></category><category term="smartphones"></category></entry><entry><title>Instacart Reveals Each State’s Unique Grocery Habits</title><link href="https://thetakeout.com/instacart-us-most-popular-grocery-deliveries-by-state-1851320620" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-03-11T13:39:45.940000Z</published><author><name>Dennis Lee</name></author><id>https://thetakeout.com/instacart-us-most-popular-grocery-deliveries-by-state-1851320620</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/instacart-reveals-ea/6853345:d906be">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6853345.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The Takeout:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Hard to argue with the data </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <img class="type:primaryImage" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_80,w_636/31aca836e504a42360d93976b9209a89.jpg" /><p><a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/instacart-caper-cart-ai-smart-shopping-rewards-perks-1851185856">Instacart</a> recently hit a sales milestone: Since its founding in 2012, the app-based grocery shopping service has delivered over one billion orders. To celebrate, Instacart dove into its sales data for a little bit of insight on <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://www.instacart.com/company/updates/instacarts-most-likely/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">which types of goods</a> shoppers in each U.S. state (and Canadian province) are ordering in…</p><p><a href="https://thetakeout.com/instacart-us-most-popular-grocery-deliveries-by-state-1851320620">Read more...</a></p></summary><category term="instacart"></category><category term="online grocers"></category><category term="strained yogurt"></category><category term="vodka"></category><category term="fermented dairy products"></category><category term="central asian cuisine"></category><category term="yogurt"></category></entry><entry><title>Doing Things Differently – Adventures Raising the Next Generation – Atlas Pragmatica</title><link href="https://atlaspragmatica.com/doing-things-differently-adventures-raising-the-next-generation/" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-03-09T12:47:13.462000Z</published><id>https://atlaspragmatica.com/doing-things-differently-adventures-raising-the-next-generation/</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/doing-things-differe/9303875:4c6f97">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/9303875.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Comments on: Doing Things Differently – Adventures Raising the Next Generation.</b> </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <div> <p>It has been some time since I posted on this blog. Writing posts that are good enough for me to consider posting takes a reasonable amount of effort, and since my last post I embarked upon a new project that significantly reduced my time available to work on such things. Given the title of this post, it will come as no surprise that the new project in question is “everything associated with having and raising a child”. This project is probably of limited interest to some, but there are aspects of the experience that I feel that I should share, in case it is of benefit to others.</p> <p>By “doing things differently”, I refer to the process of questioning why an approach to something may be the norm, and choosing an alternative path that is more optimal (for me at least – other people’s predilections may differ). This of course carries risks, and I try to think through as many reasons why the norm is indeed the norm, before I cavalierly leap over <a class="external" href="https://sproutsschools.com/chesterton-fence-dont-destroy-what-you-dont-understand/" rel="nofollow">Chesterton’s fence</a>. However, if after this process, I still feel that I can make my life easier/better/more efficient with minimal risk, then I give the alternative approach a try.</p> <p>I had been planning to do a post at some point about general successes (and occasional failures) that I have had in doing things differently in life. While I may yet do this, the specific situation of having a child yields more than enough material for its own dedicated post. My inclination to write this post has grown gradually as I encounter more and more people that are on the fence about whether or not to have children.</p> <p>The vast majority of media that I am witness to portrays parenthood as a <a class="external" href="https://www.vox.com/features/23979357/millennials-motherhood-dread-parenting-birthrate-women-policy" rel="nofollow">thankless slog through sleepless nights and ego death</a> which is justified by the platitude that “your love for them makes it all worthwhile”. On this basis, it is quite unsurprising that people are in two minds about the decision, and this has to be a contributing factor in the rapid global decline in fertility that Robin Hanson has recently been <a class="external" href="https://open.substack.com/pub/overcomingbias/p/13-fertility-scenarios" rel="nofollow">taking very seriously</a>.</p> <p>I can quite happily say that so far this is not my experience at all, however I have taken some unconventional approaches, which may have made a significant difference. I went into this process with very low expectations – I was fully prepared for at least two years of hell, and the experience has been so much better than my wildest hopes that I can’t help but feel that we must be doing something right. I really don’t identify with most of the sad tropes about stressed out miserable parents. This drives me to want to share these approaches and my reasoning behind them, as they have been very successful for us, and may give other people ideas for how to make the experience work better for them.</p> <p>Of course, some people may not be in a position where they can do some of these things – for example, I am based in the UK where taking parental leave is a legal right, whereas people in other jurisdictions may not be able to (the US – I’m looking at you). I must also further caveat this with “your mileage may vary” – I am currently operating with a sample size of 1 and all babies are different.</p> <p>Nevertheless, there are a large enough set of “weird” or unconventional things that we did, that some of them may be of some use, so if any of these approaches sound reasonable to you, feel free to take them. This is a long article, so feel free to skip to any section that looks particularly interesting, but the ones that have been the most game-changing and foundational to our approach are 1 and 11.</p> <p>I am not trying to claim that we’ve invented anything new – I don’t doubt that we’re not the first people to have done any of the things described here, but even over 2 years in, I have yet to meet anyone that has done any of 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 or 11. I am also not trying to claim that we have done absolutely everything perfectly. While I am pleased to say that there are very few things that we would do significantly differently next time around, we were still learning as we went along. Reading books can only get you so far, and at a certain point, we had to resort to trial and error to find what worked the best for our child as an individual.</p> <p>Finally, I repeatedly say “we”, because I have been doing all of this together with my partner. She has not just been supportive and enthusiastic about some of my unusual ideas, but has come up with plenty of unusual ideas of her own. Neither of us can take sole credit for any of the approaches below, as whilst either of us may have made the original proposal behind any particular idea, we have collaborated on all of them to make them work. She has also read this essay and agrees with the sentiments expressed herein, so before anyone decides that “of course you have found it a positive experience, you’re a man – your partner is the one doing all the hard work”, I would like to address that trope head on. We both try very hard to maintain an egalitarian relationship, and that is what initially drove us to take approaches 1 and 11, which have gone a long way towards helping us to avoid many of the common pitfalls of inequality in parenting (e.g. <a class="external" href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2024/02/default-parent-husband-parenting-advice.html" rel="nofollow">mother as default parent</a>, <a class="external" href="https://the-mental-load.captivate.fm/episode/the-dad-privilege" rel="nofollow">learned helplessness and maternal gatekeeping</a>, <a class="external" href="https://english.emmaclit.com/2017/05/20/you-shouldve-asked/" rel="nofollow">underappreciation of domestic/emotional labour</a>, etc.).</p> <p>With all that out of the way, let me get on with sharing our approach.</p> <p>The first unusual thing that we did was to both take parental leave at the same time. We each took 6 months off concurrently. This was absolutely great, and I would recommend it to anyone that asked (as long as they were in a sufficiently comfortable financial position to utilise the full 52 weeks). We will definitely be doing the same thing next time.</p> <p>In the UK, you are entitled to 52 weeks of parental leave, which can be split however you like between the mother and father. Uptake of this “shared parental leave” has been <a class="external" href="https://maternityaction.org.uk/reform-shared-parental-leave/" rel="nofollow">very low</a> with only 2% of fathers making use of it, however in the cases where people have made use of it, most people take it sequentially, with the mother taking off the first 6 months and the father taking the last 6 months, or 9 and 3 months, etc. A majority of the people that we have spoken to were not aware that the leave could be taken concurrently.</p> <p>Although taking the leave concurrently means that you’ll both be returning to work when the baby is 6 months old, rather than a year old (I’ll deal with our approach to that <a class="external" href="http://#both-parents-working-part-time" rel="nofollow">later</a>), it does have several advantages:</p> <ul><li>Being there at the same time meant things were easier for both of us – an extra pair of hands makes many things take less than half the time, and be more than twice as easy. You can go to the toilet on your own, you can make a sandwich, etc. Seriously, it is hard to overstate how big of a deal this is.</li> <li>Not only is the essential stuff easier, but you’re able to do much more and be much less stressed and exhausted. I’ll dig into two examples of this below, being <a class="external" href="http://#taking-a-long-holiday-with-the-new-baby" rel="nofollow">travel</a> and <a class="external" href="http://#sleeping-in-shifts" rel="nofollow">sleep</a>.</li> <li>There is no worry for the mother regarding the father’s imminent return to work, leaving her alone to cope. In the UK, fathers tend to get the first 2 weeks off, which allows them to help in the very early days, but many people understandably find it very difficult when this 2 weeks is over.</li> <li>This approach greatly facilitates equality by making it easy to ensure that mother and father are taking an equal role. There is no period in which the mother is the sole caregiver, learning the ropes on her own, so the father can participate equally in all aspects of looking after the baby, and contribute to a shared understanding of what works and doesn’t work for the baby.</li> <li>It also means that both parents are taking an equal hit to their respective careers, so neither is sacrificing more than the other in terms of long term prospects.</li> <li>As both parents are equally present, the child isn’t disproportionately clingy with one parent over the other. They can usually go to either parent when there’s a problem or they’re upset. They might still have occasional mum days and dad days (and to be fair, for us there were more mum days than dad days), but not exclusively one or the other.</li> <li>The baby doesn’t get used to one parent always being around, which often makes an eventual change-over to the other parent at 6 months very difficult.</li> <li>The mother isn’t in the position of dealing with the difficult first few months, while the father takes over and gets the “victory lap” of 6-12 months, where the baby starts to crawl, might say first words and take first steps.</li> <li>It may possibly aid language acquisition, as there are always 2 people around talking to each other, rather than a single person with no-one to talk to unless they brave going out.</li> <li>In the UK, taking less than or equal to 26 weeks off means your employer is not legally permitted to make changes to your job. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they won’t, but it gives you both recourse to challenge any changing of responsibilities that they might try to force upon you.</li></ul> <p>For ourselves, this was a wonderful bonding time for all of us. It brought my partner and I even closer together as we supported each other on a very intense new learning experience. We were able to work together as a team to overcome obstacles, share the burdens and the joys, and be far more adventurous than we would ever have been on our own.</p> <p>Sleep is a controversial topic, as everyone thinks they have “the solution” for getting babies to sleep, but inevitably all babies are different, so people’s advice may not actually be very helpful. Thankfully though, I’m not actually going to talk much about the baby’s sleep – it’s the approach to our own sleep that was unusual and successful here.</p> <p>Newborn babies don’t sleep through the night and need feeding every couple of hours, which means that anyone looking after a baby on their own will necessarily be sleep deprived for weeks on end. Because we were both around for the first 6 months, we were able to deal with this in shifts. In this situation, if you’re bottle feeding, it is fairly straightforward to take it in turns to feed a baby. We opted to breastfeed, which made things a little more complicated, but ultimately we used a bottle for one feed overnight (more on this <a class="external" href="http://#combi-feeding" rel="nofollow">below</a>).</p> <p>By using a bottle overnight from 2 weeks old, I was able to take the baby for a 4 hour stretch, allowing my partner at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep (between a last feed around midnight, and a first feed around 4am, with a bottle feed from me halfway in between). As the baby started sleeping longer, this was able to be stretched out such that before 1 month old, my partner was able to sleep a solid 8 hours a night (between a last feed at around 10pm and a first feed at around 6am, with me giving a bottle at 2am).</p> <p>This shift-based pattern, with my partner going to bed some time between 10pm and midnight, and me going to bed between 2am and 4am worked incredibly well, and meant that both of us could operate with minimal sleep deprivation well before the end of the first month. This is a dramatic contrast to several people that we have talked to, where the mother had not had an unbroken 8 hours of sleep for 2 months straight. The avoidance of sleep deprivation ultimately meant that this period was much less stressful than it could have been, and it was much easier for us to support each other.</p> <p>In fact, this pattern was relatively easy to flex as the baby grew older. As they started sleeping in longer chunks, they would wake later in the morning and we could move the bottle feed gradually earlier. By 2.5 months old, we had moved the bottle feed to before midnight, and the baby would regularly sleep through until after 8am. Your mileage may vary greatly here, and I think that we were exceedingly lucky to have a baby that slept so well, but our approach meant that if they hadn’t been such a good sleeper, we would have been able to get enough sleep regardless.</p> <p>The shift pattern also meant that I could stay with the baby while my partner slept, so that the baby wasn’t alone if and when it woke up. This is something that we had read was recommended in Philippa Perry’s “<a class="external" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0241251028/" rel="nofollow">The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read</a>”. I therefore wasn’t desperate for the baby to go to sleep, so that I could go to bed too; as I wasn’t particularly tired, with my sleep cycle shifted by about 5 hours. This made for a relaxed night-time routine, which was very helpful, as being stressed about bedtime is a surefire way to ensure that the baby won’t sleep.</p> <p>In general, from what I can tell, most people tend to go down the “exclusively breast-fed” or the “exclusively bottle-fed with formula” route. I’m sure there are some people that do both, but a lot of the advice we read seemed to warn of things like “nipple confusion” or suggest that you only try introducing a bottle after 3 months. This no doubt puts some people off, such that they don’t try it.</p> <p>We couldn’t find any good evidence that “nipple confusion” was a real thing – only occasional anecdotes, and scare stories from dogmatic “breast is best” advocates. The 3 months suggestion seemed to stem from the concept that feeding becomes a conscious action somewhere around that time, which can lead to things like bottle refusal around this time. This was a useful thing to be warned of, but didn’t seem like a good reason not to try it.</p> <p>The main concern that we could see around doing both, was that using formula milk for some feeds means that you are not stimulating your breast milk supply. Depending on how many feeds were breast vs. formula, it is conceivable that this could cause issues. With that in mind, we opted to use pumped milk for bottle feeds, which meant that the baby was technically still exclusively breastfed (but hey – to each their own – I am passing no judgement on people that use formula).</p> <p>I started giving the baby 1 bottle of pumped milk each night when they were 2 weeks old, which as mentioned <a class="external" href="http://#sleeping-in-shifts" rel="nofollow">above</a>, guaranteed my partner at least 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. As the baby slept longer and this became less necessary, we shifted to a double evening feed to tank the baby up overnight and enable them to sleep even longer before waking hungry.</p> <p>We found that milk supply was higher in the morning, so pumping in the morning and using this at night was very helpful. It was possibly also beneficial for sleeping, due to “overnight” hormones in morning milk.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>We had heard that it is worth having a variety of bottles and teats, as babies can be choosy about them and refuse certain bottle styles. We did indeed find that our baby was very picky, to the point where the only thing that they would reliably drink from was a Munchkin cup as pictured. This meant they were actually drinking from a “cup” from 10 weeks old. You go with whatever works!</p> <p>This one is definitely not going to work for everyone, but we decided to exclusively use a baby carrier/papoose rather than a pram/pushchair. In fact, we still don’t own a pram! Our initial reasoning was fairly straightforward – firstly, we live in a large city with lots of steps near our house and even more steps to access public transport, making the idea of continually hefting one up and down all these steps unappealing. Secondly, we didn’t really have much space in our house to store another huge item of what is effectively furniture. Thirdly, prams all seem to be ridiculously expensive – we thought we would try it without one, to see if we really needed it.</p> <p>There are certainly a few disadvantages to not using a pram – it is more physical effort to use a baby carrier, and you have less storage with you, so we often had to take a rucksack with us. That being said, the initial reasoning that we used turned out to be pretty sound – baby carriers are much smaller and easier to store, and it was pretty easy going out and about without having to manoeuvre a pram through a bustling city. Squeezing into cafés and shops was not a problem either, and it was great not having to worry about where to park a pram every time we attended a playgroup. We also both got stronger as the baby grew, so the physical effort wasn’t actually that bad.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>What we did find though, was that there was another huge advantage that we hadn’t even considered initially. As the baby is much closer to adult eye-level, they get much more interaction and eye contact with other people as you walk around. This naturally made it much more likely that people would talk to them, helping with sociability and possibly improving language acquisition. It is hard for me to overstate how stark the difference was in this sense between being carried and being in a pram. In a pram, down at hip-level, a child doesn’t spend a lot of time looking up at the faces of people around, and only the most exuberant of people will stop to wave at a child in a pram. In a carrier on the other hand, we found that our baby was constantly looking at or smiling at (and sometimes shouting at) people passing by, and a majority of these people would at the very least smile back.