FeedCity

Lookin' backwards, lookin' forwards

To know what a product is means knowing what it is not.

I’ve suggested a couple times this year that I want to rethink the Micro.blog trial period. It feels like the time for a change. Next week I’m going to remove the 10-day trial. You can pay, or not! And new users can start with a Micro.one subscription and then upgrade to Micro.blog if they want to.

I’ve got high blood pressure at the moment. My doctor wanted to keep an eye on it. It’s tricky as one blood pressure reading isn’t particularly useful. You need a whole bunch of readings over time, and that’s pretty hard to do unless you’re taking the measurements at home. So, I got a home blood […]

Some interesting stats in Mastodon’s 2023 report. Patron donors have dropped over the last couple of years, but total donations are up because of larger, single donations. Makes me wonder if the future of financing Mastodon might be more commercial offerings, like paid hosting or subscriptions.

Christmas tree with green books at Half Price Books. 📚

In 2000, the movie “Erin Brockovich” helped put the small town of Hinkley, California, on the map. The movie stars Julia Roberts as a determined law clerk who takes on the massive utility company Pacific Gas & Electric, which had been dumping chromium-6, the dangerous ch...

BTW, as a longtime speaker of English and programmer, I think the term refactoring is re-dundant. The term comes from mathematics where you simplify a statement without altering its truth. Factoring is a repetitive process. You factor, and then factor some more if you can.

By popular demand, added a sign-up form to the Micro.one teaser home page. I’ll send an email to everyone at launch on January 2nd. Then I’ll sell the mailing list to the highest bidder and you’ll get spam for life. (Just kidding. It’ll be a one-time email.)

We should be thinking about a new SQL that's much higher level. It's time for another layer. Get all the efficiencies of a 50+ year platform, with all the understanding gained at the top level in all the time. Most of the learning I did in the last five years can be hidden behind a much simpler programming interface, imho.

For this extended holiday, enjoy some of our favorite recent conversations: For the centennial series "100 Years of 100 Things," Errol Louis, political anchor of Spectrum NY1 News, host of Inside City Hall and The Big Deal with Errol Louis, New York Magazine ...

The problem with everyone who says you have to get off Twitter is that we're giving up the meeting place we had and spreading all the bits into the wind. Are you going to leave the United States now that Trump is going to be president again? Leaving Twitter is a lot like that. How do you know Musk isn't going to have to sell it? Might happen. How would you feel then about having quit Twitter in a huff as if it would always be the bastion of assholes. It's a mistake. He isn't making money with it. The more you use it the more it costs him, btw. By leaving you might actually be helping him survive. Nothing is so linear, first big point. Second big point, no one cares about your gestures.

If you think woke is the problem, try reading the US Constitution and amendments. Really read them. Pretend you didn't know it was the Constitution. One woke idea after another. Basically if you don't believe in woke, you're in the wrong freaking country.

Last night's email had a YouTube video in it. I had forgotten that they get lost somewhere in the email delivery supply chain, so the fire that I put in the email was not transmitted. It's even worse than it appears. Here's a link to the video of the fire, with any luck that will get through in tonight's email. Happy holidays everyone!

As 2024 comes to a close, critics, reporters and editors at The New York Times are reflecting on the year in arts and culture, including music.Today, The Times’s pop music critics Jon Pareles, Lindsay Zoladz and Jon Caramanica talk with Melissa Kirsch, the deputy editor of C...

In the last show of 2024, Joe and Alex discuss a possible war with... checks notes... Greenland? Panama? It's just another day in the world of Trump. Why Joe thinks it's all governing by rally - and why it shows that the Trump coalition is still more fragile than many understand. Is Joe Manchin right? Is the Democratic brand toxic? Finally: What are Joe and Alex's bold predictions for 2025 and 2026 (and beyond?) Happy New Year everyone - see you in 2025!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re with the one-off diplomat, strategist, and historian Chas Freeman. Chas Freeman. Call this “Curious Citizen Meets the Most Knowledgeable Straight-Talker Anywhere Near the U.S. Government.” At a turn in the calendar, a transition in ...

The post A Geopolitical Check-Up appeared first on Open Source with Christopher Lydon.

Happy holidays everyone. Here's a nice fire to keep you warm. ❤️

Don't worry about which platforms to use as much as about how portable your data is.

The Training Team has launched a new course on Learn WordPress specifically for designers: Beginner […]