Everything is precious [423]

Greetings from the shed...

Hi, I’m Christian Payne, Content Fusionist. ( Just made that up). In this weekly dispatch I seek out novelty, explore how we share, what we share, plus where we might be going. Thanks for joining in.

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#TheAction

Amidst the rattling of a keyboard and bouncing between obligations, I managed to steal away for a few short bike rides this week.

I forget the profound significance attached to jumping on a bicycle. Even for a short ride between chores. It's not about distance covered. It’s about the invitation it extends to experience the world more intimately. It's also about escape. A release from the mental confines of a routine that exists within the rectangle of a screen.

Let us find solace in the act of simply being. Wheel out the bike, check the tyres and with curiosity as your guide, rediscover being present in the moment. Of disconnecting from your low res digital portal. And reconnecting inside the vast spectrum of the physical world —this continuous and analogue reality.

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Earlier in the week we took a trip into Coventry to catch up with family and visit the motoring museum. The museum was ok. Not cheap but the ticket lasts for a year. The kids seemed to enjoy it but the highlight for me was getting to see Ted Simon’s bike up close.

It’s been four years since I visited Ted’s house in the South of France and recorded this audio. He’s 90 years old now and only just decided to stop riding motorbikes.

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#ThePictures

Been rewatching the Indiana Jones movies. My friend Mike once got to hang out in a hotel room with Harrison Ford (+ others). He even managed to use the magic of the internet to bring me in via Seesmic video.

I can remember it being a social media experiment where video linked to a room in Cannes, I bleated sycophantic praise to Lucas, Spielberg and Ford, all sat on a sofa. They were plugging Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, so I had to watch it.

And I did. But have no recollection of it. It's as if some kind of trauma erased all trace of it from my brain.

I do remember a few friends saying it was something they wished they could un-see. So I prepared myself for a re-watch. I suspended my disbelief so high that while it was having an out-of-body experience I watched the film to the end and even smiled in parts.

The whole thing is silly. But in preparation for watching the last instalment with Ford, I'll take this episode for what it is. A bit of fun in a franchise I have endured in parts, enjoyed on the whole, and along with Star Wars has no doubt shaped me in some way.

Besides, now we have alien news on the TV, the silliness is a little less silly. The fridge bit is still ridiculous though.

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In this video Justin Hawkins discusses some research stating that most new music lacks creativity and sounds the same. Those of us of a certain age get it. ;-) (Via subscriber FreelanceGeek)

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#TheWords

I hit the 60,000 word mark this week. Easy words as I’ve only been typing out a stack of old journals. But I’ve relished being transported back to the heart of those extraordinary adventures amid personal revelations. It’s rekindling vivid memories of breathtaking places shared with amazing people. Things I’ve not thought about for a long while but am very much enjoying reliving. Even if it’s a little jarring when I step away from my desk, to be immediately transported 27 years and 5000 miles in time and space.

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While in the gift shop of the Coventry motoring museum I spotted this Ted Simon book documenting his rerun of the round the world motorbike ride that made him famous. Inside I found a bonus signed print.

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The limits of personal experience.

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I just finished Stuart: A Life Backwards.

It’s dark book I felt I had to read alongside a few others. So it took me a bit of time. Not because it wasn’t a decent read. On the contrary, it was very well written in a style I've not read before. There was a certain transparency from the author who was finding their way while writing. He decided eventually to have the narrative arc loop back on itself. Hence the title.

I did feel I needed to be in the right mood to dip into the traumatic life of Stuart. A child left floundering by the system. Neck deep in mindless violence and ricocheting between homelessness, drug addiction, alcoholism and self harm.

But outside the poverty and debilitating health issues was an unusual friendship, set for me in familiar locations. The story takes place in Cambridgeshire, where I’m writing this. So this true and at times harrowing story felt all the more real.

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#TheSound

It might be I’ve already shared this video entitled Pictures of sound: One Thousand Years of Educed Audio: 980-1980. If I have, here is a second chance to enjoy it.

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I do my best to not click on link bait titles on pages of manicured thumbnails featuring mostly man-gurus optimised to grab attention in order to offer you content you can get from a book wrapped in adverts for supplements... And the vodcast Impact Theory is all of that. But my wife told me I’d like a certain episode and I’d be a fool to ignore an actual professional, highly educated and less grumpy human being who is not short of knowledge and wisdom. So I gave it a go. Besides, it was an interview with Yuval Noah Harari and I could also listen to it as a podcast. It’s good.

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Are electric cars going to make cities quieter? Probably not. Keep an ear open for the farting motorbikes. [Video]

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#TheConsumed

If you’re a fan of eating, food, or the eating of food, serve yourself a healthy portion of Roger Overall’s The Gastronomer. It’s a podcast plus newsletter that serves up some wonderful observations flavoured with a smidgen of Douglas Adams’ humour with a side dish of splayed facts in a crispy coating of silliness. I’d try the chicken whims for starters. He does deliver. But you’d need to subscribe for that.

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Like cycling? Like coffee? This #CoffeeOutside thing looks like fun. I already do this. But on my tod. I wonder if I can find a regular spot and get it on the map. At time of writing, there is only one spot in England listed and it’s cycle-able for me. Here is a brief interview with the originator.

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#TheThings

This fascinating audio interface called the PodMobile turns pretty much any microphone into a USB mic and mixes two simultaneously for podcasts, interviews or streaming. I just looked at buying one to test and review but postage from the US was $166.56 on top of the $299 the interface costs. I’ll need more supporting subscribers before I can afford to stump up that amount of cash as there will might well be import tax on top of that.

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What is made of nothing, contains nothing and yet you can move it around?

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#TheThanks

Here is a weird perk for a few supporting subscribers. I have about 8 invites for the Twitter clone T2 Social. It’s early days for this platform created by ex-Twitter employees, but as a thank you those that support all the content I share into this feed, let me know if you’d like an invite.

If you’re feeling flush, have more money than you know what to do with, or just thankful, you can always buy me a coffee. You know i’d buy you one back. Or perhaps send a tip via PayPal, Monzo or Alby.

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#TheWeb

• Great recent post summarising LLMs

• Yes there is still a Documentally community map and a total number of zero readers in Papua New Guinea.

• Plane lands on the A40 and is later moved to a lay-by.

• While NASA builds a near infrared transceiver for Mars I’m still waiting for fibre to get to my part of the village.

• Some of my other places include GoodReads, FarceBook, Flickr, Strava, Untappd, Diaspora, Vivino, LinkedIn, YouTube, Mastodon, a ham radio newsletter or search ‘Documentally’ on Wire, Birdsite, T2 or Bluesky.

• The rewilded English farm where ‘miracles’ of nature happen.

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#TheEnd

Thank you for reading. All spelling mistakes are intentional. The next (subscriber) issue might be from a different country. Until then stay curious, look closer and embrace the analogue.

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“Consistency is the playground of dull minds.” ~ Yuval Noah Harari

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Randomise.

See you out there.

Over…

A ❤️ is a high-five, a comment is a hug. A supporting subscription earns my undying love.