</p> <p>From about 6 months old, we started doing shoulder rides too, which was less tiring (the weight pushes directly down onto shoulders rather than pulling you forwards or back). Shoulder rides are a bit more limiting, as you don’t have both hands free, but on the other hand, it is much quicker to pick up and put down the baby without a carrier. Our child, being a bit of a daredevil, really loved this, and still quite likes this mode of transportation age 2.</p> <p>The closest thing to a pram that we have now, is a sit-on scooter that we can push along, but this is so much tinier and more lightweight than even the most minimal pushchair. It also requires more effort from the child – rather than simply sitting and relaxing, they have to engage their core and stay on, as well as giving them the opportunity to learn to steer. This additional effort means that our energy levels aren’t completely mismatched – after a long day of walking around, we don’t have a hyped up toddler that has been sitting around all day, so we all get to have a bit of a relaxing evening.</p> <p>This is the one that comes up the most in conversation, and that people have consistently thought that we were absolutely insane for doing. We flew to Mexico for 6 weeks with our 4 month old baby, and did a road trip from Cancún to Mexico City and back. Personally, I can’t recommend it enough – after all, without taking a sabbatical, when else are you going to have the opportunity to go on an extended holiday like that. Obviously, this only works if you’re both taking parental leave concurrently, but it is another great reason to do so.</p> <p>We did build up to it of course – when the baby was born we visited family and worked our way up to longer car trips. We then tried flying by taking a weekend trip to Bucharest. Once we were comfortable with all of that though, it seemed pretty manageable. The trip was a really great time, allowing the three of us to bond. It also wasn’t particularly disruptive to our way of living, as at that point there was no existing rhythm to break out of – everything was still new to us anyway.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>Travelling around a new country, we found that all of the walking involved helped us to stay fit without really thinking about it, though this may just be our approach to holidaying – I’m sure it would be possible to do less walking than we did! People were also generally very kind and pleased to help with and interact with the baby. </p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>Fundamentally, we enjoy travelling, and didn’t want to stop just because we were now parents. That being said, we did change our approach to make it enjoyable for the baby too – we avoided driving for too long on any one day, and we made sure to facilitate naps and snacks as required. By now, we have travelled quite a bit with our baby, and despite a few people suggesting that they wouldn’t get much out of the experience, the reality appears to be quite the opposite. We have generally found that significant developmental spurts seem to coincide with holidays that we take as a family.</p> <p>Hand signs are much easier than words for a baby to coordinate and formulate. This shouldn’t be too surprising, as even adults often find mimicking a new sound to be quite challenging, but mimicking a hand movement is much more straightforward.</p> <p>Babies can understand things that are said to them far earlier than they learn to speak, so by coupling certain words with hand signs, the baby is able to associate the concept with the sign as well as the vocalisation. This allows them to attempt to communicate much earlier, and when they can communicate even a rudimentary thought, this is very empowering.</p> <p>We’re not proficient signers, so we weren’t anywhere close to saying everything both verbally and in sign language – we just used a few key signs that allowed for the most common concepts to be signposted. These signs were: More, All Done, Food, Water, Milk, Potty, Yes, No, Mum, Dad, and Nappy Change.</p> <p>For us, their first sign “potty” happened just before 5 months old, “more” at 6 months, “milk” around 8 months, with “food” and “water” at 11 months.</p> <p>In contrast, their first word was at just over 8 months (“dad”). Learning and using these few signs didn’t actually take a lot of effort, so I would say that it was worth it. Only just though – largely because they took to speaking so quickly: first word at 8 months, 10 words by 12 months, 100 words by 18 months. If they had taken longer to become verbal, the sign language would have been useful for longer.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>On the other hand, I can’t rule out the idea that sign language could have itself aided wider language acquisition. It would be very interesting to see a study on whether using basic signs with babies accelerates their use of verbal language.</p> <p>As a side note, the other things that we did that we have reason to believe had a positive impact on language acquisition are:</p> <ul><li>No dummy/pacifier – this seems to be a standard recommendation by doctors, so we decided to just never get one.</li> <li>No baby talk – we talk to them normally, without using cutesy child-specific words (like “horsey” and “din-dins”), which made recognition of words used in conversations between adults more easy.</li> <li>As mentioned above, both parents off at the same time meant conversations constantly happened around them.</li> <li>Similarly, baby carrying meant they were at adult eye level, so conversations when out and about didn’t go (literally) over their head.</li> <li>The holidays were a break from normal routine, so different conversations and words were used.</li> <li>We’ve made great use of the Usborne “first thousand words” book, which quickly became a favourite, especially the “opposites” page.</li></ul> <p>As you can see from the above graph, word acquisition tracked pretty close to exponential. While we stopped tracking individual words at about 18 months, because they were coming too rapidly to keep track, this trend has continued.</p> <p>It took about 6 months to go from 10 words to 100 words, and after another 6 months, by age 2 they knew all the words in the “first thousand words” book, so definitely had well over 1000. At 2 years and 3 months they had picked up words like “consequences”, “frustrated” and “antibiotics”, and my favourite sentence so far is “want to go on rocket to moon on adventure holiday”.</p> <p>I say all of this not to brag (well ok, maybe a little – I am very proud of them), but to make the point that some of what we’ve done must have had an effect. I’m not one for false modesty, so I’m comfortable saying that my partner and I are reasonably intelligent, but neither of us is <a class="external" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_von_Neumann" rel="nofollow">John Von Neumann</a> or <a class="external" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Caspar_Mezzofanti" rel="nofollow">Giuseppe Mezzofanti</a>. We therefore have no reason to expect that our child has superhuman language abilities. The generally expected rate of language acquisition seems to be first word between 10 and 14 months, 100 words by age 2 and 1000 words by 3. It seems likely to me that some of the approaches that we have taken will have contributed to roughly halving this doubling time.</p> <p>This is an approach to nappies and potty training that focuses on giving babies an awareness of their bodily functions and the ability to communicate about them as early as possible. Usually focused around noticing trends and cues from your baby, to allow you to put them on a (tiny) potty before they go in their nappy, and avoid them getting used to soiling themselves. Many proponents of the various techniques claim that their babies have been “potty trained” at stupendously early ages. This is probably best taken with a pinch of salt, but I can share our experience.</p> <p>The concept of Elimination Communication is nothing new (hence there being an established name for it), however it definitely seems to be less prevalent in the UK than it is in the US, as most of the resources we came across were from the States. Without wanting to stereotype anyone, it also seems that a large number of people currently practising and espousing this approach are quite far towards the “crunchy” end of the spectrum (by which I mean the lifestyle that is often typified by a kind of hippie organic vegan asceticism). This is a little unfortunate really, as I don’t think there is any need for it to be associated with this, and the perceived association might put off people that have more conventional lifestyles.</p> <p>We came across the general idea independently some time ago. My partner spent some time living in China around a decade ago, while western brands and products were still trying to make inroads into their markets. During this time, she encountered many families with quite young babies that <a class="external" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/31/health/potty-training-parenting-without-borders-explainer/index.html" rel="nofollow">did not use nappies at all</a>, and seemed to be able to sense when their babies were about to go. When out and about, these parents held their babies over bins, drains or bags to do their business, and seemed to have a remarkable amount of success.</p> <p>It is my understanding that unfortunately these days most people in China look down on these practices, and tend to use disposable nappies as much as people in Europe and the US. At the same time, in the UK at least, the average age of potty training completion has gone up from 2 ½ to 3 ½ in just the <a class="external" href="https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/children-are-being-potty-trained-a-year-later-than-they-were-in-2004-yougov-poll-shows-1083869" rel="nofollow">last 20 years</a>, and <a class="external" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/toilet-training-school-children-parents-b2508133.html" rel="nofollow">24% of children</a> start school without being potty trained. The average baby also gets through around 10,000 disposable nappies, which are all either burned or get sent to landfill. After some research, and discovering that the idea of “Elimination Communication” seemed to be attempting to explain and codify a similar approach among parents in the US, we decided to give it a go. Obviously, we’re not out there letting our baby defecate into bins, but we did invest in a number of tiny <a class="external" href="https://potette.co.uk/product/potette-plus/" rel="nofollow">travel potties</a>, and are intimately acquainted with the locations of public toilets in a large number of destinations…</p> <p>The approach requires far more detail than I can include in this post, but we found that the most useful resource was “<a class="external" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0061229709" rel="nofollow">The Diaper Free Baby</a>” by Christine Gross-Loh. We didn’t worry too much about some of the suggested actions such as overnight pottying or “naked observations”. We mostly just offered our baby the opportunity to use a potty at nappy changes and transitions between activities (sleeping and waking, feeding and playing, etc.). Prompting the baby with cues when on the potty was also helpful for us (using a hand sign and grunting).</p> <p>The other thing that we did, which seemed to help, was to use reusable nappies. They are less absorbent, so the baby lets you know that it is dirty earlier. This may sound unpleasant for the baby (after all, most nappy marketing focuses on how comfortable they will feel, despite having thoroughly wet/soiled themselves), but it avoids them getting <a class="external" href="https://eric.org.uk/why-are-children-potty-training-later/" rel="nofollow">too comfortable with soiling themselves</a>, which is then something you have to train them out of doing later. It results in you needing to change the nappy more often, so that the baby doesn’t get uncomfortable, but we were happy with that trade-off. Mind you, we still used disposable nappies on holiday – they’re much more convenient, you can buy them at your destination, and you don’t need to wash or carry around a bunch of dirty nappies. All in all, I think what we did roughly amounts to what some refer to as “Lazy EC”, but we found it to be immensely beneficial.</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“Babies used to be potty-trained much earlier, and more willingly, because towelling nappies were so damp and uncomfortable. But the moisture-wicking technology of the disposable has made it possible for toddlers to sit for hours quite happily in their own feculence.”</p><cite><a class="external" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/29/british-parents-have-forgotten-their-most-basic-responsibil/" rel="nofollow">The Telegraph</a>, as ever, raging about the issue in much more hyperbolic terms</cite></blockquote> <p>By providing the baby with a hand movement and a noise that was associated with going to the potty, the baby was empowered to be able to communicate their needs. Our baby was able to signal to us by grunting that they were about to defecate by 4 months old. This meant that we were usually able to get them onto the potty in time, which was actually a source of considerable happiness for our baby. When you are that small and powerless, it must be reassuring to be able to control even a tiny amount of your world. Despite requiring an initial investment of time and effort, it paid dividends much quicker than we had hoped, such that by 6 months old, we were hardly dealing with any dirty nappies – only wet ones, which was great when the baby had started weaning. By this point, we also tended to read books on the potty to make the potty experience more enjoyable.</p> <p>We started potty training at 19 months old, going cold-turkey using the “<a class="external" href="https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-is-the-oh-crap-potty-training-method-5248427" rel="nofollow">oh crap method</a>”, and were able to do away with nappies entirely at 20 months old, even during naptime.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>We still used reusable pull-ups overnight for a few more months, but these were only for the occasional accident that happened less than once per week. We might have been able to complete potty training earlier, but there wasn’t much urgency, as we were only really dealing with the occasional wet nappy at that point.</p> <p>There are a range of different approaches that could all be described with this label, and as with many things, the most extreme versions can create their own set of problems. Despite liking the general philosophy of consent based parenting, the main issue that we had with “gentle parenting” and “child led” approaches is that many people seem to take them to extremes.</p> <p>There are many skills and behaviours that children need to learn in order to be functional people. In our view, it is not good enough to just sit back and wait for them to express interest – you have to generate the interest yourself! Getting a child to do something when they aren’t interested is often difficult and counterproductive, putting them off even more, therefore it is important to make the activity fun and appealing.</p> <p>We were planning to start weaning at about 6 months old, but our baby ended up being very interested in food, and started grabbing and tasting things that were on our plates at just over 4 months. They didn’t really start ingesting significant quantities until around 6 months, but by this point their dexterity had improved dramatically.</p> <p>The main tenets of “baby led weaning” that we embraced were:</p> <ul><li>They eat the same thing as you – no need to prepare food separately, you just have to avoid too much salt and preferentially chop things into stick shapes that they can get their fist around. They therefore get used to eating as much variety as you do.</li> <li>They eat at the same time as you, at the dinner table – they don’t feel like they’re being watched over while they eat, they can just copy what the adults are doing.</li> <li>It doesn’t matter how much they eat – it’s about the experience and the enjoyment.</li></ul> <p>This made life easy – no blending everything into a mush, no cooking two separate meals every mealtime, very little spoon feeding. I think that we were very lucky to have a child that was keen on food, but I don’t think we’d have changed much if they weren’t.</p> <p>We weren’t too obsessive about avoiding sugar, for example our baby ate quite a lot of fruit, but we tried to steer clear of desserts until age 1, and only occasional small portions thereafter. This had the unexpected benefit of making them take Calpol very easily. A couple of different doctors have made the comment that “they take medicine well – they must not eat much sweet stuff”.</p> <p>We also weren’t that extreme about things being “baby led” – if they didn’t want to eat something, that was fine, but we still kept offering it at mealtimes, and gently encouraged them to at least try it. Often we would find that a few weeks after trying and disliking something, they would suddenly start eating it for no discernible reason.</p> <p>Most parents we encountered had quite rigid schedules for sleeping, naps and eating, and many set quite early bedtimes despite not enjoying the very early mornings. We wondered why this was, as the rigidity was often quite limiting and felt unnecessary; while the early mornings sounded unpleasant and seemed easily resolved by a later bedtime, despite people clearly not taking this option.</p> <p>Several people we spoke to considered this rigidity to be the only way that worked, but we decided to see whether we could avoid these limitations, and we found that we could. It was a lot more pleasant – naps/food were not “expected” at certain specific times, so we could fit them in more easily around other activities that we did during the day. This also made it easy to adapt to changing requirements (e.g. 2 naps down to 1 nap wasn’t a huge adjustment – two 2hr naps became two 1.5h naps, which then became one 2.5h nap etc.).</p> <p>Due to eating dinner at the same time as us, our baby generally had a bedtime of between 21:00 and 21:30. This caused us no issues, and by 6-7 months old, it resulted in a usual waking time of 8:30 – 9:00. Many people would consider this a very late bedtime, but the baby was getting the same number of hours of sleep as other babies their age – it just meant that we didn’t get woken up at 6am every day, which was glorious.</p> <p>Once we were no longer both on parental leave, this late bedtime had another huge advantage. Arriving home from work after your child has already gone to bed, whilst regrettable, is a pretty normal experience for many people. Due to the later schedule, in the almost two years since we returned to work, I think this scenario has only happened once or twice to each of us.</p> <p>One justification that we heard for not having such a late bedtime was that “they’ll just wake up early anyway, and then be grouchy all day”. This didn’t gel with our experience of travelling, after all, if you’re waking up at the same time each day, and that isn’t the time you want to wake up, that is just jet-lag. As with many adults, the process of overcoming jet-lag can take a couple of days, but after a couple of days of broken sleep, you all settle into a new routine.</p> <p>When travelling, skipping a nap was a good way to bring bedtime forward by a couple of hours, and a later, longer nap was a good way to push bedtime back by a couple of hours. If our baby woke up in the middle of the night, they were generally still pretty tired, so comforting them back to bed would usually take less than half an hour. The same techniques we used to help our baby overcome jet-lag were useful in ensuring that their sleep cycle was properly aligned with the 21:30-8:30 sleep window.</p> <p>We encountered this idea through researching Montessori methods, which in general seemed quite well aligned with how we wanted to approach things (e.g. treating the child as an independent person, and being mindful of their desires and opinions – Philippa Perry’s book was very helpful for this too). We definitely haven’t been following Montessori methods to the letter, as they can be quite prescriptive, but we used it as inspiration, and Simone Davies’ books “<a class="external" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1523512407/" rel="nofollow">The Montessori Baby</a>” and “<a class="external" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152350689X/" rel="nofollow">The Montessori Toddler</a>” were very helpful for this. It also has some clashes with other approaches that we were using, which I will briefly detail.