Digital human freight [283]
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Digital human freight [283]
Greetings from the the shed...
Looking up from the screen there are no clouds. Just heat and a craving for exercise.
But before that…
#TheAction
I feel lucky to have had lots of time in the saddle this week. I even managed to ride the bike to a lunchtime appointment with friends.
A long overdue catchup with @KTSays and @Billt. I have some video footage of the ride I need to edit and hope to get that online for the next email.
I also attended a Longplayer trustee meeting this week. If you are not familiar with Longplayer it’s a lot of things. Ideas, sound, physical presence, virtual presence, code, written word, a score, time, algorithms, long ideas, story, history, conversations, people and so on. Longplayer.org can tell you more.
Sustaining Longplayer as it plays out over 1000 years is obviously a recurring theme and we discus the score, how it’s embedded, the hardware and how we can help Longplayer attain some kind of immortality.
I feel Longplayer the idea needs to leap from brain to brain. Like a meme. But the memes we see day to day tend to be witty, build on existing trends and more often than not are visual.
Although most memes are based on visuals there are certainly some sounds recognised the world over.
Perhaps we could undertake some ‘sonic branding’. Might be a big ask for Brian Eno an existing friend of Longplayer and it’s creator Jem Finer. But Brian did create the Windows 95 start up sound. An audio icon right up there with the Mac’s down tuned. middle C and one of the most recognised sounds in the world, the Intel startup tune.
How do we make Longplayer the most listened to piece of music in history?
Wait out a thousand years and check the play count? Or perhaps we can craft a ringtone better than the one Nokia did. Yes I know Longplayer is 1000 years long but you can stretch, contract or extract it. Lots to think about.
Outside of online meetings and baby-sitting I’ve been tinkering with the bike. It now looks like this…
The first fully laden ride out went well. It still feels fast and nimble. Not sure if that will still be the case with the added load of bread wine and cheese.
#ThePictures
After finally getting to watch Altered Carbon I wish i’d read the book first.
It’s a violent, dark and dirty world. Season one is very watchable cyberpunk with decent acting and fascinating technology. Not sure as to follow though with season two. Reviews are a bit iffy. But like I said… Wish i’d read the book to get the full effect.
There are some niche websites out there and this one collecting ‘aerials of a bygone age’ is certainly one of them. Thanks to David Sheppard for sharing.
#TheWords
‘The creative era is about interdependence, not about superhuman individuals.’
How to keep people out of jail.
Researchers have given a paralyzed man his speech back by decoding signals between his brain and mouth.
#TheSound
I’ve spent some time traversing glaciers. Even some nights sleeping on them. They can make interesting sounds but I’d never considered what could be living below the surface.
Fancy changing up your ringtone? Does anyone even phone you anymore? Try this one, or why not dig out your old 3310’s and recreate your own symphony.
I had never put much thought into how the ‘stop boxes’ at traffic lights protect cyclists from plumes of pollution that sit in the air as cars accelerate from a junction. There are some interesting insights into the science of cycling from the Cycling Science podcast. In each episode they look at some of the latest research papers with cycling in mind.
#TheConsumed
I mentioned David Sheppard above and the other night he very kindly allowed me to crack open a bottle of whisky he was gifted.
It was more of a crumble than a crack though. The wooden top came off the cork and an attempt to extract the remains with a corkscrew turned it to dust. I’ve opened a few bottles on whisky in my time but never had this happen before.
We carefully filtered a couple of measures through some fine woven cotton and tentatively lifted our glasses with a slàinte.
Wow. The nose was sherry and apple, the palate rich and smooth with caramel and cream. I quickly realised that this was not a new reissue of an old label, but an old bottling that had been sitting around for a while.
It was hard to tell how old exactly but after conferring online with whisky loving friends CJ and Ross, this bottle was dated around the 80’s with the whisky having been bottled in the 70’s. What a lovely treat to have shared this bottle with a friend. Not only that but David let me add a dram to my infinity bottle.
It has been a year since I last added something and almost 4 years since the first drop was added. I have listed the contents of my bottle here on my blog and will update it when I add more. But of course there’s an app for that as well. There is also a blending kit but I’m pretty sure you can source an empty bottle and a funnel.
#TheThings
My lad asked me to buy him an Amibo which will unlock some features in Breath Of The Wild. It’s a shedload of cash for a plastic toy with an NFC in it. Thankfully someone has been scanning them all and embedding them in things like plastic coins and cards. So for a fraction of the cost of one Amibo I got all 24 in card form.
I’m taking this is yet another sign that I need a small shed just to store outdoor equipment in.
While testing my new bike bags by loading them with camping gear I went looking for a bivi tarp and found four. Since posting an image to Twitter I have now re-homed one of them. The tarp combined with a bivibag and sleeping bag should make a lightweight camping option for a bike expedition.
I have a dynamo hub on my bike and am looking at charging solutions that will give me a USB out. Ideally to run a battery pack with pass through so I can charge the battery while it then charges either my phone, Wahoo navigation, bike lights or ham radio. So far I have found a few options:
This is the most expensive/useful option [£380 in the UK]
This is the tidiest but won’t fit my particular fork. [£235]
This one looks simple and easy to use [£120]
This one looks well made [£52]
This is the cheapest I’ve found. [£30]
Ideally I need more then 1A out. If you have found other solutions or know of a battery pack that with allow passthrough please let me know. I have made my choice though and if it arrives in time i’ll share it in the next email.
#TheWeb
‘Time is the greatest commodity we have. What do we do with it?’
Have you added yourself to the Documentally community map like @Ade has?
Encode and decode hidden text messages in 'white noise' audio using Javascript HTML5 and QRCodes
How many years have we been saying Facebook isn’t free?
Learning the Language of Art – Sound in Art is a fun, unpretentious, and participatory show. Explore sound in art from the 16th century to the present.
Oppressive governments are relying on technology from an Israeli surveillance firm, to search journalists’ phones, and expose sources.
After year of encouraging longer ad longer videos Youtube has finally taken on TikTok with ‘Shorts’.
Are you living in the right city? Check out the least and most stressful cities index.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading.
I still have some vacancies for new supporting subscribers. Looking at these wonderful human beings that have chosen to pay a small amount a month for this dispatch, they tend to be compassionate people of purpose and imagination. Who’s curiosity knows no bounds, but appears to contribute to their general ability to flourish in this weird and wonderful world.
Were they like that before subscribing? Or as a result of?
Either way, please consider joining us. We are good people on the same journey.
Speaking of which… After my imminent bike ride I’ll be packing a bag for Wales for some offroad motorbike adventures. See you in next week’s subscriber email.
Get some sun and stay hydrated.
Have a great week!
“Man is the most insane species. He worships an invisible God and destroys a visible Nature. Unaware that this Nature he’s destroying is this God he’s worshiping.” ~ Hubert Reeves
Sweat.
See you out there.
Over…
