Life In The Pacific Northwest
The good folks at xkcd hit a home run with this gem and it’s follow up.
I adore them and have been following them for years. You should, too. Here’s the link to their RSS feed, their Twitter page, and here’s where you can subscribe to their email newsletter.
I spent a little time today reviewing my map timeline on Google Maps. I noticed that, one fine day a little while ago, Google (via my Samsung) mapped me traveling from Marysville, WA to Scottsdale, AZ in about 10 minutes. If my calculations are correct, that meant I traveled at 7,594 miles per hour or Mach 9.9. Now, maybe I somehow developed superpowers, but I would think I would’ve noticed. Maybe the acquisition was traumatic, like Logan/Wolverine, and I just blank out my super-powered moments. Or, perhaps, there’s some glitch in the matrix? Or, I guess, perhaps something was worked out with my phone’s GPS.
I’ve been kept in the loop about the different groups encompassing the #StopeHateForProfit initiative and their meeting with Facebook a few days ago (here’s a recap of the situation if you need it). Other folks have written about Facebook’s strategy and risks, so I really have nothing to add there. However, one element has given me pause. What happens if the site collapses?
No, I don’t think that Facebook is going to fail simply due to this issue. However, there are a huge number of challenges that Facebook faces, from privacy to a lack of public accountability. All of that makes me wonder what the breaking point will be? Ultimately, I believe Facebook’s Waterloo will be a combination of all the issues facing it, along with the natural conservatism that comes with huge success and an IPO, and the creation of a challenger. And I have something of a fatalistic view: that the end will come for it. Not that it will suddenly vanish. It’s a well-run business. However, I expect it will simply fade from relevancy once the new thing appears (i.e.: MySpace).
For me, this speaks to the importance of having my own website, my own place on the interwebs. One where I control everything. My own personal brand, I guess. Mainly, though, where my presence is independent of decisions made by some random group of individuals.
I realize that, in many ways, this is a fantasy. This site is hosted by a company, built on WordPress…external factors that I don’t have much control over. However, I can move my site to another host. I can port my blog from WordPress to some other platform if need be. Everything on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, will simply vanish if those sites end.
Now, maybe this makes sense as I’m currently studying web development and design. As I was told many years ago, “having your own domain is the height of being a nerd” (I own that with delight). So, I guess this might be my inner geek. But I see deep value in having my own site, using it as a hub to the rest of my internet presence. And I see the value for you, too.
I’ve long enjoyed the cyberpunk genre. Stumbling upon this video was rather fortuitous. I appreciated diving deeper into cyberpunk’s history and seeing the way different media influenced its growth. One thing I took away: cyberpunk was the first genre where video games were a key part of its evolution.
Below is a playlist of a video series: The Origins of Cyberpunk. I hope you find it as fun as I did.
My good friend Toby Barnett, who lives up in the Lakewood area in Arlington, WA, set up his camera last week was thunderstorms came rolling in. I enjoyed watching them, so I hope you will, too.
I just read over on MLTNews that there’s a Black Lives Matter Silent Walk happening today at 4:00 pm.
Folks are meeting at Mountlake Terrace Elementary. Please follow all the appropriate social distancing protocols.
Today I read a piece by Seattle writer Angela Garbes. It resonated deeply with me, so I wanted to share with you, my friends.
Published in the Seattle Met, “As Seattle Grew, I grew Up” mirrors my own experience. I, too, spent my ‘feral 20s’ wandering Capitol Hill, where I lived the better part of 10 years of my life. Seeking the urban as a cyclist seeking a car-free life, and the vibrancy I imagined coming with concrete. Years making mostly minimum wage, yet able to survive. Gentrification just starting to squeeze. I being able to rise up the wage rungs quickly enough to stay above the flood waters of economic calamity.
My revisits come filled with memories. Oh, “this was here”, and “that was there”. Then “what WAS here”? Memories combine with memory’s absence; strange feelings, ones that I’m not quite used to.
“Cities are meant to change”. Seattle’s changed, quite a bit. Driving home how time has passed, how much older I’ve become. Things I’m not quite ready to accept, so they keep rearing up. Such is the way of things I guess.
I spent my Memorial Day morning catching up on email and reading. The scope of “keeping up” overwhelms me at times. The only solution I found to not letting this stress me? Accepting the lack of a solution, and that I must choose my focus. So, most of the stuff that comes into my inbox gets deleted.
Here are a few things that caught my eye today:
That’s where I find myself this morning. How about you? Anything inspiring and insightful come into view for you?
Murder hornets?
Is this fake or not? I’m not sure anymore.
Stay safe, everyone.