</p> <p>In conflict with EC, the Montessori approach says that you shouldn’t disturb playtime, as play is work, whereas EC suggests that you offer potty as soon as you see a cue. We tended to interrupt play if they deliberately cued or were distressed, but were more relaxed about more subtle, non-deliberate signals. With offering the potty at transitions between activities, we found that they developed the ability to hold it in until they were next offered the potty (within reason).</p> <p>In conflict with BLW, the Montessori approach suggests having babies at their own tiny table, whereas BLW tends to have them at the same table as adults, able to watch adults eat, and eat the same things as the adults. We tended more towards BLW, as eating with us was more convenient and encouraged interest in more adventurous foods.</p> <p>Interestingly, the idea of a floor bed seems to be one of the less popular Montessori concepts, possibly because of how unusual it appears at first glance. Child-proofing an entire room, and setting it up for them to have free reign within it, does make it look very different to what you might expect from a traditional baby’s bedroom!</p> <p>We moved them from a bedside cot to their own room with a floor bed at about 6 months old. In the early days of this, we would tend to go in whenever they stirred, so that they wouldn’t feel abandoned, but we found that they very quickly adapted to the change, and quite liked the independence. A video monitor was invaluable, as this enabled us to keep an eye on what they were doing. Rather than needing our help to be let out of a crib, they were free to explore, and this led to them being much less likely to cry when they woke up in the morning. It also meant that we didn’t have to lift them out of their cot, which meant much less strain on our backs as they grew heavier. </p> <p>When we first moved them to the floor bed, we found that they would often roll out, so we used some lengths of pipe insulation (similar to a pool noodle, but much cheaper and narrower), under the bed sheet, creating a slight barrier to avoid accidental rolling. A few times we found that they had gotten out of bed in the middle of the night, and were asleep elsewhere in the room, but this wasn’t really a problem – we could usually go in and gently move them back into bed. After a couple of months, they started to crawl, and they started heading back to bed themselves when they awoke in the middle of the night (sometimes falling asleep before they made their way all the way onto the mattress). At this point we removed the roll barriers, so that they could get back into bed more easily.</p> <p>From quite early on, our child would often wake up and play independently for up to 20 minutes before getting bored and demanding our presence. This was great for gentle starts in the morning. Not feeling trapped in a crib also made them much more inclined to go to bed. I can imagine that if you were to dislike your bed, you would be less likely to volunteer to go there, but by 11 months old, our baby would sometimes take themselves to bed if they were tired enough!</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>One further benefit was that the floor bed helped them to get used to there being a drop at the edge of the bed. After we removed the roll barriers, they initially rolled out of bed at some point on most nights (though this didn’t usually wake them). This quite quickly became more of a rarity though, and by age 2 we were comfortable putting them in a standard bed, raised off the floor.</p> <p>Aside from taking parental leave together, this has had the biggest impact on how we live our lives, and I am very happy to strongly recommend it to anyone that will listen. Both my partner and I used to work 5 days a week, as is the norm, but on returning from our 6 months of shared parental leave, we both went down to 3 days a week. After all, 6 months old is very early to go into full-time childcare, and neither of us wanted to stop work completely. Thankfully in the UK, companies have to have a “good business reason” to deny such requests, so we were able to clear this with our respective employers before the baby was born.</p> <p>My partner works Monday to Wednesday, and I work Wednesday to Friday, which means that every week we each have 2 days looking after the baby by ourselves, with weekends together as a family, and only one day on which we need to pay for childcare. With only 1 day per week at a childminder, it isn’t too expensive, so we don’t feel like we are working just to pay someone else to raise our child, as people often feel when both parents stay in full time work. Although we currently live a bit far from our respective families for it to be relevant, 1 day per week is a small enough amount that some people might even be able to find family or friends that can help, without it being an unreasonable ask.</p> <p>From an egalitarian perspective, this approach works incredibly well when contrasted against the model of one working parent and one stay-at-home parent. We both share the responsibility for child rearing, being able to appreciate the difficulties of both childcare and work. This allows us to share different approaches with each other, and support each other, as we are not living in totally separate worlds. In a more traditional situation, with a stay-at-home parent, it is very easy for the parent in employment to generate frustration by simply offering their opinion, or trying to help. After all, it is difficult for this to not come across as “I know better than you, despite having hardly any experience”. As equal caregivers, suggesting alternative approaches to each other is much less likely to generate frustration, and those suggestions are much more likely to be actually useful.</p> <p>Among other things, most relationships are built on a foundation of shared experiences, which may be why many couples find that the first years of raising a child takes a significant toll on their relationships. If one of you opts to be a stay-at-home parent, you will start to have very different life experiences from each other. Further to this, if you aren’t the one doing a job, it is very easy to fail to appreciate how much hard work it can be. By both getting the experience of looking after our child, we are able to share in the experience and bond over it, as well as being able to appreciate the difficulties that the other is having.</p> <p>By spending 3 days out of each week at work, we are both also able to maintain our respective careers. We both get to interact with other adults regularly, avoiding the stay-at-home pitfall of chronic loneliness and ego death. Neither of us will have a gap on our CV or in our professional development, and whilst we might find that our progression slows down relative to full time workers, we are both sharing that hit as equally as we can. Further to this, neither of us is the default “primary caregiver” – both of us are the caregiver on our respective days. Some employers have an issue with parents that are part-time workers, because they often have to leave early when their child is sick, but this isn’t the case here, as on work days, the other parent is the caregiver.</p> <p>I have heard from several people that (for various reasons) work part-time at 4 days per week, that the 4-day week is quite problematic. Employers tend to expect the same amount of work from you as if they were paying you for 5 days, and by working late, this is actually possible to deliver. As such, it can be difficult to enforce a boundary with the employer, that you should in fact be given less work, and not have to work late to compensate. A 3-day week does not have this problem – with the best will in the world, a full time job cannot be crammed into that timeframe, so employers have to adapt their working procedures around it. Of course, they may use this as a reason to deny the part-time request, or just make your life difficult, but more and more employers are coming to terms with part-time working, so it’s probably worth a try.</p> <p>For weaning and sleeping specifically, there were distinct positives to the father having regular 1-on-1 time with the baby. Having breastfed the baby, weaning was much easier on the days mum wasn’t around, as the baby has less expectation of being breastfed. Similarly for sleeping, in some circumstances it was easier for dad to settle the baby, as there was no expectation of being fed to sleep.</p> <p>Aside from the egalitarian angle, there are a few other advantages that we have found to this approach. For families in which both parents return to work, separation anxiety can be an issue, and some babies start waking in the night as a result. By avoiding full-time childcare, we didn’t have to deal with this – our baby adapted to 1 day per week at a childminder in hardly any time at all, as they very quickly realised that it was only for a single day at once. The multiple different approaches used between dad, mum and the childminder were also very useful in reducing blind spots. We were all much less likely to miss something, as we all had different thought processes and experience.</p> <p>One thing that we were quite vigilant about was avoiding screen time. This is another controversial topic, as I think it is something that many people feel judged about. I want to make clear that I am not passing judgement on anyone that gives their kid screen time – it is a personal decision, and it would have been much more difficult for us to stick to if we weren’t sharing the effort by working part-time.</p> <p>While several studies have shown that “excessive” screen time can negatively impact executive functioning and sensorimotor development with long term effects, it isn’t always clear what counts as excessive. We did however come across various anecdotes suggesting that any kind of regular screen time has some negative impact, and some people have found that weaning their children off screen time helped them to sleep better and develop better self-regulation and patience. As such, we made significant efforts to avoid screen time, and used it only as a last resort a couple of times, watching one or two episodes of something when 1) we were on a long-haul flight and 2) we all had COVID and could barely function.</p> <p>One thing that seems very clearly inversely related to the amount of screen time they get is a child’s ability to play independently. By avoiding the promise of instant gratification that a screen provides, we found encouraging independent play much easier. Ultimately, a child without access to a screen needs to learn how to entertain themselves. To encourage independent play, we tried to leave them to it some of the time – finding things that would entertain them, and then leaving them to play with the toys by themselves. Another quite Montessori approach.</p> <p>Whilst this may have made life a bit more difficult in the early days, for us it definitely paid off in the long run. Having learned to play independently, and not being used to screens being on offer, they generally don’t make demands to watch anything. They are also able to sit in restaurants and be entertained by the food, a toy or other people, without needing a screen.</p> <p>We have tried hard to make words and numbers interesting and exciting. As mentioned above, it’s difficult and counterproductive to get a child to do something they’re not interested in. Therefore we have read books to our baby from the start, and <a class="external" href="https://youtu.be/4Zso02MtTqI?si=ueQUhdbBnvDZSQ5J" rel="nofollow">engaged with the content</a> in a way that makes it exciting (“look, it’s a fish – blub blub”, etc.). This has engendered a love of books in our child, as intended, which is a good sign for future learning. There is nothing particularly new or controversial here, as reading to your child seems to be one of the only things that has been conclusively shown to improve educational outcomes in children in a statistically significant way.</p> <p>Having succeeded in generating an enthusiasm for books though, we have been able to take this one step further. We were given some letter/animal fridge magnets around age 1, which we mainly played with as an after dinner treat (since they were in the kitchen). Having looked into Phonics a bit, we tried to be consistent in our use of the letter sounds for the letters (rather than using the letter names), and this turned out to be one of the best toys we had. It really sparked an interest in letters, and before long we had stuck up a few letters from a phonics chart in the kitchen too, which our baby loved pointing at and trying to make the sounds.</p> <p>It is worth noting that all of this was driven by the enthusiasm and interest that they showed – we weren’t sitting there and forcing our 1 year old to pore over phonics charts. We just made the letter magnets seem exciting, and they started noticing letters when out and about as a consequence.</p> <p>Shortly before age 2, they were able to recognise and sound out every letter of the alphabet. We looked into the next steps in phonics, which was not entirely trivial, as most resources either stop at this point, or are targeted at parents supporting the learning that is being undertaken at school. Thankfully a friend that was a teacher was able to point us in the right direction, and we were able to start on digraphs and dipthongs.</p> <div class="wp-block-image"></div> <p>By their second birthday, we acquired a much bigger set of fridge magnet letters (made of smaller letters, without the animal associations). These probably wouldn’t have been of much interest before, but by this point, letters were interesting to our toddler in themselves. These immediately jumped to being one of the favourite toys (behind only the favourite teddy and perhaps the duplo chickens…). After only a couple of months of playing with them (“dad, spell edamame on fridge”), they’re able to recognise some 3 letter words like cat, mum, fix, etc.</p> <p>Numbers have been similar – lots of reading number books, and counting objects. Our toddler is able to recognise all of the digits from 0 to 9 (still occasionally gets 6 and 9 mixed up, but gets it right more than half the time). I say this not to brag, but to assert that it is possible. The number of people I have encountered that thought that what we were doing was pointless is staggering. “Oh, they’re far too young to recognise numbers yet” – well yes, that was true at one point, but by seizing the opportunity to show them, every time they expressed an interest in a number book or a letter magnet, we were able to keep them interested enough to learn. The attitude of “they can’t do it yet, so don’t teach them” is one that I personally find quite bizarre – after all, how do you expect to teach something if a prerequisite to teaching the thing is them already knowing it.</p> <p>What is more, this process is a lot of fun. There is something truly wonderful about showing someone something new for the first time, and watching it sink in. Every success is exhilarating; every time they recognise something and are able to apply it outside of the environment in which they learned it, is a rush of adrenaline. This is something that we are only able to do because of the way that we have set up our lives – part time working, which allows us to use minimal outside childcare, whilst also allowing us both to maintain our careers and not get burned out being a carer. This means that most weeks we come to our 1-on-1 days reinvigorated, with excitement, energy and new ideas.</p> <p>As mentioned previously, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy the first few years of having a child at all, but I can honestly say that the way that we’re approaching it has been far easier and more fun than I would have dared to dream. If someone offered me 10x my salary to come back and work full time, I would have to respectfully decline – there is more to life than work.</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“No one on his deathbed ever said, ‘I wish I had spent more time on my business.’”</p><cite>Arnold Zack in a letter to Paul Tsongas</cite></blockquote> <p>It’s a good job that we feel this way really, as our second was born just a few weeks ago. When I said “we will definitely be doing the same thing next time”, I really meant “we are doing this again, right now”. Time will tell whether our various approaches will be as successful a second time around, but so far I am reasonably confident that they are sufficiently flexible that we can make them work for another different child.</p></div></summary></entry><entry><title>The GPT-4 barrier has finally been smashed</title><link href="https://simonwillison.net/2024/Mar/8/gpt-4-barrier/#atom-everything" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-03-08T18:12:07.512000Z</published><author><name></name></author><id>https://simonwillison.net/2024/Mar/8/gpt-4-barrier/#atom-everything</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/the-gpt-4-barrier-ha/790:1ebce6">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/790.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Simon Willison&#x27;s Weblog.</b> </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>Four weeks ago, GPT-4 remained the undisputed champion: consistently at the top of every key benchmark, but more importantly the clear winner in terms of "vibes". Almost everyone investing serious time exploring LLMs agreed that it was the most capable default model for the majority of tasks - and had been for more than a year.</p><p>Today that barrier has finally been smashed. We have four new models, all released to the public in the last four weeks, that are benchmarking near or even above GPT-4. And the all-important vibes are good, too!</p><p>Those models come from four different vendors.</p><ul><li><a href="https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-gemini-next-generation-model-february-2024/">Google Gemini 1.5</a>, February 15th. I wrote about this <a href="https://simonwillison.net/2024/Feb/21/gemini-pro-video/">the other week</a>: the signature feature is an incredible one million long token context, nearly 8 times the length of GPT-4 Turbo. It can also process video, which it does by breaking it up into one frame per second - but you can fit a LOT of frames (256 tokens each) in a million tokens.</li><li><a href="https://mistral.ai/news/mistral-large/">Mistral Large</a>, February 26th. I have a big soft spot for a mistral given how exceptional their openly licensed models are - Mistral 7B runs on my iPhone, and Mixtral-8x7B is the best model I've successfully run on my laptop. Medium and Large are their two hosted but closed models, and while Large may not be quite outperform GPT-4 it's clearly in the same class. I can't wait to see what they put out next.</li><li><a href="https://www.anthropic.com/news/claude-3-family">Claude 3 Opus</a>, March 4th. This is just a few days old and wow: the vibes on this one are <em>really</em> strong. People I know who evaluate LLMs closely are rating it as the first clear GPT-4 beater. I've switched to it as my default model for a bunch of things, most conclusively for code - I've had several experiences recently where a complex GPT-4 prompt that produced broken JavaScript gave me a perfect working answer when run through Opus instead (<a href="https://fedi.simonwillison.net/@simon/112057299607427949">recent example</a>. I also enjoyed Anthropic research engineer Amanda Askell's detailed <a href="https://simonwillison.net/2024/Mar/7/claude-3-system-prompt-explained/">breakdown of their system prompt</a>.</li><li><a href="https://inflection.ai/inflection-2-5">Inflection-2.5</a>, March 7th. This one came out of left field for me: Inflection make <a href="https://hello.pi.ai/">Pi</a>, a conversation-focused chat interface that felt a little gimmicky to me when I first tried it. Then just the other day they announced that their brand new 2.5 model benchmarks favorably against GPT-4, and Ethan Mollick - one of my favourite LLM sommeliers - noted that it <a href="https://twitter.com/emollick/status/1765801629788647468">deserves more attention</a>.</li></ul><p>Not every one of these models is a clear GPT-4 beater, but every one of them is a contender. And like I said, a month ago we had none at all.</p><p>There are a couple of disappointments here.</p><p>Firstly, none of those models are openly licensed or weights available. I imagine the resources they need to run would make them impractical for most people, but at after a year that has seen enormous leaps forward in the openly licensed model category it's sad to see the very best models remain strictly proprietary.</p><p>And unless I've missed something, none of these models are being transparent about their training data. This also isn't surprising: the lawsuits have started flying now over training on unlicensed copyrighted data, and negative public sentiment continues to grow over the murky ethical ground on which these models are built.