Deindividuation [252]
Greetings from my shed...
We’ve had some glorious mornings recently.
Not many of those left this year.
We’re nearly there folks.
#TheAction
Welcome to the penultimate email of the year.
If I manage to drag my bloated body to a keyboard, the last email of 2020 will land sometime around Christmas Day. Forgive me if it’s a jabbering mess of unintelligible drivel. Or a list of things i’ve consumed accompanied with a slurred “I love you guys”.
But I do you know.
Unless of course I send this dispatch out to everyone on the list. In which case I love some of you. You know who you are. The rest I like A LOT. And much better than anyone who does not subscribe at all.
If I share anything on New Years Day, either I don’t know how to take time off, or I just enjoy this community too much to leave you alone. Whatever I share will be for the supporting subscribers though. You are not only more likely to chat back, but you are more forgiving of the slapdash dispatches.
I hope some of you part-timers can fully subscribe so I can feel even more indebted and thankful for this crowdfunded life line.
In other news.
I went to Church this week.
A friend asked me if I could offer some guidance and show them how best to record their physically distanced carol service so it can be shared with the regulars. They have already adapted to offer video snippets to the congregation, so all I really needed to do was talk about how best to use the acoustics, get decent sound and expose for the stained glass light. It was lovely to feel useful. Plus I’ll take any excuse to visit these amazing buildings. Especially if I’m not being asked to pledge allegiance to any phenomenologically defined controlling power.
It’s also nice to play a tiny part in the continuation of a ritual that will bring solace and comfort to others. Plus it’s good to get one up on a war or pandemic. How many continuous years has this particular church offered some kind of service? Some of the buildings in my village have been in full-time operation for almost 800 years.
We are but a short sentence in a much bigger story.
Another highlight of the week was getting to hang out with friends. CJ, Ross and myself got together for our monthly meet up. Our small whisky focused gathering is now entering it’s 9th year.
It all started in Newcastle at the Thinking Digital Conference and although born around the glasses in our hands, it now temporarily resides in the glass fibre between our webcams.
I hope you soon get to chink a glass with another human.
#ThePictures
A musician and teacher friend of mine I’ve known for many many years got Covid last week. He’s doing ok. Also doing a lot of online exploration. Here is a video he shared that bought up some interesting research around Vitamin D and Covid-19.
A concert is a conversation.
A fascinating insight into how and when the inmates took over Venezuela’s prisons.
#TheWords
I’m currently compiling a list of around 100 books that have been recommended to me from people on Twitter. It looks like a fantastic collection and way better than the ‘all time great’ lists that you might have already read through.
I will be sure to share it in the next open dispatch or perhaps into a bonus threaded conversational post for subscribers. That way you can grow the list to a number of books you will no chance be able to read before you die. Let me know what you prefer.
#TheSound
Have you conducted your blob opera yet? Link via James Bruce
This podcast comes highly recommended and is currently on my listening list.
Thanks to Bill Thompson for pointing me to this audio trip around the world.
If you ever wonder why it can sometimes be difficult to like ourselves, check out the Validation Lounge Podcast. There is a healthy dose of self care wrapped up in conversation. It’s been a tough year for many but regardless, as fallible humans, we could all do with a bit of therapy, coaching and positive psychology.
#TheConsumed
This week’s whisky tasting involved sampling this selection of wonders gifted from CJ mentioned above…
You may notice the @whiskysmoked selection. Amazing. As well as the little bottle of @1770Whisky and wait for it… The rare dark chocolate caramel wafer biscuit from Tunnocks. We also enjoyed a sample of Glen Elgin courtesy of Whiskey-Me.
In the run up to some proper gluttony these are the festive foods I’m currently involved in.
The mysterious jar contains a wondrous chutney created for cheese or turkey. And as far as port and panettone goes… I’m seriously considering these should be all-year-round options.
#TheThings
This limited edition wood block print was a gift from my good friend Adrian.
It was created by his dad, artist/illustrator John Storey. <- check out his other work.
If you’re looking for a new car I’m sadly having to part with my Skoda Yeti. I’ve owned at least 14 cars and driven many more. But after my Land Rover Defender 300TDI this 2009 5 door Skoda yeti 4x4 2.0 TDI CR (140BHP) Elegance is ranked my second favourite of all time.
It’s only done 86,000 miles so good for another 210,000 miles. If none of you want it for £4,500 I’ll be listing it for £5000 on Autotrader where a similar model with 140,000 miles is £5.2k. So yeah. Bargain.
If you are not in a position to buy my car, or still haven’t fully subscribed to this dispatch, please don’t feel left out. You can still support my work. :-)
You might want to finally get involved with crypto currency. If so I have a WireX referral link. I also signed up to Binance to buy my Crypto. So here’s my referral link for that. I use the competitively priced Backblaze for my online backups and if you use this referral link We both get a month free! And if you would lie to be delivered a sample of great whisky once a month sign up to Whisky-Me and we can toast each other with a free dram. I also get my coffee delivered. Pretty handy when the shops are packed and you have ran out. Here is a discount link to Pact Coffee.
Finally, if you wanted to know what it feels like to actually spend some Bitcoin you can live in the future and test your system by sending some to this BTC address:
3JV1H5TiYYdRpzumRkmiVMMUMxZPGZu6Vn
If it works. No matter how much, I’ll give you a mention in the next email. Just let me know it was you.
Don’t say I never do anything for you.
OK, i’ll stop asking for support and get back to adding value to your life….
Screenity might be useful for some of you. It’s a screen recorder and annotation tool for Chrome.
Every day I use our front door. It was not a cheap purchase. Yet after three years it’s starting to look used. It still works fine as a door. It keeps the weather out, lets the post in and gives the family a sense of security. It’s made of plastic, metal and glass and on occasion I’ve had to repair the trim or tighten the handle. I think about all the effort that went into it’s design and build, the mining and sourcing of the materials for it’s structure and internal mechanism — It’s a complicated thing, for a simple job.
This week I stepped through a 500 year old door and could not help but take a moment to thank and appreciate it. I marvelled at how long that wooden object had done it’s job and served a community.
When I think about making something that is useful and might last generations I think of metal work. Crafting a knife perhaps. I totally underestimate how amazing wood is to work with. I wonder if perhaps I should try my hand at carpentry. Then I see videos like this. This is some next level woodwork.
#TheThanks
I made this spot to thank paying subscribers. Those folk that drop the $6/month to get all the content I share into this feed. People like Jeff Hibbard. His Twitter bio says he is kind. He is that and much more. Cheers Jeff!
#TheWeb
Fewer pixels more cardboard.
Have you added yourself to the Documentally community map?
A battery free e-ink display that runs off NFC.
Cyberpunk 2077 is having a hard time.
Sigh… A new satellite can see inside building day and night.
As you know I’m a trustee for Longplayer. Here is a great intro for those that don’t know Jem and his algorithmic composition check this… Longplayer: Music to last a millennium.
#TheEnd
So that’s that.
Don’t forget you can email back. The wine needs a refill here so i’ll head off to do that and all going to plan there will be reading, gaming, artistic endeavours and other such stuff between now and the next email.
You take care of yourself. Where ever you are in the world.
“There are moments which are made up of too much stuff for them to be lived at the time they occur.” ~ John le Carré
To absent friends,
See you out there.
Over…
Rip Jeremy Bulloch
