In this post, after a long break (thanks, real life, for nothing, says the writer part of me) I return to my roots here: sharing the thoughts I have that are just too long to fit in a tweet, in a format that’s just more…permanent. … Continue readingCinematic Universe?
Microsoft Windows is of course the dominant operating system on the personal computer, with Linux dominating basically everything else (even smartphones; Android is based on Linux). What if that was different? I’ll go through a couple of scenarios, one hewing more closely to real life … Continue readingOperating System What-Ifs
I really just love the whole idea, the whole aesthetic, of beautiful wholesome girls throwing themselves into the art of reading letters from their dear friends and their beloved, giving their messages perfume and kisses, all in the most lovingly feminine and gorgeous handwriting. Perhaps … Continue readingLove Letters: A Digital Rebirth?
One of the more curious aspects of communications technology is how the 21st and 19th centuries in many ways share much more in common with each other than either does with the 20th century. Consider that the 19th century predilection to send notes and letters … Continue readingA Telegraph World
Twitter isn’t real life. Or is it? Alexey Guzey has a page on his (rather excellent) website about why you should join Twitter right now, and of the perks people list the most striking to me is how common it is to meet new and … Continue readingSponsus ex Twittera?
I can’t stand frustration; ever since I can remember I’ve always had a very low tolerance for it, but ever since the lockdown crisis began in March 2020, and especially stretching into this year, I’ve become much worse. That was the context in which my … Continue readingOf Fediverses and Frustrations
The past week saw the highest-profile online “deplatforming” yet: Twitter banning Donald Trump, with follow-up actions by other major online services. What does this mean? What are the implications for the future? What should be the response, if any, from those of us who are … Continue readingThe Rise of Deplatforming and the Decentralized Web
Today marks 155 years since the birth of the great composer Jean Sibelius. Coming across this fact got me thinking about his music, and the paths music took and could have taken more broadly. In my science fiction setting, the 20th century was very different, … Continue readingJean Sibelius and the Music of a Sci-Fi World
We hear much talk about globalization and its effects on human societies, but relatively little about the promise a more globalized and technologically advanced world holds for improving fundamental aspects of our daily lifestyles. Much discourse around the topic over-complicates globalization, which is fundamentally the … Continue readingLifestyles in a Fully Globalized Future
For the entire history of computing to date, and even dating back to the advent of television, glowing screens with a board-like form have been the primary and ever-more-dominant way people consume information. This “glowing screen” or “glowing board” paradigm reached its culmination in the … Continue readingIndistinguishable From Nature: Toward a Ubiquitous Dark Web