</p><p>It's still disappointing to me. While I'd love to see a model trained entirely on public domain or licensed content - and it feels like we should start to see some strong examples of that pretty soon - it's not clear to me that it's possible to build something that competes with GPT-4 without dipping deep into unlicensed content for the training. I'd love to be proved wrong on that!</p><p>In the absence of such a <a href="https://simonwillison.net/2022/Aug/29/stable-diffusion/#ai-vegan">vegan model</a> I'll take training transparency over what we are seeing today. I use these models a lot, and knowing how a model was trained is a powerful factor in helping decide which questions and tasks a model is likely suited for. Without training transparency we are all left reading tea leaves, sharing conspiracy theories and desperately trying to figure out the vibes.</p></summary><category term="ai"></category><category term="openai"></category><category term="generativeai"></category><category term="gpt4"></category><category term="llms"></category><category term="anthropic"></category><category term="claude"></category><category term="mistral"></category></entry><entry><title>‘Great Developers Steal Ideas, Not Products’</title><link href="https://davidbarnard.com/post/10339887834/great-developers-steal-ideas-not-products" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-03-03T15:42:14.916000Z</published><author><name>John Gruber</name></author><id>https://davidbarnard.com/post/10339887834/great-developers-steal-ideas-not-products</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/great-developers-ste/9005709:c139b1">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/9005709.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Daring Fireball.</b> </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>David Barnard, in a post from 2011 on the oft-cited (and oft-misattributed) adage about good artists copying and great artists stealing:</p> <blockquote> <p>In dancing around the moral and semantic differences between borrowing and stealing, I’ve been missing the greater point. Elliot used the word <em>steal</em>, not for its immoral connotation, but to suggest ownership. To steal something is to take possession of it. </p> <p>When you steal an idea and have the time and good taste to make it your own, it grows into something different, hopefully something greater. But as you borrow more and more from other products, there’s less and less of you in the result. Less to be proud of, less to own. </p></blockquote> <p>Barnard quotes the actual origin of the adage, from T.S. Eliot, and that alone is worth a bookmark. In Eliot’s formulation, it’s not <em>copying</em> vs. stealing, but <em>imitating</em> vs. stealing. That subtle distinction is clarifying. People who are creative and ethical generally see the clear distinction between <a href="https://www.everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series">remixing</a> and ripping off. I add <em>generally</em> there because some people are truly offended when the ideas behind their own creations are remixed — stolen — by others.</p> <p>To name one notable example, I’d argue that Android, as a whole, is a remix of the iPhone. But there are specific Android handsets — starting with <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/news/samsungs-smartphone-history-from-zero-to-galaxy-s4">some early Samsung Galaxy models</a> — that are rip-offs of iPhone hardware designs. Steve Jobs, however, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-15400984">felt otherwise</a>.</p> <p>(And which is not to say Google hasn’t often <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2011/07/21/barnard-google">been a shameless imitator/copycat</a>.)</p> <div><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2024/03/01/great-developers-steal-ideas-not-products" title="Permanent link to ‘‘Great Developers Steal Ideas, Not Products’’">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a></div></summary></entry><entry><title>Reruns</title><link href="https://inessential.com/2024/02/08/reruns.html" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-02-28T20:26:36.218000Z</published><author><name></name></author><id>https://inessential.com/2024/02/08/reruns.html</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/reruns/20:26eadf">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/20.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> inessential.com:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> NewsBlur helpfully (and expensively) merged these stories because they were &gt;95% the same. So no dupes. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>It’s not a bug in your RSS reader if recent articles in this feed all suddenly appeared as unread. You may even have seeming duplicates.</p> <p>Sorry about that! It’s due to my changing settings in my blog generator. Pages now have a .html suffix where before they had none. This change impacts permalinks, which also changes the <code>guid</code>s in my RSS feed — and NetNewsWire and other RSS readers use the <code>guid</code> property to identify articles, which means these will show up as new articles.</p> <p>(Note: I’ve created redirects so that old links pointing in will still work.)</p></summary></entry><entry><title>‘Poor Charlie’s Almanack’ (and the Tragic State of E-Books)</title><link href="https://www.stripe.press/poor-charlies-almanack" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-01-08T15:12:42.790000Z</published><author><name>John Gruber</name></author><id>https://www.stripe.press/poor-charlies-almanack</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/poor-charlies-almana/9005709:343852">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/9005709.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Daring Fireball:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I&#x27;m building an epub reader now (solreader.com) but I have experience with both RSS and ePubs, which are open formats designed to normalize the differences between different publishers and make it easy to read more. These websites are beautiful but they are not scalable, in that publishers can&#x27;t make a bespoke website for each book, and readers will fatigue of having a new reading UX for each book/feed they read. In other words, these solve different problems. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>When Charlie Munger — Warren Buffet’s longtime partner at Berkshire Hathaway — died last month at 99, <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/11/28/charlie-munger-rip">I mentioned</a> that a new edition of <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em> was about to be published by Stripe Publishing (a subsidiary of the very same Stripe of e-payments renown).</p> <p><a href="https://press.stripe.com/poor-charlies-almanack">The hardcover edition</a> is out, but Stripe has also made the entire book available on this marvelous website. The site is beautiful, fun, and clever, and <a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/04/11/make-something-wonderful">reminds me</a> greatly of <a href="https://stevejobsarchive.com/book">the web edition of The Steve Jobs Archive’s <em>Make Something Wonderful</em></a>. Both are damning condemnations of the state of e-books.</p> <p>Regarding <em>Make Something Wonderful</em>, <a href="https://twitter.com/sdw/status/1645833999762472960">Sebastiaan de With wrote</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>It’s hard to capture the delight of a real book, but this website does a fantastic job coming close. Lots of delightful, thoughtful little details. </p> <p>I say “ebook” because it isn’t a word used anywhere on the website, likely for good reason: there are no good ebooks. The ePub file lacks all the delight of the beautiful website. Books on Apple Books are objectively worse than their written counterparts. This might be nicer. </p></blockquote> <p>Kindle editions are even more primitive, design-wise. Compare <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C5TCGPPS?ref=knfdg_R_hard_pew&amp;asin=B0C5TCGPPS&amp;revisionId=a2fa6a1f&amp;format=1&amp;depth=1">the Kindle preview</a> of <em>Poor Charlie’s Almanack</em> to the website edition. It’s like comparing a matchbook to a blowtorch. With the e-book editions — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, whatever — you can merely read these books. With the web editions, you <em>experience</em> them.</p> <div><a href="https://daringfireball.net/linked/2023/12/29/poor-charlies-almanack" title="Permanent link to ‘‘Poor Charlie’s Almanack’ (and the Tragic State of E-Books)’">&nbsp;★&nbsp;</a></div></summary></entry><entry><title>Get ready to hear more about "pre-internet" times</title><link href="https://www.axios.com/2024/01/05/pre-internet-pay-phones-digital-online-cellphones-vintage-nostalgia" rel="alternate"></link><published>2024-01-05T11:15:04.193000Z</published><author><name>Jennifer A. Kingson</name></author><id>https://www.axios.com/2024/01/05/pre-internet-pay-phones-digital-online-cellphones-vintage-nostalgia</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/get-ready-to-hear-mo/6556107:7b4b67">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6556107.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Axios:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I was born in 1985 so I experienced plenty of life pre web. Less than comforting to know society would irreparably break down in the event of a longer than two weeks electrical outage. Even the 2003 blackout had a minimal effect since it was still early and regional. Socialization is very different now but like all human made institutions, we’ll adapt. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>Expect 2024 to feature more talk about "pre-internet" life — a subject of intense curiosity to the growing cohort of people who never experienced it.</p><p><strong>Why it matters:</strong> There's been a pronounced generational tipping point: Boomers, Gen Xers and elder millennials are now the last people who remember what it was like to use a pay phone, a paper map, a typewriter, etc. — and they're being rapidly outnumbered by younger adults who don't. </p><hr /><p><strong>Driving the news: </strong>There's mounting fascination among the "youngs" in how people socialized, found where they were going, and got things done before the mid-1990s, when the internet, email and mobile phones started becoming common.</p><ul><li>They're turning to vintage TV shows like "Friends" and "Seinfeld" to catch a glimpse, or asking questions on <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-was-daily-life-like-before-the-internet" target="_blank">Quora</a> and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/o59e19/what_was_life_like_before_smartphones_and_the/" target="_blank">Reddit</a> about what life was like. </li><li>A growing number of articles and <a href="https://medium.com/%40justpixelperks/exploring-the-pre-internet-days-a-personal-account-of-life-before-the-digital-revolution-185432503e68" target="_blank">personal essays</a> meditate on what it was like to live without being reachable at all times or carrying all the world's accumulated knowledge in your pocket.</li><li>Social scientists use terms like "digital immigrants" and (cheekily) "the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/aug/04/innocence-lost-what-did-you-do-before-the-internet" target="_blank">last of the innocents</a>" to describe people who came of age in the era of phone books, VCRs, answering machines and paper AAA <a href="https://triptik.aaa.com/home/" target="_blank">TripTik</a> maps. </li><li>Dinner table conversations have Gen Zers asking their elders: How did you meet up with people? How did you find what you wanted to buy?</li></ul><img src="https://images.axios.com/PGHeeCD4f5sDtvLGGDq0q1D6Ugw=/2023/12/28/1703801368567.jpg" /> <div>An advertising <a href="https://vintage-ads.livejournal.com/4679503.html" target="_blank">jingle</a> for the Yellow Pages phone directory went, "Let your fingers do the walking." Before Yelp, when you wanted to find a business, you looked here for a listing (minus customer reviews) of a plumber, pizzeria, veterinarian, etc. Photo: William Gottlieb/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images</div><p><strong>Zoom in: </strong>Movies that took place in "pre-internet" times are starting to have an antique or period feel to them — like the 2023 Golden Globe-nominated "Air," set in 1984.</p><ul><li>Ben Affleck's character, in his quest to sign Michael Jordan as a spokesman for Nike, fusses over a paper map while trying to drive to the Jordan family home, and races to a pay phone in front of a 7-Eleven to call his office for critical information.</li></ul><p><strong>Reality check: </strong>Even people who <em>did </em>grow up pre-internet find it increasingly hard to recall how things worked. (I sheepishly raise my hand.) </p><ul><li>By today's standards, things were more boring and inconvenient — you couldn't play Candy Crush while standing in line, couldn't find the answer to whatever question popped into your head, and couldn't reach anyone, anytime. </li><li>Relics of this era seem increasingly vintage, like the "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/BethelWoodsCenter/posts/in-1969-the-woodstock-festivals-iconic-message-tree-became-a-designated-meeting-/10158139370784855/" target="_blank">Message Tree</a>" at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, where people pinned handwritten notes for friends they were trying to locate.</li><li>An <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/07/before-smartphones-boredom/674631/" target="_blank">article</a> in The Atlantic encapsulates these sentiments: "What did people do before smartphones?" the headline asks, adding, "No one can remember."</li></ul><img src="https://images.axios.com/-4KipAyd68kGrV8zd1zYd7MvV34=/2023/12/28/1703793937309.jpg" /> <div>At the 1969 Woodstock Festival, people communicated by writing messages on paper plates and sticking them on message boards. Photo: Ralph Ackerman/Getty Images</div><p><strong>"Many who lived </strong>through these 'Dark Ages' will tell you how life seemed less busy, less stressful and more enjoyable," Christopher McFadden <a href="https://interestingengineering.com/lists/15-examples-of-how-different-life-was-before-the-internet" target="_blank">writes</a> on the news site Interesting Engineering.</p><ul><li>People got together in person more often since they couldn't text or Zoom — and paid more attention to each other.</li><li>Boredom begat creativity and useful ideas. After all, it's easier to let your mind wander productively when you're not addictively scrolling TikToks. </li><li>Pop culture was a lot less fragmented since everybody had to watch TV shows at the hour they aired (at least, before VCRs). </li><li>As the late, great David Carr — former media columnist for the New York Times — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/19/business/media/19carr.html?searchResultPosition=2" target="_blank">put it</a> in 2007, "Rising above the clutter was a lot easier when we were all staring into the same campfire."</li></ul><p><strong>The other side: </strong>The safety advantages to today's world are infinite. Instant phone access to your children and other family members in case of emergency is just one example.</p><ul><li>The luxury of being able to look up anything that's on your mind, any restaurant menu, anything at all, anytime... is amazing. </li><li>The ability to take infinite photographs and store them safely online is a great joy — and sure beats dropping off rolls of film for a week at a photo shop (or drugstore) and hoping the pictures don't come back blurry.</li><li>Emails and texts are a lot easier to compose than the handwritten letters we used to dutifully send to friends and family. (OTOH: <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/10/30/thank-you-cards-greeting-cards" target="_blank">Thank-you notes</a> have become a lost art.)</li></ul><p><strong>How it used to work: </strong>Before the internet, you didn't keep in touch with everyone from your past — much less wish them a happy birthday, get periodic doses of their political views, or stumble on photos of their <a href="https://www.axios.com/2021/07/21/el-dorado-fire-gender-reveal-california-charges" target="_blank">gender reveal parties</a> (which didn't exist).</p><ul><li>Before Facebook, your former co-workers, past classmates and roommate's-cousin-you-met-at-a-party-once were people you might never see again.</li><li>"You couldn't find out, buy, watch or listen to anything you wanted immediately," as one Redditor <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/eaas63/what_was_life_like_before_the_internet/" target="_blank">explained</a>. "If you wanted to access your money, you had to go to a bank during banking hours. If you wanted to listen to a song, you had to hear it by chance on the radio or go and buy a physical copy at the store."</li><li>People read books and newspapers (sniff!); listened to records, cassette tapes and CDs; watched TV and played card games and stuff. </li></ul><p><strong>Where it stands: </strong>Our collective sense that we spend too much time online has led to an inchoate nostalgia for pre-internet times — when sounding off about politics meant writing a sharply worded letter-t0-the-editor and shoving it indignantly in the mailbox.</p><ul><li>According to a Harris Poll <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90909279/gen-xers-and-older-millennials-really-just-want-to-go-back-in-time-to-before-the-internet-existed?utm_source=newsletters&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=FC+-+Compass+Newsletter.Newsletter+-+FC+-+Compass+7-4-23&amp;leadId=624327&amp;mkt_tok=NjEwLUxFRS04NzIAAAGMv7Qc0sOGhCvwjzaYmAaSuuxDXPKOpe7pw8uGwxGulaTGqck6A9yyydA8O-RFzft4e9rqLsCWJwVEH6E9Nt6SLbf1-XmaH-aEiX6CtDQ" target="_blank">published</a> by Fast Company, "most Americans would prefer to live in a simpler era before everyone was obsessed with screens and social media."</li><li>That sentiment is strongest among Gen Xers and older millennials, the poll found.</li></ul><p><strong>Yes, but: </strong>Those same poll respondents might be in for a rude shock if they actually had to get through their day without a smartphone.</p><p><strong>Flashback: </strong>One of my vivid memories of journalism in the late 1980s was covering a high-profile court case and watching the Associated Press reporter guard the phone booth next to the courtroom, so she could be the first to report the verdict.</p><ul><li>As a cub reporter in the Boston suburbs, I used to go to local libraries to look up people's numbers in telephone books because that was easier than making lots of calls to directory assistance. </li><li>Pay phones were a hassle and often didn't work. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/06/nyregion/neighborhood-report-harlem-phone-vandals-cut-off-community.html" target="_blank">Here's</a> a story I wrote in 1994 about the perennial disrepair of public phones in Harlem. </li></ul><img src="https://images.axios.com/kZNY46kxGfBNs31zzUvRNSZJ5aI=/2023/12/28/1703800705280.jpg" /> <div>Pay phones in New York City generally looked like this — and often swallowed your dime (or quarter). This photo is from 2015, seven years before the city's last pay phones were <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/content/oti/pages/press-releases/end-of-era-last-nyc-payphones-removed" target="_blank">removed</a>. Photo: Andriy Prokopenko for Getty Images</div><p><strong>The bottom line: </strong>The digerati seem to be coalescing around the term "pre-internet" to describe the era, which refers to all of human history up until 1994 or 1995.</p><ul><li>This distinguishes it from the "<a href="https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/the-before-times/" target="_blank">before times</a>" — a phrase derived from a 1966 "Star Trek" episode — that has come to mean the period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.</li><li>Sign of the times: a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Miss-My-Pre-Internet-Brain-T-Shirt/dp/B07NYFPYF3" target="_blank">T-shirt</a> being sold on Amazon says, "I miss my pre-internet brain."</li></ul><br><br><img src="https://images.axios.com/EdF_ubs7Xq5hHuKX_H4NQdtRHIc=/0x0:1920x1080/1280x720/2023/12/26/1703619367082.png" /></summary><category term="top"></category></entry><entry><title>Has Gratuity Culture Reached a Tipping Point?</title><link href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/01/has-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-12-25T12:55:57.245000Z</published><author><name>Zach Helfand</name></author><id>https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/01/has-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/has-gratuity-culture/5690195:d538b8">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/5690195.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> News, Politics, Opinion, Commentary, and Analysis:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I would love for tipping to expand to the point that the attitude around it is encouraged and for those with the means to be able to tip up to 100%. If that means creating a culture where generosity is the norm and wealth is shared more directly with those in service roles, I&#x27;m all for it. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> Paying extra for service has inspired rebellions, swivelling iPads, and irritation from Trotsky and Larry David. Post-pandemic, the practice has entered a new stage.</summary><category term="magazine"></category><category term="annals of etiquette"></category></entry><entry><title>Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta flight</title><link href="https://sinclairtrails.com/2023/12/16/albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-flight/" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-12-16T21:07:33.195000Z</published><author><name>David</name></author><id>https://sinclairtrails.com/2023/12/16/albuquerque-balloon-fiesta-flight/</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/albuquerque-internat/8261266:3b907d">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/8261266.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Sinclair Trails:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Check out our iOS developer&#x27;s experience in a hot air balloon. Looks like fun! </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>Last year we had a reservation for a ride in a balloon, but it was cancelled due to rain. A big reason for coming to the fiesta again this year was to have another chance for a balloon flight.</p><p>This time, the weather was perfect, and we got to experience the ride. And it was indeed a very special experience.</p><p>We signed up for the VIP Ryders Club package, which included a shorter line, a breakfast, and some swag:</p><p><img alt="VIP Ryders Club Check In" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5516.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="VIP Ryders Club Check In" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="VIP Ryders Club tent" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5519.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="VIP Ryders Club tent" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="VIP Ryders Club breakfast" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5520.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="VIP Ryders Club breakfast" width="1024" /></p><p>A boarding pass:</p><p><img alt="Boarding pass" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5554.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Boarding pass" width="1024" /></p><p>Heading to the balloon:</p><p><img alt="Heading to the balloon" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5555.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Heading to the balloon" width="1024" /></p><p>Our balloon:</p><p><img alt="Our balloon" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5557.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Our balloon" width="1024" /></p><p>Jenn helped hold up the balloon envelope while they used fans to start inflating it:</p><p><img alt="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5564.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5568.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5580.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5581.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Using fans to start inflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Inspecting the balloon" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5591.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Inspecting the balloon" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Basket" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5593.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Basket" width="1024" /></p><p>Hot air inflation:</p><p><img alt="Hot air inflation" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5601.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Hot air inflation" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Hot air inflation" border="0" height="480" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_8721.gif?resize=640%2C480&#038;ssl=1" title="Hot air inflation" width="640" /></p><p>Raising the balloon:</p><p><img alt="Raising the balloon" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_8724.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Raising the balloon" width="1024" /></p><p>Getting into the basket:</p><p><img alt="Getting into the basket" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5603.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Getting into the basket" width="1024" /></p><p>Burners:</p><p><img alt="Burners" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5606.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Burners" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Burners" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5607.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Burners" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Burner" border="0" height="1280" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5615.gif?resize=960%2C1280&#038;ssl=1" title="Burner" width="960" /></p><p>Selfie in the basket. I wore my 360 camera on my head; stay tuned for a timelapse video of our flight:</p><p><img alt="Selfie" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5608.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Selfie" width="1024" /></p><p>Liftoff:</p><p><img alt="Liftoff" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5617.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Liftoff" width="1024" /></p><p>Aerial views:</p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5622.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5626.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5627.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5631.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5637.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5639.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5642.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5645.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1536" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_6978.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_6979.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5647.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_6988.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_6995.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5649.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5653.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7002.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5654.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1536" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7003.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7005.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5656.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1536" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7007.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5658.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5659.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1536" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7021.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5662.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1536" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7025.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5663.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5665.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5666.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5667.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7029.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5668.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p>The north RV lot; you can see our coach next to the power pole near the center of the picture:</p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5669.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5671.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5672.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7039.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7041.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5676.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7053.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5678.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5681.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7060.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5684.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5685.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5687.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5691.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5693.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5694.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7072.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5696.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1536" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7076.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7080.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p>Another angle of the north RV lot and our coach:</p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5703.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5700.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5697.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5705.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5708.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5713.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7091.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC_7093.jpg?resize=1023%2C682&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1023" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="1365" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5723.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1365&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5728.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5729.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5736.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p>Coming in for a landing:</p><p><img alt="Aerial view" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5743.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Aerial view" width="1024" /></p><p>Deflating the envelope:</p><p><img alt="Deflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5762.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Deflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Deflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5765.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Deflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p>Exiting the basket:</p><p><img alt="Exiting the basket" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5767.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Exiting the basket" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Deflating the envelope" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5769.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Deflating the envelope" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Packing up" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5770.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Packing up" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Packing up" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5774.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Packing up" width="1024" /></p><p>Bubbly celebration:</p><p><img alt="Bubbly celebration" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5782.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Bubbly celebration" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Packing up" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5784.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Packing up" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Packing up" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5789.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Packing up" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Packing up" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5792.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Packing up" width="1024" /></p><p><img alt="Packing up" border="0" height="768" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5795.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&#038;ssl=1" title="Packing up" width="1024" /></p><p>We landed very near the field; the van could have taken us back, but we opted to walk; the blue dot on this map screenshot is where we landed, and our coach was just above the middle of the word “Presbyterian”:</p><p><img alt="Map" border="0" height="1218" src="https://i0.wp.com/sinclairtrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5791.png?resize=563%2C1218&#038;ssl=1" title="Map" width="563" /></p><p>This ride was a magical, once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’re super glad that it worked out to do it this year.</p></summary><category term="aerial"></category><category term="exploring"></category><category term="gif"></category><category term="rally"></category><category term="balloon fiesta 2023"></category></entry><entry><title>Leaving Twitter</title><link href="https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2023/10/23/leaving-twitter" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-12-16T19:50:43.044000Z</published><author><name>Benedict Evans</name></author><id>https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2023/10/23/leaving-twitter</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/leaving-twitter/6918579:bad1de">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6918579.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Essays - Benedict Evans:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Good thing he still has a blog he publishes </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic "> <a class=" sqs-block-image-link " href="https://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/345941486/the-spawn-of-craigslist-like-most-vcs-that-focus"> <img alt="" height="906" src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50363cf324ac8e905e7df861/2e2024b9-30d6-477e-8c1a-01b209a9486e/tumblr_kwkfi5tqEi1qzqh0wo1_1280.jpg?format=1000w" width="1208" /> </a> <figcaption class="image-caption-wrapper"> <p class="">Unbundling Craigslist, by <a href="https://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/345941486/the-spawn-of-craigslist-like-most-vcs-that-focus">Andrew Parker</a> </p> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="">Twitter always used to look a lot like Craigslist. It stumbled into something that a lot of people found very useful, with very strong network effects, and then it squatted on those network effects for a generation, while the tech industry moved on. Twitter, as a technology company, has been irrelevant to everything that’s going on for a decade. It was the place where we talked about what mattered, but Twitter the company didn’t matter at all - indeed it did nothing for so long that people got bored of complaining about it. </p><p class="">Meanwhile, lots of people tried to build a better Craigslist and a better Twitter, but though a better product was pretty easy, the network effects were too strong and none of them really worked. Instead, we unbundled use cases one by one. As Andrew Parker <a href="https://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/345941486/the-spawn-of-craigslist-like-most-vcs-that-focus">pointed out</a> in 2010, a whole range of people from Airbnb to Zillow to Tinder unbundled separate pieces of Craigslist into billion dollar companies that didn’t look like Craigslist and solved some individual need much better. This is often the real challenge to tech incumbents: once the network effects are locked in, it’s very hard to get people to switch to something that’s roughly the same but 10% better - they switch to something that solves one underlying need in an entirely new way.</p><p class="">Hence, Mastodon has been around since 2016 without getting much traction, but slices of conversation, content or industry have been unbundled to Reddit, LinkedIn, Instagram, Signal, Discord or, more recently, Substack, which someone joked was Twitter’s paywall.&nbsp;</p><p class="">Meanwhile, Twitter itself drifted aimlessly for a decade, becoming known in Silicon Valley as a place where no-one could get anything done. This is a big part of why Elon Musk was able to buy it - $44bn was a top-of-the-market price, but even Snap was worth $75bn in January 2022, when he <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/timeline-elon-musks-tumultuous-twitter-acquisition-attempt/story?id=86611191">started</a> building a stake - how much bigger should Twitter have been? And so, when he made his bid, there was, briefly, a lot of enthusiasm in tech: pent-up frustration with the existing product and a sense of how much better it could be; enthusiasm that there could be innovation and new product ideas (and, from a small but noisy group, frustration with the politics of Twitter’s content policies, of which more in a moment). </p><p class="">It didn’t work out like that. The last year swapped stasis for chaos. Stuff breaks at random and you don’t know if it’s a bug or a decision. The advertisers have fled, and no-one knows what will be broken by accident or on purpose tomorrow. The example that’s closest to home for me was that the in-house newsletter product was shut down - and then links to other newsletters were banned. Pick one! It’s hard to see anyone who depends on having a long-term platform investing in anything that Twitter builds, when it might not be there tomorrow. </p><p class="">There are various diagnoses for this. Tesla has sometimes been run in <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/22/17488372/tesla-model-3-production-tent-expand">chaos</a> as well, but the pain of that is on the employees, not the customers: you can’t wake up in the middle of the night and decide the car should have five wheels and ship that the next day, but you can make those kinds of decisions in software, and Elon Musk does, all the time. Perhaps it’s a fundamental failure to understand how you run a community. Or something else. But whatever the explanation, Twitter now feels like the Brewster’s Millions of tech - ‘Watch One Man Turn $40bn Into $4 In 24 Months!’</p><p class="">Meanwhile, beyond the chaos, there has been no sense for the actual users of where we’re going. There was a plan, both ruthless and chaotic, to reset a broken and grotesquely overstaffed company culture and turn it into a place that can execute, but no coherent sense of what it should be executing. What should those newly hard-core engineers be shipping? A ‘super app’? A universal content platform with no external links? Your financial life? Seriously?&nbsp;</p><p class="">And then, there are the Nazis.&nbsp;</p><p class="">This is a debate with baggage. Part of the criticism of Old Twitter was a perceived tendency to trigger-happy moderation, and there is in fact a pretty mainstream view in the content moderation world that you shouldn’t (or indeed can’t, practically) try to ban and block anything you don’t like (unless it’s actually illegal), but instead you should have a spectrum of what’s objectionable and control things within that by controlling visibility. Keep things out of the recommendations and suggestions, down-rank them in the feed and replies, and don’t let them monetise or advertise. There will be some bad stuff, but the <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/15/facebook-borderline-content/">worse it is the fewer people will see it</a>. Meanwhile, pour your effort into stopping scammers and state manipulation, and think about how your product design might encourage or discourage the rest of us from being mean. Reasonable people can disagree about that. But.&nbsp;</p><p class="">But it didn’t work out like that. The teams that looked for bots, scammers and state actors were mostly fired, and the scammers, Nazis and propagandists all bought the ‘Blue Ticks’. These little badges used to mean ‘notable person’ (in a chaotic and inconsistent way typical of the old Twitter) and are now supposed only to mean ‘real person’ (but often don’t) - and they give you both amplification in all the algorithms and a share of revenue if you drive a lot of replies. The more you troll, and the more furious replies you generate, the more Twitter promotes you and the more Twitter pays you. We saw this at its logical conclusion in the last week, with deliberate misinformation promoted by what we used to call ‘fake accounts’ that now get promoted by the algorithm because they pay their $8/month. It turns out that social networks are harder than rocket science. </p><p class="">And then, there’s Elon.&nbsp;</p><p class="">I once called Elon Musk ‘a bullshitter who delivers’ - he says a lot of stuff, and yet, there are the cars and the self-landing rockets. People generally struggle with one or other of these - they will refuse to accept the problem in selling a car that can’t drive itself as ‘full self driving’, or they will say ‘he didn’t found Tesla!’, forgetting that he’s run it for the last 15 years. Most of what you see at Tesla or SpaceX really is his creation - but half of what he says is bullshit.&nbsp;</p><p class="">Until recently, though, the bullshit was mostly about cars or tunnels. It wasn’t repeating obvious anti-semitic dog-whistles. It wasn’t telling us that George Soros is plotting to destroy western civilisation. It wasn’t engaging with and promoting white supremacists. It wasn’t, as this week, telling us all to read a very obvious misinformation account, with a record of anti-semitism, as the best source on Israel. Of course, it had bought a Blue Tick.&nbsp;</p><p class="">In talking about this, I am reminded very much of talking about the last leader of the UK’s Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who had somehow spent much of a career devoted to anti-racism, well, supporting and praising anti-semites (‘the world’s most unlucky anti-racist’). The Chief Rabbi declared that British Jews were afraid of a Labour election victory, and yet too many people with a tribal loyalty to the party just refused to read, see or hear any of this. They decided to blind themselves. </p><p class="">If you see a man claim that he’ll have ‘full self-driving’ working ‘next year’ for half a decade and can’t make fun of that just a little, you are probably blinding yourself too, but it does’t matter much. And maybe you don’t care much about this, or have decided not to see it. But I was on <a href="https://twitter.com/benedictevans">Twitter</a> since 2007, and built a meaningful part of my career on it, and I won’t be posting at all, for the foreseeable future, because I think it does matter.&nbsp;</p></summary><category term="social"></category></entry><entry><title>Introducing the Grid view on iOS</title><link href="https://blog.newsblur.com/2023/12/06/ios-grid-view/" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-12-06T14:46:17.472000Z</published><author><name></name></author><id>https://blog.newsblur.com/2023/12/06/ios-grid-view/</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/introducing-the-grid/8032018:c526bc">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/8032018.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The NewsBlur Blog:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> It&#x27;s per-folder, too, just like on the web </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>The Grid view is now on iOS. Read stories with large thumbnails in a magazine-like format, where you can see a customizable number of story previews at once. Works beautifully for both iPhone and iPad.<img src="https://blog.newsblur.com/assets/ipad-grid-1.png" style="width: 100%; margin: 24px auto; display: block;" /></p> <p>Just like on the web, you can customize how many stories you see and how large each story is, giving you the freedom to read stories with large thumbnails or small image previews.</p> <p><img src="https://blog.newsblur.com/assets/ipad-grid-2.png" style="width: 100%; margin: 24px auto; display: block;" /></p> <p>It even works on iPhone!</p> <p><img src="https://blog.newsblur.com/assets/iphone-grid.png" style="width: 100%; margin: 24px auto; display: block;" /></p> <p>If you have any other ideas you’d like to see on iPad and iPhone, feel free to post an idea on the <a href="https://forum.newsblur.com">NewsBlur Forum</a>.</p> <p>This is a huge release and has been a year in the making. Coming up soon: a new Mac app and intelligent feed discovery.</p></summary><category term="ios"></category></entry><entry><title>How to Cook Jackfruit for a Plant-Based Holiday Feast</title><link href="https://thetakeout.com/how-to-cook-jackfruit-vegan-pulled-pork-recipes-tips-1851049478" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-11-28T13:41:22.702000Z</published><author><name>Dawn Reiss</name></author><id>https://thetakeout.com/how-to-cook-jackfruit-vegan-pulled-pork-recipes-tips-1851049478</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/how-to-cook-jackfrui/6853345:701ed1">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6853345.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The Takeout.</b> </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <img class="type:primaryImage" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,q_80,w_636/65d761552f2a36994c5a99b529981ad8.jpg" /><p>For the record, I love eating meat. My summers are usually spent lakeside in Wisconsin, the land of <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/meet-instagrams-wisconsin-cheese-curd-influencers-1846153617">cheese curds</a> and <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/what-is-brat-burger-how-to-cook-bratwurst-patty-grill-1849676204">bratwurst</a>. And I love my steaks, charcuterie boards, and burgers as much as the next person. What I’m saying is, I’m not a vegan—but I do have a young kiddo with a <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/finding-the-best-alternative-milk-for-childs-allergies-1847365321">ton</a> <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/cotton-candy-organic-allergy-friendly-how-its-made-buy-1850929359">of</a> <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/why-raising-canes-is-the-best-fast-food-child-allergies-1850459779">food</a> <a class="sc-1out364-0 dPMosf sc-145m8ut-0 lcFFec js_link" href="https://thetakeout.com/best-allergy-friendly-holiday-treats-for-kids-gf-vegan-1849808924">allergies</a>, so we are…</p><p><a href="https://thetakeout.com/how-to-cook-jackfruit-vegan-pulled-pork-recipes-tips-1851049478">Read more...</a></p></summary><category term="jackfruit"></category><category term="cook"></category><category term="baker"></category><category term="artocarpus"></category><category term="flora of sri lanka"></category><category term="tropical agriculture"></category><category term="adjoa courtney"></category><category term="google"></category><category term="tropical fruit"></category><category term="joya"></category><category term="hospitality recreation"></category><category term="belizean cuisine"></category></entry><entry><title>Humane’s AI Pin seems to be forgetting what makes a good wearable</title><link href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/19/23964212/humane-ai-pin-wearable-culture" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-11-19T15:19:55.457000Z</published><author><name>Victoria Song</name></author><id>https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/19/23964212/humane-ai-pin-wearable-culture</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/humanes-ai-pin-seems/6643112:04f4f2">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6643112.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The Verge - All Posts:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Why write a takedown like this before even wearing it once? </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <figure> <img alt="A photo showing Humane’s AI pin attached to a model’s suit during a fashion show." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/n6qVcaS1WjbbUwJiXNWlSSyFL9k=/116x0:1703x1058/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72881310/humane_ai_pin_fashion_week.0.png" /> <figcaption><em>I would love to be proven wrong about this baffling wearable.</em> | Image: Humane</figcaption> </figure> <p>Before you disrupt everything, you have to deeply consider the current cultural norms or no one will wear your wearable.</p> <p class="p--has-dropcap" id="nPTooE">For the past week, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23953022/humane-ai-pin-price-specs-leak">Humane’s AI Pin</a>. </p><p id="1YNw0B">As someone who’s worn and reviewed wearables of every shape and size, this pin baffles and befuddles. The premise is that it’s supposed to help you look at your phone less — something for which many people say they use their smartwatches. For $699 with a $24 monthly subscription, you’ll purportedly be able to call friends (like smartwatches), talk to voice assistants (also like smartwatches), interact with a camera (like smart glasses), and project a screen (also like smart glasses). </p><p id="NHRIic">None of these concepts are new, so it’s wild to me that this thing has blown up the way it has. Sure, the form factor is flashy, but it flouts the chief rule of good wearable design: you have to want to wear the damn thing. Preferably, as much as possible. In public. Where people can see you, judge you, and interact with you. </p><div class="c-float-left"> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt="Close-up shot of a white Ai Pin on a grayish white jacket lapel." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BBe2AaUAkmTf7TojLjPcHxEsvM8=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24965200/1709390346.jpg" /> <cite>Photo by Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images</cite> <figcaption><em>I see Humane is going the fashion route. To me, that’s a mistake.</em></figcaption> </figure></div><p id="thKpCI">Humane seems to think making this fashionable will do just that. The pin <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/30/23897065/humane-ai-pin-coperni-paris-fashion-week">debuted at Paris Fashion Week</a> on the lapel of supermodel Naomi Campbell. But ask Apple how going the fashion route worked for the first Apple Watches (<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/2/23900158/apple-watch-edition-gold-2015-obsolete-unsupported-beyonce">poorly</a>). While style <em>is</em> key, the most important thing about wearables is that they be versatile enough to wear <em>all the time</em>. This is effectively a high-tech brooch. And with brooches and pins, you typically wear them with outerwear. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that if you peruse Humane’s marketing images, nearly all show the device pinned to blazers or hoodies. But what happens when you go inside and take your outerwear off? What exactly are you going to pin this to in spring and summer?</p><p id="IxVB3I">Considering that this <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/humane-ai-pin-700-dollar-smartphone-alternative-wearable/#:~:text=It%E2%80%99s%20altogether%20about%2055%20grams%2C%20or%202%20ounces">weighs about as much as a tennis ball</a>, it’s going to drag down any T-shirt and forget flimsy blouses, dresses, or button-downs. I’ve used lighter magnetic lavalier mic clips when filming videos and if your shirt doesn’t have structural integrity, you’re going to have a bad time. If you want to use this pin every day, you’re going to have to be extremely intentional with your clothing, too. In the announcement video, Humane co-founder Imran Chaudhri certainly wasn’t. You can see the pin <a href="https://youtu.be/th3vzKTE0O8">drag his sweater collar</a> when he puts it on.</p><div class="c-float-left c-float-hang"><aside id="tlrBUa"><div></div></aside></div><p id="BXPqg0">This is less of an issue with most other wearables. Smartwatches, hearables, smart rings, smart glasses, and AR / VR headsets are worn on the body. Once you put the device on, it stays put regardless of what else you’re wearing. You don’t have to transfer the device from outfit to outfit, which is a hassle and increases your chance of losing it. </p><p id="radix-:rq:">The other issue with wearables? Water. A few years ago, I reviewed L’Oreal’s <a href="https://gizmodo.com/this-sun-sensing-sensor-shamed-this-sad-blogger-1831266835">My Skin Track</a> — a wearable sensor you pin on your clothes to measure UV exposure. I wore it on jackets and on my shirts. And then I threw it in the wash and accidentally destroyed it. Granted, this sensor was tiny and this would be harder to do with the AI Pin. But still, there’s a reason why earbuds, smart rings, and smartwatches have anywhere from IPX4 to 5ATM water resistance ratings. People get wet! An unexpected rainstorm, sweat, washing dishes, spilling drinks, getting splashed by a passing car because you stood too close to the curb — these are all things successful wearables can withstand. Meanwhile, in Humane’s <a href="https://hu.ma.ne/support#:~:text=For%20optimal%20performance,Initiate%20Contact">product FAQ</a>, it says that “For optimal performance, your Ai Pin and power accessories should not be exposed to water.” </p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt="An image of the Humane AI Pin on a light colored sweatshirt" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/E4EblS_U9cMcVSzFN48KmFfx7IA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25071184/Humane_Ai_Pin_Business.jpeg" /> <cite>Image: Humane</cite> <figcaption><em>Seriously, though, most of the marketing puts this pin on outerwear.</em></figcaption> </figure><p id="8UiXFr">These things combined are <em>just</em> inconvenient enough that I can see most people leaving this pin in a drawer to collect dust. But wearability aside, emerging tech like this has yet another hurdle: culture.</p><p id="KjbyAe">I’ve seen the AI Pin compared to <em>Star Trek</em>’s communicator badges, but there’s a big gap between that and what Humane’s making. It’s a fictional device in a fictional universe that has established norms for how these devices are used. When an officer needs to talk to a crew member, they lightly tap the badge and speak into it. It’s not weird because everyone around them understands what’s happening. That’s not a luxury Humane and other bleeding-edge wearable makers have in the real world. </p><p id="KLRICg">Let me put it this way: In public settings, would you rather yell at your chest to talk to a voice assistant or pull out your phone to look up the information yourself? I know what I would choose, because I recently had to. </p> <figure class="e-image"> <img alt="A person wearing Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses on a busy street." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iY908qaJNYrsW1c2B4dpwxvYJA4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25012301/236834_Ray_Ban_Meta_Smart_Glasses_AKrales_0879.jpg" /> <cite>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge</cite> <figcaption><em>I said “Hey Meta” in public exactly once and it was so cringe I never did it again.</em></figcaption> </figure><p id="OQO93n">When I was reviewing the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23922425/ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses-review">Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses</a>, the thought of saying “Hey Meta” in public made me cringe. I did it once on my commute to see how I would feel. It was embarrassing, and I never did it again. And that’s on a device where there’s a mic that sits directly in the nose bridge, pointed straight at your mouth. While some people have no problem hollering at Siri, it’s still a social faux pas to do it public.<strong> </strong>Humane’s pin has a “personic speaker,” but you shouldn’t underestimate the power of ambient noise. Even with the Meta glasses’ excellent nose mic and omnidirectional speakers <em>aimed at my ears</em>, I still had to speak quite loudly for the AI to register what I was saying. These glasses were discreet, so at least I looked like I was talking to thin air. Yelling at my shirt... that’s a step too far. That’s nothing to say of the camera, and how we as a society still don’t really know <a href="https://theconversation.com/body-cameras-help-monitor-police-but-can-invade-peoples-privacy-160846">how we feel about body cameras</a> at large.</p><p id="0JQADu">These are a fraction of the scenarios and questions rattling around in my brain. But they all boil down to this: we don’t measure a wearable’s success by how well it replaces your phone anymore. The best wearables either act as an extension of it or do something your phone can’t, like collect real-time health data. So why is Humane trying to bridge a gap that doesn’t truly exist?</p><p class="c-end-para" id="h9fwjR">While I have my doubts about this pin, I would be<em> thrilled</em> to have my wearable world disrupted. But for that to happen, I’d need to try one of these myself. So Humane, ball’s in your court. </p></summary></entry><entry><title>Major Tech Investor Calls Architect of Fascism a 'Saint' in Unhinged Manifesto</title><link href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/93kg5d/major-tech-investor-calls-architect-of-fascism-a-saint-in-unhinged-manifesto" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-10-17T17:39:27.487000Z</published><author><name>Jordan Pearson</name></author><id>https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/93kg5d/major-tech-investor-calls-architect-of-fascism-a-saint-in-unhinged-manifesto</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/major-tech-investor-/4923017:ed8df6">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/4923017.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> VICE US:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Articles like this only make me more likely to give credence to the pmarca essay </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>According to billionaire tech investor Marc Andresson, AI is good, fascists are saints, and anyone who stops rich people like him from funding, deploying, and doing whatever they want is <a href="https://www.404media.co/marc-andreesen-manifesto-says-ai-regulation-is-a-form-of-murder/" target="_blank"><span>a literal murderer</span></a>.</p> <p>In a new 5,200 word &quot;techno-optimist manifesto,&#x201d; Andreessen, the man behind prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)&#x2014;which <a href="https://a16z.com/portfolio/" target="_blank"><span>has invested</span></a> in Facebook, Airbnb, Lyft, Skype, and many more well-known firms&#x2014;argues that the only solution to the various structural problems created by capitalism is to do more capitalism&#x2014;with uninhibited AI development at the forefront. He does so by invoking an obscure online ideology that has taken hold in some tech circles, but may be totally incomprehensible to the masses of people who ultimately use the products that a16z helps bring to market: &#x201c;effective accelerationism,&#x201d; or &#x201c;e/acc.&#x201d;&#xa0;</p> <p>&#x201c;We believe any deceleration of AI will cost lives,&#x201d; Andreessen writes in the sprawling blog post, which reads like the ramblings of a college student who just finished his first reading of Ayn Rand&#x2019;s <i>The Fountainhead</i>. &#x201c;Deaths that were preventable by the AI that was prevented from existing is a form of murder.&#x201d; He then goes on to list a number of &#x201c;enemies,&#x201d; which are &#x201c;not bad people, but rather bad ideas&#x201d;&#x2014;including sustainability, tech ethics, and risk management. Andreessen doesn&#x2019;t explain why he thinks any of these ideas are bad, instead describing them as being part of a &#x201c;mass demoralization campaign&#x201d; that is &#x201c;against technology and against life.&#x201d;</p> <p>To Andreessen, the researchers who have <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7v8mx/coded-bias-netflix-documentary-ai-ethics-surveil" target="_blank"><span>repeatedly shown the dangers</span></a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/business/facial-recognition-false-arrest.html" target="_blank"><span>real-life harms</span></a> of unchecked AI are just a bunch of Negative Nancys. &#x201c;We are being lied to,&#x201d; he begins in the lengthy rant, before dismissively listing a bunch of things that research shows unrestrained technology is actually doing, such as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/11/technology/income-inequality-technology.html" target="_blank"><span>increasing inequality</span></a>, enabling <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ejn8/business-lobby-tries-to-weaken-law-regulating-bias-in-hiring-algorithms" target="_blank"><span>discrimination</span></a>, and <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/ai-chatgpt-increased-water-consumption-environmental-reports-1234821679/" target="_blank"><span>harming the environment</span></a>. The blog post goes on to make various other popular techno-libertarian claims: Universal Basic Income&#x2014;a policy that would make sure people have enough money to live, and is <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kx75q/a-universal-basic-income-is-being-considered-by-canadas-government" target="_blank"><span>being explored by governments</span></a> around the world&#x2014; &#x201c;would turn people into zoo animals to be farmed by the state.&#x201d; Not to worry though, because AI is &#x201c;a universal problem solver,&#x201d; and the free market will solve everything, from &#x201c;car crashes to pandemics to wartime friendly fire&#x201d;&#x2014;as long as we stay out of the way and let our wise tech overlords do whatever they want with no restrictions.</p> <p>Andreeson&#x2019;s arguments are well-trodden territory for tech capitalists who believe in effective accelerationism, the <a href="https://www.theinformation.com/articles/its-a-cult-inside-effective-accelerationism-the-pro-ai-movement-taking-over-silicon-valley" target="_blank"><span>cultish tech bro dogma</span></a> that has spread across the upper echelons of Silicon Valley for years. Effective accelerationists essentially believe that tech is universally good, that our planet is doomed, and that the only way to save the human species is by letting capital and resources flow upwards, so that beneficent billionaire autocrats can one day send us to a colony on Mars. Or something. Maybe.</p> <p>The manifesto is grounded in some eyebrow-raising associations, including fascists and reactionaries. Andreeson lists the &quot;patron saints&quot; of techno-optimism, and they include Nick Land, one of the chief architects of modern &quot;accelerationism&quot; who is better known as championing the anti-democratic Dark Enlightenment movement that casts liberal-multicultural-democratic thinking as embodying a nefarious &quot;Cathedral.&quot; Andreessen also calls out Filippo Tommaso Marinetti as one of his patron saints. Marinetti is not only the author of the technology- and destruction-worshipping <i>Futurist Manifesto </i>from 1909, but also one of the architects of Italian fascism. Marinetti co-authored the<i> Fascist Manifesto </i>in 1919 and founded a futurist political party that merged with Mussolini&apos;s fascists. Other futurist thinkers and artists exist. To call Marinetti in particular a &quot;saint&quot; is a choice.&#xa0;</p> <p>None of this is new or shocking in itself. What is notable is that the rant is being posted unabridged on the blog of a major Silicon Valley venture capital firm, and <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/16/marc-andreessen-techno-optimist-manifesto-ai-50-billion-people-billionaire-vc/" target="_blank"><span>parroted obediently</span></a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-andreessen-manifesto-slowing-down-on-ai-preventable-deaths-2023-10" target="_blank"><span>uncritically</span></a> by the mainstream tech press. It gives further weight to viewing effective accelerationism&#x2014;and its counterparts, &#x201c;effective altruism&#x201d; and &#x201c;longtermism&#x201d;&#x2014;as the official ideology of Silicon Valley. </p> <p>Some of the most prominent proponents of the techno-utopian dogma include disgraced crypto hustler Sam Bankman-Fried, currently on trial for securities and wire fraud, and OpenAI co-founder and billionaire shitposter Elon Musk, who <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjv3wd/elon-musk-doesnt-have-a-plan-for-twitter-or-anything-really" target="_blank"><span>spends his days replying to Nazis</span></a> on the social media website he bought for $44 billion. Effective accelerationists have also propped up various <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/effective-altruism-artificial-intelligence-sam-bankman-fried/" target="_blank"><span>nonprofits and lobbyist groups</span></a> to push a vision of &#x201c;AI safety,&#x201d; which effectively entails an unregulated AI market with tech billionaires at the reigns. The same people were also behind <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjvppm/the-open-letter-to-stop-dangerous-ai-race-is-a-huge-mess" target="_blank"><span>a recent letter</span></a> warning of an apocalypse brought on by an advanced Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI, if we don&#x2019;t act now by giving rich tech executives exactly what they want.</p> <p>Critics and AI experts have regularly noted the influence of effective accelerationism in the tech industry, and warned of the dangers of letting its proponents maintain control of tech development.&#xa0;</p> <p>&#x201c;It is not surprising that the field has been moving in a direction promising an &#x2018;unimaginably great future&#x2019; around the corner while proliferating products harming marginalized groups in the now,&#x201d; wrote AI ethics researcher Timnit Gebru, in <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/effective-altruism-artificial-intelligence-sam-bankman-fried/" target="_blank"><span>an article</span></a> for <i>Wired</i> about the group&#x2019;s influence. &#x201c;We need to liberate our imagination from the one we have been sold thus far: saving us from a hypothetical AGI apocalypse imagined by the privileged few, or the ever elusive techno-utopia promised to us by Silicon Valley elites.&#x201d;</p><br><br><img src="http://video-images.vice.com/articles/652ec0c80c922fdb074ec86d/lede/1697563181840-gettyimages-456865724.jpeg" /></summary><category term="ai"></category><category term="venture capitalism"></category><category term="marc andreessen"></category><category term="andreessen horowitz"></category><category term="a16z"></category><category term="tech bros"></category><category term="artificial intelligence"></category></entry><entry><title>Apple Orchards Face Tough Decisions This Year</title><link href="https://thetakeout.com/apple-orchard-cancels-pick-your-own-vt-shortage-freeze-1850899866" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-10-05T12:20:52.404000Z</published><author><name>Lauren Harkawik</name></author><id>https://thetakeout.com/apple-orchard-cancels-pick-your-own-vt-shortage-freeze-1850899866</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/apple-orchards-face-/6853345:0bc901">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6853345.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The Takeout:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> That May frost bit our garden too. We planted too early! </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <img class="type:primaryImage" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/image/upload/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/e8a7e0dc7947ed964fbc25a92fd8b33e.jpg" /><p>When you call Green Mountain Orchards, a popular pick-your-own-apples destination in Putney, Vermont, the current outgoing message doesn’t boast about which apple varieties are available for picking.</p><p><a href="https://thetakeout.com/apple-orchard-cancels-pick-your-own-vt-shortage-freeze-1850899866">Read more...</a></p></summary><category term="apple"></category><category term="trees"></category><category term="apples"></category><category term="cider"></category><category term="casey darrow"></category><category term="orchard"></category><category term="horticulture"></category><category term="environment"></category></entry><entry><title>Ohio high school football coach repeatedly called for a play named "Nazi" at game against mostly Jewish team</title><link href="https://boingboing.net/2023/09/27/ohio-high-school-football-coach-repeatedly-called-for-a-play-named-nazi-at-game-against-mostly-jewish-team.html" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-09-27T19:21:09.088000Z</published><author><name>David Pescovitz</name></author><id>https://boingboing.net/2023/09/27/ohio-high-school-football-coach-repeatedly-called-for-a-play-named-nazi-at-game-against-mostly-jewish-team.html</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/ohio-high-school-foo/526:26460f">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/526.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Boing Boing:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Well that&#x27;s a new one. I graduated from Beachwood in 2003! </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <a href="https://boingboing.net/2023/09/27/ohio-high-school-football-coach-repeatedly-called-for-a-play-named-nazi-at-game-against-mostly-jewish-team.html" rel="nofollow" title="Ohio high school football coach repeatedly called for a play named &quot;Nazi&quot; at game against mostly Jewish team"><img alt="" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" height="830" src="https://i0.wp.com/boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/McFarlandddd-1.jpg?fit=1300%2C830&amp;ssl=1" style="display: block; margin: auto; margin-bottom: 5px;" width="1300" /></a><p>On Friday night in Cleveland, Ohio, the Brooklyn High School football team was playing against visitors Beachwood High School, a school in a mostly-Jewish suburb. During the game, in what must have been a total coincidence, Brooklyn High coach, Tim McFarland was heard repeatedly calling for a play named "Nazi." &#8212; <a class="read-more" href="https://boingboing.net/2023/09/27/ohio-high-school-football-coach-repeatedly-called-for-a-play-named-nazi-at-game-against-mostly-jewish-team.html">Read the rest </a></p></summary><category term="post"></category><category term="anti-semitism"></category><category term="high school sports"></category><category term="nazis"></category><category term="racism"></category><category term="racists"></category></entry><entry><title>Why Early-Bird Dining Is Sweeping the Country</title><link href="https://thetakeout.com/early-bird-dining-trend-afternoon-restaurant-reservatio-1850825080" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-09-13T16:50:08.684000Z</published><author><name>Micheline Maynard</name></author><id>https://thetakeout.com/early-bird-dining-trend-afternoon-restaurant-reservatio-1850825080</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/why-early-bird-dinin/6853345:a6e5a9">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6853345.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> The Takeout:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I live in a city so I can enjoy my 9pm dinners. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <img class="type:primaryImage" src="https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_fit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/5f96601280a198a28aa9fb0a77fba0ff.jpg" /><p>For years in both big cities and smaller ones, the cool kids would never be caught dining out at 5 p.m. That was cocktail hour, if anything. Anyone who actually ate a meal at this unhip hour was presumed to be either a tourist or an old person taking advantage of “early bird” specials. Now, though, it turns out we’re…</p><p><a href="https://thetakeout.com/early-bird-dining-trend-afternoon-restaurant-reservatio-1850825080">Read more...</a></p></summary><category term="galit"></category><category term="wall street journal"></category><category term="happy hour"></category><category term="douglass williams"></category><category term="george azar"></category><category term="lunch"></category><category term="zach engel"></category><category term="lisa schultz"></category><category term="restaurant"></category><category term="jordan balduf"></category><category term="jet gauthier"></category><category term="hospitality recreation"></category></entry><entry><title>E-bike incentive programs are spreading nationwide</title><link href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/e-bike-incentive-program-map" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-08-14T13:08:55.633000Z</published><author><name>Alex Fitzpatrick</name></author><id>https://www.axios.com/2023/08/14/e-bike-incentive-program-map</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/e-bike-incentive-pro/6556107:f5ba47">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6556107.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Axios:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> The e-bikes catching on fire are not the name brand e-bikes that these rebates apply to. But more e-bike rebates are more progressive and a greater good than EV rebates. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <div>Data: <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/7e989e69157141a4beef6db53293a77d/page/Map/?org=PlanRVA" target="_blank">PlanRVA</a>; Map: Kavya Beheraj/Axios</div><p>E-bike incentive programs have been rolled out or proposed in about two dozen states nationwide, helping to bring down out-of-pocket costs — especially for lower-income buyers.</p><ul><li>That's according to data collected by PlanRVA, which promotes cooperation on regional planning issues among Richmond, Virginia-area communities.</li></ul><hr /><p><strong>Why it matters: </strong>E-bikes are faster and less physically demanding to ride compared to traditional bikes — not to mention cheaper and greener than cars.</p><ul><li>But they tend to be relatively expensive compared to regular bikes — sometimes double or triple the cost or more, depending on features.</li><li>Incentive programs, whether in the form of cash vouchers or tax rebates, can bring down those costs.</li><li>Such programs are especially useful for lower-income buyers who can't afford a car, but also helpful for those who simply don't want a car, or want to replace some of their car miles with e-bike miles.</li></ul><p><strong>What they're saying: </strong>"You can do a lot of things with just $20,000-$25,000 [rebate programs]," PlanRVA transportation planner Dan Motta tells Axios.</p><ul><li>"We're talking about changing people's lives by helping them get around the community in a different way, or expanding their access to opportunity."</li></ul><p><strong>What's happening: </strong>Denver's e-bike rebate program has been wildly successful, both in terms of spurring adoption and slashing emissions, <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/03/07/denver-ebike-rebate-curbs-emissions-cost-effective" target="_blank">Axios Denver's Alayna Alvarez reports</a>.</p><ul><li>Similar programs are now <a href="https://www.juicedbikes.com/blogs/news/state-guide-electric-bike-rebates" target="_blank">underway</a> in California, Connecticut, Oregon and <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/07/10/columbus-ohio-ebike-incentive-program" target="_blank">more</a>.</li><li>Some are run by state or local governments, others by utility providers.</li><li>Other e-bike incentive programs are working their way through the legislative process in several more states and areas, including New York and Washington, D.C.</li></ul><p><strong>How it works: </strong>Such programs typically offer either a flat rebate or a tax credit (say, a few hundred bucks), or one rebate level for families above a certain income threshold and bigger rebates for those below that threshold.</p><ul><li>The latter idea is meant to target a greater share of a rebate program's overall budget at lower-income buyers.</li></ul><p><strong>The big picture: </strong>While incentive programs are helping some people buy e-bikes, they're not driving a notable spike in overall sales, says Levi Conlow, CEO of Lectric eBikes.</p><ul><li>That's in part because the "scale and size" of those programs is "pretty small" compared to the size of the overall market, he says.</li><li>Conlow isn't counting on such programs to drive sales — instead, he says he's focused on keeping costs low while delivering a quality product.</li><li>Still, "the vouchers do a really good job for driving awareness because they get a lot of news coverage and they create a lot of conversation," he adds.</li></ul><p><strong>By the numbers: </strong>About 20% of trips using Lectric e-bikes would have otherwise been driven in a car, while 15% of Lectric's customers sought out an e-bike as a car alternative, Conlow says, citing internal company research.</p><p><strong>Yes, but: </strong>E-bikes are facing some uphill battles.</p><ul><li>Some e-bike companies — most notably high-end manufacturer <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/22/vanmoof-failure-ebike" target="_blank">VanMoof</a> — are struggling mightily as interest rates rise and venture capital dries up.</li><li><a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/14/apartment-building-ban-e-bikes-battery-fire-micromobility-scooter#:~:text=Most%20fires%20are%20linked%20to,have%20dodgy%20batteries%2C%20she%20said." target="_blank">Headline-grabbing battery fires</a>, meanwhile, are fueling skepticism about all manner of personal mobility devices, e-bikes included.</li><li>Some cities are also struggling to integrate e-bikes into infrastructure meant for slower, traditional bikes.</li></ul><p><strong>The bottom line: </strong>In a car-dependent nation, e-bikes are starting to make headway as a vehicle replacement — helped along in part by incentive programs.</p><ul><li>"If we set up our built environment, especially in cities, in more urban areas, e-bikes can be car trip replacers, and e-cargo bikes can be car replacers," PlanRVA's Motta says.</li></ul><br><br><img src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/BFmqu/fallback.png" /></summary><category term="top"></category></entry><entry><title>The Tool on Wire Strippers You May Not Know About</title><link href="https://blog.adafruit.com/2023/08/12/the-tool-on-wire-strippers-you-may-not-know-about/" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-08-13T08:58:17.641000Z</published><author><name>gareth branwyn</name></author><id>https://blog.adafruit.com/2023/08/12/the-tool-on-wire-strippers-you-may-not-know-about/</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/the-tool-on-wire-str/4611:1d23c1">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/4611.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers!:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I thought those holes were for stripping tinier gauge wires than the presized gauges above could handle. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>On <em>See Jane Drill</em>, Leah points out a feature on most wire strippers that some makers may not know about. Right near the hinge of the tool are often found two (or more) bolt shears for common-size bolts (e.g. 6-32 and 8-32). Leah shows how to properly use these shears.<p><iframe height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qjpcIga3XXk?feature=oembed" title="Secret Tool in wire strippers that Few Know" width="500"></iframe></p><div class="ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix"></div></p><span class="ctx-article-root"></span></summary><category term="tools"></category><category term="see jane drill"></category><category term="tips & tricks"></category><category term="wire strippers"></category></entry><entry><title>★ What’s the Deal With Sensor Tower?</title><link href="https://daringfireball.net/2023/08/whats_the_deal_with_sensor_tower" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-08-09T17:35:14.905000Z</published><author><name>John Gruber</name></author><id>https://daringfireball.net/2023/08/whats_the_deal_with_sensor_tower</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/whats-the-deal-with-/9005709:0cf369">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/9005709.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Daring Fireball:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> Some stellar reporting here about the double standard </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/13/meta-threads-engagement-has-dropped-off-sensor-tower-similarweb.html">Hayden Field, reporting for CNBC last month</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Last week, the text-based social media platform reported a record100 million sign-ups in just five days, but according to data fromSensor Tower and Similarweb, the service has seen some dropoff ingrowth and engagement.</p> <p>“The Threads launch really did ‘break the internet,’ or at leastthe Sensor Tower models,” Anthony Bartolacci, managing director atSensor Tower, a marketing intelligence firm, told CNBC. “In the10-plus years Sensor Tower has been estimating app installs, thefirst 72 hours of Threads was truly in a class by itself.”</p> <p>But, he added, Sensor Tower data suggests a significant pullbackin user engagement since Threads’ launch: On Tuesday andWednesday, the platform’s number of daily active users were downabout 20% from Saturday, and the time spent for user was down 50%,from 20 minutes to 10 minutes.</p></blockquote> <p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/2023/07/nobody_uses_threads_anymore" title="Nobody Uses Threads Anymore, It's Too Crowded">I wrote earlier this week</a> about the onslaught of “<em>turns out Threads is a bust</em>” news stories following in the wake of “<em>Threads launches as a sensational hit</em>” stories. One thing that’s struck me while following this is <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=threads+sensor+tower&amp;iar=news&amp;ia=news">just how many of these stories cite Sensor Tower data</a>. But how much should we take Sensor Tower’s usage data at face value? Sensor Tower can only estimate these numbers, it can’t <em>know</em> them. They aren’t Apple or Google (the owners of the app stores through which Threads remains exclusively distributed, and mobile OSes that report back analytics data from all users who opt-in), nor do they have any access to Meta’s own copious data.</p> <p>Here’s what Sensor Tower claims about their data collection, under “<a href="https://sensortower.com/responsibly-sourced-data" title="Sensor Tower: Responsibly Sourced Data">Where our data comes from</a>”:</p> <blockquote> <p>Our data scientists and algorithms process and enrich trillions ofaggregated data points contributed to us from millions of devices,to cultivate our one-of-a-kind data estate. They get this datafrom a statistical panel of consumers we have built tocontinuously learn from millions of people around the world. Ourpanelists provide us data as they use our popularprivacy-compliant mobile apps. We employ best practices to ensurethat our panelists understand what data they are providing us inexchange for the use of our apps.</p> <p>The team in our app studio publishes apps in several categories:</p> <ul><li><p>Wellbeing [<em>sic</em>] apps aid in improving our users’ quality of life, suchas ActionDash and StayFree</p></li><li><p>Games provide entertainment and escape for users, such asMelodies Run [<em>sic</em>, sort of<sup id="fnr1-2023-08-05"><a href="https://daringfireball.net/#fn1-2023-08-05">1</a></sup>]</p></li><li><p>Advanced apps and browser plugins provide convenience, such asFriendly Streaming, Friendly Retail, Stayfocusd and Adblock Luna</p></li></ul></blockquote> <p>So Sensor Tower’s information comes from analytics it collects from its own apps. They name these apps, but don’t link to them, so I will:</p> <ul><li><p>ActionDash — <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.actiondash.playstore">Exclusive to Android</a>, ActionDash is described as a “screen time helper” that is “trusted globally by over 1 million users to break their phone addiction”. The developer is listed as “ActionDash”, not Sensor Tower, but the <a href="https://actiondash.com">app’s website</a> says “Copyright © 2020 Sensor Tower, Inc” in the footer. As a screen-time monitor, you can see how this app would, by definition, provide Sensor Tower with information about everything a user does on their phone.</p></li><li><p>StayFree — Another “screen time tracker”, available for both <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.burockgames.timeclocker">Android</a> and <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stayfree-web-stay-focused/id1631132311">iOS</a>. The Android description:</p> <blockquote> <p>StayFree - Screen Time &amp; Limit App Usage is a self control, productivity and phone addiction controller app that allows you to show how much time you spend on your smartphone and helps you focus by restricting the usage of apps. You can set usage limits for your apps and receive alerts when exceeding those usage limits.</p></blockquote> <p>The iOS description:</p> <blockquote> <p>StayFree - Web Analytics &amp; Screen Time Tracker is an analytics, self control, productivity, and web addiction controller extension. This app works with the Safari web browser on your iOS device. StayFree provides analytics to help you understand how you are using the internet (daily website usage statistics) and focus your time by restricting the usage of distracting websites.</p></blockquote> <p>That’s a very different description. But the latest iOS release, version 2.2, claims:</p> <blockquote> <p>We are introducing usage monitoring for applications in addition to websites! This marks the first stage of the feature, which is currently in beta. Although it may initially be somewhat sluggish and prone to errors, we anticipate ongoing improvements in future updates.</p></blockquote> <p>StayFree observes your Safari usage through an extension that prompts for permission to observe every single website you visit. <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2023/08/stayfree-safari-permission-confirmation.jpeg">Here’s the alert I OK’d to permit this</a>. It monitors your app usage by asking for access to your Screen Time. I installed StayFree last week and, in the name of science, granted it access to both my web browsing and Screen Time. (I plan to delete it as soon as I publish this story.) I have found it to be exactly as described: very slow and prone to errors. What it does report can be viewed faster and with a better presentation in the Screen Time section of Settings. The StayFree Safari extension keeps many web pages from even loading for me.</p></li><li><p><a href="https://melodiesrun.apppage.net/">Melody Run</a> — An infinite runner game, where you slide the hero left/right to hit squares, and each square you hit plays the note from a song. You score gems that can be cashed in to unlock new songs, and you can collect hundreds of gems at a time by watching video ads, which seem to all be for other games. It strikes me as neither fun nor challenging but it is a real game, and there’s apparently a level editor you can unlock if you play more than I was willing to. The game seems identical on both <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/melodies-run/id1599540626">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.creativetechnology.melodies3d&amp;hl=en&amp;gl=us">Android</a>, but only the iOS app asks whether you agree to let the game track you while using other apps. Even with tracking permitted, though, I fail to see how this game is able to collect the sort of detailed usage data Sensor Tower reports, except for your usage of other apps that embed the same tracking frameworks. There’s no way, for example, that playing Melody Run would allow Sensor Tower to gain any information about Threads. Not how long you use it, not how often you launch it, not even whether you have it installed. That’s the whole point of <a href="https://support.apple.com/guide/security/security-of-runtime-process-sec15bfe098e/web">sandboxing</a>.</p></li><li><p>Friendly — Sensor Tower mentions apps named Friendly Streaming and Friendly Retail. I can’t find any apps with those exact names, but I believe they’re referring to a small suite of apps from <a href="https://friendly.io">a company called Friendly</a>, which publishes apps for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id400169658?pt=2051617&amp;ct=friendly.io&amp;mt=8">iOS</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/friendly-streaming/id553245401?mt=12">MacOS</a>, and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=7399185471421849469">Android</a>. <a href="https://friendly.io/insights/privacy/">Friendly’s privacy policy</a> declares that they’re “an affiliate of Sensor Tower Inc.” Friendly Social Browser is a web browser with built-in bookmarks for sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Friendly Streaming Browser is a Mac app that’s just a web browser with built-in bookmarks for YouTube and major streaming sites. (Somehow Friendly Streaming Browser was deemed by Apple worthy of <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/story/id1655204439">this App Store feature story</a>.) <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/friendly-shopping-browser/id6443906359">Friendly Shopping Browser</a> is, you guessed it, a web browser with built-in bookmarks for shopping sites like Amazon, Walmart, Costco, and Target. <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/friendly-shopping-insights/id6444090373">Friendly Shopping Insights</a> is an app dedicated to Amazon — you log in with your Amazon credentials and it shows you your spending history and habits. Basically it’s an app that, I think, lets Sensor Tower see everything you buy or look at in Amazon, along with your purchase history. I say “I think” because I didn’t actually log into my Amazon account after installing it. Why anyone would ever use any of these apps I have no idea.</p></li><li><p><a href="https://www.stayfocusd.com/">StayFocused</a> — “a productivity extension for Google Chrome that helps you stay focused on work by restricting the amount of time you can spend on time-wasting websites.”</p></li><li><p><a href="https://adblockluna.com/">Adblock Luna</a> — Adblock Luna is a VPN promoted specifically for ad blocking. When a VPN is installed and active, all network traffic is tunneled through the VPN. Your VPN provider can see (and thus track) <em>everything</em> you do on the internet, whether it’s through a browser (including private/incognito tabs) or an app. Sensor Tower claims “more than 15 million users have already installed Luna”. These users are an incredibly rich source of information for Sensor Tower.</p> <p>Adblock Luna <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sensortower.luna">is in Google’s Play Store</a>, but when you tap the “Install for Android” button on the Luna website, instead of linking to the Play Store, they instead <a href="https://daringfireball.net/misc/2023/08/adblock-luna-android-install.png">show this popover</a> instructing you to (1) enable the Android setting to allow apps to be installed from unknown sources (a.k.a. sideloading); then (2) install the .apk app bundle that was just downloaded to your device. I don’t know why they steer users to sideloading rather than the version of Adblock Luna in the Play Store, but to me that’s a red flag.</p> <p>Adblock Luna is not in Apple’s App Store. For iOS devices, they direct you to <a href="https://adblockluna.com/install">this page</a>. First, they require you type the year you were born to “prove” you’re over 18. Then you download a VPN profile and they walk you through the steps in Settings to enable their root trust certificate. It’s obvious why this isn’t in the App Store. This is about as close as you can get to installing third-party system software on iOS.</p></li></ul> <hr /> <p>So, I see three ways Sensor Tower collects usage information for apps and websites that aren’t their own: (1) ad-blocking web browser extensions, (2) screen-time monitoring apps for Android and iOS, which on iOS requires access to Screen Time, and (3) the Adblock Luna VPN. (Perhaps I’m underestimating how much data they can collect from users who play Melody Run.)</p> <p>These apps may well be popular — again, they claim that Adblock Luna has been installed by over 15 million users — but is the data they collect from them representative of the general public? ActionDash and StayFree are advertised for people who are looking to “break their phone addiction”. Data collected from these apps might be accurate for those users, but are users who self-identify as having an “addiction” to their devices representative of typical users? This seems a bit like trying to glean beverage consumption statistics by polling self-professed alcoholics — neither those actively struggling with an addiction nor those who are successfully managing one strike me as likely to be representative of the general public.</p> <p>The user base for these apps must be comprised largely of technically naive, uninformed users. (Also: cheapskates, given that Sensor Tower’s tools are free of charge. Quite literally, their users are their product.) Both iOS and Android have built-in screen-time monitoring features, <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208982">Screen Time</a> on iOS, <a href="https://support.google.com/android/answer/9346420?hl=en">Digital Wellbeing</a> on Android. Both allow you to track usage and set limits. If there’s a single advantage to installing ActionDash or StayFree instead of using the built-in system features, I don’t know what it is. Ad blocking, of course, is very popular, but using a VPN for ad blocking, instead of web browser extension, is like using a chainsaw to remove the kernels from a cob of corn — not just overkill but dangerous. There’s a reason why it’s not in the iOS App Store, and why Sensor Tower steers Android users to a self-hosted version that’s not in the Play Store.</p> <p>The vast majority of the public would never even think to install a third-party screen-time monitor. And by most estimates, only <a href="https://duckduckgo.com/?q=what+percentage+of+people+use+ad+blockers">40 percent of people use ad blockers</a>. Anyone looking for screen-time monitoring and controls should use the built-in features on their device. I find it hard to believe that anyone who truly understands the nature of a VPN, when looking for an ad-blocking tool, would choose to use a free VPN from a data analytics company. But those are the people whose internet usage Sensor Tower tracks, and thus the people whom the mainstream news media blindly cites, by way of Sensor Tower’s pronouncements,<sup id="fnr2-2023-08-05"><a href="https://daringfireball.net/#fn2-2023-08-05">2</a></sup> as representative of the world at large.</p> <p>The installation instructions for Adblock Luna are surely scary to non-technical laypeople, and they’re downright terrifying to anyone expert enough to understand how VPNs works. So who is left? The ignorant but brazen. Perhaps such people’s web and app usage really is representative of the public at large. But there’s no way to know. We can judge the accuracy of, say, political pollsters by comparing their data to the actual results of elections. There’s no such reckoning for the usage data published by Sensor Tower and their ilk. It’s all unverifiable, but never reported as such. The news media so badly wants to know usage data that they just accept Sensor Tower and other such firms’ pronouncements at face value, without ever describing — let alone questioning — how they ostensibly know what they claim to know about very private data.<sup id="fnr3-2023-08-05"><a href="https://daringfireball.net/#fn3-2023-08-05">3</a></sup></p> <p>Color me dubious.</p> <div class="footnotes"><hr /><ol> <li id="fn1-2023-08-05"><p>There’s a 2-star review in the Play Store that starts, “I rated 2 cause of this: you changed your name to melody run when its supposed to be melodies run. I can’t get to the level editor!” So I guess that explains why Sensor Tower’s website claims the game’s name is “Melodies Run” — that actually <a href="https://melodiesrun.apppage.net/">used to be the name</a>. And at least one user is upset about the name changing to Melody Run.&nbsp;<a class="footnoteBackLink" href="https://daringfireball.net/#fnr1-2023-08-05" title="Jump back to footnote 1 in the text.">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;</a></p></li> <li id="fn2-2023-08-05"><p>There are other companies in the same racket as Sensor Tower. The next-most-frequently cited, at least in my reading, is Similarweb. <a href="https://www.similarweb.com/corp/ourdata/">Similarweb’s own description of how they source their data</a> is far more opaque than Sensor Tower’s, and thus strikes me as even more dubious.&nbsp;<a class="footnoteBackLink" href="https://daringfireball.net/#fnr2-2023-08-05" title="Jump back to footnote 2 in the text.">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;︎</a></p></li> <li id="fn3-2023-08-05"><p>Here’s a thought exercise. Imagine if Apple and Google issued weekly reports revealing how many people used, say, the most popular 1,000 apps in their respective App Stores, along with how much time, on average, they spent using them. That would be data that could fairly be assumed to be accurate. But would not the major news media — publications such as The New York Times, that generally <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/search?query=big+tech">report on “Big Tech” in an unflattering light</a> — object to such reporting as a violation of users’ collective privacy? As further proof that these companies know too much about us? But yet they echo the same information, when reported by Sensor Tower and Similarweb, without batting an eye or ever raising a question as to how this very private data is collected.&nbsp;<a class="footnoteBackLink" href="https://daringfireball.net/#fnr3-2023-08-05" title="Jump back to footnote 3 in the text.">&#x21a9;&#xfe0e;︎</a></p></li> </ol></div></summary></entry><entry><title>Sol Reader puts bookworms right inside their ebooks</title><link href="https://newatlas.com/electronics/sol-reader-ebook-goggles/" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-07-05T02:06:57.773000Z</published><author><name>Ben Coxworth</name></author><id>https://newatlas.com/electronics/sol-reader-ebook-goggles/</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/sol-reader-puts-book/6403785:786dae">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/6403785.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> New Atlas:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> New project I’m working on, soon to be released. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <div><p><img alt="The Sol Reader is priced at $350" src="https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/491e914/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x1067+0+0/resize/1440x960!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F9f%2F93%2F072510f74b11abb29d4f4543962d%2Ff5fc35f3cd46fbfe4fc5d134706450c1e09b059f-8980x13465.jpeg"/></p><p>If you're a really avid reader, you may resent the visual distractions that keep you from becoming thoroughly immersed in a book. That's where the Sol Reader comes in, as it fills your vision with text.</p><p><a href="https://newatlas.com/electronics/sol-reader-ebook-goggles/">Continue Reading</a></p><p><b>Category:</b> <a href="https://newatlas.com/electronics/">Electronics</a>, <a href="https://newatlas.com/science/">Science</a></p><p><b>Tags:</b> <a href="https://newatlas.com/tag/e-reader/" rel="tag">E-reader</a>, <a href="https://newatlas.com/tag/eyewear/" rel="tag">Eyewear</a>, <a href="https://newatlas.com/tag/wearable-electronics/" rel="tag">wearable electronics</a></p></div></summary></entry><entry><title>New comment by legendofbrando in "Almost 200k Job Cuts in Tech Pushes New Grads to Wall Street"</title><link href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36045928" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-05-23T20:17:26.204000Z</published><author><name>legendofbrando</name></author><id>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36045928</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/new-comment-by-legen/8019639:3928f4">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/8019639.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Hacker News: Best Comments.</b> </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <p>FWIW, I think one of the chief challenges over the last 5 years is that “tech” became a fashionable, prestige job. Both because of the earnings potential and because of some “it” factor/cultural cache.<p>This led to an influx of people who would otherwise have gone into banking or consulting or other careers similarly targeted as “elite” professions when graduating from college and to an influx of people from those professions into tech.<p>I think it bodes well for the sector to have less of this prestige seeking- not because these folks aren’t talented, but because rebalancing the overall tech workforce towards a mix of talent is probably more healthy for people who value working in tech because it’s an area of genuine interest for them.</p></summary></entry><entry><title>How Bad Is It Really to Wear New Clothes Before You Wash Them?</title><link href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/should-you-wash-clothes-before-wearing-255584?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Category%2FChannel%3A+main" rel="alternate"></link><published>2023-05-07T11:32:38.113000Z</published><author><name>Shifrah Combiths</name></author><id>https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/should-you-wash-clothes-before-wearing-255584?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Category%2FChannel%3A+main</id><summary type="html"><table style="border: 1px solid #E0E0E0; margin: 0; padding: 0; background-color: #F0F0F0" valign="top" align="left" cellpadding="0" width="100%"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" style="padding: 6px;width: 36px;white-space:nowrap" width="36" valign="top"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/avatars.newsblur.com/avatars/13/thumbnail_profile_1702756260.jpg" style="width: 36px; height: 36px; border-radius: 4px;"></td> <td width="100%" style="padding-top: 6px;"> <b> samuel <a href="https://samuel.newsblur.com/story/how-bad-is-it-really/2186:ecf9af">shared this story</a> from <img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/icons.newsblur.com/2186.png" style="vertical-align: middle;width:16px;height:16px;"> Apartment Therapy| Saving the world, one room at a time:</b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> I’ve been washing all my clothes after buying them for this reason. If you sweat in new clothes, you’re absorbing all of those chemicals used to ship clothes so they don’t grow mold and mildew. </td> </tr> </table> <hr style="clear: both; margin: 0 0 24px;"> <img src="https://cdn.apartmenttherapy.info/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:eco,c_fill,g_auto,w_660/https://storage.googleapis.com/gen-atmedia/2/2018/02/ca53742e9a2832e73009ee1b2342b0c35d0237d6.jpeg" />You can't un-know what you're about to read.<a href="https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/should-you-wash-clothes-before-wearing-255584?utm_source=RSS&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Category%2FChannel%3A+main"><strong>READ MORE...</strong></a></summary><category term="cleaning"></category><category term="laundry"></category><category term="wellness"></category></entry></feed>
